People are often surprised when I tell them I make wooden spoons and yet we’ve all got them in the kitchen and they’re our most direct contact with the food we’re cooking. Why make do with the same mass-produced spoon and try to use it to manipulate omelettes, soups and stir-fry when you can have something beautiful and individual which will do the job so much better?
This article from Slate describes just some of the advantages of a wooden spoon. On the practical side:
Wooden spoons don’t quickly heat to scalding temperatures, chemically react with acidic foods, or scratch pots and bowls, as their metal counterparts do. They don’t melt or leach chemicals or strange tastes into hot foods as plastic does.
For Gordon Ramsey type, they are:
much more effective in punctuating emotions than other utensils when waved around in gesticulations.
And of course
It lasts forever, looks equally at home on a stovetop as on a beautifully set family-style table, and like Helen Mirren, just gets better-looking with age.
The spoons in my own kitchen are a mixture of those I’ve made myself and spoons from other makers. Each one has it’s own speciality and they all have memories attached; it’s like cooking with friends.
The two days will give you a full introduction to carving with axes and knives with a strong emphasis on safe working. You’ll go home with beautiful, useful utentsils, happy memories and the skills and confidence to keep making on your own.
I’m really pleased with these new eating spoons. I’ve been refining the shapes and style for a long time now and finally happy with the combination of simplicity and design in these.
I started the day by talking about my work including how and why I make in the way I do. Carving with an axe was an eye-opener for lots of them and I explained my preference for having fewer tools which I have mastered and how this frees me to be creative with what I make. Something we shared in common was a preference for a tool finish without sanding which gives my work a much more tactile and natural finish.
