I've painted many of kitchens (new & old) through the years and have learned a lot of valuable leasons. When painting exsiting cabinetry one of the single most important steps is degreasing/cleaning the cabinetry well. I typically use TSP (Trisodium Phosphate), you should be able to get this at your local hardware store. You simply mix it with water and scrub down all the doors, drawer fronts, face frames and finish end panels. Try not to soak everything too much... I always go back over everything with a damp rag to try to pull as much of the TSP off the finished wood after. Once everything has been throughly cleaned I would scuff sand all surfaces with 320 grit sandpaper (sanding with the grain) and then vaccum and tack cloth all surfaces. Now you're ready for a high solids primmer (which will fill the grain to certain extent), it will not completley fill the oak grain, but it will do a decent job.
I would recommend a high quality cabinet paint & primer. I use exclusivly water-based primers and topcoats in either 1k or 2k with added catalyst. Some of the brands I would highly recommend would be ML Campbell, Acroma, Renner, Milesi, Icro, Sayerlack and Shermin Williams has a Kem Aqua which is pretty nice and they also have a Gallery series which I've heard good things about, however, have yet to try. These products will not only give you the best results, but also offer top proforming durability and cemical resistance.
Hope this helps. Best of luck on your project! Chris
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