Mark Bittman braising turkey breasts in his kitchen. (Kelly Doe/The New York Times)Recently over at the Bitten blog, Mark Bittman shared some shocking pictures of himself at home cooking turkey breasts. Sure, the turkey looked great, but that kitchen? What was Mark Bittman doing in such a small kitchen?
“It appears that Mark has a kitchen just as small as most others in New York,” wrote reader Mark.
“Truly, it’s not the size of the kitchen that counts, but how you use it,” wrote another reader, Guy B. Jones.
Considering I have long used my lousy kitchen as an excuse not to cook, I decided to talk to Mark about the pleasures and frustrations of cooking in a less-than-perfect kitchen.
Okay Mark. What’s a popular food writer like you doing in a kitchen like that?
I got a bunch of e-mails that say, “Can you believe all this stuff about your crummy kitchen?” But the whole idea is that you don’t need a fancy kitchen. You don’t need fancy equipment, and you don’t need fancy recipes. When I show people my kitchen, they believe it. But I hate my kitchen also. I bump my shins on the dishwasher. There is not enough room to put stuff. It’s a terrible stove. It’s a terrible dishwasher. I don’t have room for the pots I’d like to have. I’ve cooked in much worse, though. I’m used to it. Someday I’ll grow up and get a real kitchen.
So why do so many people think a nice kitchen will solve their cooking woes?
Maybe it’s like what you said. You use your crummy kitchen as an excuse not to cook. Maybe it’s like saying, “I can’t exercise in the winter because I don’t have an elliptical trainer.” I once cooked for six months in what amounted to a basement with a hot plate, microwave and a refrigerator and sink. Not only did I cook for six months, but I wrote the column for six months. It was funny. People like to cook when they’re camping and in other places where the situation is less than adequate. For some reason they think they have to have a great kitchen to cook at home, but it’s not true.
So what are your must-haves in a kitchen, and what can you live without?
One of the things I hate about my stove is you can’t put four pots on it at the same time, so you cook with two pots and use the oven more. A functioning oven, the best possible stove… I think a big refrigerator is not that helpful. Stuff that’s in the refrigerator shouldn’t be in there all that long anyway. You need a couple of sauce pans, a couple saute pans, you need some knives, and then you need to pick up what you need on an as-needed basis. If you’re going to roast a turkey you need something big to put it in. When you need it you’ll know you’ll need it. Some things you’re going to find yourselves repeatedly wishing you had. Those are the things you need.
Do you think people buy too much cooking equipment, or too many gadgets?
I think buying pots and pans in sets is prevalent. I do think people overbuy. They become enchanted with gadgets that aren’t that essential. Bread machines were around for a while. That was quite hilarious. I don’t have a toaster because I don’t have room for it. If I want toasted bread, I toast it in the broiler. It’s not horrible, and it’s the way millions did it before the electric toaster was invented. It’s a trade-off between counter and cabinet space, money and need. In Manhattan I don’t have a food processor. I’d love to have one, but I don’t have room for it. Once a week, I think, “Damn, I wish I had a food processor.” I’m not going to find the space for it. I’ve chucked all my cookbooks because there isn’t room for them.
So do you find a bad kitchen as frustrating as the rest of us do?
I think part of me likes the inadequacy of it. There’s some pride involved. But people come in and can’t talk to you when you’re in the kitchen. There’s no room for two people to cook. It’s not really a galley kitchen. It’s about 7 feet wide and 8 feet long. It has that beautiful window in it, which makes things much nicer. The sad thing is the lack of storage and lack of counter space. I could live with everything else, but that stuff is what drives me bats. It’s definitely not ideal, but great things can be done.
To hear more great advice from Mark, be sure and check out the revised 10th anniversary edition of his best-selling cookbook, “How to Cook Everything: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food.” And go to the Bitten blog for that great braised turkey breast recipe, as well as other recent posts on sweet potato pancakes and the future of fish.
