Vegetarians of the world rejoice — the world’s first TOFU chair is here! Designed by Leonardo Talarico, the Tofu Chair lives up to its name and is made entirely from tasty soy bean curd. Using portion-sized chunks of bean curd, Talarico made a sturdy seat by dehydrating the tofu blocks, then submitting them to a dose of thermal shock to create a truly unique chair fit for the king, or queen, of vegetarians.
One may wonder why Talarico would want to make an armchair from tofu, but the designer was intrigued by the challenge of creating a durable piece of furniture from such a soft, edible substance. Nutrient-rich tofu is known for its spongey and soft quality, taking on the flavor or texture of anything it is combined with. With these qualities in mind, Talarico decided to test the properties and structural limits of tofu.
By first dehydrating each piece, the designer was able to turn each chunk of tofu into a building block for the structure of the chair. A thermal shock treatment was subsequently applied to further strengthen the medium, rendering vegetarians’ most beloved food product into a viable structural material. Layers and layers of small pieces were built up to create the front, seat and chair back. The final touch was adding a layer of natural color to the tofu surface, making the little blocks look as if they were just fried for a stir-fry lunch special. Yum yum!