Karatassos kitchen redo great for hosting family

When he’s not greeting customers at Chops or overseeing the stuffed lobsters at Pano’s and Paul’s, Buckhead Life Restaurant founder Pano Karatassos is in his own kitchen, surrounded by family and friends.

Two years ago, the dean of the local restaurant community and his wife, Georgia, overhauled the kitchen in the 1984 house they built at the end of a secluded cul-de-sac on the edge of Buckhead.

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Pouya Dianat/pdianat@ajc.com

Chef Pano Karatassos and his wife Georgia made over their kitchen to include all the features that a chef would want, including rollout drawers for pots, pans and appliances and a great ventilation system.

Photos: More views of the Karatassos kitchen

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“We have three children, seven grandkids, and when we entertain, there are sometimes up to 60 people trying to get into the kitchen,” said Karatassos. “We needed more room for them. The renovation gave us a larger kitchen and dining area.”

Guests get to the kitchen through the new keeping room, a cozy sitting area with a flat-screen TV over a large fireplace. A rustic round chandelier with globes resembling candles hangs from the vaulted ceiling. To the right of the keeping room is an eating area with a large dining table and a picture window looking out to the pool and backyard. The living space is divided from the prep area by the breakfast bar of the granite island. The island is divided into a serving area and a workstation with the stove.

The old work space had dated white counters and cabinets and a Wolf stove with a downdraft vent. The rehab brought in walnut cabinets, some with frosted-glass fronts, and a Viking stove with six burners, a grill, a griddle and a stronger ventilation system. Installing that system required running an exhaust pipe through the ceiling of the kitchen.

“The Viking gave me the firepower we like,” said Karatassos. “I also liked the different settings on the vent. You can go from normal to really strong quickly.”

Karatassos also opted for a Viking microwave and dishwasher. The double convection ovens have a broiler on the top for easy access. A bay window over the sink is flanked by countertops that hold several gadgets, including a panini grill and a coffee maker. A warming drawer below the counters keeps food toasty and serves a dual purpose: “I like to warm my plates in there, too,” said Georgia Karatassos.

One of the island’s drawers was designed with trays to hold an array of utensils. A cabinet at the end of the island houses a shelf that lifts out to counter height. It holds the blender and mixer, which are plugged into an outlet inside the cabinet. A matching cabinet on the opposite end of the island houses the food processor.

“It’s very convenient because I love the Viking mixer but it’s too heavy to lift,” said Georgia Karatassos. “This way, I can just open the door and pull the shelf up, and it’s where I want it.”

“The neat thing about this setup is that when we have a lot of company, we can put all the cold foods around the front of the island and all the hot foods can stay on the stove on a low flame to keep warm,” said Pano Karatassos.

The dark wood floor flows into the adjacent butler’s pantry, with an ice maker, china storage and a second refrigerator.

“We live back here,” said Pano Karatassos. “Everything we need is right here. It’s hard to leave this room.”