I love my wooden spoons – the discolourations, the nicks, the scratches all represent one event or another – they have the warm patina of age, the comfort of old slippers BUT I must admit increasingly to buying the plastic/acrylic type which go without concern into the dishwasher and come out looking good as new.

Now there is a version of this bright, shiny future which really is compelling.

It’s a bi-material spoon manufactured by the excellent Le Creuset.

What’s so special about it?

Well, like any spoon it has a bowl for scooping. But it also has at the end a silicon scraper-spatula. And the fact that it can do two things at once doesn’t make it a jack of all trades and master of none. It’s effective for both functions, capable of stirring a big saucepan full of thick, heavy sauce, but also, with its flexible end scooping up precious, sticky, deglazed remains in a frying pan. This makes cooking just that bit more convenient and halves the amount of washing up, which can only be a Good Thing. And it has a comfortable, ergonomically-designed handle.

Buy the black and red one – the other colours stain.

You can buy the spoon direct from Le Creuset.