Morgan Advanced Ceramics manufactured the ‘magic ball’ in Jamie’s Flavour Shaker, after being approached by kitchen utensil manufacturer William Levene. The ceramic ball enables the Jamie Oliver-endorsed food preparation product to crush, grind, bash, bruise and mix ingredients. Working to a specification from William Levene, Morgan Matroc Shanghai, a division of Morgan Advanced Ceramics, developed the ball, which is 30mm in diameter, perfectly round and made of solid ceramic. They used 95% Alumina (Al2O3) ceramic because it is strong and durable, whilst relatively light – a critical design consideration for the Flavour Shaker. It’s food safe and doesn’t retain odours which means it’s an ideal material for this product.
The rest of the Flavour Shaker is made from high-grade, thick core polycarbonate, again chosen for the strength and durability it offers within a lightweight end product.
Bai Wei, General Manager of Morgan Matroc Shanghai, said: “This was an extremely interesting project for us. The majority of the items we produce are for industrial applications – for example welding nozzles, grinding media and wear resistant linings. It was great to use our experience in researching and designing ceramic components for a domestic product.”
Andrew Thornton, Head of Design & Product Development at William Levene, said: “We chose Morgan Advanced Ceramics because we needed a supplier that could offer materials expertise and manufacturing capability.”
Invented by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver as an incredibly useful and original kitchen gadget, the Flavour Shaker spent time at number one in Amazon.co.uk’s sales rankings in the run up to Christmas 2005, selling over 300,000 units in the UK alone.