An increasingly popular trend among wealthy and successful individuals is to have two kitchens in their homes: one for personal use and another for catering purposes.
This is especially common in larger properties where the owners frequently host large gatherings such as dinner parties or garden parties. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Gordon Ramsay, David Cameron, and Tinie Tempah are all examples of individuals who have chosen to have a second kitchen installation in their homes. In the past, owning two cars or taking two holidays per year was a sign of wealth and success. Now, it seems that having two kitchens has become the new benchmark.
A popular trend among wealthy individuals
According to experts, having two kitchens in a home has become a popular trend among wealthy individuals who want to impress their guests with homemade-seeming meals. One kitchen is typically a modern, personal space for the family to use, while the other is a more functional, commercial-style kitchen where a professional chef can prepare the food. The finished dishes can then be sent to the personal kitchen via a dumb waiter, allowing the host to add a few finishing touches before presenting it as their own cooking. Noel De Keyzer, head of house sales at Savills estate agents in Sloane Street, noted that this trend of having two kitchens is increasingly common among families who want to host large dinners or parties.
“A lot of the larger houses we are seeing refurbished have a caterers’ kitchen on the lower ground floor and a family kitchen on a day-to-day basis on the ground floor. Such is the increase in affluence in central London that people can now afford two kitchens.”
In one property on the market, the professional-standard kitchen is on the lower ground floor and there is a “mini servery” just behind the dining room. Mr De Keyzer said: “The food seems to come out magically. People can bring it out to their guests without them knowing it was prepared downstairs. They can say, ‘I’ve been working very hard back there’.”
He added: “With William and Kate, it is a very large apartment and they will do a lot of entertaining, but they are also modern people and will want a family kitchen to have breakfast in.” One 12-bedroom house in South Kensington, on the market in 2011 for £27.5 million, came with four kitchens: a personal one for the owner, one where the nanny cooked for the children, one for professional caterers and another next to the dining room. Many Victorian townhouses were built with staff kitchens in the basement and are now being refurbished to include private personal kitchens in the main house. Rupert Sweeting, head of the country house department at the property company Knight Frank, said that it was a similar story in rural settings.
“People like the caterers to be able to come in on a Friday or Saturday night and cook without making a smell or a noise. But in the last five years, people increasingly like also to have a kitchen or breakfast room where they can all sit around, typically with an Aga,” he said.
Items you must have in your upmarket personal kitchen:
Quooker boiling water tap from £635
Aga Masterchef cooker from £2,500
Jura Impressa coffee machine from £1,100
John Lewis triple fridge-freezer with wine cooler from £3,999
Set of eight Ruffioni Italian copper pans from £900
In your professional-standard kitchen:
Lincat Opus six-plate electric oven range from £3,100
Parry stainless steel electric hot cupboard from £935
Polar 92-bottle temperature-controlled wine chiller from £700
Foster Gastronorm meat refrigerator from £3,000
Stannah Microlift 50B dumb waiter from £6,000 with installation
Working with our sister company Dependon Group in Basingstoke and Ascot we install these Kitchen accessories within their beautiful Kitchen designs accross Hampshire, Surry and Berkshire.
