Tasting notes

Really fruity new designs

WHEN FIVE-A-DAY leapt to 10-a-day (yes, the bar was raised back in February when a study led by Imperial College London concluded that 10 portions of fruit and veg could prevent up to 7.8 million premature deaths a year worldwide), did your heart sink or did you reach for another blood orange with glee? At the time, it was estimated that two in three adults struggled to manage three or four daily portions (defined as 80g each, equivalent to one apple or two broccoli spears). Simultaneously food waste stats continued to shock (and still do), despite persistent campaigns to endear shoppers to ‘ugly ’ or ‘wonky’ veg and encourage a more relaxe d approach to best-before dates at home.

A beautifully simple solution came recently from Kingston University. A wall hanging by George Woolley, a student in Product and Furniture Design, has reimagined the fruit bowl. ‘I picture it by the front door. You leave the house, grab your keys, coat, wallet and a piece of fruit. It ’s like picking fruit from a tree.’ No more bruised pears or forgotten clementines at the bottom of the bowl; no more excuses for not hitting just a few daily doses. And why not, in the kitchen, include squashes and sweet potatoes, too?

Woolley’s Eames-inspired Fruitopia prototype will be showcased during London Design Week and I hope it continues into production. In 30 years’ time we may be celebrating its joyful design, just as Ettore Sottsass’s limewood fruit bowl is being hailed this year. Marking the centenary of the birth of the Italian architect and designer, Alessi has produced a limited run of the painted ES14 centrepiece. It might just remind you to grab an apple on the way out.