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"A good wooden spoon is as essential to the cook as a baton is to a conductor."
-- From The New Cooks' Catalogue

Wood warms up any environment. From a culinary scene in the kitchen to an elaborate table setting, the introduction of a woodenware product to the picture provides an element that softens the landscape by connecting it to nature.

Connecting to Nature
One of the most beautiful aspects of wooden accessories and utensils is their connection to nature. With this connection comes a responsibility to make sure that wooden products are born of reputable sources -- manufacturers and artisans who respect the limited resources from which they come. Explaining the origin and craftsmanship of the products you carry will also spur your customers to become invested.
"Woodenware products just have to be good. They have to look good and they have to be well made," said Pam Elias, co-owner of kitchenware store Rooster Brother in Ellsworth, Maine. "The character of the vendor is important, too. If there is a problem, we want people who stand behind their products."
Elias carries a range of woodenware products from utensils to boards to serveware. Her inventory is a selection based on beauty, manufacturer reputation, and places of origin. While customers don't often come in and request lengthy explanations of what woods originate in what area or how to care for the wood products they purchase, Elias stocks mineral oils to keep wood at its best and discusses woodenware with customers whenever she spies an opportunity to do so.

Mixing it Up
Many wooden products already inhabit your store's inventory. Since woodenware isn't actually a category on its own, it's usually mixed in with your gadgets, spread across your tableware aisles, and accents your stories in the Cutlery Department.
Distinguishing your wooden products from other inventory will bolster the category's success. Stocking specialty woods is one way to make sure these items capture the attention they deserve. Spanish olivewood, ash from Europe, Northeastern hardwoods, and beautiful bamboo will stand out when merchandised against stainless steel utensils, mixing bowls, and cookware.
Since wooden utensils and cutting boards are a must for any kitchen, these items are a great place to start when reviewing your inventory. Wood is both an attractive and functional material. As a poor conductor of heat, it reacts slowly to temperature changes, thereby making it suitable for high heat or even frigid temperatures.
"We carry a nice selection of wooden utensils, much of which comes from H.A. Mack," said Dotti Bushnell, co-owner of The Garlic Press in Normal, Ill. "If I get a chance to talk to a customer about the product, it's pretty easy to explain to them why a particular wood is better than another. Sometimes, customers strike up a conversation and will ask what 'this exotic striped wood is' and we'll explain about the attributes of olivewood."
Elias is also quick to point out the attributes of wooden products to her customers. "We talk to people and the people who work here know the benefits of a good wooden spoon. People have always liked olivewood. It just makes a beautiful presentation. H.A. Mack was the first company we ever dealt with in the wooden category," she said.
When explaining the differences between your high-quality woodenware utensils and lower-cost items available elsewhere, discuss the porosity of soft wooden utensils often sold at discount outlets. Since most wood is porous, it's liable to stain and absorb food odors. That's why hardwoods, such as olive, beech, and cherry, should be used for cooking. Long-lasting, these woods are beautiful as well.
"European cherrywood and olivewood are very expensive because there is a limited supply and they have a stronger reputation. People are still willing to pay a premium for a European product," explained Robert Hammond, owner of Seattle, Washington-based City Kitchens. "The utensils you buy from the mass merchants are made from softer wood from Asia. It's not that they are not made well -- it's that the wood is softer. You'll see other differences, too. The European piece may have a nice curve to the handle -- it takes a larger piece of wood to start from to produce that product. There is something aesthetically pleasing about that."

