Never look at your kitchen the same way again

Why it’s irresistible to work, live, and eat in a space that straddles the sacred and the utilitarian

The kitchen is likely to be the most popular space in your home. The place where you, your family, and guests are content to remain. Eating food and the upstream act of making it are essential for life. It’s a requirement every living creature shares. Because of this you have the opportunity to experiment every day.

Your kitchen becomes the playing field for repetitive yet highly creative acts. Sometimes you follow a recipe, other times you develop your own. It’s not rocket science, or perhaps it is. It may be ceremonial or all business. It’s all of it and….more. 

I find that the kitchen, a domain of transformation, straddles the sacred and utilitarian – a loving and sensory, imaginative and pragmatic space. 

I’ve been in some diverse kitchens and can say from experience that the quality, the love and skill put into the craft, and the tastes of the food prepared has nothing to do with status, style, or means. From simple mud floored, open fire ranges, and stacks of plastic bowls in the countryside of Guatemala and India to kitchens with the finest center island in the South of France, good food is good when the cook knows their ingredients and craft. One of the best meals of my life was eaten on a stone floor and slow cooked over coals in rural Rajasthan.  

One commonality was that they were all working kitchens, productive, generous and very much loved and respected. They were always clutter free, well maintained, and ready for the next meal. 

I can always tell whether a kitchen is clean because it sits dormant and untouched versus one which is decluttered and primed for entry. In the latter there’s a palpable feeling of warmth and a sense of aliveness – what I call, sacred utilitarianism. 

My kitchen, aside from my bedroom, is the most inhabited space in my home. It works the hardest and holds a hell of a lot of energy and purpose. It’s here where I light a candle in the predawn hours and prepare my coffee or stir soup and make tea in the evening. 

The counter is often a workbench for rolling dough, kneading pasta, cutting flowers, chopping vegetables, and playing cards. It’s the space where I most often gather with friends and family for talking story or entertaining. It’s not because it’s the kitchen. It’s because the space is so charged with magnetic, creative, and transformative energy. It’s sacred to me, this home, and our family. 

For those artists whose medium is ultimately turning food into something for the senses, soul, or stomach, the kitchen is a sacred place. It gives as often as it receives. Its very presence hints that a state of satiation can be reached. Therefore a natural extension is to care for the area with certain practices. In doing so you’re recognizing its value as a conduit for sensual expression. 

I recommend keeping your kitchen clean and decluttered. This supports flow. Too much stuff, visually and physically, has a way of causing undesirable mental static, resistance, and undue stress. Consider ways in which you can reduce the noise to promote a sense of spaciousness.

Much akin to the ‘make your bed each morning before you start your day’ theory, I believe the same is true for cleaning the kitchen at the end of the day so that it’s ready and welcoming. It’s these practices which assist in amplifying the how – how you participate, engage, and take care to feel light and free. The hum or frequency this generates ripples outward, supporting positive vibes in the mind and body. 

I’ll leave you with this. It’s a quote from Maya Tiwari, one of my first teachers of Ayurveda and plant memory. Layered and dynamic, her teachings may seem complex yet they’re all for the sake of ease, connection, and elevated awareness. 

Think of yourself as a multidimensional artist. Your kitchen is your dimensionless field of infinite play – the room to which you retreat to revel in color, sound, texture, and movement. The myriad aromas, sounds, tastes, and textures of nature’s foods enliven every one of our cells and memories. The nose becomes a direct means to consciousness; the eyes become the gateway to divine light; the ears the pathway to inner harmony. The tongue absorbs the kaleidoscope of flavors; the sense of touch allows us to experience the temperature and textures of the universe. All of these experiences have the power to bring our inner rhythms into harmony, making us more aware of the essences of life.*

 *Maya Tiwari, The Path of Practice A Women’s Book of Ayurvedic Healing (New York: Ballantine Publishing Group, 2000) 291