Trends of Servingware

What are your views on the trends of servingware and Art of Plating ?

I’m a big believer in Form Follows Function. Function should be the basis for servingware and plating. Designing/plating solely for visual titillation is simply ornamentation and does not contribute positively to the dining experience.

Plating can be beautiful,challenging yet maneuverable while still allowing a narrative that speaks to the dish. Servingware which does not let the diner easily consume food is a detriment.

(Yikes - had to edit!)

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I had to look really hard to figure out what’s in the photo. Looks like something raised with 3 legs.

I love Japanese(-style) handmade ceramics. The Japanese are also master of beautiful plating.

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@meatn3,

I do agree that servingware which does not let the diner simply consume and enjoy could be a detriment however, quite subjective too …

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@Presunto,

Yes, it is Japanese however, at a Japanese Restaurant in Madrid and it has 2 legs or handles which provide the balance on a large plate or on the table or bar directly and the " metal spindle" is part of a tiny colander and at the centre bottom is the spindle which gives equilibrium to the servingware.

The history of the art of dressage dates back to the Japanese and Chinese Dynasties.

It was the French who returned with these oriental ideas and had begun implementing back in the mid 1800s through the 1920s in artistocratic circles …

Barcelona Restaurant Indo Chine …

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There’s a fun meme called “We want plates”, with a subreddit and its own website:

http://wewantplates.com/
https://www.reddit.com/r/WeWantPlates/

I think it has been discussed elsewhere on HO.

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@ernie_in_berkeley

Thanks for the link.

A dear family member, wrote a book on the art of plate dressage five years ago, and we collaborated on the research for it … It is on Pdf in Spanish, Italian and French. The book in print is only in French.
Quite an interesting Project.

Must run, as we are still in Sardinia providing a small group of tourists with the secrets of the island.
Be home in Barcelona next Sunday the 8th …

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Chocolate Dessert Design: Dessert Designer Maria Selyanina, Barcelona Pastry Lab.

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Kind of like a woman’s makeup: the more theatrical the service, the more likely it becomes a caricature.

Husband’s pet peeve are asymmetrical dinner plates that won’t accept cutlery. i.e., your knife keeps falling off onto the table.

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I’m not clear if we are taking about a specific trend or just serving ware in general . . . . .

In general - I love all the new serving ware options. Are all of them great, of course not, but there are so many options out there and many of them are beautiful (and very functional). I would much rather have an amuse bouche served in that beautiful little dish (OP) than on a giant plate with just a single scallop in the middle (though I do like a plate with some empty space). Or a few skewers served upright in the rectangular box (dish . . . not sure what to call that) as opposed to piled up on a standard flat salad plate . . . .

Keep designing people!

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Okay, I’m not applauding the pics from the “we want plates” link . . . those are all kinds of wrong . . . and I can’t stop laughing or loading more . . . insane.

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And then there was the pretentious little restaurant in Paris where the amuses were served each atop an empty marrow bone. Each bone a different height. As I remember, each course came out on an equally bizarre base. This might have all worked had the food been edible. But it wasn’t

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I think this trend is international. I saw that in photos in some other countries… you know people copy fast from Instagram.

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A few years back and you still see this now, the trend of “forest” in your dish, bark, fern, salad or carrot planting in fake mud. I think it is still around.

Dominique Crenn of SF is famous for that.

And then there is meringue in every savoury and sweet dish at AT Paris.

Or that stamp effect, and of course monotone. (Still AT Paris)
image

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For servingware, the tasting menu chefs are having a lot of fun, one of the radical one I saw a few months ago in a magazine. A line of cement ware. Saw on TV Frédéric Anton is using them in his restaurant.

I usually don’t mind whatever they use, since some are for theatrical purpose but they should be clean, non toxic and practical. I remembered recently eating in a restaurant, they used a beautiful ceramic dish with a small base for the meat plate. So imagine the result, when you sliced the meat, the plate jumped around!

When I was working at the studio, I remember my boss was saying that some dinner ceramic his client (5 stars hotel) was using, the shining golden surface actually was toxic with lead!

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Yup,. Don’t like. Those cups/mugs look as is they might be difficult/.unsafe for hot beverages. -> hot coffee in lap.

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@naf

Yes, I have seen the “forest” and “chocolate forests” and Chef Tanaka too. Quite amazing !!

I am a grand fan of the “rustic” ware for our terrace …

Fabulous Naf.

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Slate slabs are quite common too … They also make a fabulous cheeseboard or charcuterie presentation.

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@Thimes,

Subjective, however, servingware and the art of plating do walk hand in hand however, both topics.

Thanks for joining us …