Little Boxes

How do the chefs in Philly's most diminutive kitchens make the most of no space?

by Felicia D'Ambrosio

neal santos

LOST IN SPACE: Sam Jacobson, chef at Sycamore BYOB in Lansdowne, is one of many local chefs who's learned to make the most of tight kitchen quarters.

[ feet first ]

For every cook scrambling eggs over a shiny Viking stove or chopping onions on a custom-made butcher block, there must be 10 others who can't open the oven door without hitting the opposite wall. And with our months of culturally sanctioned overeating officially here, we can all agree that the food-centric holiday season thrusts any kitchen deficiency into high relief.

But while a tiny apartment kitchen can be frustrating, the challenges of operating in a small cooking area are amplified in a busy restaurant environment. We asked local chefs and owners working in cramped spaces to weigh in on how they make more with less.

Organization

At only 6 by 8 feet, the kitchen at Watkins Drinkery (1712 S. 10th St.) has been described more than once as a "broom closet." Owner Jonn Klein benefited from $20,000 of brand-new equipment installed by the space's previous owners, who sold few plates of pasta but lots and lots of cocaine. But new or old, with only four burners and a small grill, "we can't physically serve many people," says Klein. "Ten- and 12-tops are a challenge for the kitchen, and we have to limit our menu. It's 10 items for a reason ... there's no way to stock, prep or cook more than a few dishes."

When Fond (1617 E. Passyunk Ave.) chefs and owners Lee Styer and Jessie Prawlucki were scoping real estate, the size of the kitchen was "the last thing we worried about." Once installed in the 12-by-20 space, "[we had] to think about things," says Styer, "to make it most efficient." Though there isn't much the pair won't take on for their menu, Prawlucki, a Le Bec-Fin pastry vet, admits she had to downscale desserts. "I know I can't do chocolate work," she says. "There's no space."

Preparation

With only one prep table, Prawlucki and Styer must do their work in shifts. "I have to get in here before Lee to do bread," says Prawlucki. "You have to be alone — there's flour everywhere." (Styer concurs: "I'm breaking down whole fish, with fish heads and blood flying.")

In addition to making sure her mise-en-place ("everything in place," the mantra of good cooks everywhere) is completely ready, chef Mackenzie Hilton at the tiny-kitchened Mercato (1216 Spruce St.) stresses the need for line cooks in small spaces to "work tighter, cleaner, more organized. You can't have a messy station. You'll go down in flames because you can't keep up. People who have more room have the luxury of being a little bit messier."

Chef Sam Jacobson at Lansdowne BYOB Sycamore (14 S. Lansdowne Ave.) says he keeps his limited burners in mind when designing his menu. Plus, a shortage of cold storage requires him to make four trips a week to buy seafood. "Storage is very tight," says Jacobson, whose kitchen checks in at around 9 by 15. (They also recently expanded the dining room, meaning more mouths to feed while relying on the same back-of-house space.) "You have to manage your inventory more carefully, but it's good for food cost — you're not wasting anything."

Kinesthetic Sense

When Marshall Green, chef/owner of Café Estelle (444 N. Fourth St.), was working at Bryan Sikora and Aimee Olexy's critically acclaimed, now-defunct BYOB Django in 2005, "it helped that I had a long reach and could reach almost anything" in the 10-by-20 kitchen. "But it doesn't matter the size of the space — a sense of self-awareness goes a long way in restaurants. You can be a big little person or a small big person."

Fond's Lee and Styer recently hosted Pierre Calmels of Bibou and former Lacroix exec chef Jason Cichonski for a collaborative dinner. "With all four of us in here, you couldn't move at all," says Styer. "You just plant your feet and hand things over."

"You are forced to know where everything is and not waste movement," Green adds. "[You] conserve motion because you can't move. You can't run anywhere."

Interpersonal Skills

Anyone who has been wedged between a 500-degree grill and the "fast" oven on the line knows good manners can wilt quickly in the heat, especially when the fish guy hits the back of your legs every time he opens his oven. "I recently lost my sous chef, who had worked with me at Mercato for five years," says Hilton, "and everyone on the line had worked together for more than a year. It takes time to learn each other, but then it's beautiful orchestration, dancing around each other. Someone new throws it off, and all the time you are turning around and getting burned or burning someone."

Styer and Prawlucki, who are engaged, confess that managing their relationship in tight, tense quarters "was hard in the beginning... [but] you learn to leave the restaurant stuff here when you go home," says Prawlucki.

Advice for Home Cooks

"Most home cooks have a full-sized stove and fridge," says Green, "so the most common problem is a shortage of counter space." He recommends "working in a circle" to achieve quality results in tight quarters. "Do one stage, then clean up, do another stage, then clean up — try not to get everything messy, because you can't let the dishes build up on the counter, and you need the sink."

So when you're trying to figure out how to bake two trays of cookies and a turkey all while the oven door refuses to close, take heart, says Sycamore's Jacobson. "Working in small kitchens makes us better chefs."

(restaurants@citypaper.net)