It’s a Roast: What’s Wrong With The Honeymooner’s Kitchen?

May 1, 2019

Welcome to our new series, “Roast and Toast”! Each month we’ll feature one kitchen that we love and one that… well, could use improvements.

The kitchens we feature can come from anywhere – TV, films, popular culture, you name it. We’ll talk about what we love and what we don’t like so much.

This month’s roast is the kitchen from Honeymooners. Alice was somehow able to keep Ralph well-fed despite a few kitchen supplies in one of the worst kitchens we’ve seen. (As an aside, did you know that Alice and Ralph were the inspiration for Fred and Wilma Flintstone?)

Here’s what we’d roast about that kitchen!

 

A Complete Lack of Kitchen Supplies

I think the size – or lack of it – is the first thing I notice here. I mean, there was one small sink, a two-burner stove, and a tiny icebox crammed into one corner of a room.

There’s no counters. There’s no cupboards. There’s absolutely no place to put any kitchen supplies whatsoever. In fact, I think that kitchen table is larger than any space she has to cook.

The kitchens lack of size and space certainly was representative of most kitchens in the 1950’s, but it was intended to show a more gritty and unfiltered way of life. Perhaps that’s why poor Alice had to work in one of the worst kitchens to ever hit TV.

 

Violates the Proper Work Triangle

What’s the “work triangle” in a kitchen? It’s the concept that connects the three primary work areas of a kitchen, which are the stove, sink, and refrigerator. These areas should be between four and nine feet apart, with the total distance adding up to between 13 and 26 feet.

If the work triangle is too small, you’ll feel cramped and have a very hard time getting your cooking done. If it’s too large, you’ll have to walk around a lot to get your supplies and the whole cooking process will be a hassle.

Obviously, Alice doesn’t have a triangle. All she really has is a cramped corner. All three of her work areas are next to each other and there’s barely room to breathe, much less work effectively.

 

It’s Missing Key Safety Standards

OK, I get that no one is calling the housing authority about fictional kitchens, but that poor kitchen is a disaster waiting to happen.

It’s not just that there’s no space for kitchen supplies. It’s that the whole setup is unsafe. Not having cabinets between appliances is inconvenient and dangerous. You also need to have countertops on either side of a stove to avoid someone getting burned on the hot range.

There’s no way that kitchen would pass any kind of inspection. In real life, you’d have a fire or burn before you can say, “BANG! ZOOM! Straight to the moon!”

 

Ready to Outfit Your Home Kitchen?

It’s great that none of us have to deal with the type of tiny kitchen that poor Alice did on the Honeymooners. But do you have all the kitchen supplies you need?

In today’s modern world, there are all kinds of smallwares and neat cooking equipment you can use. If you’d like to get some at a great price, Tipton Equipment can help. Contact us for a quote to see what we can do for you today!

5 Essential Buying Tips for Your Next Food Prep Work Table

5 Essential Buying Tips for Your Next Food Prep Work Table

The right foodservice equipment is pivotal to the efficiency of your kitchen. One of the most important types of foodservice equipment for any kitchen is the work table. With limited room on countertops available for your food prep needs, the cooking process can drag...

read more
Tips for Keeping Your Commercial Sink Sparkling Clean

Tips for Keeping Your Commercial Sink Sparkling Clean

Your commercial kitchen, just like your personal kitchen, must be kept clean at all times. With all of the cooking and food processing you do, it is inevitable that your sink gets messy. Cleaning up your commercial kitchen is incomplete without proper cleaning of your...

read more
Food-Cutting Secrets to Beautiful Dishes

Food-Cutting Secrets to Beautiful Dishes

In the restaurant industry, presentation is often said to be just as important as the food itself. Using the right knowledge, skills and restaurant supplies, you can incorporate creativity into your presentation, making guests feel that they are getting something...

read more
Top Space-Saving Tips for Commercial Kitchens

Top Space-Saving Tips for Commercial Kitchens

Top Space-Saving Tips for Commercial Kitchens Space is always an important consideration when setting up a kitchen, and this is even truer for commercial kitchens. With a strong focus on functionality and the kitchen supplies that meet the needs of your commercial...

read more
5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Mixer

5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Mixer

No one wants to eat off of dirty or tarnished silverware. A stand mixer is a highly useful piece of kitchen equipment to invest in. Although this type of kitchen equipment does not usually come cheap, it can last a lifetime when properly cared for. Despite all your...

read more
Restaurant Prep Tool Selection Simplified

Restaurant Prep Tool Selection Simplified

What’s a restaurant kitchen without high-quality prep tools that can withstand the pressure of frequent use? Whether you already have a restaurant you’re running, or you’re just planning to launch one, one vital factor that could make or mar your business is how you...

read more
Beginner’s Guide to Choosing a Commercial Ice Cream Freezer

Beginner’s Guide to Choosing a Commercial Ice Cream Freezer

Ice cream is a delicious and appealing desert treat for everyone, young or old. Having made the decision to sell ice cream to your customers, whether you have a restaurant, convenience store, or specialty ice cream parlor, it is time to begin stocking up on the right...

read more
How to Choose the Right Kitchen Scales for Your Restaurant

How to Choose the Right Kitchen Scales for Your Restaurant

A food scale is an essential item in every restaurant’s store of kitchen supplies. Designed to take the guesswork out of food measurement and maintain consistent food serving sizes, food scales are indispensable kitchen supplies in the commercial kitchen. With such a...

read more
Beer Chilling Systems: Which Type Is Right for My Restaurant?

Beer Chilling Systems: Which Type Is Right for My Restaurant?

A refrigeration unit is integral to the functioning of any restaurant. Beers are best served cold - there’s no questioning that! But which beer chilling system is the best? From reach-in coolers to glycol chillers, a beer chilling system is an important piece of...

read more
What Equipment Will I Need to run a Food Truck?

What Equipment Will I Need to run a Food Truck?

There’s a lot of planning that goes into starting your own food truck business. Before you hit the road with your delicious food offerings, you’ll need to fill up your truck with all the right foodservice equipment. Considering the lengthy list of possible items to be...

read more
8 Types of Food Thermometers: What You Need To Know

8 Types of Food Thermometers: What You Need To Know

Food thermometers are essential restaurant supplies for your commercial kitchen. They ensure that foods prepared in your commercial kitchen are cooked to the right temperature and held at that temperature for as long as necessary to kill any harmful bacteria. This...

read more
How to Identify the Best Food Processor for Your Needs

How to Identify the Best Food Processor for Your Needs

Highly versatile and extremely efficient, food processors are designed to take away the hard work from repetitive kitchen activities. This type of cooking equipment can quickly become an invaluable tool in your kitchen. From chopping, to shredding, grinding, mincing,...

read more
6 Keys to Choosing the Best Chafing Dishes for Your Restaurant

6 Keys to Choosing the Best Chafing Dishes for Your Restaurant

The chafing dish, also known as the chafer, is an essential piece of restaurant equipment for any establishment that wants to keep food hot. This type of restaurant equipment gets its name from the French word, chauffer, which means to heat, and it’s easy to see why....

read more
What’s in a Cooking Pot, How to Choose the Right One?

What’s in a Cooking Pot, How to Choose the Right One?

As a restaurant owner, your cooking needs might vary. Did you know that a good quality pot can greatly improve your cooking experience, while also improving the quality of your cooking? This cooking equipment is a very important one that cannot be done away with...

read more