Adjustable cooktops make chefs' work easier

by Nicole Weston, Posted May 29th 2006 @ 7:01AM

In home kitchens, cooks have been known to complain about the height of the countertops. If they're too high or too low, you back can hurt after working away for only an hour or two. Imagine, if you will, that you have to work at that uncomfortable counter for hours on end and that will give you a sense of the discomfort that some professional cooks and bakers can feel when they have to work in a kitchen that isn't scaled to suit them.

It is unrealistic to assume that every kitchen can accommodate every chef, or that kitchens must all be custom-built just in case there is both a 5'1" and 6'2" employee working in the same space. The cost would simply be too great. Consequently, kitchens are built to the same standards (33"-36"). Two University of Wisconsin-Stout researchers invented a mobile, adjustable-height kitchen cooktop (with an induction burner) and food prep table that can help make work easier for cooks and still affordable for restaurants. The researchers who invented the cooking table specialize in injury and rehabilitation. They say that the optimal height for a cooking work surface is two inches below the elbow. Working at the correct height can prevent injury and improve efficiency. The tables can range in height from 27"-47," heights that should accommodate 90% of the population. The best part is that the tables adjust automatically at the touch of a button, meaning that the tables remain flat and there is no need to clear off works-in-progress to adjust them.

For now, the patent-pending tables will be aimed at the commercial sector, but there are clearly applications in the private sector, as well.

[Image Dunn Country News]

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Filed Under: Newspapers, Chefs & Restaurants, New Products, Restaurants
Tags: chef, cook, cooking, cooktop, food prep, injury, kitchen, new products, prep, restaurant, table, work, working

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-29-2006 @10:42AM Allison said... two inches below the elbow ?? That sounds insanely high, unless I'm misunderstanding how they measure that. My kitchen island, which my sweetie and I built to be exactly the right height for us (and our thick wood cutting boards) is about wrist height, or 7 inches below the elbow. The built-in counters are much higher and I would find them extremely uncomfortable if they did more than hold our microwave, sink, and drainrack. And they are still not close to only 2 inches below the elbow.
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5-29-2006 @10:49PM J Wynia said... 2 inches below the elbow is pretty much exactly where I'd want it. At 6'4", that puts my ideal counters at 45" tall: a dream I've never had the privledge of working on. Standard counters are way too low for me to be comfortable. They're actually at or below waist height on me.

For the record, it actually would take 12" (instead of 7") below the elbow to get to my wrists. Allison, how tall are you and your sweetie?

The average man in the United States is 5'9" and the average woman 5'4". Average counters are aimed squarely at that height. Those of us outside that range are the ones most in need of this kind of thing.
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5-30-2006 @3:19PM Allison said... well if I actually measure right to the bottom of my hand, it's 9 and a bit inches, but I meant "wrist area". I'm 5'8", my SO is 6'. Our counters are 34.5" (add 1.5" for our thickest cutting board) and yes, that's also below my waist. Maybe it's because I like to bake bread and you need to be above the dough to knead properly. But when we built our island, we actually got part way through, then made it shorter because we thought it would be uncomfortable to use that high. Maybe it's personal preference, but I like my counters to be lower than my waist so I'm not holding my arms up too much, especially if I have something like a bowl on the countertop.
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