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"I'm transforming chicken feathers into lean protein source and edible food for human that is low fat too."

Thai inventor Sorawut Kittibanthorn is on a mission to transform chicken feathers into fine dining delicacy dishes.

The 30-year-old started a project called 'A Lighter Delicacy’

to prove that feathers – normally a waste item in the poultry industry – can become an alternative food source.

Kittibanthorn converts the nutrient component found within feathers into a powder that can be cooked and formed into edible shapes.

“The waste stream from feathers is happening every day, but the application to stop waste stream doesn’t work to hold the waste that happens every day. Then I thought why don’t we stop looking at only the physical aspect of chicken feather and turn to the chemical part of chicken instead. Chicken feather contains protein and if we are able to serve this protein to others in the world, the demands from everyone in the world will help reduce waste from chicken feather that we produce every day.”

Kittibanthorn found that about 2.3 million tons of feathers are being dumped away in Europe every year.

He estimates that number could be up to 30% higher in Asia due to the higher consumption of poultry products.

So the idea of turning all the wasted feathers into food seems noble enough, but how does it taste?

Food blogger Cholrapee Asvichit tried it out.

“I feel like the texture, the fatty, the juicy and everything is really giving me feeling that I’m really eating the real meat. Like, the real red meat. // You know the texture is very complex and advance. It’s something you wouldn’t imagine that chicken feather will be able to improvise into this kind of dish. And I really could imagine this serving to me in some like, Michelin star or some fine dining experience, I can imagine it serving one day.”

Kittibanthorn says that right now the project is in the early research stage and needs development, but he has plans for next steps.

“I plan to approach the zero-waste restaurants first because even though these dishes are made from poultry waste, it is still a by-product from animals. They don’t fall under the category of vegan or vegetarian, but they are considered ethical food. So, it should be well-received by zero-waste restaurants.”