Much More Than a Chopping Board

Bread and Cheese Board (Bre..'ese)

The humble wooden chopping board can be a beautiful piece of kitchen furniture - it's a bread board, it's a storage area for your cheese board - it's a shared serving platter and something that will look better and better the older it gets. 

I've already written about wooden chopping boards, but the first thing I ought to make clear is that this solid oak top can - despite it's name - be used as a regular chopping board for just about anything you want to prepare on it. That's how I use mine given its overall practicality. I've not had a chance to use it for a lunch party, not least because of covid lockdowns. 

Like all my pieces so far, this (which happens to be my favourite) design originally spawned from one of my visits to a local timber yard, just browsing around for wood that stands out as art. 

After I'd cleaned up the piece of oak I'd found, the ideas about what it could become started to fill my thoughts. The gorgeous piece of elm was an unexpected bonus, but I do think actually steals the show and really complements the oak top. 

What I really love about 'Breese' is the way it solves my 'cooking in the kitchen' problems. I've used solid wooden chopping boards for decades but one thing that always niggled me is the mess I make when I try to scrape the diced onions ,celery and carrots off the board into a bowl say. My own oak chopping board is over 2 inches thick, but it doesn't have any clearance underneath to push a plate or bowl, and I invariably make an unpopular little mess. That's one problem solved by this design.

Another problem my Breeze Board solves is this: Once I have made a an unpopular little mess at the bottom of my chopping board, it is difficult to clean right up to the board edge without lifting it up to wipe underneath where the crumbs and small food particles have settled. (difficult for a man ok) 

Since my own solid oak chopping board is pretty heavy and doesn't have handles, lifting it up is awkward. 

Well, that's problem 2 solved by this design - all I have to do now is slide out the cheese board and voila, I have clear space underneath. 

I could go on, but then I'd be bragging more than I should. So, instead I'll tell you what else got me excited when I first imagined this piece.

 Apart from being able to use 2 of my absolute favourite and durable species of wood together, the fact that this board has handles built in to the design so it is very easy to carry from kitchen to dining table, for example. 

Well, bread sort of goes with cheese doesn't it, so now I'm getting excited about being able to carry the whole thing, pre loaded with bread on top and a few lumps of cheese on the cheeseboard shelf, over to the dining table. Once there, I can just slide out the cheese board if I want and reveal.... well, cheese! 

Ok, so after all the initial excitement about the functionality of this design, it was all about making something beautiful and solid, while enhancing the 'art' in the wood and letting it speak for itself. The challenge of joining the legs to the oak top in a way that contributes to the design. I like simple beautiful joinery, and I want that beauty to be seen which is why I often use through joints like this, rather than hide them underneath.

The last challenge was the way the cheese board slides in and out along the oak rails embedded in the legs. The shape of the Elm cheese board had to be considered carefully and tested to enable easy pulling out and easy putting back in. Ergonomics must be right or the overall functionality is compromised. If the functionality is compromised by the design aesthetic, then I have failed to make a product that I can be very proud of and passionate about - I'm half Italian after all.

I'm excited and happy to say that I'm very proud of this design both as a product and something lovely to behold. It's not cheap to buy, but it is designed to last a lifetime and give joy to people.

This Oak and Elm Breeze Board is the second one I've made - the first I have kept because I needed it, and despite its name , I use it as a regular chopping board for, well.. chopping vegetables so that I don't make a mess on the worktop. The way I use it is to slide out the Elmwood shelf and put a plate on it so that the plate is half under the oak top. Works brilliantly and makes me glad that I allowed enough space between the two boards in the design stage. 

I plan to make 3 more variations on this - not exactly the same but very similar in concept. I will be using other woods like Walnut, Pear and Sweet chestnut. Each will be unique for whoever eventually owns it and uses it in any way they want. 

If you would like to buy this one, it may be still available here on my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/uk/WoodDesignsByLeone/listing/890453536/solid-oak-chopping-board-bread-board