Brit invents edible spoon rolled out by UK cafe chain and it is solely 30 energy
Edward Rowlandson, 52, had the brainwave of edible cutlery while scoffing a McFlurry – and his spoon made from seeds tastes like dessert and wipes out waste
Eddys spoon, the edible spoon made by inventor Edward Rowlandson(Image: )
A Brit McFlurry fan has invented a takeaway treat that makes fast food easier to swallow – edible cutlery. Property investor Edward Rowlandson, 51, had the brainwave while trying to tackle one of his favourite McDonald’s desserts with a ‘really ugly’ plastic spoon.
Four years on his munchable utensils are set to revolutionise the food industry.
His spoon, called Eddys, is made of chia, poppy and flax seeds held together with isomalt – a sweet sugar-free substance commonly used in the food industry. It also contains coconut oil, cinnamon and nutmeg, making it taste like a cereal bar.
The spoon can cope with everything from frozen ice cream with hot soup – and is tasty enough to be nibbled on its own.
Edward said: “It is the ultimate sustainable spoon. There’s nothing to be thrown away at the end of it. You have consumed it and therefore it’s zero waste.”
It is currently being supplied to the After School Cookie Club – a chain of seven London cafés. But Edward hopes to see it in every ‘Itsu, Pret, Acai Berry’, he added. Each spoon contains 30 calories and could solve a massive takeaway grub problem.
The Department for Food and Rural Affairs estimated customers used 2.7 billion items of plastic every year – only 10% of which were recycled.
That prompted the 2023 banning of single-use plastic cutlery in cafés and fast food outlets. Most have switched to either wooden or paper cutlery – but consumers complain.
Wooden spoons affect flavour and pose a splinter-risk while paper cutlery easily bends out of shape. Rowlandson insists his edible utensils could be the solution even though each one costs £1 compared to 1p for a wooden or paper alternative.
He said as their use widens production costs will fall heavily. So far he thinks it would be too difficult to widen production to knives and forks.
But he added: “I think you could eat most things with this spoon – curries, rice salads, pasta, poke bowls, porridge.”
Martin Kersh, former head of the Foodservice Packaging Association, said he was ‘very impressed’ by product and the ‘engineering sounds amazing’. But he warned: “Most consumers after finishing their meal are not going to want to eat their cutlery. That’s weird.”
