This mortar is one of the few really expensive designer kitchen utensils I own. It's designed by a Scandinavian firm Menu. It's made of beech wood and the pestle is made of polished steel. It has a lifetime warranty and boy does it come with a story:
Years (aeons) ago when Mr. C and I moved in together I realized it was high time I learned to cook. Jamie Oliver was all the rave at that time, all my friends were gushing over him and his show. Eventually I bought one of his cookbooks and it did change my life, but that's another story. Jamie has since turned into a pretentious pompous prick, but I have fond memories of his first TV show and consecutive cookbook.
What's Jamie got to do with all this mortar business you ask? One of many things Jamie insisted on was that every cook needs a mortar...
One day while shopping for a birthday present I saw this mortar. Swoon! Love at first sight! I was so enamoured, I grabbed the mortar on display and hauled it to the cash register. The very lovely and considerate sales assistant returned it on display and got me one in it's original package. I've made a complete fool out of myself!
And then the horror of horrors: the price! As it turned out, the mortar came with a hefty price tag, roughly the equivalent of my week's wage at my student job. For a moment I thought I was going to pass out.
Then Mr. C, in one of his most gallant manners, produced a credit card and paid for it.
The purpose of this post series is to show you some of the things that surround me. This isn't about bragging in the sense of: look how many pretty expensive things I have. All of these items are important to me out of various reasons. What they all have in common is that they have come to define me and my life in some significant way. In the end it's all about the story. And I love a good story.
A beautiful, functional object! And I agree, each household should have one.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, it does look Scandinavian, probably not Finnish, as the pestle is not from wood, ceramic or stone.
A nice idea to show your favorite things for us. I believe, that the things we cherish, tell a lot about us. So actually these posts let us know you better!
Metscan: I did go to Menu web page but they only say it's Scandinavian, probably to the rest of the world these three countries are all rolled into one big conglomerate that is Scandinavia ;-)
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, though I don't want my objects to define me they invariably reveal some information about me.