Gourmet Lover Kit

High Quality, well designed tools

I bought this combo set primarily for the garlic crusher. It is by far the best design and quality I have come across in Australia. The top handle of the garlic press is polished aluminium, whereas the base is a flat finish. It can probably handle 1 really large clove and 1 medium/small per press. It does require some force, as can be expected for anything the 'crushes.' Be aware the crusher is the fine version only (not the combo as shown in the video/image as I thought it had the combo. For cleaning, a brush is probably needed to speed up the job. All in all, I bought it because I prefer something that will last me a long time and with this design, it is a two piece slot in from solid metal which ain't failing... it's over engineered. It doesn't need for any intermediate hinges, which is the key point of failure for 99% of all other competitor designs. I didn't see any side creep either with garlic coming out the sides, which is why will need more force to complete it, but that's because all the garlic is actually being crushed through the holes and that you won't waste garlic that didn't crush or need re-crushing. The peelers were a welcome surprise for the good. They are super sharp and make our old peeler a throw away when you see how easy a good peeler makes the job. They again are solid machined aluminium, finished in the polished shiny version. We fancy the Y version, but the I version is quite ergonomic and will wrap around the curve of the vegetables, notably potatoes. The meat hammer aka mallet is again finished in the polish effect, which kinda makes it sad to use as it looks amazing. The grooved handle is a nice touch and actually does make a difference to usage. Similarly the hammer end has a larger weight, making it top weighted, which again actually aids in hammering the food by adding extra force on the downward swing. You will notice the difference compared to any generic hammer instantly. Only potential let down I can see, is that being polished aluminium, it will scratch over time as aluminium is not a dense material. This goes for any utensil made of this material so it's not uncommon, just worth knowing. Also I'm pretty sure this isn't a completely solid interior and suspect the inside is partially hollow on the hammer end, which is probably how the top becomes heavier. In saying that I can't see it breaking as the thickness still seems more than adequate and will be a good thing for those picky on the weight and prefer light tools. It still weighs about the same as our other mallet. I would purchase again and recommend to friends.