It's kosher

COURTESY PHOTO Jenny Carter of K2 Design Group designed this kosher kitchen for a client. Creating kosher homes is a specialty of Jenny Carter and her architecture and interior design firm, K2 Design Group. In her 25-year career, Ms. Carter has designed homes for many Orthodox Jewish families.

The Bonita Springs-based firm is currently working with a family to design a 5,000-square-foot home in One Bal Harbour, a WCI condominium development alongside the Regent Bal Harbour Hotel. A second home for the family, it will accommodate the foundations of Orthodox Jewish lifestyle in contemporary beach design.

In a 15,000-square-foot home in Maryland, the owners' devotion to the Jewish faith set the pace for the entire project. The home's main kitchen accommodates separate cooking and preparation stations for meat, dairy and pareve (foods containing neither milk nor meat, such as fruits and vegetables). A raised section in the center of the island provides the physical barrier between the meat and dairy cook stations. The pareve station is outfitted with a Kohler sink with steamer as well as a Miele steamer. Granite countertops provide an excellent surface for the kosher requirement of frequent sterilization. There are three warming drawers — for meals prepared in advance of religious observance — and three dishwashers.

While kosher kitchens require adjustments, there is certainly not enough square footage in every home to double and triple space to accommodate everything involved with separating meat from dairy. Even in a smaller high-rise condominium residence, however, when the proper layout and available appliances are chosen, keeping kosher is a cinch, Ms. Carter says

The conventional layout of a nonkosher kitchen involves an efficient work triangle. Because a kosher kitchen is predicated on dietary laws involving everything from storage of utensils to cleaning, cooking and eating, the challenge is magnified.

With the kitchen layout and selection of appliances, efficient use of space is paramount. Double stainless steel sinks with separate faucets, separate dishwasher drawers, freestanding ranges and separate ovens are all recommended and available in many different sizes. Drawers will store two sets of pots easily. In a larger kitchen, an island with sink, preparation center, warming drawer and under-counter microwave can be devoted to dairy.

Some appliance manufacturers offer Shabbat-friendly refrigerators and stoves. With refrigerators, depending on the manufacturer and model, the temperature display and light can either be turned off from sundown on Friday to Saturday night or adjusted to stay on during the entire Sabbath period. Home automation systems come into play for related electrical considerations in the kitchen and throughout the home.

Understanding that designing a charismatic kitchen is about more than layout and appliance selection, K2 Design truly does respect the heart of the home.