Napa Valley Grille chef Joseph Gillard’s home kitchen

Gillard loves pigs, which populate the space in many ways. This one provides a home for heirloom cherry tomatoes. (Christina House / For The Times)

Oct. 28, 2011 1:43 PM PT

The home kitchen that chef Joseph Gillard shares with his fiancée, Ziba Shahriary, a highly organized mechanical engineer, is a study in contrasts. Guess whose pots and pans are clean and tidy, and whose are “all beat to heck”?

Gillard, 44, moved into his fiancée’s pristine home last summer. It’s the second floor of a duplex south of Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, and the narrow kitchen manages to contain two strong personalities. (Christina House / For The Times)

In the bay window, over a deep double sink, a hairy hog as well as a red wooden rooster that his fiancée’s mother brought back from Dubai sit on a vintage light-up sign. (Christina House / For The Times)

A little bit of order: Four jars of homemade vodkas flavored with citron, pear, guava or persimmon. (Christina House / For The Times)

And some chaos. (Christina House / For The Times)

The 1950s O’Keefe & Merritt stove lends a stage for more mementos. (Christina House / For The Times)

Next to the four-burner stove are olive oils and vinegars, jars of garam masala and vadouvan curry, and several kinds of salt: Himalayan pink, Hawaiian black, Bolivian fine sea salt, lemon salt and two smoked salts. (Christina House / For The Times)

Another vintage sign and a carving set with silver pig-shaped handles. (Christina House / For The Times)

A dinner die sits atop a colorful plate. (Christina House / For The Times)

Just outside the kitchen, the chef’s collection of cookbooks. At home, though, fiancée Shahriary does most of the cooking. (Christina House / For The Times)

Gillard says they’d like more space, and perhaps an island, one day. For now, the tight quarters provide a little togetherness. Here: the small chalkboard near the stove.

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Homes of the Times: California homes in pictures (Christina House / For The Times)