We designed our kitchen for two cooks, which is generally true of how we function.

We have the prep zone next to the stove. Our prep sink is 15x17. The prep sink is used for cleaning veggies, filling pots, dumping pasta water, throwing diposal waste from chopping and cleaning. The trash bin is also nearby to sweep prep garbage into. Under the prep sink we have a roll out bin for onions, potatoes, shallots etc. In this area we also have an undercounter fridge for frequently used items such as butter, eggs, certain veggies or whatever the cook is working on that meal.

The prep zone and cooktop area is a protected U-area. This was a must for DH, who does a great deal of cooktop and prep work. He prefers to work alone.

I, on the otherhand, generally works well with a co-opted space. I also do more of the baking and cleanup. The oven starts the galley at the end of the U area, so we both have access to it, should the need arise. The clean up area, a little further down the galley, has a single bowl sink that is flanked with a DW on either side. I treasure my sink grid! I plop down cast iron skillets, heavy pots, dirty dishes and can soak them till I get around to washing. The dishwasher dishes go right into the DW, generally pot and pans in the other to dry. I generally use one DW for running and one DW for a dish rack, drying, or until I need to run it if I have a lot of dirty dishes. Never have a dish rack on the counter anymore!
Right across from the clean up area is a hutch for storing most of the dishes and bakeware. So easy for putting away.
That is our work process and it works great for us, hope that is helpful for you.

Floor plan

Mine is kinda prep-cook with an alternate prep space in the cleanup area. Small things changed from the original elevations as other decisions became final.

Like Lajan, I also have a sink about 15 x 17 with an attached drain board. We ended up doing a stainless counter on the far side of the range.

I do not like to work in a wet area so my prep sink is a pot filler, drainer, occasional ice bath, and hand washers. The entire stainless area makes a nice counter for dealing with fish and meats and I have a cutting board that fits over the drain board. The stainless area is also a nice set down for hot pots or oven pans. Cutting boards are under the prep sink. Potholders, foil, parchment and wax papers, lids, glass measuring cups, linens and paper plates are in the drawer unit.

The main prep is the 54" wood counter on the other side of the range. I know that I wander to the ref often during prep - so now my commute is about one step! All dry food storage is in the pantry located right beside the ref. Potatoes, onions, garlic and such also live in the pantry. Knives are hung on the side of the ref. Prep tools, bowls and everyday service dishes are in the 36" cabinet underneath. The other 18" cabinet holds the main trash and recycling with a removable container for the compost pile.

On top is the toaster, soft butter, frequently used spices and an exposed strip of plug mold. There is always an outlet exactly where needed! I keep very small prep bowls and sometimes olive oil in the window sill.

Almost all pots are hanging from the rack along with some cooking-prep tools. A few flat pans - like the big pancake griddle are under the Baking pans and trays are over the ref.

dh has commented on the cooking improvement - meaning mine :) I had not realized that I was consistently choosing to do things that fit the available space. It's also a lot easier for both of us to work in the kitchen - I glare at him a lot less!

I have never had a double bowl sink so I can't speak to that issue. The only things we soak are pots and baking pans - like you, generally just by filling them.

Our prep sink is on the corner of our island so it can be used for prep and cooking along the end of the island, and baking and other uses along the side. But I think I've told you that before.

I've always preferred dbl bowl sinks, so that like we've also discussed, the food prep could TRY to stay separate from dirty dishes. But I didn't think about it much and went ahead with a double bowl sink in this kitchen. I wish I hadn't, because with the prep sink, it's no longer necessary to separate things in the cleanup sink, and I could've used the larger bowl for cleaning/soaking the larger parts of my rangetop and larger skillets with their long handles. Also, I can't remember what your situation is in regard to children, but if you have or will have babies and toddlers in the house, a single basin sink can be a wonderful baby bathtub, and a good way to keep a toddler (or 2) happy while Mom works in the kitchen. :-D

I put a prep sink in my new kitchen, on the advice of everyone here--and I'm glad that I did. In my opinion, 12 inches is way too small to be of any serious use--at least for me. Mine is 18X21 and it's big enough to easily wash a 20 lb turkey or a stray cookie sheet. (though normally, I ban dirty dishes from the prep sink to keep it open for food use). I might have chosen a 16 inch, but I needed a top mount and it was either this size or a 'bar sink' size, which I did not want. Like Rhome's prep sink, it's on the corner of my island, which makes it extra user friendly for people on two sides of the island. It's also right across the aisle from my DW, which I like because I can toss my prep dishes in the sink and then transfer them to the DW easily. I put a pop-out garbage can under my prep sink, so I can toss scraps and such in there while prepping and washing veggies. I have a large expanse of work area next to it as well, like 4 feet. It works beautifully for me.

