Ah! Now height-adjustable cooktop & food prep

[Gifted Gourmet]

article here

Two University of Wisconsin-Stout rehabilitation specialists have invented a mobile, height-adjustable cooktop and food preparation table ...Whereas the standard heights for work services in the food industry are 33 inches or 36 inches, the new system adjusts in elevation from 27 inches to 47 inches to meet the human factor needs of 90 percent of the general population... The appropriate height for a chef is as individual as the chef. “The proper height elevation of a work surface for a cooking activity is two inches below an individual’s elbow,”. Proper elevation of a work surface can help prevent physical injury, particularly from repetitive stress activities...

Have you ever thought about the height of your food prep area and whether it is suitable for your personal needs?

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Have you ever thought about the height of your food prep area and whether it is suitable for your personal needs?

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Oh, yeah. I'm short'ish, and have had some real issues with reaching the back burners on the stove. I read once that Julia Child had her countertops at a certain height. Didn't I also read somewhere that Sara Moulton's BOH jobs had platforms for her?

I don't stand and prep for hours and hours at home, so I'm not having the countertops lowered. I may have a pull-out step installed under the cabinets so I can reach a little more easily.

[Anna N]

I have always wondered why countertops were not adjustable as I am short and it's a struggle to use a standard countertop for prep for long periods of time. I understand, of course, that it's a matter of cost. But even a small surface unit that was adjustable would be helpful.

Hubby built me a wonderful work unit in the apartment that was custom height for me but then it was of no interest to anyone else and now sits in my laundry room! Platforms don't work well as I tend to trip over them or step off them unexpectedly and sprain an ankle.

[I_call_the_duck]

Absolutely. I'm also short, and have always had trouble with the height of countertops.

In cooking school, all the work surfaces were so high that I sometimes knelt on a stool to chop chocolate. And when I was working for Pastry Witch, she, who is also short, had a platform by her work station.

I always say that when it comes time to redesign my kitchen, it will most certainly have adjustable work surfaces of some sort. I'm knocking around an idea in my head which will be good for people of various heights.

Yes, Julia did have her countertops readjusted to accomodate her height. There's a great picture of her at the Smithsonian, in which she is standing by the stove in one of her first apartments. The comes somewhere to her mid-thighs.

[Gifted Gourmet]

There's a great picture of her at the Smithsonian, in which she is standing by the stove in one of her first apartments.  The comes somewhere to her mid-thighs.

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The 'visual' on this makes my back ache!

[Gigi4808]

Being seriously short (under 5'0) I would love to have an adjustable work space- it would be alot more practical then having everything brought down to my height (the S.O. is 6'0+).

[I_call_the_duck]

There's a great picture of her at the Smithsonian, in which she is standing by the stove in one of her first apartments.  The comes somewhere to her mid-thighs.

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The 'visual' on this makes my back ache!

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Which may attest for her hunchback.

[patsikes]

I am very tall 6' 5" and would love adjustable work surfaces. When doing some repetitive tasks (hand dipping chocolates for example), I put about an 8" riser under my sheet pan. The worst though is doing dishes...

[nessa]

Why yes, as a matter of fact, I HAVE thought about adjustable work surfaces and cooktops. I'm 4'8.5". My boobs are about cook top height, counter height... My hair about flame height. I can't knead bread without having to grab the stepstool so I have a modicum of leverage.

Nothing in my kitchen is suitable for me. I can only reach the first shelf comfortably, maybe the second but its a serious stretch. I want to redo my kitchen with nessa-height everything but then we would never be able to sell the place. Not that we are planning on moving any time soon, as we just moved in 2 months ago, but still, one has to think of the distant future.

/whine

[FistFullaRoux]

Of course I have. I'm 6'2", juuuuust too tall for most counters. So I have to hunch over ever so slightly or spread my feet apart into a half-split. Painful. I last about 10 minutes on a good day before I need a break. But, I can make full use of the upper cabinets.

My wife is 5'3", and we've already planned for differing counter heights when we do our kitchen when we get the whole house thing figured out. We each get a sink at the right height as well, although I'd love to do it like this. There would be plumbing issues though.

Edited May 30, 2006 by FistFullaRoux (log)

[mizducky]

Oh man, I would so love some adjustable-height work surfaces!

Not only am I on the short side (5'3"), but the achey-bod issues have made it painful to lean over any counter to do work, even a reasonably proper-height one. It would be lovely to have a work surface I could pull up a chair to--and *not* one of those breakfast-bar type counters where you have to sit on a stool (which I find nigh impossible to even climb onto, let alone sit on for any length of time). As it is, I've been known to just take stuff out to any nearby dinette table and chop away out there, or to just pull a regular-height chair up to a regular kitchen counter even if it means having the chopping board about even with my throat. Fortunately I'm having less problems with the leaning-over-my-work thing these days, but still--it would be nice to avoid backstrain whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Edited May 31, 2006 by mizducky (log)