Celebrity chefs Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse are being named in a lawsuit over knives marketed and sold over HSN, Amazon, and other outlets. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia owns the Emeril name as it relates to products and cookbooks.
According to TMZ, the lawsuit claims that HSN is selling Emeril branded German steel knife sets that have the Solingen name imprinted on the blades of the knives.
Only problem? The knives are made in China.
The lawsuit was filed by the Wuppertal-Solinger-Remscheid Chamber of
Industry and Commerce, which owns the Solingen name. For at least 100
years (much more if you count swords and sabres), Solingen, Germany has been one of the world's leaders in quality
knife production.
A look at HSN's website, indeed shows the eight piece knife set is available online for $69.99.
The knives are described as German Steel. Zooming in on the picture of
the knife, you can read the Solingen name on the blade. Scrolling down
to details, we learn that the knives are forged German steel but are
made in China.
We called the HSN order line to get some
clarification on the product. We were told, "he must have took [sic] his
company to China."
The same knives are listed on Amazon.com
for $60.50 and are described as "high grade forged German steel". The
Amazon listing does not say the knives are made in China.
In any
event, the knives are getting mixed reviews, with some consumers loving
them, and others saying they fell apart after a few uses.
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