Category: History & Trivia

KFC and the Spork

kfc spork

KFC, short for Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a globally recognized fast-food chain that has left an indelible mark on the culinary landscape. With its origins dating back to the 1930s, KFC has evolved into a cultural icon, renowned for its signature fried chicken. The tantalizing aroma of their secret blend of 11 herbs and spices has lured countless customers into their restaurants worldwide. KFC’s commitment to quality and consistency has propelled them to become one of the most beloved fast-food chains, offering a menu that extends beyond their legendary chicken, including sides like mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and biscuits. With its distinctive red and white logo and friendly ambiance, KFC continues to satisfy the cravings of chicken enthusiasts around the globe.

The spork, a clever combination of a spoon and a fork, is a versatile utensil that has gained popularity for its practicality and convenience. With its unique design, the spork allows users to tackle a wide range of foods, seamlessly transitioning between spoon-like scooping and fork-like stabbing. Its hybrid nature makes it an ideal choice for various dining situations, whether it’s enjoying a bowl of soup, indulging in a salad, or digging into a plate of pasta. The spork’s compact and lightweight construction also makes it a favored choice for outdoor activities such as camping, picnics, and backpacking, eliminating the need for carrying multiple utensils. Its simplicity and functionality have made the spork a beloved utensil, blending the best of both worlds and offering a practical solution for mealtime.

Although they belong to different realms, there is a connection between the two when it comes to convenience. The infamous Colonel Sanders was the first to introduce plastic sporks. In the 1970s, the amazing spork utensil was introduced at all of his restaurants. When enjoying a meal at KFC, customers can appreciate the practicality of the spork, which allows them to scoop up mashed potatoes or coleslaw with its spoon-like end and stab into a crispy chicken piece with its fork-like tines. This ingenious utensil harmonizes with the fast-food experience, enabling customers to savor their KFC meal with ease and efficiency.

Moreover, both KFC and the spork have become cultural icons in their own right. KFC’s red and white logo is instantly recognizable, symbolizing a treat for taste buds worldwide. Likewise, the spork, with its distinctive combination of spoon and fork, has become a symbol of practicality and versatility, evoking images of outdoor adventures, casual dining, and convenience. Both KFC and the spork have earned their place in popular culture, representing not only satisfying food and innovative utensils but also the concepts of simplicity, convenience, and enjoyment. Whether it’s sinking your teeth into a crispy chicken drumstick at KFC or effortlessly switching between spooning and forking with a spork, these icons continue to captivate and delight people around the globe.

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Carl Pott Cutlery

Carl Pott Model 22

Model 22 Stainless Steel Five Piece Placesetting by Pott from Amazon

Time for some cutlery history about a gentlemen named Carl Pott:

“A pioneer in modern table culture, Pott manufactures flatware of exceptional beauty, simple luxury and enduring value in sterling silver and stainless steel. Founded in Germany by Carl Pott, the brand has employed master craftsmen and artisans for more than 100 years, introducing its famed cutlery in 1932. Its iconic style marked by sculptural appeal and a lack of ornamentation, Pott is famed for its dedication to the perfection of aesthetically pleasing, functional products.

The roots of the Pott manufactory go back more than 100 years. The history starts 1904 in Solingen (Germany), where Carl Hugo Pott founded a workshop for the processing of damascened steel for the cutlery industry.

Carl Pott

While Carl Pott coined the whim­si­cal term ​“spoon­ery” for his flat­ware, the process of creat­ing his seem­ingly effort­less designs is calcu­lated. Master crafts­men apply a century of accu­mu­lated wisdom and skill in the produc­tion process, which for those humble spoons include more than 30 steps — and more than 90 for knives, hand­made of molyb­de­num and vana­dium steel alloy, with handles of quartz-sand for an exceptional balance.

Pott’s father, Carl Hugo Pott, founded the epony­mous work­shop in 1904; three decades later, Pott trans­formed the steel special­ists into true arti­sans, fash­ion­ing uten­sils of his own concep­tion through­out the mid-20th Century. He also commis­sioned collec­tions by fellow modernists includ­ing Hermann Gretsch, Paul Voss, and Josef Hoff­mann, all equally ergonomic and elegant.

Third-gener­a­tion crafts­man Hannspeter Pott joined the fold in 1985, keeping the spirit alive while initi­at­ing bold collab­o­ra­tions with Ljubisa Misic, Ralph Krämer, Stefanie Hengel and others. When the legendary Siebel family bought the company in 2006, Pott had won some 700 global awards and earned spots in the perma­nent collec­tion of insti­tu­tions like the Museum of Modern Art.”

Learn more at https://pott-bestecke.de/ or https://www.instagram.com/pottflatware/

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Alessi Nuovo Milano Cutlery

Alessi Nuovo Milano Cutlery

From Wikipedia: “Ettore Sottsass (Innsbruck, Austria 14 September 1917 – Milan, Italy 31 December 2007) was a 20th century Italian architect, noted for also designing furniture, jewellery, glass, lighting, home and office wares, as well as numerous buildings and interiors — often defined by bold colours.”

Why am I telling you this? Because the Alessi Nuovo Milano Cutlery pictured above was designed by Ettore Sottsass. This cutlery has history and class. So make sure you have your story and trivia about Ettore ready when you lay this flatware out on the table.

This 24 piece set is made of dishwasher safe 18/10 stainless steel. It has a simplified elegance that many other have since copied. Each place setting includes a fork, knife, tablespoon and teaspoon.

Alessi Nuovo Milano Cutlery from Amazon

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Cutlery Sets That Made Design History

Cutlery Sets That Made Design History

The very nice folks over at Domus have written a very interesting article about 20 cutlery sets that made design history. It is a really well researched piece about flatware through time that are influential in their design. This isn’t your regular knife, fork and spoon. And of course they have a slide show of photos.

“Extensions of our hands, they embody an etiquette that imposes rules on the use closely linked to social norms. Between continuity and experimentation with shapes and types, a selection of unmissable and iconic cutlery sets.“

“Cutlery is a clear symptom of (lack of) social belonging if it is used inappropriately. Placed on the plate in a certain way, it gives the waiters unequivocal signals about our appetite and the enjoyment of eaten dishes. At the table, it should be laid out according to a real etiquette. However, we do not care about it, preferring a casual table setting that rewards closeness and conviviality by sacrificing the etiquette itself.”

This is a great history lesson in design and form versus function.

Check it out at Domusweb.it

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