By Stephanie M. Chambers

The kitchen is the hearth of the home. Every time we invite guests for dinner, we think the main event will be at our dining room table. But during pre-dinner preps, we all dismantle the plan, congregate in the kitchen, and participate in stirring the pot. Efficient kitchen design, interesting people, and simple cooking are perfect ingredients for wonderful evenings. This Christmas, our sons gave us an Insta Pot and a stovetop pizza oven. This weekend we fired up the Pizzeria Pronto oven, opened Patricia Wells’ Trattoria, and a Pizza Margherita happened. Then friend, David Pulley, brought the fixings and prepared a sublime Duck Confit… all great happenings in the Chambers’ kitchen. Good design is everywhere, sometimes in the places we least expect to find it: cookbooks, appliances, plating the meal, work surfaces, lighting… and in good friends who want to test drive a new dish.