TORONTO — Diane Bisson has designed a spoon, a bowl and a plate that are good enough to eat.
The Quebec industrial designer said the idea came from seeing the garbage bin heaped with disposable plates, napkins and cutlery in her son’s classroom when the children celebrated one another’s birthday.
“I decided to look at something else to hold the food, something edible,” said Bisson, a presenter at the SIAL food show in Toronto May 1.
The task was a daunting one at first, with little or no funding available 10 years ago.
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She approached it from a design perspective, considering how the edible containers would be held, handled and used.
Bisson worked with a culinary school, food scientists and chefs to ensure her dishes were functional, attractive and palatable.
“Why produce something that doesn’t taste good,” she said.
Portion sizes and nutrition were also factored into the product.
Her prototypes included an edible ring that can hold juice, with its accompanying straw made of cookies.
She also made bowls that can be collapsed into a salad as dressing and a three-bite spoon made of caramelized onion suitable for serving appetizers.
“It’s really pairing the content and container together to make it a full taste experience,” she said.
Bisson wanted distinctive flavours and textures so used ingredients as varied as quinoa, tomato and fruit paste, poppyseeds and black sesame flour in addition to white beans, carrot juice, fennel and chestnut and green bean flour.
“We tried to expand the portfolio of flour so we would have new tastes and nutritional combinations and that doesn’t always bring that wheat taste,” said Bisson.
She said response has been positive.
Bisson received funding for an edible container project and is currently working on it with a research centre.
She is also working on a folded edible wrap for an elementary school, exploring colours, shapes, textures, calories and portions suitable for child-sized appetites.
“It has to be thought of as an element of the meal, it is not something that is added to the meal,” she said.
Bisson said edible containers have a limited shelf life, and sizes would need to be no bigger than the palm of a hand to be practical. Their application is best suited to small to medium sized catering and takeaway food operations.
“It’s an absolute solution for waste reduction,” she said.
