tableware time

With Thanksgiving fast approaching in the United States, we’ll be focusing on dining-related decor for our next few posts. First up is the triple-use Chop Chop Cutting Tray. The bamboo planks can initially serve as cutting boards for food prep. Next, nestle them side by side inside a nickel-plated steel frame for an instant serving tray. Finally, present each board to hungry guests, who can use them as an eating surface.

While at the table, choose from a number of stylish and functional tableware options by designer Chaiyut Plypetch. His Dish Up is remarkably simple; ceramic plates with flat ends instantly help to divvy up food, and conveniently store vertically when not in use. The ultra-chic Sushi Time dish has a central depression for soy sauce, while the extra wide brim holds your sushi and sashimi. You can also serve java in his innovative Cupples, with a knob-shaped handle that fits into the base of the saucer.

Lastly we have Tom Dixon’s Eco Ware, composed of biodegradable thermoset plastic with bamboo fiber. These dinnerware sets are made from the byproducts of coconut, rice and bamboo. They can also be composted when no longer needed. Environmentally-conscious blog Treehugger makes an interesting observation regarding this type of tableware, which uses nylon as binder: polyamide (nylon) is not particularly compostable. It therefore remains to be seen whether these are 100% returnable to the earth–important because Eco Ware only lasts about five years with normal use.