What your money buys at each price point, from sharpening stones and hiba cutting boards under €100 to knives and storage at €200 and €300.
How to’s
Best Japanese Knife Set for Beginners: Complete Guide
A beginner’s guide to Japanese knife sets, why the chef, vegetable and paring trio works, plus the Sakai Kyuba KYU Set at €690 for first-timers.
Best Japanese Chef Knife 2026: Expert Buying Guide
An expert buying guide to Japanese chef knives, explaining gyuto, santoku and bunka styles, steel hardness and picks like the RYU Gyuto at €295.
How To Chop Onions Without Crying: Methods That Actually Work
Why onions make you cry, the syn-propanethial-S-oxide gas behind it, and science-backed methods that reduce tears, starting with a sharp knife.
Blade Up or Blade Down: A Quick Guide to Hanging Knives on Magnetic Racks
Should knives hang blade up or blade down on a magnetic rack? Why many professionals favour blade up, covering ergonomics, balance and edge wear.
Kitchen Knives 101: buying, storage, cutting techniques and more
A practical primer on kitchen knives, covering how to pick your first chef’s knife, blade materials, cutting technique and basic maintenance.
Important Changes to US Shipping: What Our Customers Need to Know
From August 29, 2025 the US ends its $800 duty-free threshold. Why Royal Mail to USPS postal delivery beats couriers, with real cost examples.
How to Peel Dragon Fruit (and Creative Ways to Enjoy It)
How to peel and prepare dragon fruit with a sharp knife, plus creative ways to serve it as sashimi, carpaccio, smoothie bowls and frozen treats.
Kiritsuke vs Bunka: Which Of Those Japanese Knives Is Right For You?
Kiritsuke or Bunka? The longer, elegant Kiritsuke suits showpiece slicing, while the shorter Bunka is a nimble everyday workhorse with a tanto tip.
Faster Chopping, Knife Skills, and Understanding Chopping Terms: Dice, Mince, Julienne and more
Build faster, safer knife skills with proper grips, the claw technique and the get-to-flat principle, plus what dice, mince and julienne really mean.
How to cut onion and not your fingers: the “claw” technique
The claw grip is the one technique that keeps fingers safe while cutting onions. Curl your fingertips, use the knuckle as a guide, and cut with control.
4 Ways To Hold A Kitchen Knife Safely
Four ways to hold a kitchen knife, from the pointed finger grip for detail work to the familiar hammer grip, and when each one actually helps.
Keeping Sharp Kitchen Knives Safe with Little Ones at Home
How to store sharp Japanese knives safely around young children, with practical storage habits, clear boundaries and age-appropriate teaching.
Japanese Knives and Food Safety: Professional Standards at Home
How Japanese chefs handle razor-sharp knives safely at home, from grip and stance to caring for reactive carbon steel and keeping food pristine.
The Ultimate Guide to Eating Sushi: Do’s and Don’ts for Beginners
A beginner’s guide to eating sushi, covering types, restaurant etiquette, chopstick rules, soy and wasabi use, and how to eat nigiri, maki, and sashimi.
How Home Cooking Can Save the Planet
Home cooking cuts packaging waste, food miles, and carbon by replacing processed, over-packaged meals with fresh ingredients. Its role in sustainability.
How To: Cutting Tuna Fillets for Tataki (Seared Tuna Slices)
How to cut sushi-grade tuna for tataki, with notes on its omega-3 rich nutrition, an optional quick freeze, and slicing evenly across the grain.
Beginning Your Journey With Japanese Kitchen Knives: Individual Knives vs. Sets
Buying your first Japanese knives means choosing between a single blade or a set. The gyuto, santoku, and bunka compared to help you decide.
How The World’s Most Expensive Japanese Swords Are Made
Nihonto, Japan’s most expensive swords, are forged by folding rare low-impurity steel hundreds of times. The sacred process behind each blade.
The Art of Japanese Knife Sharpening: Traditional Techniques and Modern Tools
Japanese knife sharpening blends samurai-era tradition with modern tools. The cultural roots and the whetstone method for keeping blades keen.
The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Sharpening Japanese Knives with Whetstones
A beginner’s walkthrough of whetstone sharpening, covering grit ranges, stone types, soaking, and the steps to restore a razor edge on Japanese knives.
Decoding the Japanese Knife Grading System: A Comprehensive Guide
Japanese knife grades rest on steel composition and heat treatment. A breakdown of Shirogami, Aogami, and carbon steel and what each one means.
How to sterilise jars
A step-by-step method for sterilising jars before pickling or jam-making, covering washing, boiling for about 10 minutes, drying and proper storage.
Japanese knives: how to spot the real deal vs. a knock-off?
How to tell a genuine Japanese knife from a knock-off, covering steel quality, grind and edge geometry, and the marketing tricks deceptive brands use.
When to Replace Your Trusty Cooking Knives: A Comprehensive Guide
Knowing when to replace a kitchen knife: edges too dull to sharpen, cracks or chips, a loose wobbly handle, or rust and corrosion on the blade.
Low-Waste Ideas for the Kitchen, Grocery Store, and Beyond: A Cut Above the Rest
21 practical low-waste tips for the kitchen and grocery shop, organised around the five R’s of zero-waste living: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot.
How To Clean Brass Utensils – The Easy Way
Clean and brighten brass utensils in minutes with a simple paste of vinegar, flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt, then polish and rinse.
How To Look After Japanese Knives With Chef Olivia Burt
Chef Olivia Burt’s three tips for caring for Japanese knives: use a flat wooden board, store them on a magnetic rack, and never use the dishwasher.
The Claw Grip With Chef Olivia Burt
Chef Olivia Burt shows how to do the claw grip, the hand position that tucks your fingertips behind the blade so you cut food, not yourself.
How To Hold A Knife – By Chef Olivia Burt
Chef Olivia Burt explains how to hold a Japanese knife, gripping the top of the handle with thumb and fingers for steadier, faster cutting.