Question
I enjoy cooking but have a seriously small kitchen. There is only about 3 ft of work surface and that has kettle and toaster on it. I have a fair amount of shelf space but still need to larder goods and plates in another room.
I find it almost impossible to keep the kitchen clean and tidy while cooking. With more complex dishes becoming almost impossible.
Are there any good techniques for cooking in a small space?
Answer
Do what professional chefs do: clean constantly.
Put all of your ingredients out in an organized place. Use them. Put them away. Clean the station.
If you can, prepare. Put stuff that is prepped back in the fridge until you need it.
Try to use the same few tools for the whole meal--cutlery, mixing bowls, cutting board. Quickly rinse and re-use rather than multiplying utensils.
Aim for dishes that can be cooked in stages in the same pot rather than needing multiple pots or saucepans.
Try out dishes with fewer ingredients. Great chefs can do wonders with 3, 4, or 5. Maybe you don't need more complicated?
Put non-essentials away. Move the kettle and toaster to a shelf until you're done. Use the sink as a repository for anything you're not using but might still need.
Use another room, too. A nearby table could become your staging area, a place to put ingredients that are prepped, finished, or waiting to be used (so your work area isn't cluttered with them).
Just some ideas.
Check more discussion of this question.
