For financial reasons I have de- and reassembled a used kitchen in my apartment. Said kitchen - as I arranged the elements differently than before - needs a new countertop and I can't really see myself not using wood, just because it's haptically superior.
Thing is though, the kitchen I got has fronts made of a cherry wood veneer that has either darkened a lot over the years or was just coloured that way, in any case it's of a deep red-brown almost like mahogany. The other parts of the kitchen are white. Obviously I want my countertop to harmonise with the rest of my kitchen, but a countertop made from cherry or a similarly reddish wood (say Iroko) will run me close to 500 € which makes little sense to spend on a kitchen I got used for free.
Typically, kitchen countertops where I live are made of beechwood and I can get fitting plates for acceptable prices, but the very light colour of beech would seem out of place in my kitchen. Unfortunately, the typical coloured stain for wood isn't intended for kitchen use where food safety is a concern.
I have seen some very few topoils that are available in different wood colours, but have yet to find a fitting one I can actually buy. Thus my question: is there an affordable and food safe method to colour a beech countertop to adopt a darker, reddish colour and what is it?