David Mellor Design Provençal Black Stainless-Steel Cutlery

Exceptionally pleasant and practical to use. Provençal Black has a lovely robustness of character and remains one of our best-selling ranges after almost half a century of continuous production.

Designed in 1975 when Mellor was the first designer to develop the idea of combining stainless steel with high quality molded acetal resin. Provençal was very much attuned to the good food revolution of the 1970s with its gently rounded handles and soft curved shapes suggesting Mediterranean cooking, fresh seasonal meals and sociable dining.

It has always been a favorite in modern restaurants, reflecting our increasingly easy-going attitudes to food.

The rounded knife blades are made from high carbon stainless steel for a superior cutting edge. Handles are acetal resin with brass rivets. 

Provençal Black is available in the following sets:

• 6-Piece Cutlery Place Setting: 1 table knife; 1 dessert knife; 1 table fork; 1 dessert fork; 1 soup spoon; and 1 dessert spoon.

• 44-piece Cutlery Canteen Set: 6 table knives; 6 dessert knives; 6 table forks; 6 dessert forks; 6 soup spoons; 6 dessert spoons; 6 teaspoons; 2 serving spoons; includes either a handmade black stained oak canteen chest or a handmade walnut canteen chest. Please note: special order item and allow two to three weeks for delivery.

• 58-piece Cutlery Canteen Set: 8 table knives; 8 dessert knives; 8 table forks; 8 dessert forks; 8 soup spoons; 8 dessert spoons; 8 teaspoons; 2 serving spoons; includes either a handmade black stained oak canteen chest or a handmade walnut canteen chest. Please note: special order item and allow two to three weeks for delivery.

From "David Mellor: Master Metalworker" (David Mellor Design, 2013):

David Mellor designed several new ranges of cutlery specifically for production in Broom Hall.  The first was Provençal, originally made in stainless steel with natural rosewood handles and brass rivets.  This was a design very much attuned to the good food revolution of those years, encouraged by Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson's cookery books and the postwar rediscovery of France.  The rounded blades of Provençal knives are made of high-grade, taper-rolled stainless steel from France, of the quality generally used for butcher's knives. ...

[David Mellor] was the first designer to develop the idea of combining stainless steel with high-quality molded acetal resin, in black or a variety of colors, for the handle.  This made it suitable for use in the domestic dishwashers now coming into general use."

To learn more about this British designer, read "Design & Interiors:  The Design Legacy of David Mellor, as English as Afternoon Tea," by Claire Bingham in T, The New York Times Style Magazine, July 6, 2016.