Healthy living doesn't happen at the doctor's office. The road to better health is paved with the small decisions we make every day. It's about the choices we make when we buy groceries, drive our cars and hang out with our kids. Join columnist Tara Parker-Pope as she sifts through medical research and expert opinions for practical advice to help readers take control of their health and live well every day. You can reach Ms. Parker-Pope at 
The easiest and most pleasurable way to eat well is to cook. Recipes for Health offers recipes with an eye towards empowering you to cook healthy meals every day. 
From 1 to 25 of 270 Comments
What has been the norm for Bittman is soon to be the norm for the rest of the U.S.–living with less, and making do.
He’s pretty cool.
— liz wI have a friend who just refurbished his kitchen. The new kitchen includes a fireplace, an eating area, all kinds of doodads, and is over 600 square feet in area - or roughly three-quarters the size of my entire house.
He still eats takeout.
— CharleneSo why does he use such a nice kitchen to film The Minimalist? Why not just use a “regular” kitchen?
Whatever the case, I enjoy The Minimalist very much.
FROM TPP — For filming purposes, that takes place in a specially-designed studio. It does look nice though, doesn’t it?
— SusanI’ve got to write that making toast in the broiler isn’t really very energy-efficient.
— odysseusMr. Bittman is my hero. I love the way he cooks and have done it both ways. I had a little kitchen and then the huge gourmet one with all the fancy appliances.
The food came out the same delicious way whether it was prepared in a small or large kitchen. The best food I prepared was in the south of France where I could go to the market right down the hill and get fresh items everyday.
Prepared with love is the key. I just know that with more room in the kitchen I always had the counters filled with everything and made more of a mess than in the little one as I cleaned up after myself.
Great article and thanks for all those wonderful columns. Keep them coming. Anne
— anne“Come on in my kitchen, it’s good ’cause it’s raining outdoors”– Robert Johnson, Bluesman
— Whoopsterso what or who’s kitchen do you use when you make the wonderful video’s for your cooking techniques?
— Sid SchwalbeI have had large kitchens and tiny kitchens, with and without windows, in the 7 apartments I have lived in during the past 34 years.
— anonymousThey have had average sinks, refrigerators and stoves/ovens. I do still love my toaster/oven and have even come to appreciate my microwave, which I resisted having for a long time.
I have been using the same pots, pans and utensils, with a few moderate priced, high quality replacements, for the same 34 years. I buy good, basic ingredients and am a pretty practical shopper.
I will never stop liking to cook — whether it is a simple one ingredient dish or something highly complicated — because I enjoy it.
I think Bittman’s kitchen is terrific — especially because it is small and best of all because it has a window — a rarity in an NYC apartment. Thanks to Bitty, Ina Garten, and a few other chefs & cooks on TV, my techniques have improved, my dishes taste better, and I have fun — which should also be part of cooking.
A toast, then, to my small but quite adequate kitchen, and to Mr. Bittman’s as well.
Mark’s approach to cooking is a bit like his approach to his kitchen - make do with what you have on hand. He’s a great cooking teacher.
— betsyMy son and daughter-in-law in Brooklyn have a similar sized and equipped kitchen. They make great meals for themselves and for company, including Thanksgiving for fifteen.
Maury
— Maury LandsmanI agree, a small kitchen discourages people from coming in and talking to you. For me, that’s good, because (to put it politely) I’m a force of nature when I’m cooking and *hate* having people underfoot, “helping.” Maybe if I had a big kitchen with an island and people could sit on the other side of the island, I’d be OK about it.
It also forces you to think about what you *really* need. I love my Kitchenaid mixer for kneading bread dough, but it lives on the table in the (also small) breakfast/dining area. No real estate for it in the kitchen.
Also agree with comment #1!
— Reine de SabaWhen my husband and I lived in Oaxaca, Mexico our house had a kitchen that was about the size of a closet. It had a tiny refrigerator, and miniscule cook top. But oh, what meals we made! Fresh tortillas, home-made cheese, a wee bit of carne asada. And of course salsa, verde, roja, and every color and flavor under the rainbow.
— GayleGreat cooking needs only a few simple ingredients, a little bit of soul, and sense of adventure. That’s why Mark Bittman’s writings about food continue to be an inspiration to this family.
