You may think that here at FTHQ, we’re partial to utensils of the four-pronged variety, but we generally appreciate any and all cutlery that helps us deliver food into our perpetually hungry mouths. Although we’ve been known to nearly jump up-and-down in excitement about all kinds of eating instruments — knives, salad tongs, corn-on-the-cob holders, you name it — it’s been a while since tableware has gotten us as excited as these 100% edible and biodegradable utensils from Bakeys. With funding from a successful Kickstarter campaign, and an aim to provide a viable alternative to the billions of plastic utensils thrown into landfills every year, Bakeys has it covered when it comes to usability and sustainability. Turns out sorghum, an environmentally-friendly crop you may have never heard of, seems to be the magic ingredient. Not only does sorghum allow Bakeys to produce 100 edible spoons with the same energy required to make a single plastic one, it also prevents the utensils from degrading in liquids — a particularly important fact for the environmentally-conscious ice cream enthusiasts among us.
More Food Stuff
Raye’s Horseradish Mustard
Last year I explored Maine for the first time ever on a four day road trip. As I pecked around Portland to Belfast to the LL BEAN HQ, I found lots of great bites. One of my favorites was the very publicly applauded, yet new to me, Raye’s Mustard. With 100 years of history and what seems like as many flavor concoctions, there’s a version for everyones taste. Boasting small batch crafted, high in antioxidants, gluten-free, low sodium and no GMOs, makes you love it even more. Founded in the family smokehouse to produce mustard for Maine’s burgeoning sardine industry, the origins story only adds to the quintessential American dream story. We dig the Raye’s Horseradish Mustard on a roast beef sando, in fact, we knocked back one of those today.
Joe Beef Butcher’s Blend
Impossible to drop into Montreal without some David McMillan and Frédéric Morin touchpoint. This trip, it was snacks and drinks at their newish wine bar Le Vin Papillon and some Joe Beef Butcher’s Blend. This souvenir was acquired at a local market in the Westmount proving that the Joe Beef dynasty reaches far from the humble, pioneering roots of Little Burgundy into even the shishiest of Anglo-Quebec ‘hoods. As it should.
Fourth Creek Food’s Sweet Red Pepper Relish
I didn’t even know that sweet pepper relish was a thing when I dropped a sample spoon of the luscious condiment on my tongue. After 3 hours walking the aisles of the massive Fancy Food Show, you get a little tasted out. By that point, you are not expecting to taste something that excites you the way this did. As my tastebuds transmitted the sweet and spicy to my brain, Andrew Schiavetti, founder of Fourth Creek Food Co., smiled widely as if to say, “I’ve been seeing reactions like this all day.” On second bite, I knew I was hooked. “What is this?” I asked as if it came from another planet. Ready with the answer, the rep, explained in detail but all I heard was “amazing”. The story I missed, because my brain was focusing on taste, was one of those my-mom-made-this-awesome-so-we-jarred-it-for-your-pleasure type stories. The best part is their whole line is this good and I am subsequently addicted to bruschetta made solely of their products. Thanks mom Fourth Creek.
Impossible Burger
Impossible Foods has been on our radar ever since they announced that they were attempting to make meat from plants. After a 4 hour Google rabbit hole session, we emerged with an understanding that “hem” is a cell structure found in both traditional protein and plants. The part we love most about this endeavor is that it’s not about adding another tofurkey into the world to give vegetarians faux meat on their tastebuds. It’s about the opposite. Supplying the ever growing meat eating world population with something that satiates our salivation for umami while the supply of cows fails to meet demand, is now possible. Getting an Impossible Burger of the limited supply at Momofuku Nishi (the only place they are currently available) may still prove impossible.