Kitchens are for cooking and washing dishes.

Unless you're at a Moir house.

There, it will always be a hub of ice dancing creativity.

That's where Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, with their competitive skating careers winding down, racked up another career first – a self-choreographed program they will show off during the Stars On Ice tour stop at Budweiser Gardens on Sunday afternoon.

“We started dancing around in Scott's kitchen and played around with what felt right,” Virtue, the Londoner and three-time Olympic medalist, said. “We did a Van Morrison piece ('Into the Mystic' – one of Rolling Stone magazine's top 500 songs of all-time) and it was a fun process. We listened to that a song a lot in our preparation for Sochi and that's a real special one to perform.

“It means a lot to us.”

As they move across the country, the 2010 Olympic champs and Sochi silver medalists are hearing a familiar refrain. Many people are telling them they should've won and the judging, which favoured U.S. rivals Meryl Davis and Charlie White, was suspect.

“We hear a lot of that and we take it as a compliment,” Moir, the Ilderton native, said. “We're very proud of our silver medals and we haven't watched our skating (in Sochi), let alone Meryl and Charlie's, so I can't even begin to be upset about it. I'm probably one of the least educated people about that, but it's nice to get the support from Canadians.

“That was heartwarming.”

The creator of the Finnstep short dance, Petri Kokko, lauded Virtue and Moir's performance in Russia. There is a nod to that in one of their Stars on Ice performances.

“That was huge for us to hear,” Moir said, “and we've talked to people in our corner who have been so supportive since the Games – Tracy Wilson, Patrice (Lauzon) and Marie-France (Dubreuil). They were competitors so they understand. The feedback we get is they were just proud of our moment and what we were able to do and reminded us we should be excited.”

They haven't been travelling with their medals this time. They haven't watched much of their own reality show, let alone Davis and White's turn on the popular 'Dancing With the Stars' program.

“We haven't been in one place to watch TV but we're hearing Meryl and Charlie are doing really well and that's no surprise to us,” Virtue said.

As for her and Moir's compelling series?

“I don't really have any plans to (watch),” Virtue said. “I don't think I'm ready for that. We just spent three weeks touring in Japan, we do three in Canada and go to China (in the summer). It felt like we were never home enough to celebrate our successes in Sochi. It's nice to go across the country. We have post-show meet-and-greets where we do an autograph session and it gives us a chance to connect with people on a more informal basis.

“It's kind of about more than the medals now.”

Virtue struggled with leg pain heading into Vancouver four years ago. She said it was “amazing” to compete at Sochi without that burden.

“Just being able to walk around the village and really enjoy the whole experience without some dark fog looming over my head, that made it so much better,” the 24-year-old said. “After this stressful Olympic season with the pressure and the chaos to compete, it's nice to perform without the restraints of being judged, and it's always exciting to go home.”

They have not backed down from their belief they had a different relationship with coach Marina Zoueva, who also oversees Davis and White's career, this past season.

“We felt like we did a lot of things on our own this year,” Moir said, “but at the same time, that's good for us. It gave us challenges and helped us grow. She's been there our whole careers and she was there at the Olympics as well, just in a different way.”

They have not yet made a formal decision to end their competitive days, though they have hinted at it all season.

“It's tough to say (if they'll stay in the game),” said Virtue, who plans to return to keep working on her degree at the University of Windsor this fall. “For the last 10 years, it's been our sole focus and only priority. Being part of Stars On Ice is a way to renew our passion for performing and hopefully, we'll be in this for a while.”

And if not, there's always Moir's kitchen.