Bob and Jean Shorthill craft some of the finest maple kitchen utensils you'll find anywhere. They have been handcrafting these utensils since 1992 and display that experience through the pride they exhibit in each piece. The real beauty of their craft is the functionality and durability of these utensils. They are crafted to be used and will last a lifetime. If you maintain them properly they will make a great heirloom to hand down from generation to generation.
Each piece is hand crafted from select hard maple. There are over 30 styles of chef tools, gourmet cooking spoons, serving spoons, wok paddles, chopsticks, rice paddles, salad servers, spreaders, dough spoons, knives, spatulas, sauté tools, tongs and mini boards to choose from and more on the way. Jean has a kitchen management background which helps a great deal in designing truly functional pieces. Bob converts those ideas into durable pieces that you'll use every day.
To maintain your hard maple utensils it is recommended that you use a good oil treatment. Bob and Jean have developed a great Spoon Oil that not only works good on their utensils but is fantastic on butcher blocks, bowls, cutting boards and other wooden kitchen items. It's important to use a food-safe treatment and their superior blend of mineral oil and beeswax is just that. Here's what they have to say about other oils. "Vegetable, olive, peanut and walnut oils can become rancid, build up on the surface and/or leave an odor or taste that can affect delicate foods. Originally we used plain mineral oil, which is food-safe and brings out the wood's natural color but provides little moisture resistance. After just a few washings the wood becomes dull and dry.
Since Bob had been a beekeeper he was familiar with beeswax which is naturally food-safe. Blended with mineral oil, it did wonders for our new hard maple spoons. Not only did it penetrate into the wood and leave a beautiful sheen, but even after numerous washings, the spoons still looked good. We use Spoon Oil on all of our products. Even if you don't use wooden spoons, you may have butcher blocks, cutting boards, salad bowls or knife handles that you want to protect. Spoon Oil greatly improves the look of wooden kitchen wares but, more importantly, it helps protect both new and used woodenwares from drying and cracking."
