This is a collaborative post
If you’d told 20-year-old me that one day I’d get excited about wooden spoons, I would’ve laughed, gone back to drinking cheap cider, and probably used a fork to stir my pasta like a heathen.
But here we are. I’m in my 40s and apparently the highlight of my week is discovering that olive wood is, in fact, the Beyoncé of kitchen materials.
Beautiful, durable, naturally antibacterial, stylish, ethical… olive wood is the one bit of adulthood that hasn’t let me down. Unlike my knees or my broadband.
So here we go: why olive wood is the best thing you can bring into your kitchen (other than wine, obviously).
1. It looks fancy even when your life doesn’t
Olive wood is beautiful. The swirls and grain patterns look like something from a high-end interiors mag; the kind I flip through while I’m waiting for the dentist and think, “Who are these people and why don’t their homes look like an explosion in Smyths Toys? And where are their curtains?“.
No two pieces look the same. Just like snowflakes, fingerprints, and the excuses my children give me for why their homework isn’t done.
If you want something that makes your kitchen look a bit posh and put together, olive wood kitchen utensils are the answer.
2. It’s naturally antibacterial
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but your old plastic spoon is harbouring more germs than a Year 7 classroom in October.
Olive wood, on the other hand, is naturally antibacterial. The dense grain doesn’t let bacteria get in, meaning it stays clean without you having to bleach it to death.
3. It lasts forever
Olive wood is durable. It doesn’t splinter. It doesn’t warp. It doesn’t disintegrate the second you stir a thick sauce. Give it a little oil once in a while and it’ll outlive the majority of your kitchen implements, and definitely that spiralizer. Do you even know where it is? Thought not.
4. It’s actually sustainable
Olive wood usually comes from old trees that have finished producing fruit, or from pruning, so no forests are destroyed.
If you love the whole earthy, natural look (or are desperately trying to fake it), pair olive wood with these cork board sheets which are also sustainable because cork trees aren’t chopped down to harvest the bark.
5. It feels ridiculously nice in your hand
This is going to sound weird, but olive wood tools just feel… lovely. They’re smooth. They’re warm. They’re weighty.
6. It gets better with age (which is more than I can say for me)
While my own face is slowly migrating south, olive wood is ageing like a fine wine.
It deepens in colour. It gets more beautiful. It develops character, not eye bags. Unfair, but I respect it.
7. It works with any kitchen aesthetic
Whether your vibe is Cottagecore, Scandi Calm, Mediterranean or, like mine ‘it was here when I moved in’, olive wood fits in.
It’s beautiful, strong, sustainable, practical, hygienic, and long-lasting; the complete opposite of the average kitchen drawer full of sad, half-melted utensils.
If everything in life were as dependable as olive wood, we’d all be thriving. So treat yourself to a piece, or five. Your kitchen (and your Instagram feed) will thank you.