The Midnight Slice pizza cutter started life as a Kickstarter campaign. Designed during the pandemic by founder Michael Chou, an engineer who worked on NASA projects at the University of Michigan, it was launched to backers on Kickstarter and has since become a permanent part of the Midnight Kitchen Tools lineup. This is the story of how it got made.
The Problem: Every Pizza Cutter Failed the Same Way
In 2020, with restaurants closed, every meal was made at home, and Michael couldn't find a pizza cutter that met his standards. The ones on the market were hard to clean, prone to breaking, and produced uneven cuts, with wobbly wheels that bent under a thick crust. So he did what he'd done with the Midnight Scoop years earlier: spent late nights designing a better one, from handle to blade.
The Campaign
Rather than going straight to retail, we brought the Midnight Slice to Kickstarter and let backers decide whether it deserved to exist. Early backers got launch-day discounts, bundles that paired the new Slice with the original 100% stainless steel Midnight Scoop, and the first units off the production line.
Backing a kitchen tool on Kickstarter is an act of trust, and the supporters who backed the campaign are the reason the Slice went from prototype to production. We said it then and it's still true: our backers changed the way kitchen tools are designed.
The Result: What the Slice Became
The production Midnight Slice ($59.95) is a 100% stainless steel cutter built from three parts: an ergonomic handle, a sharp heavy-duty cutting wheel, and a wheel-tightening screw, so it disassembles completely for cleaning. It glides through thick crust, deep dish, and wood-fired pies, and it isn't limited to pizza: it cuts quesadillas, tortillas, pies, vegetables, sandwiches, pasta, and even blocks of fudge. Like every Midnight tool, it carries a lifetime guarantee.
The Kickstarter campaign has long since ended, but the Slice is in stock and ships today: get the Midnight Slice here, or read the full founder story behind both tools.
FAQs
Q1: Was the Midnight Slice launched on Kickstarter?
Yes. The Midnight Slice pizza cutter began as a Kickstarter campaign after founder Michael Chou designed it during the pandemic, and backer support brought it into full production.
Q2: Is the Kickstarter campaign still active?
No, the campaign ended after a successful run. The Midnight Slice is now available directly from Midnight Kitchen Tools for $59.95, with a lifetime guarantee.
Q3: Is the production Slice the same as the Kickstarter version?
The production Midnight Slice is the fully realized version of the campaign design: 100% stainless steel, three-part construction that disassembles for cleaning, and an ergonomic handle built to cut without wrist strain.
Q4: What else does Midnight Kitchen Tools make?
The lineup includes the original Midnight Scoop ice cream scoop, the Midnight Open bottle opener, the acacia Midnight Board, and the Midnight Kitchen Tools Set that bundles the Scoop, Open, and Slice together.
