For the Love of a Spoon
The large spoon which adorns the top of my website is a Gray Kunz spoon. Not just any Gray Kunz spoon, but MY Gray Kunz spoon. There’s a reason why I chose to have it serve as the header when I started this blogging adventure. Its the one kitchen tool that defines me. I know that sounds weird, but I don’t know how else to explain it…
You might say I’m emotionally attached to this worn-out piece of stainless steel which holds up to 2.5 tablespoons and measures 9 inches from end to end. Anyone who’s worked with me will recognize it.
A gift from a former chef, this implement has been with me through the he** and high water of hot kitchens, enabling me to sauce plates, baste, stir, taste, pick up garnish, and form quenelles out of various purées and sorbets. The shape and concavity of the bowl, the length and curve of the handle, and the balanced weight has made it the most superior and indispensable working spoon in my arsenal.
I was always loathe to lend it out, fearing the forgetfulness of a co-worker who might carelessly throw it in the wash sink instead of returning it. There was a time when one Chef asked to borrow it. Of course, I couldn’t say no. And of course, he lost it. He did, at least, offer to replace it, to which I politely responded, “thanks, Chef,” and continued working with a forced smile. My insides were cringing with fury and tears; I wanted my old, weathered friend that had assisted me for years. I would miss the scratches that graced its sturdy oval face, the tiny notches that ran down the edges of the handle, formed through years of excessive tapping against sauté pans. Needless to say, I felt like I had lost a part of myself.
Luckily, a thoughtful steward found my spoon.
I know it all sounds ridiculous, this nonsensical talk of being attached and practically enamored of a piece of oversized cutlery. But, the truth is, when one is cooking for hundreds of people daily, the value of good, reliable tools increases exponentially. A knife has to sit comfortably in the grip of your hand, so that you can cut and slice quickly, effectively, precisely. The same holds true for a spoon. Shape and utility matter, whose characteristics contribute to overall performance. For a tool to be truly effective, it must become an extension of your hand, more or less. The perfect fit also makes cooking all the more enjoyable, methinks.
I don’t have much more to say about it than that. Its really quite simple, this love for spoons.
I think every cook, whether professional or non, has a favorite tool for whatever reason, be it sentimental or otherwise. What’s yours?
Gray Kunz spoon can be found here.
Disclosure: I was not paid to endorse this spoon.
16 comments
Awesome!
mine is a red heat proof spatula……it’s always in the sink when I want it, because I ALWAYS want it!
I understand, it is the comfortable “feel” of that tool in your hand. A comfort so real that it becomes one with you, and all tasks completed are effortless. We all have one of these, it might be a different shape, but the “feel” is the same.
Kevin: Thank you.
Paula: I love those spatulas, I was so happy when they first came out. No more spatulas melting by the stove! I have two, myself, one just isn’t enough!
Melynda: I’m glad for the understanding! You’re absolutely right about the “feel.”
my chef recently gifted all the cooks with Kunzy spoons, though he gave us the smaller version. no matter, i’ve quickly fallen in love with it. it’s quickly become my go-to plating spoon. so wonderful for saucework…
Before the world went digital I had a lens for my hasselblad that was so sharp in the center but had the faintest little haze in the vignette. I will never be able to reproduce that glow with a digital camera, so I do not even try. GREG
I know EXACTLY what you mean. My Kunz spoon was given to me by a chef at The French Laundry. I have treasured it for 6 years now. Everyone on the line knows not to touch my spoon. I had to choke back tears two months ago when I did an off premise event and thought I’d lost it. I have since been given 2 more as gifts, and they’re great, but they sit quietly in my knife bag waiting for the day when I retire my TFL spoon. Oui chef!
I can’t say that I was attached to one tool in particular, but I certainly remember the frustration of lending something out and never seeing it again. Get your own microplane!!
It makes sense that you can get attached to certain tools. Like an artist can get attatched to certain brushes, or a construction worker to a certain hammer. I guess it holds true to any profession really.
