food52 open house

food52 is a website that my friend, daisy, introduced me to last summer. it's an online community for chefs and food lovers to bond over recipes, video tutorials, and curated kitchenware in an online forum. food52 also features an online shop where you can purchase nice kitchenware and supplies and a blog which i like to read.

tonight food52 hosted its first open house at its brand new offices on 26th street, including a knife-sharpening demo. we sipped on tea-flavored mocktails and enjoyed their white chocolate chip cookies (scrumptious!), while marveling at the beauty of their new offices and kitchenware. two items in particular stood out to me: this bold octopus banya towel and a foldover cross-body wax tote with leather handles (not yet online).

during the brief knife-sharpening demo, i learned a little about the whetstone vs the waterstone. the whetstone, which is never supposed to touch water despite the sound of its name, is used with a special oil to sharpen western knives, which tend to be made of thicker and more heavier duty materials (carbon), whereas the waterstone, used in combination with water, is the preferred sharpening tool for japanese knives.

but above all, i learned that we should be using our knife steel after every use of the knife on a daily basis, in addition to stone sharpening every 1-3 months, depending on frequency of use. our knife steel has sadly been sitting in its drawer for the last nine months, so i guess it's showtime!