Those who have successfully landed work for years doing hard manual labour, usually in sweatshops and Chinese restaurant kitchens, to pay off their debts.

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Restaurant kitchens manage ingredients with "holding points, " in which each item is prepared and cooked to the last point at which it is most versatile.

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So it's no surprise that after 9-11, restaurant kitchens reported they were serving up more bowls of stewed chicken and chocolate pudding than ever before.

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Then I changed to restaurant kitchens, where all of a sudden there were just more men than women, and I always thought that was weird.

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Contamination on farms and in processing facilities from bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli and listeria are often behind the large food recalls, but often food contamination takes place in home and restaurant kitchens, said Dr. Griffin.

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The most decadent of kitchens even incorporate restaurant-ready gadgets like rotisseries, built-in espresso machines, and pasta drawers.

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The Italian-accented Cornerstone restaurant brought one of the first open kitchens to Korea, but the showstopper spot for wining and dining is the Timber House lounge on the belowground level of the hotel.

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Some specialise in Cantonese food, which is the local fare, but Hong Kong's many private kitchens serve up a wide range of cuisines, from Sichuan and modern Shanghainese fusion to Cajun and French. (One restaurant is even on a boat.) Reservations are required for all private kitchens and can usually be made in English.

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