Bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants on the planet.
Increasingly it’s been called on to help lessen the burden on the environment around us. We’ve found new clever ways to use sustainable bamboo to our advantage: it’s now used in everything from toilet paper to t-shirts, bed linen to underwear and even cutlery.
But while picnic cutlery is many things, few would describe it as covetable. It’s there to serve a purpose, as efficiently as it serves salad and coleslaw. The bamboo cutlery we’re focusing on here is of a far more design-led kind.
It’s knives, forks and spoons that take direct inspiration from the shape of the reed itself, and often use the whole stalk in its construction rather than mulching and reshaping fibres. The business end of the cutlery - that is, the blade that has been shaped into a knife, fork or spoon - is usually crafted from stainless steel. The material is not only easy to clean and hygienic but is aesthetically pleasing too, especially if you go to the trouble of giving it proper polish. This, folks, is bamboo gone boujee.
Bamboo-themed cutlery is a wildly popular trend in today’s tablescape scene. Eagle-eyed observers will have noticed the knobbly shapes on handles everywhere, from chic dinner party settings and pop-up restaurants to Instagram where the broader tag #dinnerware has amassed over a million posts. We may be out of lockdown, but we still like dressing up the table for dinner.
The preference for organic shapes is behind the trend, adding an exotic natural look without the need to update an entire crockery set.
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Aggert Cutlery Set Tableware Set
This dinnerware set is not only the cheapest we’ve round but also the biggest with enough pieces to equip up to eight diners for a meal. Made from durable, shiny stainless steel set on natural bamboo wooden handles, the set makes for an easy win at your next dinner party event.
Buy now £30.33, Amazon
Rebecca Udall Bamboo Handle Cutlery set
Crafted by a French specialist, this three-piece set is finished with a natural bamboo handle, adding colour and texture to your place settings. The neutral hues mean they’re easy to coordinate whatever the theme. It’s also available in four-, five- and six-piece sets.
Buy now £120.00, Rebecca Udall
Rockett St George Beautiful 16-Piece Bamboo Design Cutlery Set
Offered in a lighter bamboo hue, this 16-piece set includes knives, forks, dessert spoons and teaspoons. Stainless steel blades are set on acrylic handles to form vintage-effect pieces that will look even better with time. Dishwasher-safe.
Buy now £50.00, Rockett St George
SABRE Bamboo-handle 4-piece stainless-steel cutlery
As one of the leading names in cutlery, Sabre is a byword for luxury for those in the know. The Parisian brand has joined the bamboo cutlery bandwagon with a four-piece set of its own, forged from high-quality stainless steel and natural bamboo. The pieces are dishwasher-safe to 45ºC but if you’re not sure how hot your machine runs, hand-washing is the way to go.
Buy now £70.00, Selfridges
Sabre Bamboo Dinner Fork
Whether you need a replacement utensil for the bamboo cutlery set you already own or you need to extend the collection by one or two diners, you can get bamboo knives, forks and spoons individually at Fortnums. The Royal Grocer is also a Sabre retailer and sells its pieces individually, meaning you can top up or build your collection to a level you wish.
Buy now £25.00, Fortnums
Les Ottomans Bamboo five-piece ceramic cutlery set
For a truly fancy addition to your cutlery armoury, Les Ottomans offers this five-piece set produced in Italy. Finished with ceramic handles, the knobbly bamboo-themed shapes look almost bleached white, offering a twist to neutral-coloured tablescapes. Hand wash only.
Buy now £90.00, Selfridges
Alain Saint-Joanis Bamboo Cutlery
Struggling to find ready-made sets that fit your needs? Build your own set instead at Abask, where you can find Alain Saint-Joanis’ cutlery for sale by the piece. Choose from forks, spoons, teaspoons and dinner and dessert knives. Made in France with natural bamboo and high-grade stainless steel, the dishwasher-safe dinnerware should be removed from the machine straight after the cycle to preserve longevity.
Buy now £62.00, Abask
SABRE PARIS - Panda 4Pc Serving Cutlery Set
Want fancy bamboo-themed utensils in a hurry? Get this serving set from Sabre as soon as the next day if you’re an Amazon Prime member. The handsome set of four includes a serving fork and spoon, a cheese knife and a pie server, all finished with warmly-coloured bamboo wood handles. It’s an easy way to try the trend for size without going to the trouble of investing in brand-new cutlery. Be warned: the pieces are delicate so it’s best to hand wash.
Buy now £159.20, Amazon
Sabre Bamboo Salad Servers
Feel encouraged to eat more salads with a stunning set of salad servers, finished with top-quality bamboo handles for an extravagant and elegant touch. Made by Sabre, they’re made for outdoor dining over the summer: think BBQs and garden parties.
Buy now £70.00, Fortnums
Mrs. Alice Bamboo Cutlery Set
A treasure trove for luxe homewares that play heavily into cottagecore, Mrs. Alice’s dinnerware includes a much-coveted bamboo cutlery set made by Sabre. The five pieces comprise starter knives and forks along with utensils for the main course and a dessert spoon for afters. Utmost quality has been paid to the materials, with the composition of each piece made from 100 per cent bamboo wood and a high-quality French stainless steel and carbon alloy for maximum resilience.
Buy now £92.00, Mrs. Alice
