Clean Kitchen.......Innkeepers meals......

[Mary at Bridgewater Inn and Cottage]

How do Innkeepers eat their meals and keep the kitchen tidy. What is your favorite tidy kitchen meal ? We can't eat out everyday, too much $$ plus its not that healthy.....Sandwiches, bake potatoes, whats everyone eating to keep that kitchen tidy ? ?...Mary in Bridgewater, Va.

 

[hawley]

We are required to have 2 kitchens. B&B kitchen is only used for B&B.

 

[egoodell]

Our kitchen is locked off from the rest of the B&B so we don't have to worry about it, sorry!
RIki

 

[Mary at Bridgewater Inn and Cottage]

We are required to have 2 kitchens. B&B kitchen is only used for B&B..

Thats interesting !! Not here where I am, no 2 kitchens. Plus I am 2 B&B cottages and they have kitchens also.I prepare b'fast in my kitchen then take it up to the cottages.But still want to know everyones favorite Innkeeper dinner meal, thats tidy.No slim-fast,.Mary in Bridgewater, Va.

 

[MooseTrax]

This isn't going to help but we have our own kitchen. I don't know how an innkeeper could function without being able to close off their own kitchen and just be themselves!
We just cook what we want.

 

[gillumhouse]

We have one kitchen. DH is a walking cholesterol factory, Type II diabetic with high BP who wears a giant gold star on his forehead that he adheres to the diet they gave him. So he makes a 6 qt stainless dutch oven of steamed veggies several times a week and heats up what he needs for kunch and supper. I get to work around this bohemoth in the fridge until it gets down to small bowl size and I have a couple days without it. I eat whatever is quick and was on sale. Every now and then I treat me to some fish filets or fish sticks or a can of ravioli when they are $1. Keeping the kitchen tidy is the job of DH.
I love Thursday - Spaghetti Night at Jimmy's!

 

[MooseTrax]

Trying to be helpful here- do you have a slower day of the week where you could cook up a storm and freeze that to reheat later on in the week? Am confused why you can't cook in your own kitchen if the guests have cabins? Do the guests hang around in your house at dinner time?

 

[mooseberry]

we have a seperate kitchen too. Could not keep a spotless kitchen with my 2 men around..

 

[JBloggs]

Never heard this question before "Tidy Kitchen Meal?" Tidy to me would mean something that didn't reek out the house. Grilled onions, pot roasts,brocoli those things infiltrate guest areas. Tidy? Hm I clean up as I go and am a maniac about it, ask the rest of the innkeeping family here. There is never a dish left OUT anywhere, I even obsess over my countertops to keep them clutter free.
Tidy would be a salad? or grill a steak outside and add rice and baked potato and steamed carrots?

 

[EmptyNest]

Since you have cottages, this should be less of a problem for you since your guests are not in your house. We have doors we can close off guest area from kitchen. My kitchen is always clean. And if I guest just happened by when the door was open and I was cooking...no big deal. We have lives too.
when we had guests, we just were careful not to make something with real strong aromas. We have a good range vent hood as well and kept windows open. Usually our suppers are pretty light meals anyway so it really wasn't much of a problem.

 

[The Farmers Daughter]

The kitchen (there is only 1) is closed off from the rest of the Inn. The problem I face is that there is a guest room above it and one adjacent to it on the first floor. As a rule, I can manage just fine with this arrangement. The one problem I have is keeping the noise level down and I am concerned with odors such as fish, garlic or onions. The reality is that you just have to make the best of whatever you have to work with. My kitchen is a working kitchen and it is clean...but spotless...nooooo.

 

[JeannineIrish]

We have a door that we shut between guest areas and kitchen

 

[seashanty]

haha ~ tidy kitchen? i like a big kitchen, like a clean kitchen, but do big cooking, make big messes, wear big aprons. clean as i go. food odors still wafted through the place but it was my home ~ so i didn't stress over it. often guests would peek in 'what's cookin?' it was all good.
mid week when it was usually quieter, mid-day, i'd really scour that kitchen, top to bottom.

