kitchen Archives

Most people love spending quality time on their patios. A gorgeous evening spent on a well-designed patio with family and friends is all that you need in life.

For foodies like me though, a simple patio is just not enough. I am a patio kitchen type of person. I need my patio to fulfil my gastronomic needs.

I feel you do not need a comprehensive kitchen in your patio to cater to your culinary desires. Just a few items are enough to turn your patio into a foodie’s delight.

So for all kindred spirits out there, here is my list of five absolute must haves for your patio.

1) Woodfire Ovens, Conventional Ovens or Barbecue Grills

Let’s start with the absolute must have. Every patio should have an oven or a barbecue grill.

Some homeowners even prefer to have a woodfire oven in their patio kitchen. Woodfire ovens are obviously amazing to make pizza with the family. Also they lend an artistic value to your patio décor.

However, the number of items you can cook in a woodfire oven is quite limited. In that case, you can simply opt for the regular ovens that you would have in a normal kitchen inside the house.

Regardless of your cooking skills, ovens can help make a whole range of delicacies for the entire family.

Then of course is the ever amazing barbecue grill. Grilling any kind of meat or veggies in your patio garden is a must-do activity for the family.

Between grills and ovens, you can cook a whole plethora of dishes. Budget and space permitting, ideally you should have all three in your patio kitchen. If it is not possible, at least having one between a woodfire oven, conventional oven or a barbecue grill is an absolute must.

2) Air Fryer

An air fryer might sound unusual to some for a patio kitchen. However, air fryers with their versatility, ease of use and health benefits have become a must for any household.

Air fryers are easy to operate. They can be easily stored inside cabinets when not in use and you can then have the option of fried food in your patio without the hassles of handling oil or gas.

The health benefits of air fryers are what made this incredible gadget so popular and now they make the perfect addition to your patio.

The only thing better than enjoying a beautiful evening with delicious food in your patio is enjoying the evening with delicious and healthy food. Air fryers allow that and have a quick cooking time as well.

3) Cooking Table with Storage

As I had mentioned above in the introduction, you do not need a comprehensive kitchen to enjoy cooking in your patio.

However, you do at least need a good cooking table with smart storage options.

Cooking table is necessary for cutting and chopping veggies, meats, fruits etc. You can also store kitchen essentials as that will save you from running inside your house kitchen every time you need something.

Patio furniture are nowadays incomplete without a good well-made cooking table. You absolutely must have one to truly enjoy cooking in your patio kitchen.

4) Patio Refrigerators

There are refrigerators that are made especially for outdoors like a patio.

Having the option to have cool drinks whenever you want in your patio is just awesome. You can also use a patio refrigerator for storing marinated meats.

These refrigerators can also be integrated with cooking tables or stored neatly inside cabinets.

Just make sure when purchasing a patio refrigerator that it is outdoor rated as standard refrigerators will not work regardless of their size.

5) Herb Garden

Finally I believe all patio kitchens must come with their own herb garden.

Growing herbs is actually quite simple and do not take much care. You can easily grow basil, rosemary, thyme etc.

Can you imagine cooking outdoors in your beautiful patio and using fresh herbs from your own garden.

I just can’t think of anything better. Even if you do not want to grow herbs from scratch, just buy potted herbs and take care of them. They will give you an endless supply and not to mention, the aroma in your patio will be simply divine.

Final thoughts

These were my must-haves for a patio kitchen. Do share anything you feel is an essential for you. I’d love to know what fellow foodies are doing with their patios.

Happy cooking!

I think most of us have a number of appliances operating in the kitchen on a regular basis. The most common ones are of course the refrigerator, oven, your gas hob, electric chimney, air fryer etc.

We are so reliant on these appliances every day that just in case there is a malfunction on any of them, it can be quite a nightmare.

If there is a breakdown, usually it is not the appliance repair costs that bother us although it does affect monthly household budgets. It is the hold up and repair time that genuinely gets to us especially when it comes to important appliances like the refrigerator.

So to prevent any potential breaks, here are a few simple tips to maintain your kitchen appliances at their optimum levels.

1) Maintain a cleaning schedule

You do not need to clean daily or even weekly. Most appliances will work efficiently without needing a thorough clean up.

However, you do need to maintain at least a monthly cleaning schedule for all your kitchen appliances.

Most professional repair services will tell you accumulation of dirt, oil grease, food particles etc. affect appliance health over time. In fact, they can cause your appliances to stop functioning completely. In some appliances, small parts can stop functioning if there is too much build-up of foreign substances.

Hence it is advisable to maintain a cleaning schedule where you thoroughly clean your kitchen appliances. Also note it is important to clean both from the inside and the outside. Do not think it is only the insides that need cleaning.

Mind you some appliances may require cleaning more often than others. This includes ovens, air fryers and kitchen stoves. That is because they are being used regularly and are being exposed to high heat cooking more often than other appliances.

You can clean things like refrigerators may be once a month and things like ovens twice a month. It is up to you but do try to clean at least once a month for all appliances.

2) Provide ventilation

Appliances like ovens and refrigerators can get shoved inside specially made cabinets or get enclosed with walls on at least two sides of them.

If the back of the appliance is getting over heated, there are high chances of them breaking down in the near future.

It is important that you provide proper ventilation for your appliances. If you have open kitchens where ovens and refrigerators are not enclosed, then you are relatively safe.

However, if you have walls all over and there is no proper ventilation, do try to have a fan running or move them around once in a while. Make sure your appliances are unplugged when moving them.

3) Just use them

This seems like such a weird thing to say especially as a tip to maintain an appliance. However, many a times we may buy an appliance and not use them for long periods of time. This does result in small parts of the appliances slowly giving away and not working in their optimum condition.

Just try to use your appliances regularly or at least once in a while. Do not let them sit around idle doing nothing. So things like air fryers, ovens, may be even dishwashers should be used once in a while to ensure all their parts are working properly.

Sometimes, appliances just sitting there can also gather dust that affect their overall health.

Hence if you feel it has been a while since you used a particular appliance, try to use it and keep it in proper working condition.

Final thoughts

Appliances have a number of mechanical and electronic parts in them. As with any kind of machine, you cannot avoid some issues creeping up every now and then.

However, if you do manage to keep a proper cleaning schedule, use them regularly and provide proper ventilation, you can avoid snags and glitches increasing the life of your kitchen appliances.