What's a Prosumer Kitchen?

Unlike actual commercial equipment, these new ranges can be placed against a wall, sided by wood cabinetry and don't require special hood-mounted fire-suppression systems.

Like the professional restaurant kitchen, Steve Kleber explains, "the prosumer kitchen is divided into work zones for multiple cooks and tasks." As opposed to the "work triangle" of old where one cook, traditionally the lady of the house, moved from fridge to stove to sink, today's prosumer kitchen provides ample space for numerous cooks to work on various jobs. The modern kitchen features multiple water sources, a variety of work surfaces, high-arching faucets for filling large stockpots, open shelving and hanging pot racks for quick access to cookware.

This trend isn't limited only to the most affluent of home cooks.

"A majority of homes today are adopting at least some of these prosumer characteristics into their kitchen design," Steve notes. "Indeed, the majority of modern kitchen design trends now originate in the professional restaurant kitchen. When stainless steel now appears on appliances all the way down to entry-level models, it shows how pervasive this trend has become."

Of course, willingness of the homeowner to part with hard-earned cash will determine whether he or she cooks like a pro or just looks like one. "There are many different levels of prosumer," Steve says. "The passionate home cook who collects cookbooks, subscribes to all the magazines, and takes cooking classes to hone his or her skills may want something as close to an authentic professional kitchen as possible."