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Grab a stool and pull up to the counter. You’ll notice the latest haul of colorful produce from the farmers market before spotting the rippled beige backsplash and sleek silver appliances, and that’s the point. Borrowing from the inviting transparency of an open kitchen at one of his four restaurants—Kembara and Tía Carmen in Phoenix and Carmocha and Tía Carmen in Indian Wells, California—Angelo Sosa’s home kitchen was built with communal cooking and gathering in mind. The calming, earthy layout follows Sosa’s design ethos: A practical kitchen is a beautiful kitchen. That means an oven with a large capacity but a small footprint, a fridge with a glass panel to show what’s on hand for dinner, and intentionally spaced outlets to make the most of every countertop. Whether you’re in the middle of a full-gut reno, moving into a new space, or making smart adjustments to your current setup, take a cue from Chef Sosa and let the food lead the way.
“Mental mise en place” is the motto in Chef Sosa’s kitchen, and it starts in his fridge. The front right panel has a tinted, inset glass panel that illuminates after tapping it, so he can peek inside the fridge without ever opening it. And keeping groceries organized isn’t only about aesthetics—it’s about making your life easier. “Put the same things in the same place,” says Sosa, to enable a “grab-and-go” workflow as you cook and keep up with a first in, first out method for fresh ingredients.
This Vitamix is the high-performance, pro-grade blender for the home cook. Think silky hot soups, crushed ice (no mallet needed), or smooth-as-store-bought nut butter. Plus its 48-ounce carafe is easy to store in standard cabinets or right on the countertop. Sosa reaches for it when texture is paramount because it’s powerful enough to take ingredients past being merely chopped or blitzed, he says. “It’s breaking food down to its very particles, and that’s where the flavor is.”
Why own both a blender and a handheld blender? Because they’re optimized for different things. This immersion blender is his go-to for “practical prep,” says Sosa. Make quick vinaigrettes and small-batch sauces with the blending shaft, a soft and fluffy whipped cream with the whisk, or lean on the chopper/grinder attachment for speedier slices and dices right inside the attachable bowl. Sosa also uses it to “buzz up” a speedy turmeric milk for a nourishing treat.
With five burners, including one set at 18,000 BTU for rapid boiling and another at 5,000 BTU for steady simmers, this gas range, and the convection oven beneath it, brings the heat. “You don’t always need a pot and pan to cook,” Sosa says. “Don’t be afraid to take tortillas and toast them directly on the fire. We don’t need to remove the beauty of the flavor, the fire.” He takes full advantage of the smooth edge-to-edge grates, which “are really sturdy, so I almost use them as a grill.”
