Cook and Novelist Dame Prue Leith Chooses Miele

When it comes to designing your own kitchen, there are so many options for everything from the cabinetry and worksurfaces to the sink, tap and appliances. But when you are a renowned cook, restaurateur, journalist, cookery writer and broadcaster, it’s a dream come true. Dame Prue Leith has recently moved house in the Cotswolds and has designed a brand new kitchen to go with it. The appliances of course, were key and for Prue, there was only one choice. “Miele have been making solid, durable, beautiful kit for years. I love Miele,” she says. “Plus, of course, they look so cool, shiny black glass or stainless steel, in my bright yellow kitchen”

For her new kitchen, Prue knew exactly what she did and didn’t want. “Below waist height I don’t want shelves,” she says. “I want drawers that glide out at a flick of the finger and close with a silent sigh. Above waist height I don’t want cupboards. I want narrow open shelves so the flours and sugars are lined up in an easy to grab row. Without the caster sugar lurking behind the granulated and muscovado, or the flour packet bursting as I scrabble behind the tinned tomatoes and bottles of vinegar in a deep dark cupboard.”

Prue chose Sheraton units from kitchen brand Omega, for whom she is an ambassador. The sunny yellow design includes slimline larder units for bottles, jars and packets as well as internal narrow drawers for cutlery, hanging racks and rails and a raft of Miele appliances that do everything from vacuum sealing food for freshness to cooking up speedy stir-fries on the Tepan Yaki hob. “I vac-pack most of the stuff I freeze,” says Prue, “in stackable, quick-to-thaw flat bags.” The pull-out Miele EVS 7010 Vacuum Seal Drawer is one of her favourite gadgets and Prue often uses it to vacuum-pack batch-cooked meals.

A bank of built-in appliances houses two Miele H 7464 BP single ovens with Moisture Plus technology, which allows busts of steam to be added when cooking, ideal when baking and roasting along with an XL DGC 7845 combination steam oven and H 7840 BM compact microwave combination oven (all in Obsidian Black). The K 2802 Vi RHH MasterCool fridge and F2812 Vi LHH MasterCool freezer provide maximum storage as well as keeping produce in the best possible condition and fresher for longer. “I've never had quite enough ovens for visiting family and for parties,” reveals Prue, “but this time I’ve gone to town with a bank of four with steamer oven, microwave and two conventional/fan ovens.”

The stylish sink run with its Silestone by Cosentino worksurface and integrated sinks includes two Miele Generation 7000 XXL fully integrated dishwashers, which have been crafted for 20 years of sparking results. The large island also includes the KM 7697 FL FS induction hob, CS 7632 FL Tepan Yaki, H 7890 BP 90cm built-under oven and the EWS 7020 warming drawer for low temperature cooking. Everything in fact, a professional or novice cook could need to whip up everyday meals as well as entertain on a large scale.

There’s also a well thought out utility room with Miele appliances to take care of laundry needs. As with all Miele washing machine the 9kg W1 washing machine model is tested for up to 20 years (see below disclaimer) of perfect laundry. This includes running the cottons 95°C programme for 10,000 hours, the equivalent of five washes a week for 20 years. As well as opening and closing the door 60,000 times to replicate once a day for 64 years. The washing machine has been paired with a 9kg T1 tumble dryer for easy, effortless washing and drying in all weathers.

Additional elements such as the green and yellow chairs, which Prue’s husband John found on the internet, add to the cheerful look full of character and charm. Prue could not be happier with the result, and the fact that moving around the large open-plan space involves a lot of steps, makes it all the more enjoyable. “One does walk a fair bit,” she explains, “round the huge central island, from the cooking area to the wash-up to the prep area where the mixing machines are, to the larder and back to the sink. Yesterday I cooked all day and my Fitbit told me I’d done 14,000 steps. Delighted, I promptly excused myself from walking the dogs.”

Disclaimer: During the development phase of the Miele W1 product series, Miele has tested the functionality of core components in durability tests simulating a 20 years average use in an average household. For more information please visit www.miele.co.uk/20years

Photography by Paul Craig

Visit prue-leith.com for more information.