ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

When we built our house in Southampton a few years ago, I couldn't wait to work on the design of the kitchen.  After years of tearing pages of dream kitchens from shelter magazines and inspecting friends gorgeous cabinets and countertops I felt that I was really prepared to tackle the project. An enthusiastic cook, I was looking forward to designing our kitchen with all the bells and whistles: stainless steel appliances, a wine refrigerator, black granite counters, sliding pantry drawers, warming trays and a Fisher and Paykle drawer dishwasher. I would be prepared for a soccer team breakfast or dinner for 30-after all, you never know who is going to drop by!

I had designed a gleaming black granite island that sat in the middle of the kitchen with a large stainless sink and plenty of storage space. During one design meeting, my husband suggested installing a large chopping block across from the sink. I honestly had not given much thought to the need for a chopping board and wasn't quite sure my husband, whose culinary experience consisted of not burning the steaks, was the right person to be giving me such advice.  But the more I thought about it, the more the chopping block idea made sense.  Functionally, it would be great to have an instant large work space to chop, mix and create meals without searching for a board.  A visit to John Boos  won me over with a gorgeous custom American Cherry 4" grain island top. It's a beautiful piece of thick wood that seems to look better the more its used, and in my kitchen, its really used!

Lanterns and antique farm table from East Hampton.

 

 My favorite piece from Indonesia, filled with glassware and dishes.

 

American Cherry Boos Block