3D Cutting Board

Wayne Christenson had always seen the world in geometry. As a kid, he built elaborate block castles with perfect symmetry. As an adult, he turned that same obsession into woodworking. His favorite was end grain boards—stronger, more durable, and better for knives. But to Wayne, it wasn’t just practical—it was architectural.

This board came from a moment of inspiration after he saw an old parquet floor in a jazz club in New Orleans. The way the light hit the pattern, the rhythm in the wood—it stuck with him. Back in his Oregon shop, he recreated the illusion of depth using maple, walnut, and cherry, cutting each cube with surgical precision. When it was assembled, it looked less like a board and more like a three-dimensional puzzle—like the wood was shifting, breathing.

It became a gift for a chef named Lena, who had once told Wayne that cooking was “like jazz—you riff, you repeat, you surprise.” She kept it behind her station at her restaurant, only bringing it out on special nights.

The night she got her first review in Bon Appétit, she poured a neat glass of bourbon, set it down on the board, and smiled. Not just because of the praise—but because every dish that night had started on a cube of wood that danced in the light, just like her food did on the plate.

(Made by Wayne Christenson for In The Kitchen Contest)