| There are few things more satisfying on a chilly | | | | whereas the standard is 27cm. Also think about |
| winter's day than a warming soup served in a | | | | pieces that can work for starters, sides and |
| chunky bowl. And what is it about drinking tea | | | | desserts.o The experts agree that multifunctional, |
| from delicate china that makes us sit up that little | | | | medium-sized bowls are an essential. A favourite |
| bit straighter? Every day we use tableware to | | | | with foodies everywhere, they can be used to |
| serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, but we rarely | | | | serve anything from soups and salads to pasta |
| consider the huge effect it can have on our | | | | and puddings, with deep versions being ideal for |
| enjoyment of the food or drink we're about to | | | | casual eating when food is balanced on laps.o'Go |
| consume. Modern lifestyles have had an influence | | | | for some supersized serving dishes so that |
| on the way we eat, and we're much more casual | | | | everyone can tuck in,' suggests Thomasina Miers, |
| diners than our grandparents or even our parents | | | | Masterchef winner 2005 and author of Cook |
| were. The slow but steady demise of the dining | | | | (Collins, £16.99). 'Bountiful plates and bowls |
| room has also played a major part in the way we | | | | are becoming an absolute must for people |
| serve our meals, with families and friends more | | | | cooking at home'. Choose porcelain serveware |
| likely to gather round the table in an open-plan | | | | that can go straight from oven to tabletop. |
| kitchen than make time for a formal feast. 'Social | | | | Share and share alike |
| norms have relaxed so much,' says Australian | | | | The popularity of foods from around the world |
| chef Bill Granger. 'It's ironic that in sophisticated | | | | means meals are far less likely to be brought |
| urban environments, we're dining more like French | | | | ready-plated to the table, as in many countries |
| peasants did 300 years ago.' | | | | the act of sharing with your fellow diners is |
| Fashionable foods | | | | integral to a meal. Instead large platters and bowls |
| Trends in tableware are influenced by fashionable | | | | allow everyone to help themselves, a trend that |
| foods and the way in which we eat them. | | | | translates well into contemporary social settings. |
| 'Restaurants and their menus have a huge bearing | | | | 'Sharing is key in Chinese and oriental cooking, so I |
| on what people buy,' says Dik Delaney, head of | | | | usually make an array of small dishes that allow |
| design at Royal Doulton. 'Often food lovers are | | | | guests to sample a little of everything,' says |
| keen to see how chefs use tableware before | | | | Ching-He Huang, author of China Modern (Kyle |
| taking the ideas home and recreating them'. Gone | | | | Cathie, £14.99). 'It's a lot less formal, |
| are the days when 'proper' dining meant dusting | | | | especially when you have groups of friends that |
| off granny's best china and serving up on a full | | | | are new to each other. |
| dinner set. Now we're more likely to take our cue | | | | Colour and texture |
| from a local gastropub and enjoy hearty British | | | | 'The classic white plate is the white T-shirt of the |
| recipes from rustic earthenware, or an Asian pick | | | | tabletop world,' says Donna Hay, Livingetc's |
| 'n' mix banquet from glossy lacquered bowls. | | | | contributing food editor. Donna suggests thinking |
| Think of jewel-like nigiri or seaweed-wrapped | | | | of your tabletop in the same way you think of |
| California rolls served on a round dish - somehow | | | | fashion. 'Adding colour or texture is easy to do |
| not right? Graphic foods like these look best lined | | | | with dipping bowls, platters and other smaller |
| up in regimented rows on square plates. 'They're | | | | items. Just as with fashion, these are those |
| still the only appropriate shape on which to serve | | | | inexpensive accessory purchases that are easy |
| sushi,' says chef Bill Granger. | | | | to part with after the trend has passed'. Another |
| Plain and simple | | | | way to introduce personality is by mixing basics |
| Tables of chic eateries everywhere have | | | | with well-loved, vintage hand-me-downs or |