Clean up sink is a huge Blanco supersingle. I do not miss the double bowl of my old kitchen--I usually do just what you do, take a large dirty bowl/pan, wash it out and use it for the rest of the dirty things in the sink that aren't going into the DW. Otherwise, I also keep a dishpan under the sink to bring out if I need it. I wouldn't do a double bowl sink again, especially now that I have a prep sink. I love having a very large, very deep clean up sink--it holds a lot of dishes that are awaiting their turn in the DW without making the kitchen look messy.

I hope that helps.

Cj

In discussing "drainboards" it's important to have definitions. I always think of a drainboard as a flush to counter installation with runnels and/or slope, outside of the sink bowl. The "drainboard" sink you were looking at before, however, has what I would call a "reef" or a "shelf", within the bowl. I'm pretty sure (though not entirely) that B'more's drainboard is more like the former.

Most of my prep is vegetables and fruit. ==sexist statement warning== Although I'm capable of dressing meats, I am perfectly happy to let the men do it. And if they're not going to do it on my schedule, I'll let the butcher do it. That's why I had the butcher cut my chickens for the arroz con pollo, and will let the men move furniture instead. :) When I buy a whole chicken, I usually do wash it, and check for pin feathers, and all of that. Sometimes I'll use poultry shears to hack out the backbone (I said I can, not that I'm good at it.) And there's always the he-man with the hacksaw and the mallet. I like cooking chickens, but hate flying bits when the hacking gets too enthusiastic. Therefore, and also because the perimeter counter is an inch and a half lower than the island, the chickens get cleaned at the clean-up sink. Meats get trimmed there too. Cross contamination is foiled. The clean-up zone is only steps from each of the prep and cooking zones, so it's no trouble to bring the pot to the meat and then put it in its next area of attention.

My island is the perfect height for me for prep. I have my combo trough-bowl sink. My knives and gadgets are on one side, my colanders and bowls are on the other, and in the center are my fridge drawers, into which I can stow a whole stockpot's worth of vegetables, and back into which crudite can be stored as they're fluted, curled, matchsticked, or whatever. It's heaven! No more backaches. The clean-up sink is close enough that I can just pitch things into it. :) I use a bag on the counter for the trimmings, which go into the green bin downstairs.

Baking is done at the other end of the perimeter. My bakeware and staples are there, and the mixer is in the corner. If it's something very complicated, I'll stash some ingredients on the island, but it's too high for mixing. If I'm doing up something by hand, I'm more likely to do it the old fashioned way, with the bowl in the crook of my arm, though sometimes I'll set it on the edge on the counter. I am not so old fashioned as to whip eggwhites on a tray. Mostly, those go in the mixer.

Colanders: Mine--and I have half a dozen--never have anything untoward in them. I keep an orange resin one in my prep sink most of the time. It's a fruit style one with big holes, just in the bottom. It's easy to dump some berries, grapes or egg tomatoes into it and give them a quick wash. My stainless one with the good small holes is just right for draining pasta. I have a little cobalt one which is just too cute! It's mostly for being cute, but sometimes is just right for some little task. My old aluminum one with the star pattern holes, and strainer style one fit together and make the best ever way to drain off stock. The stainless one is too narrow. All of these stack nicely and, except the orange one, sit in the top drawer with the graters and a couple of small sieves.

Re clean-up, I have a largish single bowl. 33"? I love it. My old Rubbermaid dishpan fits perfectly in the smaller side, and I have a new, huge enamel one that fits in the large side. This is perfect for handwashing masses, like the stemware after entertaining. I have a fancy draining mat with deep channels upon which to set things after they're washed and before they're dried. Most of the time, these live in the cupboard over the fridge (under the sink would be more convenient, but there isn't enough room).

