Serious Eats New York - newyork.seriouseats.com

I have cooked in all sizes of kitchens. Funny my first apartment had a huge kitchen and a tiny bathroom. Maybe thats why I picked it.
I have also cooked on 4 electric burners in an (eesh) electric oven.
I made great food everywhere because it is about the ingredients.
The best times were trying to figure out how to get everything done in the tiny kitchen. Those are fond memories. all those small kitchens prepare you for when you plan your big kitchen. When I planned this kitchen my mind was full of what I needed, wanted and could not live without.
The number one thing you really want is workspace. Fortune magazine said last year of kitchen remodels; that the best kitchen is one where you are always 18 inches from a work surface. I ran and got a tape measure. In my kitchen you are never more than 18 inches from a work surface, I think I did a good job.
Does my food taste better from the Wolf range then it did from the Kenmore 4 burner, probably not. It is far easier to cook on good equipment and all the bells and whistles never hurt.
What inspires you to cook is the thing. Not the equipment but the ingredients and your motivations. Resourcefulness and ability are always real winners in the kitchen.
If you have a passion to cook and bake you will have that passion regardless of what kind of equipment you have, I know I did.

I think cooking in a better kitchen is certainly can be more pleasurable (especially when there is more than one person). However, as Tomato mentioned, a person doesn't truly love cooking if that is an excuse. It can also be triumphant to produce high quality meals from a campstove or some other sub-par arrangement.

My parents owned a restaurant and for them cooking at home was really important. Most cooks would die for the kitchen I grew up in both for space and amenities. I didn't understand it then, but I sure do now. When they sold the house, one person claimed that she loved to cook, but the kitchen was just too large, she didn't like the fact that the commercial range was gas, and the final offense? -- the feng shui was left handed.

I had a horrible narrow galley kitchen in my first apartment and made umpteen cakes and pies and stews and suchlike in that tiny area, but what I really missed was the counter space to cool more than one sheet of cookies at a time...I make far more cookies in my current kitchen than I did in the old one.

So yeah, you *can* cook in a small kitchen, but methinks you'll probably tailor your cooking to the space somewhat. Far less likely to work with table-size strudel dough in a studio apartment...

I should add that even though I have the worst kitchen in the world, I still end up cooking in it....but I want to kill myself while doing it. Also, on top of my fridge is probably my favorite work space...after I move my microwave to the floor. I have to agree, it is truly annoying to see people with top of the line kitchens that never use them...meanwhile, I have to pull my toaster out of the closet to use it, because my counter isn't big enough to hold it and the paper towel dispenser at the same time.

My kitchen in my studio flat is woefully small, but I manage somehow. If you love to cook, then you will learn to adjust.

You do manage. It's about being resourceful. It can be helpful to be in a bigger kitchen, but I've gotten used to my small one. In fact, when I've been in rental houses at the beach, for example, despite there being more space to spread out, I find myself getting annoyed at the lousy, cheesy equipment. I want my 20-year-old Le Creuset, not some crappy stainless steel pan that burns a can of soup!

What pisses me off is people I know in the suburbs who have these kitchens about an acre in diameter on which they've dropped $25,000, and they *don't cook* in them!

Nope. Worked in big and small kitchens (and ones lacking some of Bittman's essentials) and have had no trouble. It's all about the cook and the inspiration rather than the kitchen.

It's just more comfortable cooking in a bigger kitchen. My kitchen is probably smaller than Bittman's and more out of date, yet I manage to cook. Of course when I use the oven, I have all my pots and pans on the floor around the living room. When I had my housewarming, the first guest was greeted to a large pile of pots, pans, and fruits and vegetable in the middle of the living room floor. Dinner was a success regardless.

Small kitchens just take planning. Bad appliances just need a little love and understanding:)

My grandfather used to say that those who want to do something, look for a way to do it, and those who are reluctant to do something, just look for an excuse not to do it.

