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J'étais dans la cuisine et ma sœur étudiait la Bible dans la pièce à côté.
J'étais en cuisine à préparer ce gateau pour mes amis.
I guess both phrases mean "in the kitchen". Are they interchangeable in the meaning and can they be swapped in these two sentences without any difference?
They are not interchangeable.
Dans la cuisine is far more frequent and just states "located in the kitchen" (physical location).
En cuisine means in (a/the/some) kitchen, usually a professional one like in a restaurant, but for a reason related to the purpose of the place (functional location).
You'll find similar nuances with:
Le train entre en gare / le train entre dans la gare.
Je suis arrivé en prison / je suis arrivé à la prison.
