Kitchens are inextricably linked with the woman of the house. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given that the fitted kitchen was literally designed as a workspace to fit around a woman’s body. But what does this mean for women - and men - now? How are traditional gender roles built up and broken down by the kitchen itself? Michael Etheridge reflects on the distribution of domestic labour in his own home, and food writer Gemma Croffie talks about the narrow definition of accepted womanhood when it comes to domestic work. A full transcript for this episode is available on the Lecker website. The title Meal Machine comes from the companion guide to the 2011 MoMA exhibition Counter Space: Design + The Modern Kitchen: “Meal machine, experimental laboratory, status symbol, domestic prison, or the creative and spiritual heart of the home?” Lecker is written and produced by Lucy Dearlove. Thanks to my contributors on this episode: Michael Etheridge and Gemma Croffie.  You can read Gemma’s piece Kitchens on the Path, which inspired this episode, in the print zine released alongside this audio series. Buy a copy now at leckerpodcast.com/kitchens. Original music was composed for the series by Jeremy Warmsley, with additional music also by Jeremy, and by Blue Dot Sessions. Research and production assistance from Nadia Mehdi. Cover collage by Stephanie Hartman. If you’ve enjoyed what you heard, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, and tell a friend! And if you enjoy listening to Lecker in general, and have enjoyed this series so far, please consider becoming a patron of the podcast at patreon.com/leckerpodcast