As more and more people recognize plastic straws are an environmental scourge, the drinking tubes are quickly disappearing from local restaurants.
Could plastic cutlery be next?
It the popularity of new edible spoons at Orillia’s Kawartha Dairy is any indication, the demise of plastic tableware could be imminent.
On the weekend, Lyn Chen of Candy Cutlery was in town to unveil her company’s eco-friendly edible utensils at the popular Atherley Road ice cream eatery.
“The reaction, overall, was fantastic,” said Chen. “People loved them.”
She said staff at Kawartha Dairy were introduced to the sweet spoons a week earlier and had the opportunity to try them and to pair them with different ice cream flavours.
“Staff were so excited they started a spoon-selling competition,” said Chen with a laugh. “They played around with flavour pairings and, apparently, discovered bubble gum ice cream and our coffee-flavoured spoon worked the best.”
The spoons, made from natural sugar, come in four flavours: coffee, vanilla, strawberry and peppermint. They sell for $1 or you can purchase a dozen for $10. The new company also sells edible shot glasses that can also be used as dessert cups.
The concept for the edible cutlery was born a few years ago when Chen came home from high school and saw her mom washing plastic spoons to reuse. It sparked an interest in consumption of plastics.
“What I discovered is more than 40 billion plastic utensils end up in landfills every year,” said Chen. “It seemed there was something missing in between disposable cutlery and reusable cutlery.”
Over time, Chen teamed up with two other fellow university students to create Candy Cutlery. Chen, 20, Daniel Van Acker, 20, and Liyan Cai, 21, are the driving forces behind the innovative business.
Getting their tasty treats on the shelf at Kawartha Dairy is, Chen said, “a big deal.” It’s their first arrangement with a chain.
“It’s quite the validation to land our first chain,” said Chen. “They’ve been in business over 80 years and they are all about employing youth, obviously their ice cream is phenomenal, so it just seemed like a natural fit.”
Chen believes the concept is a winner.
“My vision for the company is to become North America’s leading food innovation company that has environmental sustainability as the focus,” she said, noting an expansion of offerings is on the horizon.
“I would love to see us make edible straws, cups and dishes that are fun, healthy and more creative,” she said. “We want to continue to expand our products.”
You can try the edible creations at Kawartha Dairy. For more information, visit www.candycutlery.com
