The Kitchen
A journey through time-and the homes of Julia Child, Georgia O’Keeffe, Elvis Presley, and many others in search of the perfect design

A book by QCC member John Ota 

Many of us have fond memories about a special kitchen and John Ota is no exception. John remembers his mother’s kitchen as a special place and where he discovered his passion for cooking.

Architecture is another one of John’s big interests. Before retiring, he worked for 25 years for the Ontario Ministry of Culture on heritage architecture projects. He was the government lead on the Renaissance ROM project, the AGO Transformation project, and the Revitalization of Ontario Place.

The idea for his book came to life when John and his wife Franny were looking to renovate their kitchen. ‘I am obsessive,’ John tells us. So before designing their new kitchen, John wanted to know everything about kitchens and set out on his journey to discover the North American kitchen’s history.

In his book, he visits 12 very different kitchens – from a pilgrim kitchen to Elvis Presley’s kitchen in Graceland. John not only visits kitchens, he even cooks in many of them. Each chapter of the book is devoted to one kitchen and describes his observations about the kitchen and how the North American kitchen has evolved over time. Each chapter ends with a letter from John to his wife, where he summarizes his findings and inspiration he has gathered for their new kitchen. It certainly sounds like it will be a memorable kitchen!

The Kitchen is available to buy in online bookstores.

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