Plating It Right

Georgian or Urmi-style, new-age textured or minimal — what a chef chooses to serve the food in, says a lot about the identity he is trying to create for his restaurant.

- Madhulika Dash

Circa 1553: Queen Catherine de' Medici taught the French how to eat with a fork and spoon and got her private chefs to introduce several plating techniques. The diktat from the queen was considered unusual and met with amazement by the elite society. It was, as many historians later noted, the evolution and of modern-day table mannerisms and the introduction of fancy tableware.

Queen Catherine, who played an important role in shaping much of the French course-wise dining format we know today as fine dining, didn’t stop at that. During her reign, she was known to have introduced crystal glasses, show plates, soup bowls, and the once privy-of-royalty-only napkins to her royal table. Little did the discerning guests attending her elaborately orchestrated dinners realise that it was the beginning of the trend of elaborate table settings.

The tradition was not just enthusiastically adopted by several royal dynasties across the world, but also came to symbolise fine dining. In fact, the table at Fort Kochi, the British power-centre before the Viceroy House was built in India, followed the French queen’s example, sourcing its bone china flatwear and glasses from the finest in the business. The glassmakers of Venice are said to have made their fortune by fashioning silicon into delicate objects of allure — wine and water glasses.