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Optimizing Your Outdoor Food Prep Station

The flow of your outdoor food prepping station is as important as the aesthetic design. While cooking or entertaining, you want to ensure you can easily prepare the appetizers, drinks, and meals without constantly looking for certain tools or ingredients. 

When the setup is optimized, you’ll notice a huge difference in how you prepare for your family and friends, so you can focus on what’s truly important!

Use a Four-Drawer Base Cabinet 

Four-drawer base cabinets are an ideal investment for any outdoor kitchen. They give a lot of extra space for storage in one sleek item. 

Deep extension drawers help you keep all of your cookware utensils on hand as you cook. Conveniently store spices, extra napkins, silverware, and as many dining essentials as you need.

Place It Beside Your Grill

The best place for your four-drawer base cabinet is right next to your grill or cooking station. This lets you easily get rid of dangling tongs and cluttered counters. 

If you’re searching for a more elegant feel to the area, then a cabinet adjoined to a cooking station is the perfect combination. 

Install Butcher Block Countertop 

Get rid of heavy and bulky cutting boards and start prepping right where you cook! This helps save time and effort while giving a polished look to the prepping area. Butcher block tends to last for decades, oftentimes 20 year years or more. 

You will need to make sure you keep the area clean and sanitized before and after you cook. We suggest keeping your favorite cleaning materials in your nearby cabinets, so you’ll never forget. They may also need resealing during their product lifetime, but for many, that beats having to find multiple large cutting boards for elaborate meals. 

Cover Your Food Prep Area

Another way to streamline your cooking process is to keep the prepping station covered when not in use. Outdoor kitchens are exposed to the elements in a way that indoor kitchens never are. Therefore, they need a few extra precautions to keep them running in their best shape. 

By covering your food station, you will save time from having to clean off debris, leaves, and dirt. You’ll also protect it from dings and scratches that unexpected or intense weather can sometimes create. Once you cover your space, you’ll always be ready to start cooking at a moment’s notice. 

Keep It Well-Lit

Maybe you imagined cooking and eating with loved ones on a hot summer night, but didn’t think about how when the sun goes down, it’s really not as easy to cook efficiently. You may end up mixing up ingredients, or even accidentally cutting yourself! Without proper lighting, prepping can be a lot more complicated and frustrating. 

Having a light hang down from your prep station can be a great way to keep track of what you’re doing and keep an eye on how well-cooked your meats are. 

If you’re wanting for an even more elegant look, you can include under-countertop lighting. Not only does it highlight the beautiful design of your cooking station, but it keeps your countertops well-lit and even creates a warm glow for your guests.