That Was No Cuisinart, That Was My Knife

“The great mechanical impulses of the age, of which most of us are so proud, are a mere passing fever, half-speculative, half-childish.”

—John Ruskin, Modern Painters

When I read, a few years back, that cuisinarts, Inc.—the company that introduced the French-style electric food processor to America—had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I was sorry to hear of the company’s misfortunes, because the Cuisinart is a genuine icon of the American culinary revolution—no mere appliance, but the very engine of our aspirations as contemporary preparers of good food. On the other hand, I also felt somewhat vindicated: I knew those darned gadgets wouldn’t sell! I thought to myself.