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When grating cheese tableside to fling over fresh pasta we often find that the cheese goes everywhere. This grater has a drawer to capture those precious bits of Parmesan, and a foot to keep it steady. It's also made from environmentally-friendly bamboo.

It also has a romantic story behind it. Here is the story from the Enrico website:

Just before the turn of the century, Enrico Ratti worked as a carpenter for a wealthy family near Castagnetto, Italy, and fell in love with their daughter, Luisa. The family would not give their blessing for Luisa to wed the orphan Enrico, so they eloped to America, bringing with them their love of the dishes of the Italian countryside. Alas, America lacked the tools of a traditional Italian kitchen, so Enrico fashioned by hand the predecessor of today's Enrico Grater for the rich hard cheeses they so cherished. Many of Enrico's original graters are still used by the Ratti family today.

Jim Ratti, the founder of Enrico Products and an accomplished woodworker himself, used one of his grandfather's graters as a model to create the modern version of the Enrico Cheese Grater that you see today. It has the same features as the Enrico original, plus a few new ones. We now use bamboo - a modern, environmentally friendly material that simultaneously maintains the look and feel of its old world counterpart, yet is sturdy enough for use by the gourmet cook. The grater also features a stainless steel grating surface that will stand up to years of use.

• The Enrico Grater with Free Cheese Knife, $39.95 at Enrico Products

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