Bittman rocks!
But with all his money, he ought to buy a second home (Ditmas Park?) and build his dream kitchen — then invite me for dinner!
— Richard PachterI have worked all my life as a professional chef. I have cooked everywhere. Tiny kitchens on a Greek island where the electricity would go out every 3 nights, a hotel in Tunis where water would run down the walls, a resort in Belize where I constantly had to sweep cockroaches off the work table. Right now I run a cooking school in an open loft where I have induction burners, a heat circulating lab bath for sous vide and a host of gadgets and culinary geegaws. But before this, for 4 years I worked at home with a 2 burner coil electric cooktop and a microwave. An affluent acquaintance commented that she just couldn’t cook on electric. My reply was “i guess you are telling me that you just really can’t cook” It isn’t what youv’e got but how you use it. Why does Mark B. shoot his videos in a swell studio kitchen? Because he can! I would too.
— Markon gadgets - one I love, even after moving to the suburbs, if my Multi-Mix. Made by Braun and havent seen it much.
It’s a hand held mixer plus
immersion mixer plus
small processing bowl/chopper.
Me, I love my pressure cooker (also doubles as regular pan (have 2qt and 6 qt with ability to use as steamer for dim sum), cast iron skillet as well as nonstick saute pan
That and my few good quality knives and sharpener.
— susanI live in NYC as well and my kitchen space is pretty much as limited as Mark’s. After living in SF until recently, I was accustomed to having all my kitchen gadgets (food processor, toasters, pasta rollers, etc) all splayed out on my countertop. But now, you make do with what you’ve got - not that much space. The key is to adapt and still make tasty food!
— Adrianha! I don’t feel so alone now :) When you have the desire and drive to cook things, you make it happen. You improvise. I’ve been known to use sauce pans for sauteeing. I’ve mashed potatoes with a fork and a table spoon. Burned myself trying to drain pasta without a colander (but it was a small price to pay for a delicious tarragon cream sauce I made to go with it…in that same sauce pan). I dream of a having a big gorgeous kitchen one day with all the ammenities. But I gotta pay off my student loans first.
— AndreaI used to have a friend whose kitchen was featured in Architectural Digest. Her daily fare was making reservations, and her holiday MO, (including for her traditional family Thanksgiving), was placing orders. Frankly, there should be a law ….
— AWBarstools (the kind you’d put at a breakfast bar) make for great mobile counter tops. With a total of 1 square foot of counter space, these have become essential in the enjoyment of our inadequate kitchen.
— MattMark, the thing I hate most about my kitchen is that I don’t have any kind of ventilation hood. If I make fish, my entire apartment smells like fish for 2 days. I wake up in the morning and smell fish. So I don’t cook fish any more. Any advice?
— LukeVirgil Thomson was famous for cooking elaborate meals on hotplate in a closet in his room at the Chelsea Hotel.
— David A. GoldfarbI’ll take a well-equipped Galley Kitchen over a pretentious 12-paces-from-the-stove-to-the-fridge showplace kitchen every time . Easier to cook, easier to clean, more efficient.
— PeterI’m sure someone said it before her, but my Mom sometimes said, “It’s a poor cook who blames her equipment…” I know, sentence fragment and all, but I think the end of the phrase is understood to be something like “…for a poor outcome/result.”
— seanI make about 2 dozen different kinds of holiday baked treats for 75 people for an annual cookie party and did it for 10 years in a kitchen smaller than Bittmans, with an oven that could only hold 1 sheet pan at a time…
We just installed in a 9 x 12 space, a new kitchen, Wolf dual range, GE dishwasher, jenn-Air glass front fridge, new floor, lights, oak cabinets, garden window, salmon walls, with a black ceiling. Also, a place for Mark’s books.
Better than driving a new BMW 6 around the block.
— joeybabythe take out counter at Whole Foods in Madison, NJ is still packed with “stay at home” moms who have more than enough time to cook “at home”, but never learned to turn on the knob on their Viking Stoves.
— wb