For daily use, I will also use a convenient vessel for a dishpan, or to work up suds in. I don't have very many hand wash items on a daily basis, however. I don't let my good knives out of my hands while washing them. It's safest that way.

There was an article floating around here awhile ago that told of why the double bowl sink was made obsolete by the dishwashing machine. The fact is, if one does want to do two bowl dishwashing, in my experience, it's actually easier using two dishpans in a large sink. What I like to use a second bowl for is cleaning vegetables. For instance, soaking the sand out of cress or spinach. The prep sink takes that role, leaving the whole clean-up sink for cleaning things (including chickens).

If you have a separate cleanup sink, then I think the Blanco Cascade is overkill for a prep sink and would just take up counter space that could be better utilized. I have that sink (my only sink) and really find the whole thing unnecessary for prepping, although its size is good for draining pasta.

Our sink/cleanup wall is across from our island so our island is prep only. We have 3 feet of counter on each side of the stove in the island and 12"deep and 18" high of cubby space behind each side so the 3' of counter does not have any small appliances in the way. I am the usual cook in our kitchen, but having the second area means our sons could help as they get older or even dh could.
We have a peninsula with 7 feet of uninterrupted counter to one side of the island for when I am working on a big project, serving for a party or anything else I need to spread out for. We will also have a full kitchen table in the kitchen.
We are not doing a separate prep sink.

Wow, thanks all! I wasn't really sure exactly what I was asking for, but you are delivering it. I love this detailed meandering into what you actually do in and in and around your sinks. Thanks tons.

Other raconteurs?

I have riffed enough already I think. Example is below.

Glad to hear others' riffs on prep. habits. I think that real cooking prep is very different from the methods used by "heat and eat" practitioners and may require a different kitchen for maximum efficiency. And yet, there are many more variations in our prep habits, mostly connected to the form our foods take.

Garden or other fresh food prep is different from baking with dried fruit and nuts and both are very different from prep beginning with frozen foods ready for the pot. Slow cook, soup, and sauce cooks work differently from stir fry cooks. Weekend pancakes with fresh-from-refrig blueberries and a packaged pancake mix are different from scalloped potatoes from scratch. Whether you cut up whole fresh chicken or use prepackaged breasts and thighs makes a difference from the work aspect. Do you cut up garlic or scoop it minced from a jar? Do you chop herbs or shake from bottle? Do you refer back to a cookbook or wing it? Do you wash hands frequently? Do you wash produce when it's acquired or when it's to be used? Do you prepare foods for longterm storage instead of immediate eating? Do you prepare for a single meal or many meals? There are lotsa wrinkles to the prep concept.

I might say "design your kitchen for how you cook right now" but that's going to restrict its eventual uses. When I was a child, my mother canned a bit and froze fruits in season, but mostly used store-bought canned goods punctuated with iceburg lettuce and onions, potatoes, and carrots. In my early married years, using the model of my new mother in law, I prided myself on using frozen exotic veg like broccoli and sometimes bought it fresh. Wow. We used plenty of powdered potatoes and prepackaged other stuff. Most of our meats were store-bought and hamburger predominated. Now, I buy relatively few prepackaged foods, except for rice, noodles, sauces and I rely on garden produce year 'round. I buy meats and frozen shrimp when they're particularly affordable but serve a lot more wild game and fish because of DH's manias. I now know how to stir fry and how to make salad dressings and good salads and slow cooked foods and pies and so much more than I did in my twenties. My cooking habits would not have expanded if I had had too limited a kitchen. DH and I are probably a lot healthier for the evolution in habit and we've moved away from many food chemicals and empty calories. Additionally, grilling has entered our lives, changing the dynamic of the timing of the prep and the serving of foods. We now concoct a lot of marinades and we're learning to grill vegetables in season. I wonder what we'll take on next. Maybe bread making?

Here is a link that might be useful: flgargoyle's thread with my riffs

I don't have a prep sink, but I will answer your double sink question :)

I love my double sink, since we have china and crystal that I do NOT put in the dishwasher. While it's not used that often, some of it is inherited and I like that it can be in soapy water on one side and rinsed in the other, without bumping and breaking a piece in the soapy side.

The other reason I like a double sink, is that I don't have a prep sink and one side can be for dirty dishes or pans and the other can still be used for draining pasta, etc.

Your prep sink on the island will be a nice feature :)