buy your tarantino knife block

When I blogged about this cool knife block it was just a prototype… well they’re now in production and we have 5 sets coming this week. They also include the full set of knives that you see in the picture. For safety I’m told that the knives actually have a clear plastic cover over each blade but you can remove that and get that real Quentin Tarantino knife-block look.

At $155, the price is not too bad when you consider that you get a set of knives with this funky knife block. Now available in the Cooking School shop.

Weird food

If you’re looking for monkey picked tea (yup, that’s tea picked by monkeys), chocolate ants, a whole range of fried insect treats then you need to visit EDIBLE. These guys have some of the most bizarre foods on the planet. Vodka lollies with edible scorpions and coffee that has been passed by weasels(and I don’t mean a weasel has walked by the coffee plant). You just have to love the internet… the long-tail of marketing means that these guys can make a living doing things with ingredients that we would never dream of.

Boyfriend pillow

After living in Asia for a few years I became addicted to those round pillows (bolsters?) that you cuddle up to at night. So what do you do if you’re a lonely Japanese girl who can’t get a boyfriend? Get a boyfriend pillow. I wonder if they’re heated? I think they offer a girlfriend pillow too… can’t wait to get one?
order your Boyfriend Arm Pillow today.

Campbell’s do it yourself soup

If you think opening a can of soup is just too easy, a Japanese company is offering the seeds to grow mini vegetables to make your own Campbell’s soup. The can includes the seeds and dirt to get you started. The word soup has been replaced with ’seed’ on the can and eventually the seedlings will have to be transplanted but already this company has sold 25,000 cans since April. You can order your

Campbell’s soup seed kit direct, but you’ll have to be able to read Japanese.

The world’s first underwater restaurant

Murray emailed me this story about a 14 seater restaurant at the Hilton in the Maldives. This thing is underwater so you get to see the sort of fish that you’re eating. I’m guessing that it’s going to be a while before it pays for itself.Hospitality Net - Industry News - The World’s First All-glass Undersea Restaurant Opens

Designer bowl at a budget price

Saw this really cool fruit bowl made from some chopsticks and a rubber band. Will have a go making it next time I visit the sushi train. More neat ideas can be found at this site: Design without Reach

great label makes eating fun

Found this cool diagram on a chopstick pack while surfing the net. The reason I post it here is many people ask us what you need to make a restaurant a success; part of the answer is you have to give people an experience! This small design on a chopstick pack gives people an experience, an experience that is worth talking about… does it work? Well, that packet just had me promote fujiya sushi and it didn’t cost them a cent. So give your customers an experience… that’s what they want.