Kitchen Design: How a Professional Chef Designs the Perfect Home Kitchen – Don Hancey | HBP
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What truly makes a great kitchen to live in? In this episode of The Home Building Podcast, we sit down with Don Hancey, one of Australia’s most respected chefs and food ambassadors, to explore kitchen design from a professional chef’s perspective. With over 40 years in hospitality, Don has cooked for world-famous artists, led major international events, and built a career around food that works in the real world, not just on paper. In this conversation, he shares how those lessons translate into better home kitchens. We cover everything from bench layouts and workflow to natural light, herb gardens, and why the kitchen should be designed as a social space first and a showpiece second. Don also shares behind-the-scenes stories from catering for global music acts, his passion for Western Australian produce, and the small design decisions that make a huge difference to how a home actually functions day to day.
Chapters
00:00 Why kitchen design matters beyond looks
01:20 Introducing chef Don Hancey
03:40 Don’s 40+ year career in hospitality
06:55 Falling into cooking after school struggles
10:30 Training in Perth and early kitchen discipline
13:40 Life lessons from hospitality and long hours
16:20 Catering for global music acts and major events
18:45 Cooking for Coldplay, Harry Styles & touring crews
22:10 Why artists care so much about food quality
24:55 Promoting Western Australian produce on tour
27:10 Real food vs hotel and airline catering
29:40 Why chefs value simplicity and freshness
31:30 The importance of herbs in home kitchens
34:20 Designing kitchens connected to the outdoors
37:00 Natural light, skylights & kitchen wellbeing
39:55 The biggest mistake in modern kitchen layouts
42:30 Bench space, flow & cooking while entertaining
45:10 Designing kitchens for conversation, not clutter
47:40 How Don’s professional cooking influences home design
50:30 Final advice for homeowners planning a kitchen
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