Kitchens to covet: Room to live
Food photographer David Cotsworth shows us round his spacious, light-filled family kitchen in the heart of Surrey
I’m a food, portrait and lifestyle photographer. I live with my wife Becky, our two boys Charlie and Edward, dog Ziggy and cat Max in Englefield Green in Surrey, which is about 20 miles outside of London and within walking distance of Windsor Great Park. We’ve lived in the village for 14 years and absolutely love it here. Our open-plan kitchen is bright and modern, about 35 square meters, with a breakfast bar, dining and living areas and bifold doors that open out to the patio and garden – it’s the place we spend most of our time together as a family.
When we bought this house in 2016, it had a small kitchen with separate dining room. From the outset, we knew its potential and that we’d be taking on a project. We lived in it for a year to get a feel for what we wanted to change. We wanted a bigger kitchen that looked out to our garden and for it to be open plan, so we knocked the dining room through to the kitchen and extended to the side, giving us a much bigger living space. We worked with an architect to help us make the most of the space and incorporated a utility room to hide away appliances. The bifold doors, along with large roof windows, help bring in natural light – when we open them, it feels like we’re bringing the outside in.
The whole project (including the rest of the house) took around eight months and we decided to live on site, which was quite challenging – at one point we were sleeping and cooking in the living room. The lowest point was having to do the washing-up in the bath, but it did make our visit to Glastonbury festival that year seem like luxury.
I love how much natural light the kitchen gets, thanks to the seamless extension to the patio when opening the bifold doors. The underfloor heating is also great, as it allows you to maximise wall space without the need of radiators. The kitchen island is great for preparing food and being able to sit and socialise with friends and eat with the family. There’s also plenty of storage space, plus room to sit on the sofa looking out to the garden while the doors are open in summer.
It’s so nice to spend time as a family and chat about what we’ve been up to at school and work. I always remember when we were determined to host Christmas for the first time during the renovation. The kitchen fitter left on 23 December and we were still painting the skirting on Christmas Eve, an hour before everyone arrived. It would be the last Christmas we’d spend with my dad, so it was a special time.
Essential kitchen kit? Our cast-iron casserole.
What’s always in your fridge? Butter, chorizo and fresh herbs.
Is there a family dish you cook again and again? Roasted butternut squash with sage and chorizo, and penne pasta with plenty of parmesan.
Give us a recipe in a sentence, maybe something you eat when you’re on your own? Mushrooms on toast.
Favourite cookbook? Real Food by Nigel Slater.
Favourite restaurant? We love our local pub, The Beehive in Englefield Green – it does a great Sunday roast.
Favourite travel destination? In the UK, it’s North Cornwall and, overseas, India.
This year’s best food discovery Finally getting the crackling right on roast pork.
What do you cook when you want to unwind? Lamb and aubergine curry.
Reasons to be cheerful in 2022? Taking the kids and the dog out on the paddle board, and hopefully not falling in.
The olive recipe I unwind with…
Warm chorizo, avocado and feta salad
30 MINUTES | SERVES 2 | EASY | LC
mini chorizo cooking
sausages 8, halved
baby plum tomatoes 100g, halved
watercress 2 handfuls, woody stems discarded
sherry vinegar 2 tsp
dijon mustard 1 tsp
olive oil 1 tbsp
feta 100g, crumbled
avocado ½, sliced
crusty bread to serve
1 Fry the chorizo until browned and cooked through. Add the tomatoes to the same pan, season and cook until they just start to soften.
2 Put the watercress onto two plates. Whisk together the vinegar, mustard and olive oil, season, and use to dress the watercress.
3 Scatter over the feta and avocado, then spoon over the tomatoes and chorizo. Eat with crusty bread, if you like.
PER SERVING 394 kcals | fat 33.4G saturates 12.9G | carbs 4.3G | sugars 3.3G fibre 3.2G | protein 17.3G | salt 2.6G
Get the look
Inspired by David’s kitchen? Here’s how to create a similar look
1 Niels sheesham sideboard, £999, tikamoon.co.uk
2 Habitat Parr glass column table lamp, £20, argos.co.uk
3 Spider plant, £10, beardsanddaisies.co.uk
4 John Lewis & Partners Lorn extending dining table in oak, £1,599, johnlewis.com
5 Le Creuset Signature cast iron casserole dish (29cm), £295, selfridges.com
6 Lund solid wood dining chair with fabric seat, £129, barkerandstonehouse.co.uk
7 Amalie – Aboutcuts art print No 01, £31, pstrstudio.com
8 Hay lemon swirl glass splash vase, £59, libertylondon.com
9 Light single dome pendant by Brambly Cottage, £43.99, wayfair.co.uk
10 Stepped square patchwork cushion cover, £65, toa.st
