Corina Weibel bought her house in the Silver Lake neighborhood of L.A. seven years ago. She ripped out ratty cupboard doors, including lower ones destroyed by a previous owner’s pit bull. Drywall came down, revealing an insect infestation. “It’s the irony of my life,” she jokes — a restaurant chef with a make-do home kitchen. But Weibel proves that a real cook can infuse a humble space with function and soul. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Corina Weibel, chef and co-owner of Canelé restaurant in the Atwater Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, has the kitchen of a real cook. Everything is out in the open. Her secret: There are no secrets.
Weibel holds an egg from one of her three chickens: Dolly, Madison and Chanel. The roughly 6-by-8-foot kitchen has no dishwasher and no food processor, but it does have a Wolf range, which friends pitched in to buy as a housewarming gift. “It’s never let me down,” she says. “I love the way it looks — kind of industrial.” She played off the range details by painting walls red, also the color of the toaster and teapot. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Rows of glass jars hold dried beans and grains, vinegars and spices. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Well-seasoned frying pans hang from S-hooks. Rubber scrapers, ladles and wooden spoons also are at the ready. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Most days start with café au lait. Weibel has five stove-top espresso makers, some with bottoms blackened by use. Days might end with a dinner party; Weibel is known for entertaining as many as 50 or 60 friends at a time. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Over the sink is a little tray holding a three-legged clay pig, a Mexican charm to bring good fortune. “I’m still waiting,” she says, then adding after a moment. “I guess fortune doesn’t have to mean money.” (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Peaches ripen on plates atop her wooden bar, which separates the kitchen from the living room. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Wind chimes made from a whisk, fork, spoon and cookie cutters. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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One day, Weibel says, she’d like a new floor and a wooden counter top to replace her old and broken white and gold tiles. But until then, she makes do quite well.
Mission: Kitchen, our series of chefs’ kitchen profiles, consumer guides and product reviews, will run weekly through the holidays. For the latest installments plus other articles from the world of home and garden, check our L.A. at Home blog.
