When I started writing this blog four years ago, I had one agenda in mind – to make it as informative as possible for our daily lives. DIYs, peeking into people’s homes, sharing organizing tidbits, and where to buy what was a means of achieving that goal. Over the years, I believe I’ve strayed away from that by showcasing too many pretty pictures. Styled homes do a great deal of good to our senses but I often wonder what lies behind that shiny closet, or inside the spic-and span drawers in a kitchen. If you are short on space, or looking for ideas on sorting your cutlery, these pictures do little!

One cloudy morning last week, I met Archana of Archana’s Kitchen to do a kitchen tour. Archana needs no introduction for foodies and wannabes. She wears many hats – food blogger, consultant chef, culinary trainer, and caterer in a previous avatar. Why Archana? Who better than someone who cooks 145837 different recipes in a week spanning  desserts to savouries with exotic to everyday ingredients from Mediterranean to Thai cuisines. The kitchen better be good to get all this done, right? You bet. Archana gladly welcomed me into her kitchen and was gracious enough to open up her kitchen, in the literal sense, and lay it bare for me and you to see.

All those mouth-watering pictures originate here.

First thoughts: Archana’s kitchen is a beautiful conconction of contradictions: dark wood but enough sunlight streaming in thr the east facing windows; modern appliances sitting side by side traditional utensils (think no non-stick cookware), thoughtfully organized to handle chaos, of a moderate size to cook for large numbers, and age-old dishes with a healthier spin.