The CLIENTS... For many people cooking is just a means to an end, a task that is done so often that for some it becomes a chore. But for Gemma Newall and Jacob Mayer, food is far from just another daily necessity. Good food, cooked well is something this young professional couple share a strong passion for. Their favourite Chef is Hersron Blumerthol, and inspired by his famous multi-sensory cooking methods Jake and Gemma have adopted a creative, experiential and sometimes complex cooking style. Jake is a man of the land and loves all things protein, large cuts of meat and whole fish are regularly on the menu. Gemma, also adventurous loves experimenting with different baking techniques and producing complex and delicious deserts.


The PROPERTY... Perched on top of a hill on a large 5 acre block this gorgeous pole home looks over the rolling hills of Brisbane’s Samford Valley. The house designed to be somewhat concealed, blends in with the surrounding landscape, and emphasises an epic sense of space.


The BRIEF... The clients brief for designing their dream gourmet kitchen was understandably very culinary-focused. High on the priority list was ensuring it was well equipped, with state of the art, pro-grade appliances, durable surfaces and designated work zones to facilitate the couple working together simultaneously. Whilst they wanted the kitchen to be modern and boast a semi-commercial feel they didn’t want it to feel clinical. There was a strong desire for the kitchen to be an extension of the outside space, by creating a connection between the new space and the gorgeous views that was on their door step.


The DESIGN.... At the heart of this gourmet kitchen is a well equipped workable open scullery that focuses purely on function. To make way for the extra space required for the scullery and study nook sought after by the clients, we appropriated an adjacent bedroom on the upper entry level by taking down the wall that once separated the original kitchen and bedroom. The floor was lowered to match the existing kitchen floor height on the lower level and the ceiling was also dropped to a relevant height to suit an existing window in the adjacent dining room. The new bulkhead was constructed to again suit this ceiling line that was created.


A lot of convenience comes with incorporating an open plan ‘real-life’ scullery. Open cedar shelves have been incorporated around the entire perimeter of the pantry to ensure all ingredients are visible, organised and most of all easily accessible. The custom stainless steel framework not only provides the support for storing larger heavier items on the cedar shelves but also gives the space the desired semi-commercial feel. The large scullery also provides space to store everyday bulky appliances and boasts an additional dry prep area. For Gemma, all dry ingredients, baking supplies and equipment are stored together in one convenient location. Stainless steel benchtops were selected not only for their commercial feel but also for their hygienic and durability features.


Separate from the main cooking area in the kitchen the northern wall in the scullery houses a deep fryer and teppanyaki plate used typically for faster style cooking and on the adjacent wall a combination steam oven, warming drawer and glass fronted wine fridge complete the desired appliance package to suit the clients cooking requirements. The stainless steel cladding around the concealed range-hood adds to the semi-commercial feel of the space.


Designing a kitchen for two culinary pros who cook together requires deft space planning and pretty much two of everything. With this in mind, we created a large peninsula with dual, identical prep zones. It’s not uncommon for Gemma and Jake to spend hours prepping so this space required a smart layout that allowed


the two them to work in the space together for an extended period of time. Each prep zone on the peninsula has its own custom routed wet deck which has been routed into the Corian benchtop and designed to contain any excess liquid from falling over the edges of the bench-tops; large custom made butchers blocks each housed in their own concealed drawer behind the marble fascia, allowing them to be hidden from view when not in use; their own water source with sinks and pull out sink mixers for rinsing and prepping; individual electronic pop-up utility stations housing their own personal set of globe knives, assortment of spices, oils, salts as well as a GPO for any hand held appliances; and lastly their own individual pull bins for and scraps and waste.


Strategically positioned between the two prep areas is a large commercial size six burner gas stove. Due to the height of the ceilings (should I say the actual height) we incorporated a Wolf Downdraft extraction unit.


An additional separate stainless steel workstation on the wall behind is used for larger prep jobs and incorporates an extra large and deep single welded stainless steel sink to allow Jacob to prepare food such as whole fish and extra large cuts of meat. Strategically positioned at the scullery end of the working wall between both the main prep area and the dry prep area in the scullery is an integrated Liebherr fridge freezer and at the eastern end opposite the main cooking and prep area we have included two full size 60cm ovens. The entire kitchen has been finely appointed with all the latest technology. All upper perimeter cabinetry features Blum electronic opening for ease of use and the full range of Blum organisational accessories complement the all the Blum ‘Intivo’ drawers used throughout the lower perimeter of the kitchen. In keeping with the architectural angles in the home and considering the clients request for no seating around the island bench, rather than have a large square ‘box like’ island hitting the ground we angled the marble clad peninsula to soften and lighten the prominent feature. The clients had a strong desire to bring in a sense of the natural landscape and all . Maroon Venus Marble cladding was selected for the peninsula and has been mitred with the hardwearing ‘Earth’ Corian benchtops for a seamless flow between the two surfaces. Adding a warm and inviting textural element to the space, the pantry and office area have been separated by a panel of stacked solid cedar shelves which has been stained in Half Walnut and feature lights set into the shelving apertures adds an ambience to the space. The entire colour scheme reflects the relationship with the natural surrounds, from the deep brown warm tones to the effervescent Matrix format ‘Avocado’ green tiles.


The lighting is crucial to the success of this space. The complete lighting layout was designed to ensure an even distribution of light throughout the entire kitchen with no dark spots.


The success of this gourmet kitchen is in the layout which has been expertly designed and arranged with each step of the cooking process in mind as well as the clients own unique processes. Each of the zones and workstations has been thoroughly thought-out in terms of workflows for preparation, cooking, cleaning, platting up and storage. The view inspired the platform for the colour palette and finishes and the layering of textures results in a warm and inviting space where the couple can do what they love most – cooking together!

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