This paper reports experimental and numerical studies of air quality within a kitchen of the experimental house Maria of CSTB. Ventilation conditions are imposed via a hood or classical mechanical ventilation. The kitchen studied is equipped with a pan on an electric cook-top with a controlled temperature. Impact of cooking vapours on indoor quality is analyzed using a tracer gas. In addition Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to assist the experimental design and to explore the flow pattern. First numerical profiles of temperature, velocity and tracer gas concentration are compared with experimental results. Moreover first numerical analyses of the kitchen indoor air quality are realized using usual indices of contaminant removal efficiency. Contaminant removal efficiency indices are used to optimize the ventilation scenario in regards to exposure to pollutant.