Build a fire in the night and shelter takes shape, separating light from darkness, domestic from wild. Throw up some walls and you’re in a kitchen; inside and outside divide. Where are we when we cook outside?

We’ve been looking at outdoor kitchens. You can get a lot of cool stuff, and if you’ve got the bucks you can bring all of the amenities of the indoors out. When we cook outdoors we aim to tame the wild, but to what degree? If the joy of cooking over an open fire is about breaking free of the constraints of conventional cooking then why are we so hell bent on blurring the distinction? How much kitchen stuff do you really need to barbecue? Who do you want to be when you grill?

Basic outdoor kitchen, Brisbane Marina, Brisbane, CA

It’s all about being tamed. If home is where the hearth is, then bringing fire back outside unleashes it. We’re thinking that outdoor cooking is fundamentally different than cooking in a kitchen, and we’re thinking about where we end up when the conventions of the kitchen usurp the power of fire in the wild. Let us know what you think.

Outdoor Kitchens Design Center, Mountain View, CA

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