Unit Kitchens
Unit kitchens are commonly used in instructional settings such as culinary schools, junior high and high schools. They are designed to re-create home/restaurant cooking conditions for each student. Unit kitchens were first introduced in 1916 for use in home-economics classrooms. The unit kitchen allowed for actual training in a “real kitchen”. The design of each unit in a high school, for example, would either be a small three sided room or a u-shaped area with essential cooking equipment. Typically the equipment would include a sink, stove, work space, and necessary utensils. The design would allow open area for the instructor to supervise the activities. Later, as culinary/cooking schools emerged, they adapted the unit kitchen idea for the “real restaurant kitchen” experience.