I believe that the kitchen I have now in our house is the biggest kitchen I've ever had, and it's not gigantic, by any means, but still rather comfortable. The smallest was in my studio flat. It wasn't even a kitchen, really, just a small counter with a sink where I only had a toaster oven and a microwave (the latter lived on the fridge, of course, it wouldn't fit on the counter), and no burners or hotplate (my other two appliances consisted of an electric kettle and a blender). I still cooked and even had friends over for dinner every week. The bottom line is, if you want to cook, you'll find a way to cook even in the tiniest kitchen, but if you don't want to cook - you'll always find an excuse not to.

I lived for 3 years in a batchelor apartment with a 12 inch wide piece of countertop. That's it. I found a foldable card table in the garbage, washed it with bleach, and used it as extra surface. The problem was that when I unfurled it in by micro kitchen, I was blocked in! I had to remember to go pee before starting to cook...

When we first moved into our apartment, i said I hated the kitchen because it's so small. galley style, with standable space of about 2 ft by 5 ft.

six months later i was telling everyone how much i love the tiny galley kitchen because i can reach everything, no matter where i'm standing. stirring on the stove and reach into the fridge? no problem. rinsing something in the sink and stirring on the stove? piece of cake. we've been here for 4 years.

my parents have the biggest kitchen i've ever seen, and i don't like cooking there because everything is too far away from where i'm standing, and if you open the dishwasher, it blocks the path from the sink to the stove to the trash.

im lucky to have a full size oven (but with only one rack), and full size fridge. other than that, I have enough counter space for either my food processor or my cutting board.

i cooked this weekend for 12 people - frying potato latkes as guest came in, roast chicken, 3 veggie side dishes, a salad, baklava, and frying donuts right after dinner so that they were fresh. all with less than 18" of counter space.

the lack of space just forces me to plan ahead and clean up as i go.

my hero laurie colwin once said that in order to truly experience rapture, you have to have known its opposite. that's me in my current kitchen. it's not very big, but for new york, it's pretty darn spacious, has a wonderful refrigerator and a spacious oven, and there's actual counter room and real storage space. i can certainly cook just as well in less accomodating quarters, and heaven knows i have, but to have such a nice kitchen now after having cooked in a series of horribly cramped, mouse and roach infested new york kitchens for so many years is a constant source of happiness and pleasure. {and stream of baked goods.}

There certainly are times when a kitchen is truly too small for any appropriate cooking, but considering how bloggers like http://smittenkitchen.com/ are cooking and posting about their cooking adventures on a frequent basis with the premise of cooking in a small kitchen (80 square feet apparently), it can be done if you're resourceful and passionate about cooking.

We move around alot and I've had all kinds and sizes of kitchens. I had a kitchen that was designed by a caterer with a Viking range and 8 burners; THAT was fun. But the best dinner parties we had were in our loft in Dallas, back in the late 80's before anyone had lofts. It was an eensy kitchen with exposed brick walls that the wind blew through. you could stand in one place and touch the stove, refrigerator and sink all at the same time. 12 square inches of counter space. One small space between the refrigerator and the counter was where we put the rolling metro shelving with the butcher block top (that was also my pantry). Everybody felt sorry for me and my tiny kitchen; until they ate. I still have very fond memories of that kitchen and those inspired dinners. Whenever I'm frustrated or complaining, like right now that the stove is out going on day 9, I remember that and it brings a smile to my face and I adjust my attitude.

My current kitchen is a tiny galley kitchen where you can't open the dishwasher and the fridge at the same time. It's so small that we have to store the dishes in the dining room and the microwave on top of the washer! Hasn't stopped me one bit. Doesn't mean I don't dream about a kitchen the size of a small European country, though. If I had my way, my dream house would be a kitchen with an attached bedroom or two.

The size of the kitchen should have a minimal impact on the amount of cooking one does. If someone is a cook, he/she will do whatever is necessary to create great food... because it is always worth it.
Passion for cooking is something that cannot be tamped down.
As the saying goes, " A poor craftsman blames his tools."

Anybody ever camp with a metal grate over a fire and a dutch oven? Yeah, some honestly good stuff comes out of it but only if the cook really cares.

@downhillguru, well said!

