Professional Chef Shares Tips to Achieve an Organized Kitchen and Pantry

Have you ever been curious how a Chef organizes their kitchen?  I often wonder how a professional chef manages inventory and stores ingredients while staying stylish and functional.  To learn I turned to my friend, Chef Maggie.  This professional chef shares tips to achieve an organized kitchen and pantry.

Chef Maggie owns the cooking school, Whisked Away, located in the heart of Arcadia.  She recently renovated her kitchen to create a space that is chic, welcoming, and functional.  She gave me a tour and taught me tips to achieve an organized kitchen.

Pantry 

Chef Maggie selected open shelving in her pantry, which is stylish and functional.  The open shelving is an efficient solution to manage inventory.  Chef Maggie explained that this offered a simple way to manage food cost.

Dry goods and ingredients are stored in clear containers and then labeled.  When necessary, a label includes the ratio details.  

I love the extra care taken by Chef Maggie to include ingredients and expiration dates.  Scoopers are included in containers to ensure correct measurements.

Chef Maggie’s pantry is well appointed and organized.  When she asked me if I had any recommendations, I only had one: assign zones by category for example group grains, while assigning an area for pastas. 

Kitchen

The magnificent backsplash and countertops set the stage each night for the students  to prepare the dishes taught by Chef Maggie.

Chef Maggie and I subscribe to the same theory: less is more on a countertop.  Creating a clutter free kitchen will enhance your cooking creativity.

Cooking Tips

I asked Chef Maggie how she approaches a recipe that requires a special ingredient while avoiding kitchen clutter.  Her solution, look for other recipes that use that ingredient and add to your weekly menu.  This tip will help you avoid refrigerator clutter.   I know I suffer from anxiety that the partially used jar of specialty sauce will remain in my refrigerator.

How do you prevent dishes and ingredients from going to waste when preparing in bulk?  The answer is freeze items.  I learned from Chef Maggie that cheese and homage hummus can be frozen.

Have you ever prepared a fabulous dessert that required fresh lemon zest and now you have a half dozen naked lemons?  Here is a trick from Chef Maggie, juice the lemons for future use.  She stores lemon juice in a container stored in the refrigerator allowing her to use the lemons.

Questions

1.  Chef Maggie what is your go to storage container?  I have two 1.  OXO Pop Top, white tops with clear container.  2.  Better Homes & Gardens Flip Tite Food Storage white tops with clear container.
2. What is your favorite ingredient?  Chocolate and kosher salt
3.   What is your favorite label maker? Brother P – Touch
4.   How do you store knives? To store knives I use a wooden block located on my counter and a cork in drawer knife block holder.
5.   I often get asked this question, how do you store bananas? I store my bananas in a fruit bowl or a basket in the pantry. Once cut bananas should be stored in the refrigerator.

To conclude my tour, I was treated to a private class taught by Chef Maggie.  I learned how to create a fabulous cheese board with pantry and kitchen samples from Trader Joe’s.

Chef Maggie’s home is the perfect location for her cooking school, it is welcoming and stylish.  Students enjoy the dishes that they prepared in her living room and dining room.  Cheers!

Thank you Chef Maggie for sharing how a professional chef achieves an organized kitchen and pantry.  I loved seeing that her passion for details and cooking were key to creating an organized and functional kitchen..