When Terry and Sioux Elledge, creators and owners of Sioux Z Wow gourmet marinade, relocated their residence and business to Napa from Southern California, they bought a new home.

Because they devoted so much time to marketing their product, their backyard was untouched.

“It was full of weeds and sat like that for five years,” said Sioux (pronounced Suzie). “The neighbors would tease us about it.”

Since their business is centered on food, they knew they wanted an outdoor kitchen — and they didn’t want to rush the process.

“Our backyard kitchen was based on our love of cooking and entertaining,” said Sioux. “We didn’t have a lot of space, and we wanted to use it in different ways.”

The couple didn’t like the pre-made modular kitchens they’d seen and they opted for a more permanent structure. They hired an architect, who returned with plans more suited to a mansion or winery and a sky-high budget to match. Next they tried a landscape designer, whose plans didn’t include the spa they wanted, nor an overhead covering for the kitchen.

“She said that on our budget, we should use umbrellas,” Sioux said.

Fortunately in their circle of “foodie” friends there was a contractor, Alan Dennet, who offered to mentor Terry in designing just the right kitchen.

Terry read books and, combined with features they’d seen in Europe such as a wood burning fireplace that doubles as a cooking surface, designed a stunning outdoor kitchen, which Dennet then constructed. The kitchen is so attractive and makes such efficient use of the 14 by 24 foot space that it’s been featured in Sunset magazine, a Sunset book, and on television on both Bay Area Living and on HGTV’s “Sizzling Outdoor Kitchens, America’s 10 Best” (next air date Aug. 6, 11 a.m.).

“I can’t believe we were picked as one America’s 10 Best,” said Sioux. “Other kitchens they picked had features like pop-up television sets and overhead misters.

Television sets aside, the Elledges’ backyard kitchen has plenty of other nifty features. Anchoring one end is the stacked stone fireplace with a custom built hood that acts as a spark arrester.

“Terry is a died-in-the-wool charcoal and wood griller,” said Sioux. “When I first met him, he used a hibachi. So, the fireplace had to be part of the kitchen. After we eat, he’ll often load it with wood and we’ll sit out here and enjoy the fire. I said I had to have a gas grill, so we have one with a rotisserie. I’ve done turkeys in it.”

Next to the grill are two gas burners to heat food and make sauces. Sioux wanted lots of storage for plates and utensils and she got it. Stainless steel storage drawers are housed in stainless steel boxes and pull out drawers make finding the right tool easy.

Another eye-catching feature of the kitchen is the caramel colored farmhouse sink.

“That’s a granite sink, which was exceptionally expensive but I love looking at it,” said Sioux. “It’s a solid piece and it came from Stone Forest.”

Chinese Imperial slate tiles in shades of rust, brown and gray with similar toned trim were used on the countertop and matching backsplash. At the far end of the kitchen is a stand-up bar, which can also accommodate the couple’s teak barstools. In the center of the kitchen is a teak table with butterfly leaves that pop out of the middle of the table to accommodate up to 14 diners.

Sioux says they “over lit” the kitchen so they could have choices. Halogen lights are on a dimmer switch and spot lighting fixtures over the bar can be raised or lowered, depending on whether guests are watching kitchen activity or actually eating.

One item conspicuously missing is a refrigerator. “There are two reasons we didn’t put a refrigerator out here,” said Sioux. “The indoor kitchen is only a few steps away. Also, I spoke to a lot of people who had outdoor refrigerators and many of them said they don’t use them a lot. Or they said that they forget what they’ve left in it and find spoiled food the next time they open it. When you start going over budget, it’s easy to eliminate. We didn’t put in surround sound or a TV either. We didn’t install a dishwasher because it took up too much space.”

What they did include was an instant on-demand water heater and a restaurant-sized overhead heater. When the heater and the fireplace are both going, the couple says the space stays toasty, even in the winter. Above is a bamboo-fencing roof covered with clear corrugated plastic.

“We wanted a roof that would let in filtered sunlight, so the bamboo worked,” said Terry. “I wanted to protect it, though, and couldn’t figure out how until I saw the outdoor dining area at Angele restaurant. They used plastic, which I thought was clever and solved our problem.”

At the end of the structure is a wooden gate made from two decommissioned riddling racks from Schramsberg Winery. When guests empty a bottle of sparkling wine, they’re invited to tilt the bottle into one of the riddling holes.

The couple entertains often, including cooking for Sioux Z Wow customers, and have entertained over 60 people in their backyard culinary oasis. Plantings in their yard include roses, herbs and a lot of bamboo for privacy. The contractor advised allowing the concrete floor to settle for a few years before staining it. The couple plans to stain it this fall with a color to harmonize with the terra cotta stucco base of the counter.

What advice would they give people considering installing their own outdoor kitchen?

“If you’re going to have intricate stone work, tiles or stucco, go see the craftsman’s work on this kind of scale,” said Terry. “Look at what they’ve done, especially if it’s been around for a while.”

He also advises being familiar with local building codes. They had planned to have a slightly larger outdoor kitchen, but the building department codes say only a certain percentage of backyard space may have an overhead covering.

The whole Elledge project took between a year and 18 months.

Was it worth the time and expense?

“Every day we love living here,” said Terry. “I didn’t want our outdoor kitchen to feel temporary or modular, that’s why we waited to get exactly what we wanted.”

Sioux agreed. “Terry wanted a permanent structure, a tap root in Napa. We’ve never been happier.”



The Basics

Outdoor kitchens can run $3,000-$30,000 depending on the features. High-end outdoor kitchens come with wine coolers, warming drawers, even waterfalls. If you donÕt want to go that far, Sunset magazine suggests a backyard kitchen have these basics

* Adequate lighting

* Electricity

* Grill ventilation

* Weatherproof sink

* Durable and easy to clean flooring

* Refrigerator made for outdoor use

* A design that complements the house

* Counters at least 30 inches deep and 36 inches high and topped with durable material.