The Holiday Kitchen Bottlenecks Nobody Talks About

by Alison P.

Hosting for the holidays is fun, meaningful, and allows you to immerse yourself in the most important part of the holiday season: togetherness with loved ones. That being said, it’s also a heck of a big task! When you’re in the middle of preparing the day’s feast and you’re locked into tunnel vision for seeing each task to completion, you absolutely do not need unexpected kitchen bottlenecks slowing you down and jamming up your flow. Here are three potential kitchen slowdowns that are commonplace around holiday cooking projects, and some ideas for heading them off at the pass.

Hovering Guests

Look, you’re fully aware that getting together with loved ones is the entire point of the holiday season, and of course you’re thrilled to open up your home to your nearest and dearest. However, that doesn’t mean you want everybody all up in your business while you’re trying to cook! One of the most reliable social-gathering truisms of all time is that guests are drawn to the kitchen like moths to a porchlight; while there is no official explanation for this phenomenon, scientists are working on it. In the meantime, it’s a good idea to come up with a plan to keep everyone out of the kitchen – and therefore out of your hair – while you’re preparing the holiday feast. Our suggestion: Set up the beverage stations and appetizers as far away from the kitchen as your living space will allow. This will encourage your guests to spread out through your home as much as possible, hopefully congregating around the food and drinks instead of crowding your cooking space!

Cluttered Countertops

A workspace with ample room is imperative to being able to properly execute a multi-course holiday meal. Counterspace will be at a premium during cooking, so make it a point to leave as much of it empty as possible. On the night before your event, take a good long look at the small appliances and kitchen tools that live on your countertop, and determine which ones you won’t need to have at hand. Then, stash them away in a cabinet, a closet, or on top of your refrigerator. Put your coffee maker away until it’s time for dessert. Give your blender the day off if you’re not going to be pureeing anything. Maximizing your counterspace is a very important part of being prepared for whatever comes your way during crunch time!

Disorganized Drawers

Timing is everything when it comes to cooking, and you will not want to be digging through a messy kitchen drawer for a whisk or a potato masher when you’re in the middle of making three different courses at once. Nipping disorganized drawers in the bud is another night-before preparation step, but it is well worth it. Look over your recipes, determine which tools you will need, and locate them well in advance of your actual cooking time. Put them in the top layer of your drawer within easy reach, or if you’re looking for a handy organizing solution, a utensil wall rack or magnetic bar might be a worthwhile investment to keep every kitchen tool within easy reach and directly in your line of sight.

Kitchen bottlenecks are always irritating, but they aren’t inevitable! While you can’t predict every bottleneck that will pop up on the day of your holiday feast, a little advanced planning will allow you to stop a few before they even start. Enjoy the holidays, and may your cooking projects flow as smoothly as gravy!