I don't use my small kitchen as an excuse. My husband and I cook like crazy, even though our free counter space is miniscule. It makes prepping any meal a little tricky. But, we did an entire Thanksgiving dinner in it. We just had to put the turkey on top of the fridge while it rested :)

A small kitchen is not an excuse. As mentioned by some of the above comments, some of the best meals I have had were made outdoors over a fire, no fridge, no running water etc. Sure it's more time consuming, but in the end if the results are good, there's just something about a job (meal) well done in less than ideal circumstances that really makes me proud.

My kitchen is tiny and I have no counter space. I find myself crouching on the floor because my floor has to double as a counter. My friend who doesn't cook AT ALL has the hugest kitchen with like...endless amounts of counter space. I almost cry of jealousy. But I still cook regardless. And dream of one day having a bigger kitchen.

Cooking and baking is about passion. The size, length and width of your kitchen doesn't matter. It's what you do with it.....that matters.

I had a GF who turned out fantastic and elaborate meals form a really tiny kitchen. It was a bit of a hassle relative to the ease one enjoys in preparing and staging ingredients, cleaning up etc. in a larger kitchen but it can be done in a small space. I now have the largest and best equipped kitchen I've ever had but cook less than I used to simply because I have less free time and usually no one but myself to cook for.

There is a cookbook on the subject "Good Food From A Small Kitchen" by Moria Hodgson. When I am feeling blue about my tiny kitchen I turn to it for inspiration. I read about her small NYC kitchen and my 11 x 5.5 galley seems magnificent.

I spent Thanksgiving week in a cousin's McMansion with a super-sized kitchen. Cooking was an aerobic workout -- constant walking between stove, sink, and fridge. Now I appreciate my tiny, but efficient, kitchen... although I'd kill for one of those double-size fridge/freezers.

No, No, and No Again

My husband and I rent an extremely tiny, oppressively overpriced apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side, and of course, our kitchen-living room-dining room-multipurpose room follows size-appropriate- suit. Our small kitchen "wall' is compact; perhaps what brokers and bachelors might call "charming" and what tinkering chefs or chefs-to-be would deem "impossible". Our committment to keep the Jewish laws of Kosher necessitates that we keep two sets of pots, pans, dishes and utensils packed within our seemingly nonexistent storage space in the kitchen area. It's almost as if our miniscule kitchen is two baby kitchens in one....

Despite this, we have grown quite fond of our oven, which almost bursts when filled with two 9x13 pans, and our pre-school sized fridge (which doesnt allow room for leftovers of any significant proportion). We entertain at minimum on a weekly basis. Though preparing a multi-course meal requires careful planning and strategizing around insignificant prep and cooking space, we are learning to enjoy the challenge of forethought and the creativity these limitations demand of us. Of course, if given the opportunity, we would gladly trade in our cozy stovetop for a generous Viking range, but working around this space is a only small sacrifice to make for the opportunity to live in NYC.

I as well have noticed that everyone I know with a huge kitchen never uses the thing. Just once I'd dare them to fill up their entire kitchen island (the one that's bigger than my master bathroom) with something, anything...mass-produce wontons, cookies, SOMETHING.

No excuse at ALL. I prepared a dissertation defense party for my roommate, for 40+ guests, when we shared grad student housing that included a minuscule kitchen, with one of those ridiculous stoves that won't even fit a roaster pan in the oven, and that had exactly 10 inches of counter space. I cooked for a week and did some serious planning ahead to maximize space, but it was epic. EPIC.

If you want to cook, you'll be able to cook. I confess to feeling somewhat defeated by electric burners, but not counted out!

I learned to cook in a 1970 Silver Streak trailer that was 8' wide and had two propane burners. No, a kitchen is not an excuse.

I rarely cooked when I lived in a studio apartment with a small kitchen where there was no counter. The fridge, stove, and sink took up all the space. Okay, maybe there was a 1/4" of counter space between the stove and the sink. It wasn't the cooking itself that are a nuisance, it was the prep work and cleanup.

In my new apartment, where I have an actual counter, I cook all the time.