Japanese designer Nobuhiko Arikawa of Rice-Design has created edible tableware for Orto Cafe in Japan.
The plates, bowls and chopsticks are intended to replace disposable paper tableware.
The pieces are made from hardtack, a biscuit dough made from flour, water and salt which was traditionally used as dry emergency rations at sea.
The biscuits will last for months as long as they are kept dry.
The pieces have been put into production by Koratt bakery and cafe, and will be exhibited at Designing10 in Fukuoka, Japan, from 25th to 29th April.
See more work from Rice-Design in our earlier story.
–
Posted by Rose Etherington
I wonder if they taste good, haha. Guess it will be quite a sight when you are eating these wares right in front of your guests.:O
March 26th, 2008 at 4:11 pmNice to see an old idea reinterpreted with super long lasting dough. Pappilan in milan in 2004.
March 26th, 2008 at 5:21 pmI think I would be so frustrated trying to use those chopsticks, I’d accidentally keep making them shorter and shorter …
March 26th, 2008 at 5:23 pmHardtack takes a fair amount of soaking to become soft again, so as long as your not using the bowl to serve soup or the sticks to eat the same your probably safe.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:58 pmNot sure how well this will work out beyond the semi-novelty. Its a renewable item but I imagine the customer is just as likely to throw the bread out as eat it.
This means, its either you eat the wares or you don’t wash it after use.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:09 amThen, it’s no good for everyday use.
Thank you for comment.
It is the tableware which becomes substitution of paper tableware.
It can produce it without using earth resources idly, and the use back does not drain garbage.
Can you understand in my English?
March 27th, 2008 at 2:53 amA postscript
It is fairly delicious♪
March 27th, 2008 at 3:02 amThat’s very clever!
I can think of a number of ways these could be reused, recycled, reprocessed or sustainably disposed of:
1. compost
March 27th, 2008 at 5:12 am2. wipe clean and bake at 300°F for a few minutes to sterilize and restore dryness, then reuse (only within a household, obviously)
3. soak, slice, and use as a kind of noodle
4. grind up in food processor and use as breadcrumbs
I’ve already seen something similar - it was used for shrimp soup of some kind (and it also had a lid on top).
March 27th, 2008 at 3:48 pmTo Rice-Design: Your English is good. Only one or two minor grammar mistakes. But I have some questions.
March 27th, 2008 at 6:59 pmCan these dishes be manufactured very often? (Hundreds, maybe thousands, of disposable dishes can be manufactured very quickly.)
How much will they cost? (Do you think they will become cheap enough for people to like?)
Can you use soup in the bowl, or is that too much liquid?
Rice-Design, thank you for taking the time to respond!
I agree these are a wonderful re-imagining of an old idea.
My question: could they be done with non-wheat flours, such as rice?
March 28th, 2008 at 5:16 amThank you for comment.
DEAR Ben
Thank you for making a wonderful proposal.
All are interesting methods.
DEAR Matic L
It did not know.
DEAR Deborah
My English is “Yahoo English” haha
The method of mass production is not found yet.
It is handmade now.
200 to 300 will be possible on the 1st.
Prices are a little lower to buy bread in the bakery.
It is not fit for pouring out soup.
“Yahoo English” gets tired…….ww
DEAR Jeremy
March 28th, 2008 at 9:15 amI think that it can probably do.
(An image like a hard Japanese rice cracker)
Is it possible to order samples or sets of these for a “sustainable” dinner party or other use?
March 28th, 2008 at 7:00 pmI can already imagine a full bowl of chocolate and me munching the bowl as I go along! Yummy!!!
March 29th, 2008 at 12:25 pmThink of all the flavours the bowl will absorb after few uses! Mmmm..
DEAR Curtis Hagedorn
Not disposable tableware.
Tableware to eat & to use.
Therefore I want you to use it widely if it is a concept in accord with the concept.
The size is limited, but can produce a sample.
There is the uneasiness in strength, but can produce the spoon now.
March 31st, 2008 at 3:16 amDEAR Sherxr
Thank you for comment.
First, before use, there is the good scent of fresh baked bread.
It will stimulate our appetite like the baked fresh bread.
It is simple taste only for saltiness.
I think that chocolate or the jam fit very much personally.
Are you all right by such an answer?
March 31st, 2008 at 9:51 amYikes- Im such a Carbo Junkie Ill soon have to eat with my hands! Great “green ” Idea though-…. do they come gluten free?
Sf -Ca
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:24 am