Most of you know by now that I’m a dish whore.  Working for Pottery Barn for several years really warped my sense of appropriate dish ownership.  At last count, I could feed 96 people on various styles of dinner plates ranging from traditional white porcelain to fish-shaped bubble glass to triangle-shaped earthenware with Italian motifs for pizza slices.  I know…I know…but I collect dishes the way some women collect shoes:  intentionally, and with a keen eye for function and fashion.

Buying specialized plates is similar to buying a vividly-colored designer shoe:  you only use them on special occasions (or with one outfit).  How do you feel when you do break them out, though?  FANTASTIC.  As the owner of the shoe above told me, “They make me feel GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR when I wear them”.  I feel the same way when I serve seafood delicacies on my bubble glass fish plates.

I’m a dish whore as a side effect of being a huge foodie.  I collect the funky plates because I respect the food enough to give it a good vehicle as my guests and I consume it.  That being said, I must admit that I’m terrified by a new trend I’ve found in the dish arena:  busy plates.  Pretty, intricate, patterned, obnoxious, bold plates that shout for attention.  Sure, they look fantastic in the photo shoot with the great table linens and the eye-catching colors, but you know what?  Those plates are EMPTY.  What happens when you put a slab of lasagna on a 1970’s wallpaper design?  How about a colorful Caprese salad on an artistic plate?  Goodness, how crazy would it be to serve beef and noodles on a giant yellow sunflower?  The food and the plate compete for your attention so much that you could end up losing your appetite.

My advice is to save the busy plates for display and break out the serious plates for serious food.  If you would like to accessorize to give the presentation a bit more kick and punch, then feel free to add color with a charger beneath the plate or with colorful table linens or centerpieces.  Bon appetit, and happy shopping!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 at 11:00 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.