Professional Cheese Grater

Elevating the Everyday Grating Experience

The professional cheese grater, designed for zyliss, combines innovative functionality, ergonomics, and refined contemporary aesthetics. Incorporating the latest zyliss design language and wheat straw-based materials, it delivers improved grating performance and everyday convenience in a design equally at home in the kitchen or at the dining table.

WAEGLI DESIGN was tasked to design a new generation of the zyliss professional cheese grater that builds on the strengths of its predecessors while addressing opportunities for improved performance, comfort, and cleanability. The design needed to reflect the evolving zyliss product identity and offer a more sophisticated appearance suitable for tabletop use. Working closely with the zyliss product development team, WAEGLI DESIGN guided the industrial design from initial concepts through detailed development and DFM support, optimizing key functional elements to enhance efficiency, ergonomics, and usability while ensuring a cohesive visual identity aligned with the zyliss product family.

Client

zyliss

Awards

Red Dot Design Award 2026
(Professional Cheese Grater Set )

Services

Industrial Design
Design For Manufacturing (DFM)

Zyliss Professional Cheese Grater designed by Waegli Design, featuring an ergonomic handle alongside freshly grated cheese and cubes of cheese.

Zyliss Professional Cheese Grater designed by Waegli Design, featuring an ergonomic handle, rotary grating drum, with grated cheese in the drum and a container of freshly grated cheese sitting next to it on the counter.

Zyliss Professional Cheese Grater with a dark-grey rotary handle, transparent cheese collection container, and grated cheese on a wooden board.

Hands using the Zyliss Professional Cheese Grater to sprinkle finely grated nuts over a chocolate cake.

Using the Zyliss Professional Cheese Grater Set, a person grates cheese with the dark grey rotary grater’s stainless steel drum and ergonomic crank, sprinkling it over vegetable toast arranged on a plate. Nearby are bread slices, herbs, cheese blocks, and a storage container of grated cheese—all prepared with the versatile Zyliss set."

Enhanced Grating Performance Through Thoughtful Design

A key focus of the design was maximizing grating performance without compromising comfort or usability. By enlarging the grating chamber and optimizing the stainless steel drum, the design accommodates more ingredients and delivers a higher output with every rotation while simplifying cleaning. Removing unnecessary plastic supports further improves efficiency while reducing areas where food residue can accumulate.

An ergonomically shaped crank provides a comfortable grip, accommodating both left- and right-handed operation. The extended handle seamlessly integrates a thoughtfully contoured plunger with a natural finger recess, allowing users to apply pressure comfortably and confidently for a smoother, more intuitive grating experience.

Zyliss Professional Cheese Grater with cheese inside its enlarged grating chamber and ergonomic plunger in the closed position.

Person loading cheese into the Zyliss Professional Cheese Grater, demonstrating its easy accessible chamber.

Zyliss Professional Cheese Grater in use with its transparent collection container attached to capture freshly grated cheese.

Person removing the transparent collection container with freshly grated cheese from the Zyliss Professional Cheese Grater.

Freshly grated Parmesan being sprinkled over pasta from the Zyliss Professional Cheese Grater's removable collection container.

Clever Design Details for Greater Everyday Convenience

Thoughtful details make the professional cheese grater as convenient to use as it is to maintain. An innovative quick-attachment mechanism allows the crank to be secured with less than a full turn, simplifying assembly and handling. The plunger opens to 180°, providing easy access for cleaning, while removable components further simplify maintenance. Each interaction has been carefully considered to minimize unnecessary steps and make everyday use more intuitive. Together, these refinements demonstrate how thoughtful design can enhance functionality without adding complexity.

A detachable collection container adds another level of convenience, collecting freshly grated ingredients directly from the drum. Its transparent body allows users to see the contents, while the accompanying lid makes it easy to store unused portions for later.
These practical innovations are integrated into a refined, ergonomic form that balances functional performance with the contemporary zyliss design language, creating a product that feels as considered as it performs.