In this wide ranging and at times playful BBC radio programme Ruby Tandoh and
Deborah Sugg Ryan take us on their quest to find the perfect kitchen. Easier said
than done, they found. While kitchens have come a very long way from their
primitive beginnings with soot, smoke and no running water, this growth in potential
leads to a plethora of questions and decisions for modern cooks. While covering the
evolution of the kitchen over time, I and team of interviewees take a particular look at
the success and the limitations of post-war fitted kitchens.
Tandoh explores how people felt the need to move past the ‘rational’ fitted kitchen of
the sixties to seek more of a sense of homeliness and comfort. She asks me to talk
about the obsession with hygiene in the commercial roll-out of fitted kitchens, picking
up on the significance of Formica. While practical, this material was overused in the
1960s, resulting in quite a lot of soulless white deserts although its possibilities of
colour and pattern were liberating as well.
The influence of Elizabeth David comes up and we hear two clips of her voice. She
sought simplicity along with order and cleanliness as well as a traditional ambience
centred on the table. Prue Leith talks about buying David’s very own table in the
auction that was held after her death. Jane Grigson is interviewed to explore the
relationship between breathing space in the kitchen and the ‘the poetry of everyday
life’.
I share a lot of interests with Deborah Sugg Ryan who is currently writing a book on
the twentieth century kitchen. Like me, she is fascinated with the history of the
kitchen. Making the programme involved choosing one of the kitchens I have
designed as the setting for the interview between myself and Ruby Tandoh. We went
to a lovely example in Hampstead that prompted some excellent questions, about
soft geometry among other important matters. Have a listen!
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