Kitchen Tool aim to share snippets of daily kitchen life through their products. Based in the Daegu region of South Korea, the small team likes to think they take the role of ‘filter’, helping to filter what people need for their cooking among a huge range of tools.
Find out more about their inspiring store and story.
RETAILERS, RESTAURANTS, RETREATS
RETAILER • KITCHEN TOOL • SOUTH KOREA
What made you decide to open a lifestyle store?
My brother and sister are co-founders of Kitchen Tool, and we have enjoyed family gatherings together to eat at home or go camping since we were young. Naturally, we became interested in how to make food delicious, plates and bowls that make food stand out, and cooking utensils that make cooking easy.
We decided to open Kitchen Tools with a common interest.`
You've recently started selling Falcon enamelware. What’s your favourite product and what do you use it for?
Yes. It’s been over 1 year since we launched Falcon enamelware. I love cooking with the prep set. I can boil eggs, mix salad, and serve food with the prep set… it’s an all-inclusive set.
Is there a specific dish that you would personally make using any of our Falcon products?
Sure. Tomatoes are seasonal vegetables in Summer. I love to have tomatoes in every meal. Here’s my favourite recipe:
Marinated Cherry tomatoes
Ingredients
500g fresh and ripe cherry tomatoes
100g chopped onions
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oils
1/2-1 TBS clove garlic smashed and minced
1 TBSP white wine vinegar
1 TBSP Sugar
freshly squeezed 1 lemon juice
fresh basil
salt and pepper.to taste
Tools
Falcon Prep Set and big spoon
Make a cross on the cherry tomatoes with knife
Boil water in the biggest Falcon bowl and put Cherry tomatoes. (10 sec)
Wash up tomatoes in cold water and peel them.
Make the dressing in a small Falcon bowl. Add olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, and garlic.
Adjust salt and pepper to taste
Add to a Falcon bowl with your veggies and mix them.
Once mixed, refrigerate them for about half a day.
Enjoy your summer salad!
Are there any other local companies you'd like to shout about? Where do you usually eat, drink, and source ingredients in your local area?
There are quite a few nice places to go.
Daegu is very hot in summer. We often visit Momo Sangjeom which is famous for its seasonal fruit shaved ice. In this season, cherry shaved ice is very popular. If you have a chance to visit Daegu, you should definitely dry it!
To grab a coffee and fresh baked bread, there is a.nook Apsan. It has a lot of varieties of bread and coffee. You can also take time to enjoy the beautiful views of Apsan mountain.
As for a local groce, there is an organic grocery store which is called Hansallim. We enjoy buying fresh seasonal vegetables, fruits, and dairy items from them.
Do you have any tips for small business owners?
We opened Kitchen Tool website and brick-and-mortar store in 2014. This year we are planning to open new stores in this city. The new shop will be different from Kitchen Tool shop so that will be a new challenge and change to us.
We have been through quite a tough but interesting time because it was a brand-new venture to run a business.
The more we do business, the more we feel that it is important not to lose our most basic attitudes and beliefs. I think if you stick to the basics and keep doing it persistently, time and experience accumulate, and new opportunities come.
Let’s keep doing it!!
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