Growing Bamboo
Bamboo utensils (which technically aren't wood) are also great for cooking since they are even stronger than wood and will not split, swell, or absorb moisture. Bamboo continues to be a strong category at retail. U.S. consumers are welcoming the new product introductions made in the past few years, and manufacturers continue to enter the marketplace with new ranges.
"Woodenware sales are much stronger since bamboo came along. Now people are paying more attention to all of the woods. Our customers like to learn about bamboo and are interested to discover that it doesn't absorb the same way wood does. We tell them that they are making floors from bamboo because it's so hard and we also explain that it's a renewable resource," Bushnell said. "We've been having a lot of action with the bamboo cutting boards and the bowls. Bamboo products are something we all like talking about and the aesthetics are appealing. Totally Bamboo was the first one really to capture this market -- their boards are so attractive and people just love them. We hadn't been selling wooden boards very much at all until they came along."
The success of bamboo cutting boards can be attributed in part to the intricate designs that can result from using this material. For many retailers, the look exhibited by these bamboo items breathed new life into the cutting board category.
"The cutting board display is much better now. We have it in the middle of the store where we used to keep them in the back before. Cutting boards were simply a utilitarian item," Bushnell said. "Now, the aesthetics make them wonderful to display and people buy them for gifts, not just for themselves."
Hammond agreed, saying, "Bamboo is the magic word. For us, this was the second big holiday for bamboo. The first year, it was just the highest end of the bamboo and it sold at full markup. This year, it became more promotional. A lot of companies got into the bamboo category -- got into it well and did a good job. We had a huge volume but it was in the promotional items."

