Refers to the kitchen area in a restaurant, especially where the chef works. Often used in the context of Japanese cuisine.
板場に立つのは十年ぶりだ。
It's been ten years since I last worked in a restaurant kitchen.
Kansai dialect term for a cook or chef, especially one who works at a cutting board. Compare with 板前 (standard Japanese).
See also: 板前
あの店の板場は腕がええらしいで。
I hear the chef at that restaurant is really skilled.
板場 primarily means the kitchen or cutting-board area of a restaurant, while 板前 refers to the person who works there as a chef.
Compound of 板 (ita, 'board') and 場 (ba, 'place'), referring to the cutting board area in a kitchen. The sense 'cook' developed from metonymy in the Kansai region.