The benefits of time spent enjoying the outdoors is now well-established, and for those who prefer cooking to weeding or pruning, an outdoor kitchen is a no-brainer.
Being creatively occupied, preparing food for the grill or teppanyaki of a summer’s evening is the ideal way to unwind, with dinner to follow on the terrace, the perfect evening.
Keeping the chef stress free is the key, as any restaurateur will tell you, so having herbs growing nearby and the fridge (and the bin!) close to hand keeps the culinary wheels turning smoothly, and everyone happy. A cold beer ready and chilled in that same fridge gives just the right creative boost for some, while I personally would opt for a glass of the Chablis from the wine fridge, just to double check it will be lovely with dinner....
Choosing to install an outdoor kitchen is not just about well-being or Chablis, important though they are, of course, but a good quality outdoor kitchen, like a beautiful garden, will add value to your property. Indeed, a luxury property with a poorly equipped terrace or simply ordinary garden will probably not reach its full valuation potential.
When choosing what to buy, especially for premium property, the same mantra for interior and exterior applies: ‘buy once, buy well’.
Gaze Burvill’s ‘A la Carte’ outdoor kitchens are established as the highest quality standard, with over a hundred installed since the company started making them over a decade ago. The fully lined cabinets are beautifully finished with quarter sawn, prime grade oak and are guaranteed not to suffer from the ‘warping door’ syndrome of lesser outdoor kitchens. Making cabinetry for long life outdoors is best assigned to specialists, who will take the trouble with correct wood selection, grain orientation and rain run-off to make an outdoor kitchen that will be enjoyed for years and years. While there are standard modular elements to choose from, every kitchen will be in some way bespoke, according to the space on the terrace, and the entertaining lifestyle desired. Is it all about the cooking? Or perhaps a generous breakfast bar with bar stools for the chef’s friends and helpers is the ticket.
For those who remember the cranky old BBQ’s of old, rest assured, there is an array of fabulous grill options, which are both fast and minutely controllable. Gaze Burvill oak cabinetry will accommodate a wide choice of good appliances, with the professional standard from Wolf being the most frequently preferred. Of course a premium outdoor kitchen often features more than one cooking appliance, so, with the grill might come the ceramic oven, most often one of the excellent ‘Big Green Eggs’, any of which can be seamlessly incorporated into a Gaze Burvill outdoor kitchen.
And what about the cabinetry? Gaze Burvill selects its oak from sustainable and certified sources, and uses specific cuts of the wood, not only to ensure its stability over the years, but what is not often known is that this particular cut of the wood is what reveals the handsome grain patterns, unique to oak, and, as the oak seasons and silvers over time, these patterns will catch the light and delight the eye. And for maintenance? Like for any kitchen, good cleaning is recommended, with the oak cabinetry requiring a really good wash with a natural bristle brush after every winter, especially the first winter, and an oil can be applied every couple of years from about year three. There is no need for oiling before this - oak is naturally durable and impermeable (i.e. waterproof), and full of natural tannins, which keep bugs and bacteria at bay.
Warm days are around the corner, so get your terrace al fresco-ready, to cook up some summer fun.
by Caroline Burvill