Bowled Over
Wooden serveware can dress up even the most casual of table settings. Beautifully crafted wooden bowls remain popular as registry items, everyday gifts, and solutions to self-indulgent desires. Salad bowls often serve a practical use in the kitchen, as well as decorative uses in the dining room as serveware or even as centerpieces.
"At the lower end, rubberwood bowls are still the biggest seller and on the higher end, the Northeastern hardwood bowls, not necessarily just maple, sell very well," Hammond said. "We've started to sell a lot more of the exotic-type woods. We have a 17-inch spalted maple bowl that we sell for $300. It's wood that's laid around on the forest floor and plants grow through it so you get really interesting patterns. We also carry wild cherry and obechii wood from Haiti -- we've noticed a real increase in people's willingness to pay for these items. We're carrying much more of them."
Beauty aside, wooden bowls should also serve a utilitarian service. When helping customers shop for the right bowl, keep in mind that wooden salad bowls should be wide and relatively shallow since they will be used primarily for tossing salads. Wooden bowls come in three forms: Laminated, treated with a tasteless oil rub, or unfinished. The first two do not absorb food odors and flavors and therefore, are perfect for salads. Hardwood is utilized in the manufacture of the best of these bowls.
"We carry Clarendon bowls that are made in Vermont. These are turned bowls. We carry mostly the cherry ones and mix them in different woods. Some of them are huge, 21 inches; they are just incredible," Elias explained. "We carry other bowls as well, such as the Asian-inspired products from Pacific Merchants. We also get maple bowls from Lamson Goodnow and Granville."
Consumers appear to be responding to locally produced artisan-styled products as well. Elias attributes some of her success with local products to visitors in the area who want to take a piece of the Northeast home.
"People like the locally produced products, especially people who are from abroad," she said. "When they come here, they like to buy something local."
Bushnell works with local artist David Bloom. From McLean County, Ill., he creates wooden works of art for the table from local wood from downed trees.
"David Bloom is a wood turner who makes fabulous artistic bowls. If you were to buy them in New York, you'd pay three times as much," she said. "Each one is signed and includes the kind of wood and the year they were made. They make beautiful wedding gifts."
So whether your customers are searching for the perfect gift or simply growing their own woodenware collection at home, talking to them about the production, the origin, and the artisans behind the lines you carry may just sprout new sales in your store.
Ash -- Commonly found in the U.K., Europe (mostly Old Europe), and the U.S. (Northeast and mid-Atlantic). Tends to grow in temperate climates. Excellent bending capabilities (bows, not arrows; sailboats; and canoes) and also works extremely well in turnery. Unfortunately, it has a fairly open and porous grain structure that does not lend itself towards spoons/spatulas, but it is used for rolling pins. Tends to be a tough and hard wood and can be painted/stained easily. Trees do not grow to large diameters and are slow growing, which limits the availability of the raw material. Mid-range cost factor.
Beech -- Found in every European country, the U.K., and virtually all Northern states in the U.S. However, the European and American beech species differ. European beech has been heavily used for kitchen utensils for decades and recently, has been exported to China and Taiwan as a raw material and manufactured into spoons. Given its high availability and ease of use, beech is used from Scandinavia to the Caucuses. Trees grow quickly and in large sizes (3–4 feet in diameter, 60–100 feet high). Nice, consistent grain, fairly nonporous wood. Inexpensive cost factor.
Bamboo --As a material for kitchen implements, bamboo has been used for hundreds of years. In fact, chopsticks are reputed to be the oldest form of kitchen "utensil" and toast tongs, skewers, and rice paddles have been constructed of bamboo for decades. Recently, there has been an upsurge in the use of bamboo not only for various shaped utensils, but also for high-quality cutting boards in laminate form (thin strips of bamboo glued and pressed together). Bamboo is actually a grass that grows to a harvestable height in a time span that ranges between three to five years. Some species grow up to two feet per day. After harvesting, bamboo does not require replanting -- its extensive root system continually sends up new shoots, so it naturally replenishes itself, making it one of the most renewable resources known. Unlike most hardwoods, it absorbs very little moisture; consequently, it does not shrink or swell very much, making it a superior material choice for cutting boards. A larger interest in "caramelized" bamboo utensils has also been generated. Such utensils are heated to a point where the sugar content of the bamboo actually turns brown. While there is no functional advantage to "caramelized" bamboo utensils, they do have an enhanced appearance. As a raw material, bamboo is relatively cheap, is very hard, and finishes well.
Boxwood -- Presently found only in the Northwest of Spain, the Jura mountain area in France, and parts of North Africa (Morocco and Algeria). Grown as a hedge in the U.K. and U.S., these trees have very small diameters and do not grow high (usually 20'–30' maximum). An extremely hard wood, it was first used for ball bearings, clockworks (gears), and mallets. Primarily, it is made into small utensils (mustard paddles, spoons) and chess sets. There is a very limited production of regular-sized spoons/spatulas due to lack of availability. Very tight grain and nonporous cell structure. Finishes beautifully without extensive handwork. Upper cost factor and limited range of production and availability.
Cherrywood -- Found primarily in central France, northern Italy, and central Europe (Slovenia, Poland, and Slovakia). In the wild, it's normally found as singular trees versus grove growth for crop production. Needs time to cure (drying makes it darker) before manufacture. A light but tough wood, it has a pleasant grain structure and is relatively nonporous. Will darken considerably upon constant exposure to sunlight.
Hornbeam -- Found primarily in Southern France and some in Northwest Spain, hornbeam is known as ironwood in the U.S. Similar to ash in characteristics and capabilities, this tight-grained material is so strong it is used for tool handles. Very tough and polishes nicely with little handwork. Used by only one factory in Europe and availability is not huge. Used to make spoons and spatulas, it has a fairly straight grain and is relatively nonporous.
Maple -- Domestic production is a little limited, but once was very plentiful. Used primarily for cutting boards and a few utensils. Very hard, very durable wood. Grows in most temperate climates of the U.S. and other related varieties (sycamores) in Central/Northern Europe. Very nice grain and nonporous.
Oak -- Many different species found in utensils. Grows primarily in temperate climates in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Characteristics vary widely between the various species; however, oak tends to be a very hard and tough wood, and its porosity varies widely, too. Limited European production and more commonly used in China for utensils.
Olivewood -- A hardwood that is unlikely to split, it possesses a close, smooth-textured grain that is less porous than other woods. Its availability is limited to growing areas in East/Central Spain (Valencia area), Central/Southern France, Northern Italy, Israel, Morocco, Algeria, and Albania. Most importantly, only one or two species are suitable (appearance wise) for use out of literally hundreds of species. Trees are gnarly, full of open splits/cracks, and up to 70 percent of the raw material is wasted prior to manufacture. Extensive hand finishing is required to produce a beautifully finished product with a deep, rich color and a striking appearance. Probably the most expensive wood used to make kitchen utensils, olivewood is very attractive and because of its varying grain pattern, no two pieces are the same.
Rubberwood -- Found extensively in Pacific Rim areas, specifically Thailand, Indonesia, Viet Nam, and China. Mid-range hardness, and trees are harvested once rubber sap from the tree has been tapped out. Due to its fairly open and porous grain, rubberwood should be sealed with a commercial sealer to prevent the presence of mold/mildew. Sometimes, it is mislabeled as "beech" since there is a similarity in appearance. Laminates are most commonly used for salad bowls and large turned pieces. Fairly light wood and easily worked with all machinery.