How are you cooking with a toddler?

I recently commented on a post from earlier today with someone asking how to keep their toddler away from their counters. I thought it was a valid question and I have some questions of my own. If your little one just doesn't listen in the kitchen at all are you just always putting them out of the room and I'm overthinking it? I definitely know people who can have their toddler in the kitchen with them. I tend to put my son in his highchair to do some coloring while I'm cooking anything that requires using a knife or the stove top/oven. He's one of those kids that feels like he's in 3 places at once. If I reach for a paper towel to wipe my hand he's trying to pull food off my cutting board or trying to push inbetween me and the stove. If I'm not directly staring at him he's into something. He's never in the kitchen alone but I really want to work with him somehow on learning to not mess with the things I'm doing in the kitchen. He has his own drawers. I've tried giving him things to do to help. How can I teach him he can't be grabbing things, etc? I feel like if I keep always putting him in his room with a gate or putting him in his highchair he isn't going to learn how to behave in the kitchen.