In pickleball, the kitchen is the informal name for the non-volley zone (NVZ): a rectangle that extends 7 feet from the net on each side of the court, from sideline to sideline. Official rulebooks use “non-volley zone,” not “kitchen.”
You may stand in the kitchen anytime, but you cannot volley (hit the ball out of the air) while any part of your body, paddle, or clothing is touching the kitchen—including the kitchen line. After the ball bounces, groundstrokes and dinks from inside the kitchen are allowed. Momentum after a volley that carries you into the kitchen is also a fault.