 

[YellowSocks]

I understand this question.
But I don't know that I have an answer...
This year dh is working second shift (3 p.m. to 11) so our "dinner" that we eat together is around 1:30... the mess can usually be cleaned up before the guests come back.
And we eat out a lot in peak season.
And eat leftovers a lot.
The first year I really stressed about having the kitchen as clean as possible when guests arrived. One of the B&B's I toured when I was in my research stage had a kitchen that guests passed through from parking to their rooms... he said that people would judge his B&B by how clean the kitchen was, so be sure to keep it clean. That has echoed in my brain ever since.
But now that we've been doing it a year or two, I've relaxed quite a bit. I keep the kitchen clean (sanitary) but sometimes it gets a little messy (esp. after breakfast!). When I take guests through I say here's the library... dining room... messy kitchen (don't look!)... They laugh and relax knowing that we're real people here. The first year I had the fridge pristine and bare... now it's literally covered with letter magnets and pictures. People say, "Oh, just like ours at home!"
I am constantly on dh to keep the end of the counter/island clean... it goes a long way to making the rest seem tidy. Dirty dishes go in dishwasher or sink. Clear off the stove. Keep the table in the breakfast nook cleared and wiped. The side of the fridge towards the door is neat. My desk is piled, but stacked neatly. Those efforts go a LONG way to making the initial impression of the kitchen that it's "in use but still tidy."
So, to answer your actual question: We trade freezer meals with a friend. So a lot of our meals are made at a previous time, thawed and baked that day. We also enjoy frozen fish fillets and fried pierogies. The ds5x2 eat spaghetti-o's, pb&j, hot dogs, and leftovers in the evenings when dh is at work.
And if we were to actually sit down and eat when guests were expected, I might "tidy up" a bit before I sit down and eat.
I know innkeepers whose kitchen is completely open (it's the room you come into when you enter the B&B) and who have very little private space. They report that they've had guests stand over them and talk to them while they are trying to eat their lunch... a bit annoying, but not much choice in the matter. OTOH, their kitchen is always spotless...
I think a few dishes in the sink are easily overlooked when everything else is clean and tidy.
=)
Kk.

 

[Proud Texan]

Never heard this question before "Tidy Kitchen Meal?" Tidy to me would mean something that didn't reek out the house. Grilled onions, pot roasts,brocoli those things infiltrate guest areas. Tidy? Hm I clean up as I go and am a maniac about it, ask the rest of the innkeeping family here. There is never a dish left OUT anywhere, I even obsess over my countertops to keep them clutter free.
Tidy would be a salad? or grill a steak outside and add rice and baked potato and steamed carrots?.

Never heard this question before "Tidy Kitchen Meal?" Tidy to me would mean something that didn't reek out the house. Grilled onions, pot roasts,brocoli those things infiltrate guest areas. Tidy? Hm I clean up as I go and am a maniac about it, ask the rest of the innkeeping family here. There is never a dish left OUT anywhere, I even obsess over my countertops to keep them clutter free.
Tidy would be a salad? or grill a steak outside and add rice and baked potato and steamed carrots?

We have one kitchen. For those meals that reek (one man's reek is another man's savory aroma), we reserve those for non-guest days. On guests days, we eat breakfast standing up and quickly.
Our kitchen opens to the great room, where we serve breakfast. When our guests enter in the morning, the are bombarded with a host of wonderful smells of their breakfast being prepared. As long as we steer clear of preparing kimchee for breakfast, we're not too worried about it.
As far as keeping it tidy, clean as you go. That's the only way.

 

[YellowSocks]

Never heard this question before "Tidy Kitchen Meal?" Tidy to me would mean something that didn't reek out the house. Grilled onions, pot roasts,brocoli those things infiltrate guest areas. Tidy? Hm I clean up as I go and am a maniac about it, ask the rest of the innkeeping family here. There is never a dish left OUT anywhere, I even obsess over my countertops to keep them clutter free.
Tidy would be a salad? or grill a steak outside and add rice and baked potato and steamed carrots?.

