A kitchen utensil for removing a hard center from a food item, such as a seed or a pit from a cherry or olive, has a shield for controlling a splatter of juice or other debris that may result from the removal of the hard center. The shield is removably securable with the utensil so that cleaning is simplified and so that the kitchen utensil can be stored in a compact arrangement. The shield secures on a first portion of the utensil in an operational configuration, and is received on a different portion of the utensil in a storage configuration. The utensil may include a locking mechanism to hold the utensil in a closed position so that the storage configuration is further compact.