Kitchen Provisions was set up almost 10 years ago by Helen Symonds and Tom Saunders. Tom came from working a brief stint as a chef and was already obsessed with Japanese knives, while Helen had lived and worked in Japan. Both loved the London food scene and wanted to bring some of the excitement of restaurants and ingredients to the tools used in the kitchen. Kitchen Provisions grew from a stall on Druid Street Market to Netil Market to its first full time shop in Stoke Newington. This has since evolved to the current shops in Stoke Newington, Coal Drops Yard, Borough Yards and Soho where they offer walls of the best Japanese knives, interesting and unusual kitchen equipment, and knife sharpening and tuition.