stone utensils by amalia shem tov bring ancient cooking tools to the contemporary kitchen

‘roots’ project, developed by teal aviv-based designer amalia shem tov, is focused on the emotional relationship and interaction between man and machine. the principal aim is to give back a place to human presence and personal touch in the intimate process of preparing and cooking food in the contemporary domestic kitchen, with the help of high technology processing and the combination of raw materials. the designer proposes three devices, which are to make us closer to our roots.

the series

‘examining cooking utensils history from an ancient period until today, in order to find the main utensils and products that symbolize the basic, essential and primary moment of preparing food, lead to three basic utensils which are characteristic in their relation to basic movement, material, and process,’ explains shem tov.

the millstone

the purpose was to examine how these basics can be combined in a contemporary kitchen, by a cultural affiliation between past and present, in harmony with time and space. using stone asthe main material, the designer has defined three basic principles that will characterize the use and the design of this utensils — millstone for grinding wheat and all grain and bean species; mortar and pestle for milling and grinding spices and processing herbs; hot stones for cooking, baking, and warming food.

the mortar and pestle

hot stones for backing

the millstone preserves the tension between natural and processed material

hot stones for baking are the most radical technology involvement

the materials

the prototypes

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.