Mandoline | IDEO

A safer, more functional cooking classic

A mandoline is a slicing tool well loved by advanced cooks around the world, but its extremely sharp, exposed blades subject users to tremendous safety issues. As part of IDEO’s redesign of the entire range of Zyliss kitchen gadgets, the mandoline presented a rich oppotunity for improvement in safety and ease of use. The design team, made up of engineering, design, and human factors specialists, observed professional and home cooks in Germany, France, and the US. This extensive research quickly identified a number of areas in which to concentrate design attention, including:

-safety and ease of use while using hand guards;

-stability, whether on the counter or over a bowl;

-ability to slice large objects safely and easily;

-a method to easily and consistently adjust slice width and thickness;

-visual and tactile feedback while slicing;

-waste reduction;

-easy setup, cleanup, and storage.

The Zyliss Mandoline provides enthusiastic cooks a versatile and accurate tool to slice vegetables and fruits in ways that are difficult or impossible with other kitchen tools. It uses a V-shaped stainless steel blade with six slicing inserts, so cooks can quickly change the cutting depth from 1/32” to 1/4” (0.75 to 7mm) and two widths of vertical blades for julienne cutting. The sliding food holder keeps fingers away from the sharp blades, holds even oversize fruits or vegetables in a consistent position, and greatly increases the efficiency of using the device. Nonslip rubber feet provide stability on the kitchen counter, and a notch on the unit’s underside provides a stable point to hold against a bowl. All the inserts store easily in a caddy, which itself connects to the unit for storage or stands vertically on the counter for easy access.

Project date: 2002