Victorinox is probably best known for the Swiss Army Knife but these days shares shelves with cutlery, watches, clothing, travel gear and fragrances. Red is still very much the colour, but now you can expect knives that service individual needs, in a variety of sizes, in a host of bright colours.
Since 2001 the company have made clothing and took their lead from the knife. Their range for both men and women isn’t all about function and includes great colour with an eye on style, allowing the wearer to look great whether in the city or on the slopes.
The suitcases have some nifty functions and I especially loved the carry-on-bags which have well-placed pockets suitable for today’s modern gadgets, perfect for tablets and notebooks.
Back in 1884, pioneer Karl Eisener set up a cutler’s business, and during this time he developed an all-purpose pocket knife for the Swiss Army.
In the basement of the London store their full range is on display, along with chefs knives and other kitchen must-haves.
Sasha Wilkins of Liberty London Girl as she’s also known in the blogging world is a big fan and I received an invite to an evening curated by her with recipes recreated from her book Friends, Food, Family: Recipes and Secrets from Liberty London Girl. In her cookbook, you can expect to find great recipes which don’t scrimp on taste or ingredients. She runs from ‘secrets of successful entertaining’ to a section on ‘food for the great outdoors’ with the usual suspects in between. As you make your way through the pages, you’ll find top tips on places to eat both at home and abroad, great bookshops for cooks and a diner playlist – just really nice touches in between some really lovely recipes and photographs.
Here’s Sasha in front of the Swiss Army Knife ‘wall’.
The meal had been made by the Cellar Society and served by their perfectly polite waiters. The store’s basement was converted, for one night only, from a ‘sharps showroom’ into a soft-focused, scented scene of calm with flowers from Scarlet & Violet.
Traditional place cards were replaced with engraved mini-army knives and it’s here in the store you can make your own knife, under total supervision, of course.
Our menu consisted of Giant Chicken Pie, Roast Cauliflower, Maple Walnuts and Pomegranate Salad and we ended on a delicious blackberry and apple trifle.
The Mid-Winter Salad with Roasted Cauliflower, Maple Walnuts and Pomegranate, was a real winner for me and I tackled it at home – it was pretty easy and really did taste as good as it looks, of course, my bowl is a lot smaller than the one serving a dozen of us at the dinner.
Thanks to Victorinox who gave me a set of colourful steak knives in a handy block, as you’d expect they’re super sharp and the block is a safe haven for these wonderful knives which are very comfortable to use. A great addition to any kitchen.
Victorinox Flagship Store, London
95 – 96 New Bond Street, W1S 1DB
0207 647 9070
I’ve only been to the Victorinox store in Geneva but they have a great build your own knife section there where you can get just the gadgets you want for the Swiss army knife. Sadly only had carry on so couldn’t bring any back!