Best placed in the વાયવ્ય
The north-west is the accepted second placement for a kitchen, and the one most modern flats end up with. Air feeds fire, so the tradition treats it as workable — with the cook still facing east where the layout allows.
What the વાયવ્ય governs
The north-west — Vayavya — is the air corner: movement, circulation, things that come and go. Guests, storage in transit and utilities sit here easily, and nothing meant to be permanent does.
Where the રસોઈ belongs
The kitchen is fire, and fire has a corner. Of all the rooms this is the one where the tradition is least divided and most emphatic, which is also why a kitchen in the wrong corner is the fault people most often ask how to fix.