Meet the Foodini, the Michelin-Star Approved Appliance Bringing 3D Printing to the Kitchen

Brothers, Javier and Sergio Torres, of the Michelin-starred restaurant, Cocina Hermanos Torres, have equipped their kitchen with the Foodini. The Foodini, is a 3D printing kitchen appliance developed by Natural Machines, a Barcelona-based food tech company. The device is the result of Natural Machines’ endeavour to provide an easy to use, healthy and sustainable solution to food production. About 20% of total food produced is lost or wasted in EU. With the Foodini, the company’s first kitchen appliance, Natural Machines’ hope to encourage the use of locally produced ingredients and prevent food waste.

The Foodini was designed to be user friendly. The device is hygienic, food safe, only uses food-grade and BPA-free plastic, and comes with several dishwasher and oven safe accessories. The process is simple consisting of two main elements: fillings and creation. The fillings are the ‘materials’ which are printed. Ingredients are prepared and then put into stainless steel capsules to be printed. The Foodini can fit up to five capsules which automatically exchange enabling flexible and complex creations. The capsules also come with a variety of detachable nozzles, enabling a wide range of textures. Creation refers to the design aspect which determines the shapes that are printed. The Foodini Creator software allows users to make custom creations and save them for future use, or choose from a range of preloaded designs. The Foodini is equipped with a large touch screen and connects wifi, permitting users to print their designs from the Foodini Creator app on their phones. Creations can be served or plated directly, put in the oven, frozen, and even dehydrated. As, the Foodini can print onto any flat surface that fits inside the machine, it can also be used for things like icing cakes or biscuits.

The Torres brothers in their kitchen. Credit: Cocina Hermanos Torres

With quality and sustainability at the heart of their ethos, the Torres brothers are keen advocates of the Foodini, using it to print around 100 dishes a day. The pair were inspired and mentored by their grandmother, who taught them to create dishes using ingredients which would normally be thrown away, that she had taken home from her job cooking for the bourgeoisie in post-war Spain. According to Sergio Torres, “zero waste cooking is a fundamental part of our kitchen.” His brother Javier further explains, saying “we use all the parts of the food which gives us new opportunities in terms of taste and texture. For example, from a fish we even use the skin, the bones and obviously, the meat”. The challenge is making the dishes appetising. Thanks to the precision of 3D printing, it is possible to create appetising and elegant dishes, out of unappetising ingredients that would otherwise go to waste. Using the Foodini, the Torres brothers are able to get the most out of their ingredients and have even developed a zero-waste dish.

The Torres brothers go into more detail about how they use Foodini in their restaurant, for the FutureKitchen video series infotains. Infotains seeks to ‘inform’ and ‘entertain’ about food technology. The project is funded by EIT food (the European Institute of Innovation and Technology). The videos are the result of collaboration between academia, start-ups, and industry partners, in an endeavour to produce honest and impactful food stories. You can watch the Torres brothers’ feature below.

According to Natural Machines, the Foodini outpaces the microwave, and will shortly become a standard household appliance. Lynette Kucsma, co-founder and CMO of Natural Machines, said “We believe that in 10 to 15 years, 3D food printers will become a common kitchen appliance in both home and professional kitchens, similar to how an oven or a microwave are common appliances in kitchens today. The printer would enable people to become food manufacturers themselves.”

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