Muskoka Outdoor Kitchens
Muskoka summers are short and glorious. Maximizing the potential of your cottage’s outdoor spaces makes it easier to own your time there and get the utmost out of every beautiful day.
Just as for your indoor spaces, skillful, informed design is critical to making an outdoor kitchen that works. This is where the professionals at Muskoka BBQ and Outdoor Kitchen Centre come in. Led by owner-operator Peter Briese, they’ll view your unique space, discuss your goals, and help you create a design that makes it easy for you, your family, and your guests to squeeze every remarkable drop out of each long, sunny summer day.
By nailing down the answers to these questions, we can make smart suggestions about the best equipment and layout for your outdoor kitchen.
BRING EXCELLENCE TO YOUR PATIO
This would include elements such as whether you’d get use out of a flat top or a grill (or both); whether you’ll benefit from having a sink or a beverage fridge and, if you will, where they would be best positioned; and whether you’ll need a lot or a little counter space. With our depth of knowledge and experience, we can also help you avoid pitfalls that can be hard to anticipate. For instance, that stainless-steel outdoor kitchen you pulled out of a magazine?
It might not work with your exposure, where a sunny day can create issues with dangerously hot countertops and glare.
We’ll also walk you through your aesthetic options, from stone surrounds to powder-coated stainless steel to wood finishes. The options are numerous, and we can help you achieve the perfect union of beauty and functionality, whether you’re going for something modern, something traditional, or something in between.
CABINETRY AND COUNTERTOP BRANDS WE WORK WITH
Answers to some of our frequently asked questions about Outdoor Kitchens.
John H: I took a spin around the lake and it seems that every year more and more cottagers have outdoor kitchens. How is outdoor cooking evolving?
Muskoka BBQ:The biggest change we’re seeing in Muskoka is people looking to optimize multiple outdoor spaces for cooking. As they have gotten used to outdoor cooking at their cottage, they’ve started to see the potential in having different cooking options in different outdoor spaces. Let’s say you have an outdoor kitchen set up at the lower deck of your boathouse. You spend the day there, watching the kids swim, and you prepare lunch on the BBQ, with refrigerated beverages handy.
When the sun starts to go down, though, you might want to be closer to the cottage. The younger kids head to bed, the older kids are inside watching TV or playing board games. Now, as the sun begins to set, you enjoy some quieter time on a patio, where you make dinner in your FONTANA or ALFA pizza oven. Then, in the morning, it’s bacon and pancakes prepared on an EVO flat-top cooker on the deck, where your family members wander out for breakfast in their PJs. People in Muskoka are really starting to understand how they use their outdoor spaces and then make the most of them by tailoring outdoor kitchens and cooking areas to match.
Shannon B: I’m thinking of having an outdoor kitchen built. How does the process begin?
Muskoka BBQ: We’ll start by talking about what kind of cooking you want to do. Are you thinking primarily of entertaining at cocktail hour? If so, we’ll need to include an ice maker and a beverage fridge. Do you typically visit your cottage early and stay into the fall season? We’ll want to include BROMIC patio heaters if you do. How many people will you be cooking for? That will suggest the size of the grill you’ll need. Will you use a side-burner? So, we’ll ask a lot of those sorts of questions.
Where you’re looking at installing a full outdoor kitchen, we’ll come out to your property to view your spaces, so we can help you develop a realistic design that maximizes their potential. We’ll also take you around our Design Centre. There we can show you the different ways we construct our outdoor kitchens, with different masonry and cabinetry options, hardware, and cooking appliances. We have examples of everything from the galvanized steel and aluminum used in framework to finishing options such as stone cladding or clear cedar that can be stained to match your cottage. With our Design Centre you’ll be able to touch the materials and get a physical sense of them, instead of just looking at a photo.
Thomas R: I love the idea, but a whole kitchen is a big investment.
Can an outdoor kitchen be built gradually?
Muskoka BBQ: Absolutely. Many of our clients have long-term plans for their outdoor kitchen areas. With that in mind, we help them begin, usually with a suitable quality BBQ to which they can then add other outdoor cooking appliances, prep areas, and cabinetry year to year. Where Muskoka BBQ and Outdoor Kitchen Centre is really valuable is in helping you envision your end goal and work towards it with wise investments in quality products that make sense for your plans, your cottage, and your family. We have the expertise to steer our clients away from options that won’t work for their unique space so that no purchase ends up being underutilized.
Terry V: I haven’t cooked outdoors other than on a home BBQ.
It’s a bit intimidating.
Muskoka BBQ: We totally understand. Outdoor cooking has exploded in the last decade, and while it was once limited to mostly BBQs (which themselves have really evolved), we’re now also talking about things like TRAEGER smokers, EVO flat-top grills, and FONTANA or ALFA pizza ovens. The great thing about Muskoka BBQ and Outdoor Kitchens is that we’re not just going to drop off your appliance and drive away. We’re going to be there to support you as barbeque experts.
We’ll assemble your purchase so we know it’s operational and set up safely. We also have an annual servicing program that ensures your outdoor cooking appliances will be tuned-up and ready to roll for the season before you get there.
Amy S: I have a design in mind for an outdoor kitchen that includes things like a louvered pergola and fire feature options. Will Muskoka BBQ and Outdoor Kitchen Centre have everything I need?
Muskoka BBQ: We are BBQ and outdoor cooking experts. In order to maintain that expertise, we focus on outdoor cooking and related products. So, while we won’t carry every product you might envision for your outdoor cooking and entertaining spaces, we do have longstanding professional relationships with many different product and service providers and contractors throughout Muskoka. We can help you make smart connections for any specific project needs that fall outside the scope of our expertise.
