Culinary Craftsman
BY NORM POWERSPHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID DIETRICH
When Paco Archilla first saw the Craftsman-style home in Tryon’s historic Melrose district five years ago, he headed straight for the kitchen. “It was the first part of the house I wanted to renovate,” Paco said on a recent tour of the two-story, 6,500-square-foot home built in 1928, when the Melrose Avenue area was still a semi-rural section of town.
Paco’s attention to the space traditionally acknowledged as the heart of any home was understandable, given that he once owned Key West’s famed Hukilau, a Polynesian restaurant frequented by a star-studded clientele. “We had all kinds of famous people come to the restaurant,” Paco said. “Jimmy Buffet came a lot, and we had visits from Eartha Kitt and even Truman Capote.”
The result of this culinary background is evident by the efficient professional workspace cleverly fitted into what is still a cozy and warm country kitchen. “There was just a small gas stove and a refrigerator,” Paco said of the original space, which still boasts the ochre plaster walls and deep green beadboard wainscoting he found there.
“The floor was one of those floating wood floors that kind of bounced when you walked on it, which women in high heels especially noticed,” said Paco. The Heart of Pine planking was reworked — it now remains solidly in place under a visitor’s feet, setting up a comfortable dialogue with the baker’s table that occupies the center of the room. “That came from Florida,” Paco said, running a hand lovingly over the crackled and faded finish of the legs and drawers. “The dealer offered to paint it for me for an extra $25, but I wanted it just as it was.” Hanging over the table are the tools of Paco’s former trade, and now of his frequent entertaining — shiny black and silver pots, pans, festooned upon a wrought iron rack suspended by chains from the ceiling.
Dominating one side of the kitchen, fitted comfortably under a triple window looking out on a luxuriant side yard, is an Aga stove of shiny, dark green metal that matches the trim of the cabinets and shelves that nestle beside and above it. The stove features four ovens with varying temperature ranges, from a warming oven to one for high-temperature cooking, and two large round heating centers protected by heavy silver lids. “They’re always warm, and hottest in the middle,” Paco said. “They can bring a big stockpot of water to the boil in two minutes.”
Attached to one end of the Aga is its smaller cousin, albeit with two convection ovens. The two cooking surfaces together provide ample facilities for turning out complex, elegant meals in the house’s formal dining room or simpler fare served in a more intimate morning room adjacent to the kitchen.
Countertops were another challenge, the originals being of black tile and not able to withstand the high temperatures of pans being whisked off the Aga’s fearsome heat. They were replaced with black, solid stone countertops whose high volcanic ash content can shrug off a scorching hot pan. Tucked away underneath one of the counters is a Fisher & Paykel dishwasher, its front disguised by drawer facades matching the rest of the cabinetry.
Off the kitchen is a former bathroom converted to a pantry, with an additional sink and more storage and counter space. A few steps away from the kitchen, across the entry hall and opening off a den and study, Paco turned what had been a second, mini-kitchen into an ample wet bar complete with refrigerator, sink and microwave for heating hors d’oeuvres. The area is bathed in the warm light of two stained glass windows, custom-made by a local artist.
Throughout the house is an eclectic gathering of furniture and artwork collected by Paco since his days as a Florida innkeeper. “Some of my friends say I’ve put too many of my things here,” he said with a smile. “But I tell them not to worry. I’m thinking of buying another house in Savannah.” He didn’t mention the state of the kitchen there, but it’s a sure bet he knows all about it.
