Dumb Design

Swivel Spoons by Chef'n



Enough of the colourful rubber already. I'm not here to buy fruit-flavoured condoms: Please, Sur La Table, get this crap off your shelves and provide us with some decent, tried and tested classic kitchen products instead! I'm for all for innovative, if it works better than the original, but can you honestly tell me you put this through your test kitchen before fobbing it off to your loyal customers?

On their website, Chef'n put forward several reasons for purchasing a set of Swivel Spoons:

Chef'n say: "Swivel Spoons add fun to baking"
I say: "huh? Did you ever try baking with a swivel spoon?"
Chef'n say: "They are sure to spice up your kitchen"
I say: "Yes, if your idea of 'spice' is a picture of me ranting and cussing like a mad woman"
Chef'n say:"Nesting design saves space in cluttered drawers"
I say: "You'd save even more space if the spoon heads nested inside one another"
Chef'n say: "Adds modern design detail to any kitchen"
I say: "Good design is for a purpose, not merely for show. something you seem to have forgotten."
Chef'n say: "Top rack dishwasher safe"
I say: "A recipe often calls for several measurements from the same spoon, some wet, some dry. This necessitates washing the spoons by hand as you go along. Since it is IMPOSSIBLE, because of the small, deep, hard-to-get-to seams, to dry the inside of the smaller spoons after washing by hand, any dry ingredients thereafter become caked to the spoon."
Chef'n say: "Sturdy Glass Fiber PP frame"
I say: "And why is that supposed to impress me?"
Chef'n Say: "Soft Rubber Grip"
I say: "Yeah, and soft rubber spoon heads which attract dry ingredients such as fine flours. Even if the spoon was dry before use, it is difficult to shake it all loose from the spoon."
Chef'n say: "Four clearly marked measurement sizes; 1 Tbsp, 1 tsp, 1/2 tsp, 1/4 tsp"
I say: "Well, I'd hardly expect anything less from a measuring spoon, would I now?"
And I also say: "The underside of the spoons is just grey, so when I am frantically searching for 'those green measuring spoons' in my appliance drawer, if they happen to have flipped upside down as they seem want to do, then I can never find them quickly."

Chef'n Swivel spoons: Purchase at your peril. You have been warned.



PS Coincidentally - another blogger, Nika, was mentioning Chef'n today and having a much better time with her gadget. She was compelled to rave about her experience, whilst I was compelled to rant. It's good to know Chef'n isn't 100% dud.

Archive Alert! On this day in 2005: Childhood Food Memories

Food | Kitchen | Utensils | Design | Measuring Spoons

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