Thanks to its ceramic blades, these sleek black knives hold their edge at least 10 times longer than other professional cutlery – including those made of high carbon steel. Lightweight and rust-proof, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes for various functions, such as dicing tomatoes, slicing bread and chopping broccoli. amazon.ca

2 Bowl Scrapers by OXO

These dishwasher-safe silicone scrapers allow for effortless collection of leftover batter. The bean shape provides a wide swiping area for large mixing bowls while the paddle form reaches the bottom of narrow bowls and mixers. They can also be used for spreading batter in a pan or smoothing frosting over sweet treats.

3 Zaha Flatware by Zaha Hadid Architects

Hadid applied her signature aesthetic of high-tech curves to this avant-garde yet elegant set of polished stainless steel cutlery for Germany’s WMF. The five-piece set is dishwasher safe. ago.net

4 Tower by Tom Dixon

Part of Tom Dixon’s growing Eclectic range of household accessories, this pepper grinder has a beech wood body and is fitted with a Danish ceramic grinding mechanism. It’s painted in black, white and fluorescent orange; a matching salt-grinder comes in the same colourway. klausn.com

5 Whale Tongs by Design House Stockholm

Shaped like a whale’s fin, David Mayhew’s handcrafted jamjuree wood tongs are ideal for serving salads and grabbing thinly sliced toppings. While they can only be hand-washed, a magnetic hinge makes them easy to separate for cleaning. A portion of profits from these tongs is donated to the Save the Whales foundation.

See more designer accessories for the kitchen in our September issue, out now.