Althea Borck is The Bulletin’s special projects editor.

I fancy myself a baker.

Around the office, I have been known to bring in a baked good as a Monday surprise or a Friday why-not. I bake to relieve stress or to provide a dessert for a dinner party.

Cakes, coffee cakes, pound cakes, cucpcakes, pies, tarts.

I like to try new baking recipes, experiment with old favorites, and on occasion, I share an old family recipe with a friend. I particularly enjoy watching the first bite, the first zing of flavor, bring out a gentle hum of pure pleasure.

Cookies, brownies, muffins, puff pastries, croissants, pretzels.

In the last six holidays that I’ve worked at The Bulletin, I have brought in trays of Christmas cookies to share.

And I mean trays of cookies. From marzipan-filled chocolate poinsettias to cherry winks, to pink meringue clouds, to dulce de leche bars, to oreo cream cheese balls covered in white or dark chocolate, to raspberry jam thumbprint cookies, it’s a veritable smorgasbord of sweet delights.

I think if I ever failed to bring in a baked good for the holiday or any day for that matter, my co-workers would wonder who I am and what I had done with myself.

So I do fancy myself a baker. I own a few of those classic gadgets and knick-knacks that help pull off some pretty amazing baking crafts, and I have been known to peruse the Amazon.com deals for a new gadget or two.

But … I have a confession to make.

I don’t own a stand mixer.

Over the years, in various Christmas lists, birthday wishes and random conversations, a Kitchen-Aid artisan 5-quart stand mixer has been mentioned (I prefer the color blue), and I have gone on various websites and into several local stores and drooled over the sheer majesty of said stand mixer.

But alas, as of this writing, no such mixer has ever graced my kitchen.

That’s not to say that my hand-mixer is no good (remember, I have made trays of Christmas cookies with that hand-mixer). It’s just that I really, really want a mixer that I don’t have to hold while I beat egg whites into a soft-peaked meringue.

On top of which, I also don’t have a pantry, walk-in or otherwise. I’ve always wanted a kitchen with a walk-in pantry.

Which brings me to the kitchens featured in this magazine.

Last year marked the first year that the annual COBA Tour of Homes showcased a side event called Chefs on Tour. The event involved seven local chefs from local restaurants cooking up tasty small plates for visitors on certain nights during the tour. The 2013 event was such a huge success that there are a few hundred more tickets available this year, but I’m betting those tickets will go fast.

In the following pages, you will meet the chefs, salivate over the menus … and marvel at the beautiful kitchens highlighted on the tour.

These kitchens are one-of-a-kind, and judging by the effort it took us to get photos taken in time for print, the finished design is not taken lightly.

I don’t expect you to drool over the kitchen features the builders created or the kitchen gadgets the chefs bring to cook up their treats.

But I do think you’ll be just as wishful as I am — imagining what it would be like to bake the next batch of cookies in the kitchen of your dreams.