What's my number one reason for building an outdoor kitchen? I guess it's because I'm a natural host. I just like having people over to my house and entertaining them. Food, music and beverages are my idea of a good time and I've got a lot of friends and relatives who feel the same way. So, what better way to entertain than by having an outdoor kitchen?
It solves a lot of problems with space and convenience being at the top of the list. Space is an obvious one. I can fit a lot more people into my backyard than I can into my family and living rooms combined. And when we're all outside we're in one place so it makes for a better party. If people want some quiet from whatever reason they can always go into the house.
They rarely do, though, except for obvious reasons, because all of the food and drinks are outside. This is where the convenience part comes in. It's so nice to be able to stock my outdoor fridges and coolers with all the food and drinks we're going to need and then never have to run back and forth to the house. And since I'm cooking outside too, I don't have to move.
I can enjoy the party myself a lot better and still be able to keep the food and drinks coming without any letup. It really is a lot less stressful for me and also my wife. The cleanup is so much easier for us when everything is outside. It makes us want to have a lot more parties than if we had to have everything inside with me trying to cook on a grill on the patio.
And with all the different accessories you can buy now to complete your outdoor kitchen you have a lot more flexibility than you could ever have with a conventional kitchen. I've got sideburners for doing extra duty. I've got a smoker. I've got warming trays and more. It's like having a professional kitchen almost and it's made me a much better cook. I can't call myself a chef yet but I'm getting there.
I won't say it didn't take some time and money to realize my dream of having a great outdoor kitchen but the first time I really had a party in my new outdoor kitchen I knew I had made the right decision. I was hooked. What a great time we had and we've had many more since then.
And on a practical note, the outdoor kitchen has certainly increased the value of my house should I ever want to sell it. With the outdoor kitchen fad still growing it makes real sense to have on of your own. In fact, if I ever do look for another house you can be sure that an outdoor kitchen will be high up on my list of must-haves. And it will have to be at least as good as my present oneor I'll just upgrade it until it is!