00:00Hey, I'm Bee, video producer at Refinery29 with a side hustle as a professional organizer.
00:05On today's episode, I'm meeting up with Chef Gabe Kennedy, who needs a little bit of help
00:09in his own kitchen.
00:10Hey Bee, this is my kitchen in Brooklyn, and as you can see, it has a lot of potential,
00:15sometimes a little bit of a mess.
00:17When you open the cabinets, woo, no me gusta.
00:20Could use a lot of help, your expertise, I know you're the guru, please, come, help
00:25me.
00:28Who is it?
00:30Hi Gabe.
00:31Welcome to the dojo.
00:33It's an amazing space.
00:34So the kitchen, it's a nice amount of space, but tell me a little bit about what's going
00:39on.
00:39I see a whole bunch of stuff.
00:41I'm used to working in organized, professional kitchens, and then I get home and it's a little
00:45bit of a shit show.
00:46I got some cookbooks.
00:47Here is my little plant life center.
00:49I'm afraid things are going to topple on to me.
00:51I mean, I have a few more cool things, like as you can see over here.
00:54My little tea thing.
00:56Oh, that's cool.
00:57And there's even more.
00:58These are plates.
00:58China set?
00:59Yeah, so there's nice plates in here.
01:01Are those yours?
01:02No, they're not.
01:03Oh.
01:04I felt bad throwing these away.
01:05I couldn't do that.
01:07Oh.
01:07Maybe I could do a little cleansing.
01:09Gay's just got a lot of stuff.
01:10One of the things that's a challenge in this kitchen is that there's just minimal counter
01:14space.
01:14You know, whether it's like, it's here.
01:17I don't really.
01:17Yeah, yeah.
01:18I don't have that much.
01:19And even here, it's like you lose a lot.
01:21So to extend it, there's this bar which houses all of the hard liquor.
01:28You're not feeling.
01:29I think it could go.
01:29Okay.
01:30I've always envisioned maybe like a butcher block or something.
01:32I'm not crazy about the baskets.
01:35This is the tea one and this is the spices one.
01:38And you just kind of have to like clamber through it.
01:40Throw away.
01:41Zero order whatsoever.
01:42This is like, use the chili flakes and like throw them in there and hope they don't spill.
01:47Love the idea of having a spice rack with little mason jars where it's labeled.
01:51There's one thing missing from the space which is a table.
01:53Yeah, you make all this good food but you can't even serve it.
01:56So you are a chef.
01:58Tell me a little bit about that life.
02:00My overall mission is to connect people and the planet through food.
02:05ultimately get people engaging with food more.
02:08That's like what wakes me up in the morning.
02:11Organizing, helping people out with their spaces is actually what wakes me up in the morning.
02:15Yeah, I know.
02:15And what makes me feel like I'm contributing.
02:18Okay, so I always have to ask what kind of budget are we working with?
02:21It's an investment in myself and for people that I love.
02:23So I would say a thousand dollars would feel appropriate.
02:28I can go a long way with that.
02:29I'm excited.
02:31Likewise.
02:31But what I need you to do is relinquish control over the kitchen.
02:34Get out.
02:36It's yours, chef.
02:37It's yours.
02:38Ooh, chef.
02:39I like that.
02:43There are three things I want to focus on in Gabe's kitchen.
02:46The first is tabletop space.
02:47As a professional chef, Gabe just needs more of it.
02:50Secondly, Gabe loves plants.
02:52So I want to find a way to bring greenery into the space that enhances it and doesn't clutter it.
02:57And lastly, what is a chef without a spice rack?
03:00To get the plants off the counter, I'm going to rig up some hanging pots.
03:04Using some cotton rope and a little strategic knot placement, I'm creating a kind of rope basket for the pot.
03:13Once I get this into Gabe's space, I'll hang it from a ceiling hook.
03:16I'm putting together a bar cart with a butcher block top for extra counter space.
03:20It's an inexpensive piece, so I'm just going to reinforce all the joints with some extra strength wood glue to
03:26increase this cart's durability.
03:29For Gabe's spices, I'm doing a magnetic spice rack with customizable labels.
03:33I'm going to start with a sheet of stainless steel, and I found these magnetic tins that he can see
03:38into and write on.
03:42Now, taking an erasable chalk pen, I'll label the tins.
03:46This first one is going to have cloves in it.
03:48I'll repeat this for all of the spices, and he'll have himself a full spice rack.
03:53All right, I'm done in the studio. It's time to head back to the kitchen.
04:13I'm trying to fix some of his shelves so they don't fall apart.
04:17Okay, I'm going in.
04:39The last of the spices. I'm ready to get Gabe.
04:42Okay.
04:42Okay, come here. Stand right here.
04:46Oh, yo. This is sick.
04:48I know. It's a lot to take in all at once.
04:51My heart's beating.
04:55You have, like, food safe wood countertop, but also, like, doubles as a bar.
05:01This thing is so clutch.
05:03We also talked about your plants, and I thought hanging them was a fun way to get some of your
05:08plants off of your countertop.
05:09I love these. I'm such a sucker.
05:11Whoa.
05:13Wait, come here.
05:13Okay, so then, obviously, we talked spices.
05:17Yeah.
05:17Chef and his spices. They're a must-have.
05:20That's so cool.
05:20This is, like, a total transformation of space and energy.
05:25I did have some questions, however.
05:28They have question marks on them.
05:29I love that.
05:30Because I didn't know what the hell they were.
05:32It's a game for everyone.
05:33Yeah.
05:34These are—I know what they are.
05:35They're the unmarked sketch baggies from Turkey.
05:39And do we know some Turkish mystery spice?
05:42But they're both delicious.
05:42I don't know what they are, though.
05:44I couldn't remember.
05:45So we'll keep the question marks.
05:46And finally, we had talked about it.
05:49You are a chef and entertainer without a kitchen table.
05:53Come over here.
05:54We have your brand new kitchen table.
05:58Look at this beauty.
06:04Chef, you need a space to present your plates.
06:09I love it.
06:10Hardwood.
06:11Hardwood.
06:12Darkwood.
06:12I've got to ask how much was the tab.
06:15You want to know how much I spent.
06:16I want to know how much money I spent.
06:18Okay.
06:18So this one, I went big on this one.
06:21Go big or go home.
06:22Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:22I thought it was worth it.
06:24I admire what you do.
06:25And I wanted the space to be right for you.
06:27So I spent $963.
06:30Coming in under budget.
06:31So under budget.
06:36The work and love that you put into it.
06:38And I'm really grateful.
06:39Like this has totally shifted the vibe.
06:43So thank you.
06:44Oh, you're welcome.
06:45From the bottom of my heart.
06:46I'm going to sit and wait.
06:49Uh-huh.
06:50If you wanted to make a meal or like, I could just sit here all the way.
06:55I can see what I got.
06:56Tea.
06:58Wheatgrass shop.
06:59Bring it on.
07:00Sitting at the new kitchen table.
07:01Enjoying the new view.
07:03The kitchen.
07:03Plant life.
07:04It's all good.
07:05Thank you so much again for all the hard work and love that you put into the space.
07:08I totally feel it every day.
07:10Woo.
