Top 6 Kitchen Secrets of Professional InnkeepersIn a way, innkeepers are even more mysterious than chefs. They create spectacular, delicious meals -- but in many cases they do it in what you know must be a kitchen that's not all that different from your own! So what's the secret? We asked that very question -- "What are your kitchen secrets?" -- to professional innkeepers. What they said can make your life easier while helping you turn meals into events. One or two days a week are prep days where we bake, make casseroles, stratas, fruit platters/bowls, etc. Most of the day is shopping and prepping. It makes breakfast go by very fast with a big group to cook for (we have anywhere from 2 to 25) when we just have to pop the main dishes in the oven, prepare a few fresh items and display everything. This would also be a time saver in your personal home and a shop/prep would only take a few hours to be able to eat easy and healthy all week. An ingredient I use frequently with fresh fruit, now that more is in season, is orange flower water. It's like rose water, but made with orange essence, and found generally in Indian groceries or online. I mix just a few tablespoons with a little sugar into fresh fruit, especially strawberries and citrus, to give it a little extra flavor. The most valuable tools in my kitchen are my knives. One or two good, sharp knives are more important than having a whole array of them. I keep them sharpened and never put them in the dishwasher. Next are two really good non-stick pans (small and large) that can tolerate higher heat and can go directly into the oven. They're quick to wash out and re-use if necessary. Parchment paper -- how could I live without it? Put it in coffee cake pans and just lift the finished product out. Bake cookies on it. Keeps pans clean. Great for the little bread pans -- put in just enough to cover the bottom. When an aspiring innkeeper said, "I'm not an innkeeper yet, but I couldn't live without my KitchenAid stand mixer with all the attachments," innkeeper Jeannine McCann responded: "A picture of the six-quart KitchenAid mixer is hanging on my bulletin board for my family to see. That is what I want for my next gift. They can combine my birthday, Mother's Day, Christmas and my anniversary (I don't care)." When we remodeled our kitchen, we replaced the upper cabinets with open shelves, pot hooks, spice racks, and a dish rack. Opening upper cabinets constantly while doing breakfast, with two or three people in the kitchen, was inefficient and sometimes hazardous! We keep our kitchen neat anyway, so hiding things behind cabinet doors doesn't make sense. And we were able to make the kitchen feel bigger and brighter. | 
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