I always like to talk with professional chefs about their recipes, and I am even more intrigued by their passion for plating. For a designer, plating is a little bit like graphic work or painting, laying out shapes on a blank canvas; or like staging a play in theater, defining what is in focus and what is in the background, thinking about how a single character magnetizes the scene or how a crowd of actors swells in perfect harmony.
To design the three gourmet collections, Ala, Onda and Plano, I started from the idea of treating the plates as a stage and the ingredients as actors on that stage. So, in addition to exploring multiple sizes – from very large plates to small precious ones – I went further and designed a series of special ‘Chef ’ plates that create an even stronger focus on the food by framing it within larger borders, or placing it asymmetrically.
I thought about the main dish and the sides, I considered how the spices in the recipe would dialogue with the ‘design spices’, the decorations on the borders of the plates. In the end, the three collections are a kind of challenge for professional chefs or amateur gourmets: now that we have given you the best stage to celebrate your special recipes, surprise us with your culinary creativity!
Defne Koz