ME & MY KITCHEN Chef Melissa Hemsley shows us her favourite room
THE CHEF ON HER GO-TO COOKING POT, THE NEED FOR A HUGE ISLAND AND WHY SHE IS IN LOVE WITH HER PANTRY CUPBOARD
1. Everything revolves around the kitchen; it takes up half of the ground floor with ceiling-height windows that flood it with light. It was designed by my boyfriend Henry Relph and our friend Paul Cochran, an amazing carpenter who handmade it. He’s passed away now, and we treasure his work.
2. I wanted a huge island because it’s my workplace – I spend all day at it recipe testing or teaching classes and it’s big enough to have 16 people around it chopping and cooking together. It’s in Richlite, a sustainable material made from recycled paper.
3. The pantry cupboard is my favourite piece in the room. It’s got big drawers, shelves, a wine rack and a solid-marble countertop. I can’t stop buying Vitsoe shelves. They’re covered in beautiful jars from Qäsa Qäsa, made by artisans in Malawi, a lot of Kilner jars and piles of mismatched crockery.
4. My must-have piece of kitchen tech is my cooktop with built-in extractor system from Bora, which sucks steam downwards – it’s really sleek, and great not to have a hood in the way while I’m filming. My Quooker boiling water tap and Aarke sparkling water maker are also brilliant.
5. I recently realised we eat from the same bowls from the Leach Pottery in St Ives every night. We really love bowl food! I also have handmade oil dishes from Aerende. My go-to object is my old, pale-blue Le Creuset pot – I’ve always got a stock or soup simmering. My champagne coupes from Soho Home also get a lot of use. We drink everything from them, from gin and tonic to milk to have with a biscuit!
6. Because I’m always cooking, if I’m not careful the house would constantly smell of onions. So to counter this I use scented candles from Self Care Co and flowers from Arena Flowers. I also like to bring in lavender and rosemary from the garden.