The kettle is cancelled: Gen Z predicts the kitchen of 2075

The beloved kettle is among the kitchen appliances that will have vanished in 50 years’ time thanks to Gen Z, new research suggests. 

Today’s youngsters will fuel the move away from bulky, wired kitchen appliances favoured by older generations, according to experts. 

Professor Deborah Sugg Ryan, design historian at the University of Portsmouth, has worked with home retailer Wickes to imagine the ‘kitchen of 2075’.

And it looks dramatically different from what we know today. 

It will include AI chefs, built-in TikTok studios, solar panels and indoor ‘hydroponic’ gardens – containing crops grown without the need for soil. 

‘The kitchen has always been a mirror of the times – from the post war prefab kitchen to today’s open plan living spaces,’ said Professor Sugg Ryan.  

‘By 2075, the kitchen will be a multifunctional hub that reflects Gen Z’s values – sustainability, wellness, and digital connectivity. 

‘Expect seamless integration of AI, eco innovation, and spaces designed as much for broadcasting as for cooking.’ 

Wickes commissioned a survey of 2,011 adults, including 1,010 aged between 18 and 27 – the upper range of the age group that fit into the ‘Gen Z’ classification (born between 1997 and 2012). 

The survey asked respondents about how they use their kitchens, how they feel about kitchen appliances and how they think kitchens will be used in the future.  

In all, 24 per cent of Gen Z respondents said the kettle will be obsolete by 2075, while 20 per cent said bulky fridges and freezers will go.

These trusted appliances will be replaced by sleek, multi functional units hidden behind handleless cabinetry that open by touch or even voice command. 

Instead of wasting time waiting for a kettle to boil, hot water will flow instantly from touch-enabled taps in all kitchens 50 years from now. 

Large ovens and microwaves, once the centrepiece of the kitchen, could also be gone, with 23 per cent of Gen Z predicting they will no longer exist.

Instead, kitchens will focus on sustainability and renewable energy, digital living, and the Swedish ‘Lagom’ philosophy of avoiding needless clutter, while retaining ‘the warmth and functionality of a family home’. 

In the kitchen of 2075, an AI chef and nutrition planner on a big screen in front of you will guide you through a recipe and do your weekly online shop.

A wall-embedded camera will film your newest cooking video for TikTok, largely replacing portable arm-mounted smartphone holders. 

A cooker will have both air fryer and traditional convection options and be AI-powered, keeping an eye on your Sunday roast to make sure it never gets dry and overcooked. 

A hydroponic garden located under the main kitchen counter will store your favourite herbs in perfectly controlled temperature and light conditions. 

Meanwhile, a ‘waste-to-energy system’ integrated into the worktop will burn organic scraps to convert them into heat and electricity to power the kitchen. 

There will also be solar-powered ‘mood responsive lighting’ comprising customisable LED lights to suit cooking, dining or entertaining. 

A few elements familiar to many kitchens today will remain, such as the kitchen sink, taps and induction hobs for boiling, but overall it will be almost unrecognizable to modern eyes.

If the robotics industry continues at pace, some households could even feature sophisticated C-3PO-style robo butlers.  

‘By 2075, the kitchen won’t just be where we cook – it will be the smartest room in the house,’ said Dan Ferrari, head of kitchens at Wickes. 

‘Hidden appliances, self cleaning surfaces and AI chefs will take care of the hard work, while modular layouts and mood responsive lighting will adapt in seconds to whatever the day brings. 

‘For Gen Z, the kitchen of the future is effortless, sustainable and always ready for its close up.’ 

Some experts think 3D printers will be the next popular kitchen appliance, generating the same sort of buzz as air fryers today. 

3D food printers are able to construct food such as pizza, pasta, burgers and quiche by printing the raw ingredients.

Lynette Kucsma, co-founder of 3D food printing firm Natural Machines, thinks they will become a common kitchen appliance like an oven or a stove as soon as the 2030s. 

‘Rather than be over-reliant on packaged, processed foods, people can personalise their meals, eat more healthily, improve kitchen efficiency, and lower food waste,’ she said. 

Other research suggests what we’ll be cooking in the kitchen will shift dramatically to cut carbon emissions and help save the planet.

Soon on the menu instead of burgers, steaks and kebabs could be the likes of cricket salad, lab-grown steaks and ‘meat’ balls made out of aquatic plants.