For those that are eager enough to be hosting get togethers with family and friends have endless amounts of planning and preparations. A well designed outdoor kitchen can help aleviate the stress of being stuck in the kitchen cooking. It doesn’t feel as though you’re stuck in the kitchen when you’re outside in the midst of the festivities . Most guests are more than eager to have a hand at cooking their own pizza too so share the cooking load  and relax!

Each year after Christmas when the sales have died down and the Easter eggs appear on the shelves at the supermarket I think to myself ‘here we go again’. There must be a lesson to be learnt from my mistakes- It’s never too early to prepare for the next big  event. Whether it be Christmas, Easter, New Years or a significant birthday bash- if you’re planning to host the event start planning your outdoor kitchen now. You’ll be glad it’s in sooner rather than later and it’ll make for stress free entertaining.

Enjoy the festive season and stay safe!

The investment in your outdoor kitchen is a worthwhile one and is one that needs planning and careful consideration.  You need to do your homework about the kinds of appliances you’ll benefit from and the best construction materials to suit your needs as well as how the design and look will fit in with the rest of the surrounds.

When you engage an outdoor kitchen specialist, you want someone experienced in designing a kitchen that will not only look fantastic but have all the features you want and nothing you don’t need. The designing stage can take up to a month for custom designs when you consider that ideas and needs may change from the original plan. 

Making pizzas is one of her favourite things to cook and I’m not surprised. Firstly she gets to help measure the flour and mix the dough. She gets to sample most of the things I’m cutting up for the topping and enjoys checking progressively throughout the day how big the dough is growing.

Making her very own pizza for the oven gets her very excited! She cheats a little and uses a rolling pin to roll out her dough first but it always ends up with her little fingers in it before the sauce makes it on. It’s amazing how many colourful veges you can get a toddler to eat when they’re using it to decorate their own dinner! I find kids and toddlers are much more willing to try new foods when they have been involved with the preparation and cooking and choosing the ingredients.

My little one eagerly watches her pizzas cooking in the oven. She loves the warm fire on her face- so she tells me. She’s so excited when she sees her own creation cooked to perfection come out of the oven ready for her to eat. She loves her weekly pizza night. To her it’s so much more than just the chore of having to sit down to eat. I love creating these memories for my little girls and our family tradition that is pizza night.

Perth Sunset (Image: Richard Giles, Flickr)

With endless summer days and milder winters that extend our outdoor time, could there be a better place in the world to entertain in the backyard?

But I also think that an outdoor kitchen also fits with our laidback attitude to life.

This is not a fast-paced society. No-one would think twice about spending all day out the back relaxing by the pool. It’s normal. Why rush anywhere?

And with everyone cutting back on expenses, more of us are entertaining at home.

We still want to catch up with friends but don’t want to spend a fortune at a restaurant or hotel doing so.

Of course, the entertaining area might not be up to scratch, but therein lies another vote in favour of the outdoor kitchen.

Not everyone can afford to renovate their home on the inside, but almost everyone can add an “outdoor room”. One perfect for getting their mates and family together any time of the year.

Image Credit: Thank you Richard Giles.