Click for a behind-the-scenes look at Restaurant Daniel's remarkable kitchen. Kitchen Design This kitchen at the DANIEL at Park Avenue and 65th Street is literally Daniel Boulud's dream kitchen. When the chef first met with the kitchen design consultants at Clevenger Frable LaValee, he handed them 27 hand drawn sketches depicting his vision of each kitchen station. From that point on, the team at Clevenger Frable worked very closely with Daniel to define the perfect kitchen plans for this space. Daniel Boulud's extensive knowledge of the function and flow of his restaurant kitchen and his experience with the old Le Cirque kitchen were invaluable assets in this project. The main restaurant kitchen is quite compact at 1800 square feet, but provides a layout for eight hot stations and three cold stations that appears spacious, open and colorful. The pick-up area's ceiling is 13 feet high, while the work areas have nine-foot ceilings. The existing windows were incorporated into the design to provide the natural lighting that is so rare and highly prized in professional kitchens. The Mediterranean green of the hand glazed terra cotta wall tile imported from Provence has a gently soothing effect. Sunny, yellow lava stone pick-up station countertops further enhance the sense of light and space. At the heart of the kitchen are two custom cooking suites. The handsome gas suite with hot plates, open burners and grills was made by Bonnet Cidelcem, the noted French manufacturer. Bringing DANIEL's kitchen into the next millenium is an electric cooking suite, designed by Jean Pierre Boué of Grande Cuisine Systems in Toronto. The latter, with its six induction elements provides high precision temperature control enabling the chef to experiment with new techniques and recipes. The units have a smooth, flush single surface for cooking and cleaning ease. The countertops are made of a titanium chrome stainless steel alloy, and all the units have stainless steel cladding and chrome trim and hardware. The ventilation hoods and workstations around these units also incorporate the stainless steel cladding and chrome trim. Providing so much equipment in so small an area means utilizing as much wall and under counter space as possible. All wall storage cabinets have glass doors to keep the appearance of the kitchen clean and enhance the spacious atmosphere. The expediter board used during service stows away when not in use. The dish pantry incorporates a custom made two-tiered rotating carousel designed to protect fine china and crystal from breakage. This also provides the wait staff with more soiled drop-off space in a smaller area than a traditional soiled dish table. The prep kitchen, bulk refrigeration, and baking/pastry areas are located in a 2000 square foot area on the floor below the restaurant kitchen. The prep and pastry finishing area are separated from the cooking and baking areas so that each can have its own climate-controlled environment. The bakery area includes a custom three-deck electric oven with built-in proofer below as well as a large convection oven. The baking/pastry finishing room is specifically designed to store chocolate at peak conditions. Special racks and cabinets were designed to store the many pastry molds and cutters.