Never heard this question before "Tidy Kitchen Meal?" Tidy to me would mean something that didn't reek out the house. Grilled onions, pot roasts,brocoli those things infiltrate guest areas. Tidy? Hm I clean up as I go and am a maniac about it, ask the rest of the innkeeping family here. There is never a dish left OUT anywhere, I even obsess over my countertops to keep them clutter free.
Tidy would be a salad? or grill a steak outside and add rice and baked potato and steamed carrots?

We have one kitchen. For those meals that reek (one man's reek is another man's savory aroma), we reserve those for non-guest days. On guests days, we eat breakfast standing up and quickly.
Our kitchen opens to the great room, where we serve breakfast. When our guests enter in the morning, the are bombarded with a host of wonderful smells of their breakfast being prepared. As long as we steer clear of preparing kimchee for breakfast, we're not too worried about it.
As far as keeping it tidy, clean as you go. That's the only way.
.

On guests days, we eat breakfast standing up and quickly.

On guest days my boys eat breakfast in the breakfast nook (if they're up and hungry). I eat there too, around 9:30 or 10 a.m. once the dining room is cleared. Sometimes guests see me eating, but not very often.
=)
Kk.

 

[Mary at Bridgewater Inn and Cottage]

haha ~ tidy kitchen? i like a big kitchen, like a clean kitchen, but do big cooking, make big messes, wear big aprons. clean as i go. food odors still wafted through the place but it was my home ~ so i didn't stress over it. often guests would peek in 'what's cookin?' it was all good.
mid week when it was usually quieter, mid-day, i'd really scour that kitchen, top to bottom.

.

O.K. I am asking what meals do you all cook for yourselves, keeping in mind we all do not want a big mess but a quick good meal at dinner time.No slim fast .I arrive home at 4p.m. (check in time, sometimes)do this that for guest and eat too much the same thing such as,cheese crackers,salad,potatoe,etc. Any good quick food ideas ? ( No, no one comes into my kitchen).. Mary in Bridgewater, Va.

 

[gillumhouse]

Unless we have gone out and guests get back before us, they do not have to enter my kitchen (if we are gone, the kitchen door in used), but I cannot count how many guests have pulled up a stool to talk while I fix breakfast - and if you want to describe a disaster area my kitchen while making breakfast is it. I have very little area for me to use (I live with DH, he is more permanent than guests) but guests gravitate to the kitchen in the mornings - even with the coffee on the buffet in the dining room. I am not going to tell them go away. I have practice in working around someone (DH) so it works. There is no way I am allowing anyone else (other than DH) to COOK in my kitchen. This is the arrangement that works for me and my guests. They LIKE me! And neat is not a word associated with me.

 

[gillumhouse]

haha ~ tidy kitchen? i like a big kitchen, like a clean kitchen, but do big cooking, make big messes, wear big aprons. clean as i go. food odors still wafted through the place but it was my home ~ so i didn't stress over it. often guests would peek in 'what's cookin?' it was all good.
mid week when it was usually quieter, mid-day, i'd really scour that kitchen, top to bottom.

.

O.K. I am asking what meals do you all cook for yourselves, keeping in mind we all do not want a big mess but a quick good meal at dinner time.No slim fast .I arrive home at 4p.m. (check in time, sometimes)do this that for guest and eat too much the same thing such as,cheese crackers,salad,potatoe,etc. Any good quick food ideas ? ( No, no one comes into my kitchen).. Mary in Bridgewater, Va.
.

Every so often I will defrost some venison and either bake it or crock pot it. I rarely bother to cook for just me - open a can or scrounge for leftovers from the last time I did cook. Maybe boil up some pirogis and sometimes will make some potatoes that I mash with sour cream and light Velveeta. I eat at the computer when guests are out when we have them or whenever I think about eating otherwise.

 

[YellowSocks]

My friend just showed me the niftiest way to do corn on the cob... Cut the top of the husk (hair) off, run water into the ear from the tap. Shake off excess water. Nuke in microwave for 3 mins. Pull off husks and hair comes, too.
No hair, no steam, no mess... very fast, very tasty. Corn stays hot until you husk it. I'm hooked!
=)
Kk.