Barbra: Along with paring knife, mandolin, ring mold, steel, Sharpie… “Get your own fill-in-the-blank!” should just about cover it, lol.
When I started culinary school I was given a Shun knife by my grandmother who told me, …’your knife is like a check book. It should be kept in balance and never lent out to just anyone.” A couple years later, while celebrating my 21st birthday, my apartment was broken into and my knife was stolen. I was sad, not because the knife cost a lot of money but rather the emotional value that was held within its blade. Like you and your spoon, my knife had seen countless kitchens, stages, and potatoes. Sure you can get a new one but it just isn’t the same sadly.
I have an 8″ Wusthoff bread knife that I cut 14 sheets pans of crostini with every day at my first job. I cut myself with it so many times that I’ve kept it believing that any tool that took a piece of me is a tool that must remain in my arsenal even if it is a piece of crap.
…then again I also have a Gray Kunz sauce spoon.
http://www.stlbites.com/2008/01/28/dinner-to-blog-in-record-time/
Bill: That’s a classic story, love it. I totally know what you mean. I used to cut myself with a serrated paring knife every time I used it. After about a dozen minor injuries, I tucked it away in my bag, unable to use it and yet unable to discard the darn thing.
[...] more search brought me to the post I was looking for but my journey was not to stop there. What I had originally thought was one chef’s quirky [...]
Oui.
My Kunz spoon was given to me as a parting gift from the first Chef who took me under his wing. I had coasted, kitchen to kitchen, for so long as just another cook. When I arrived in this particular kitchen, Chef took an immiediately disliking to me. Like any soldier, I sank my head and took his verbal abuse and command as swiftly as I possibly could. I remember so clearly what hatred he had for my spoons. On occasion I would return to my station with spoons missing and lose my mind, only for Chef to tell me they were garbage… and that’s where they belonged
It was hard times making it through the first year. Amazingly, I stayed close to three. Slowly but surely working my way from garde manger to a Sous spot. We had created an amazing bond. Granted, it came from him breaking me into his ideal kitchen hand but none the less, it was a special thing. Without asking, Chef found a new home for me in one of his friends kitchens. A major move up, from 4 star to 5. I couldn’t (at the time) understand why he wanted me gone. Why he forced to to another kitchen. I was pretty angry about it all.
On my last day, we were sitting in pre-meal, giving my last report to the FOH and the kitchen came out to their goodbyes and such. They had pooled together and bought me a sterling silver truffle shaver, which I still own and use to this day. More importantly, at the end of the night, Chef gave me a gift of his own. He reached to his back pocket and pulled the two things from it he was never without. His Kunz spoon and his diet (perforated) spoon. Both of which were gifts he had received from a certain 3 star Michelin and 5 star NY Times Chef which we won’t mention when he had left.
I had both of those spoons with me through 3 different cities, 2 coasts and a kitchen over the pond until one terrible, terrible day. My Kunz spoon just magically dissapeared. I crumbled. It was one of the worst days of my career. Like so many people get lost without their timepieces, it was awkward for me to be in my place of business without MY spoon. My girlfriend, the champ she is, bought a new one for me to replace it. As you know, its not the same. With the wear and tear from my tenor with it, no less my previous chef and the one before that… the backend weight was perfect.
Finding your blog has been an honour. I know many friends and colleagues who have their own Kunz stories but to find a stranger who is as passionate about their Kunz spoon as I has been a priviledge.
Thank you.
JD: Thank you for the kind words, and thank you for sharing your wonderful, inspiring story. What a journey that spoon must have been through, what stories it could tell if it possessed the power of speech! I don’t think there could’ve been a more meaningful gift from a chef/mentor. So sorry to hear that it was lost from you, but how great to have such a thoughtful girlfriend to give you another which will make its own history. Its lovely to read how others can appreciate such a small thing. Thanks again.
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