Yes it matters
Disclaimer: I hope my flatmates don’t read this as I harshly judge their taste in cutlery.
POV: You’ve just woken up from a great sleep on a Sunday morning and you’re not hungover – it’s a different kind of heaven. You pop over to the kitchen and begin to chef away at a pesto eggs bene, the aroma is salivating, and the sun has just perked up over the dining table just in time for plating up. You pull open the cutlery drawer and unfortunately, have only two options; either grab the crusty and pathetic knife and fork in front of you OR dig into the dirty dishwasher (still on standby) and pull a stainless steel pairing that is heavy, polished and far more favoured by the house.
Which do you choose?
I’m not sure if I’ll come off pretentious but I’m very precious about my particular preferences and household favourites. If you love your kitchen items, keep reading as we’re all about elevating cutlery staples .
I got all of my cutlery inner hierarchy from my mum, who would get up out of her seat every meal if dad gave her a fork that was too short or a dessert spoon too large. She knows what’s up. Eating with polished silverware that’s made well which holds a bit of weight, has been proven to heighten your meal. All excellent restaurants are aware of the seriousness of decent cutlery.
Cutlery, though a relatively small item, can tell a lot about your taste and how you care to provide a complete dining experience for your family and friends. I mentioned earlier about my flatmates having bad taste. I may sound like a lunatic, but I had to campaign pretty intensely to get the group to accept my cutlery set (the one that has been moving around with me my whole life). I let the house trial my knife and fork lineup for a week, and GOSH, they felt the improvement and completely underestimated my urging. Thank goodness!
Maybe you’ve found yourself debating the best set of silverware to buy for your home by judging how good it ‘looks,’ or rather, how good it ‘feels’ in hand? Most of us would agree that we evaluate silverware based on its appearance (i.e., its form, material, and ergonomics), but weight may be a more decisive factor in our choice. The bottom line is that one cutlery set will last your household for ten years. You will also use that set roughly three times daily for those ten years. If you aren’t entirely in love with the experience that your cutlery serves you, then maybe rethink the small investment for your future meals.
I have developed an extreme preference for the brand Maxwell and Williams. I have 8 of each in their butter knives, large forks, baby forks, medium-sized forks, and soup spoons; you get the picture. The set was a gift for my 21st birthday and I will treasure them for the next several hundred meals. However, I have to shout out this particular spoon from the range. My all-time favourite eating utensil is the Cosmopolitan Fruit Spoon, and it has been in my kitchen drawer since I was a baby (also my mum’s favourite). I have NEVER favoured anything else from the drawer, and with my parents understanding the hype themselves, they were sure to include them in my 21st present.
Maxwell & Williams Madison Cutlery Set 16 Piece
Maxwell & Williams Cosmopolitan Fruit Spoon
An honourable mention you may be familiar with is the Wiltshire cutlery sets with which Countdown NZ stores annually run promotions. If you have a Countdown nearby and find yourself lucky enough to find a store that has them in stock, I highly recommend it. These sets are high quality, weighted and polished to perfection. Every detail counts when it comes to preparing a beautiful dinner. Scientists from the University of Oxford discovered diners appreciated their meals more if the establishment offered heavier cutlery. It is more than simply a psychological influence. Those diners with the heavier cutlery also said they would pay 15% more for the plate. So if you’re out to impress your friends at your next dinner party, there you go.