| increased the popularity of simple white serving | | | | flea-market finds. 'We're definitely getting more |
| ware in our kitchens (think back - it really wasn't | | | | eclectic,' says Bill Granger. 'I used to have |
| so long ago that a matching set of patterned | | | | cupboards full of white plates, but now colour and |
| plates was everyone's table staple at home). A | | | | pattern are creeping back in. I have plates that |
| favourite with the majority of chefs and | | | | don't match for the first time in years.' This |
| restaurants, a plain white plate can provide a | | | | works equally well in reverse if you've inherited a |
| 'frame' for food, transforming even the most | | | | traditional dinner service, as by interspersing |
| basic beans on toast into a culinary delight, while | | | | homely items, you can create a much friendlier |
| still proving the perfect foil for more adventurous | | | | atmosphere. Alternatively, Caroline Clifton-Mogg, |
| dinner party dishes. As a result, chefs are | | | | author of China and Glass (Jacqui Small, |
| increasingly being asked to collaborate with | | | | £25), suggests going for different textures |
| tableware companies when they're developing | | | | and tones of white to create a more varied look. |
| new products - take Jamie Oliver's collection for | | | | 'Buy dishes that include white in the design, but |
| Royal Worcester and the new Gordon Ramsay | | | | add one or two new colours or a motif in a |
| range by Royal Doulton. For the latter, a design | | | | different hue.' |
| team visited the TV star's restaurants to study | | | | Care and cleaningo The majority of modern |
| how both chefs and customers used their plates. | | | | tableware is now dishwasher safe. New plates |
| The resulting tableware is both glamorous and | | | | usually have glazing over the decoration, so the |
| functional. | | | | pattern will not fade.o Older or hand-painted items |
| The new essentials | | | | won't have a protective glaze, so will fade over |
| 'We don't need complete dinner services any | | | | time even through hand washing. You can tell if an |
| more,' says Wedgwood design and creative | | | | item is not glazed by feeling for a slightly raised |
| consultant Francesca Amfitheatrof. 'Attitudes | | | | pattern. If in doubt, wash by hand.o Check |
| have changed and we can be adventurous with a | | | | manufacturers' instructions to see whether items |
| less formal mix-and-match approach.' Instead, it's | | | | are suitable for the microwave, oven or freezer. |
| all about customising your crockery, so compile | | | | Any gilded pieces will not be safe in a microwave. |
| your ultimate wish list before investing in some | | | | Expert essentials - what the pros can't live |
| good-quality basics. Space and storage limitations | | | | withouto 'Definitely big oval platters. They're great |
| make today's kitchen essentials work harder and, | | | | for piling up food to look generous without being |
| as a result, you're more likely to need flexible | | | | messy.' - Bill Granger, chef and restaurateur.o 'A |
| items and dishes that can double up. Don't waste | | | | large pasta bowl that can be used for warming |
| your funds on cups and saucers just because | | | | soups in the winter and creative salads in the |
| tradition dictates if you know you won't use | | | | summer - ideal for alfresco entertaining.' -Stuart |
| them. On the other hand, if you're a coffee lover, | | | | Cullen, Villeroy & Boch.o 'A large, wooden, |
| proper espresso cups will be a good investment if | | | | beautiful salad bowl - mine is my grandmother's, |
| they make your morning shot that much more | | | | along with her beautiful salad spoon and fork.' - |
| enjoyable. Above all, it's essential to think about | | | | Thomasina Miers, Masterchef winner 2005.o 'My |
| your particular needs and cooking style when | | | | lacquered wooden sushi trays and my oriental |
| choosing crockery.o Large dinner plates will give | | | | ceramic plates and bowls I bought from an |
| food room to breathe. According to John Lewis, | | | | oriental store in north London.' - Ching-He Huang, |
| the size of tableware has increased over the last | | | | author and presenter of Ching's Kitchen. |
| few years, and many plates are now 30cm | | | | |