The Design Process for the Test Kitchen!
The Test Kitchen progress has been moving along a little more every week! I am so excited to give you a preview into some of the finishes and design elements going in. We have been working with Riggs Distributing for all of the first-class SubZero & Wolf appliances for this space to create a dream kitchen for cooking and sharing our favorite recipes with you!
We are also restoring the main part of the bunkhouse to keep it’s original quality and integrity. It has EIGHT bedrooms and no plumbing or heating on that side - but we are used to woodstove heat and built a “dorm style” bathroom in the new Test Kitchen addition so the house will be more usable for guests or for us to live in someday. I told the girls that this is mom’s space for work for now - and they get to continue to use our kitchen in the house we live in right next door. We will see how long that lasts!
The Kitchen
One of the first things we did when we started thinking about building the Test Kitchen was reach out to Riggs Distributing for top-of-the-line SubZero and Wolf appliances for the kitchen. I have known the Riggs family since childhood and they are a multi-generational company with a skilled design team for crafting the perfect cooking space. Riggs has been a fantastic partner of ours for many years so we knew wanted them to help us design our new kitchen. There are so many elements and appliances that we decided on from Sub Zero and Wolf, but just to preview a few I am SO excited to cook on:
60’ Gas Ranch - 6 Burners and Infrared Dual Griddle
This range will be perfect for every meal from basic dishes to full Thanksgiving spreads. It has the firepower and space to get the job done. The griddle will be great for Five Marys burgers!
30” Freezer Drawers
These will be great to have under our counters for easy access to all of our meats. They can be outfitted with custom paneling to match the rest of the kitchen cabinets and will blend right into our beautiful cabinetry.
15’ Transitional Grill Module
We have four of Wolf’s transitional elements installed in our center island and side cooking area. We hope to film our favorite and new recipes for you, so we wanted to have everything accessible in the island without having to turn our backs - this will also be handy for entertaining guests and cooking together while we talk over cocktails!
Riggs has done such a great job helping us to find the exact appliances that will fit each nook and cranny of the kitchen. We are looking forward to using each piece to create amazing recipes - and showing you what you can do with them - stay tuned for the next post with more details!
The counter tops are a honed granite - it has almost a matte finished that has been aged and sealed. The hardware is pewter which matches our beloved Arte Italica. And I am so excited about this tile from Clé which will have zero-lines to no grout!
The cabinets were custom made by a local cabinetry maker Scott River Cabinets. They did the perfect job outfitting the kitchen with exactly what we needed building each piece by hand to complete the space. They have an amazing black lacquer finish and with the pewter handles will be gorgeous against them. The girls, Brian and I are making the floating shelves to go on the wall. Brian welded the brackets and we screwed them into the studs before we drywalled. I am working on a burning technique for the wood and then they will fit right into the brackets to create an open shelving concept.
The farm house sink is from Vintage Tub they have been a favorite company of mine! Our sink up at camp is from Vintage Tub and I can’t wait to show you what pieces that we will be using in the bathrooms.
One of the the things I am also excited for is our home Dry-Ager. Our extended dry age on all of beef of 21-28 days is what helps craft our signature premium beef cuts. Now we will be able to show you the process of dry aging and the importance of it.
Dry Ager is a company that allows anyone to install a dry ager in their home in a way that makes storing and aging beef feasible and safe.
We have some certain cuts like our signature prime rib (We have this available at Christmas) ready to start aging the moment that we get this installed. This will also allow us to show you more of the anatomy of a steer. If you ever want to know where your cut comes from or what to do with a specific cut you can always look at our cut list HERE.
We will be furnishing the kitchen with Arte Italica pieces. As some of you know this brand has always been near and dear to my heart as the company was started by a good family friend who passed away around the time that we moved to the ranch. I still wear a necklace that she gave me everyday and the space would not be complete without their beautiful platters, dishes and glassware.
