Since selling her coastal home in Shanagarry, east Cork, five years ago, Rachel Allen has been planning her next house build, and for the chef, author and broadcaster, this naturally involves considering carefully what makes a truly great kitchen.
The celebrity chef explains that a well-designed kitchen comes down to one good-sized, well-organised workspace, where everything you need is close at hand and easy to reach. The classic design rule connecting the three main work areas – sink, fridge and oven – into a convenient triangular layout still holds true. “It’s all about convenience and proximity,” she explains. “And for me personally, I love being able to either wash up or cook while looking out of a window.”
Materiality is her next priority. “I love natural products and materials, so I’d choose either wooden countertops or marble. I love old French marble in a kitchen, and there are so many composites available now that look like marble but are much more user-friendly. They’re not porous, so it doesn’t matter if you spill turmeric or red wine or lemon juice.” Allen admits her Pinterest saves lean heavily towards old French kitchens with chicken wire and fabric-fronted cupboards.
This same love of texture reveals itself in her love of plastered shelves, beautiful serving plates on open shelving and copper saucepans, and she believes the wood you choose for your kitchen cupboards should be one you genuinely love the look of. “My mom always says, ‘Once you paint wood, you have to keep repainting it,’ so you need to be really happy with the look and shade of the finish.
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The mother of three has, over the years, cooked in more kitchens than most of us have had hot dinners. From professional restaurant kitchens and country house hotel kitchens to international catering set-ups, television studio kitchens and the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School, Allen has spent a career quietly cataloguing what works in a kitchen and what doesn’t.
For the 54-year-old, a great kitchen is largely a matter of having the right kit, in the right place. “The kitchens in the Cookery School are really great; properly user-friendly,” she says. “It sounds ridiculous, but having a jar or pot in front of you with whisks, spatulas and wooden spoons – rather than having to rifle through a drawer – makes things so much easier. Having knives in a rack that’s within easy reach so you barely have to think just makes everything simpler,” she says.
Allen’s favourite kitchen appliance is her Miele oven. “It sounds like the most obvious thing, but an oven that actually cooks at the temperature it says it’s cooking at is the most important thing. So many people blame themselves for their cooking and say, ‘Oh, I can’t bake’ or ‘I always burn everything’, but quite often food is being cooked at the wrong temperature.” Allen has been using Miele ovens for years and trusts them. For anyone whose oven doesn’t run true to its dial, she suggests getting an oven thermometer. “If you have an oven that’s a bit older, get an oven thermometer; they cost just a few quid.”
Allen cooks on an induction hob during her Miele cookery demonstrations. “I find them really good; induction is just cleaner,” she explains.
One of Allen’s favourite new pieces of kitchen kit is Miele’s downdraft hob. By removing the need for an overhead extractor fan, it immediately opens up new design possibilities for a kitchen. “They’re really great because you don’t have to think about having a hood or extractor fan overhead, you can just position the downdraft hob on an island in the centre of your kitchen.”
Another favourite is a Gourmet drawer, an appliance designed to hold cooked food at a steady serving temperature without drying it out or overcooking it. “I think it’s a lovely thing,” says Allen. “The drawer is about 60cm x 30cm and it can be set to a variety of temperatures. It’s great for warming food, but also for warming crockery – I’m a big, big fan of warm plates. One drawer can hold about ten main-course plates and possibly ten side plates or bowls at the same time,” she explains. “And you can slow cook in it too.”
Her love of slow, low-effort cooking extends to dedicated countertop slow cookers too. “I love how so many people are slow cooking now, putting the ingredients on, then going to work and coming home to a delicious casserole.” Clutter creeps on to kitchen counters easily, however, so she advises thinking hard about which appliances actually earn their place. “You also don’t want to have too many kitchen appliances in cupboards because they just won’t come out – out of sight can be out of mind.”
Currently on her wishlist is a Miele gourmet griddle plate. “It’s a brilliant length – it spans the width of two hob cooking zones – and it has lovely ridges on it. You can cook six or eight steaks on it or lots and lots of slices of vegetables like aubergines and courgettes.” For someone who admits: “I don’t buy kitchen gadgets unless I know they’ll deliver”, this is high praise.
For all her enthusiasm about equipment, Allen circles back to the same principle – a great kitchen might not look the most impressive, but it will make preparation and cooking stress-free. The details she values emphasise functionality over flamboyance – from an oven you can trust to a Gourmet drawer that holds ten plates at once. It’s this practical approach to a kitchen, honed over decades of professional cooking, that she’ll be bringing to her next family kitchen.
Rachel Allen’s focus on functionality over flamboyance reflects the philosophy behind many of Miele’s most popular appliances. Consumers looking to upgrade their kitchen can currently benefit from up to €1,200 cashback on selected Miele appliances for a limited time.
Further information is available at miele.ie
