Buy stainless spoons (both slotted and non-slotted) which are solid and won't bend no matter how tough the job. Also, buy several high quality wooden spoons for stirring delicate dishes like risotto (the sharp edge of a metal spoon would cut or bruise the rice).

Convection ovens allow you to bake more foods (cookies, muffins, etc.) at once with even browning, but without the need to shift and rotate pans. A convection oven is the same as a conventional oven except a fan is installed in the back interior of the oven. The fan is used to blow and force the heat to circulate in the oven and around the food, thus eliminating the need to rotate and shift pans. In reality, though, even with the most expensive convection ovens, you will still need to rotate your foods, because there will always exist still hot spots in the cavity, because the cavity is small. Don't compare home convection ovens with most commercial convection ovens used by bakers and small food manufacturers, because their commercial ovens are much larger than home ovens and commercial ovens don't have any hot spots and therefore, there's no need to shift and rotate pans.

Ask yourself a myriad of questions about your lifestyle (and that of your family), so it's as well to have as many of the answers ready as possible. Consider:

• who's going to be using the kitchen - is it just the cook or does everyone tend to congregate there?
• Do you keep pets who eat or sleep in the room?
• Do you need a table or will a breakfast bar suffice?
• More and more families are creating a living kitchen where there is not only a dining table but also some soft seating and a television.
• Would you consider building an extension or giving up a formal dining room to create a large kitchen/diner?
• What other tasks are undertaken in the room apart from cooking? Is it used for laundry, ironing, homework, entertaining?