An Epistomology on Plates
by Darinee Durai
@ 05 Dec 2017
The Artistic Endeavour
DD: Would you consider a plate your canvas?
YBL: Absolutely, a plate is the canvas for me, it is so important to find the correct plate for the correct food and correct dish. You can plate the same recipe in different plates and you will have a different result. Plates are crucial in the creation process for a dish. On the other side you can have a plate that does not fit for one dish.
DD: Have you ever felt limited or restricted by a plate design?
YBL: Whenever I feel limited by a plate design, I change it straight away. I can’t accept to plate food in the wrong plate, you destroy all the work and above all, you impact the guest experience negatively.
Image: Blueberryfield
DD: Out of 10 dishes, how many do you actually take into consideration the final outlook of the dish as opposed to the taste?
YBL: For all 10 dishes served from my kitchen I will take into consideration the same importance for the final look and the taste, you cannot compromise between the look and the taste. Both must be perfect, and reflect your degree of focus on your work.
DD: Does tableware have the ability to inspire you in the creating of dishes?
YBL: Of course I believe so, even if I do not need tableware to inspire me, it helps a lot. If you have amazing tableware in your dining room and the possibility to change often and if you can get the last creation, you are flying in terms of creation, most of the time the tableware are completing the hand craft signature of the chef. And it is so pleasant for the guest, the sensation, feelings and emotions that you can give through tableware are endless.
Image: Childhood Brioche
Practical Functionality
DD: What are the factors you consider when choosing particular tableware to serve a dish?
YBL: You must take in consideration what we call the 360°C degree experience; all the tableware must be related to the sensitivity of the atmosphere of the dining and the emotional part given by the chef in his food. You should axe your tableware depending on the products, the number of courses, the trends, and the philosophical approach of the chef.
DD: Do you consider the materials the tableware is made of and how is it important in the deliverance of the dish to the consumer?
YBL: Materials are primordial, stainless, steel, copper, bronze, gold, ceramic, wood, bones... It’s all based on your emotions, on levels of creativity and again the experience that you wish to deliver to your guest.
DD: What makes the ‘right’ tableware for a particular dish?
YBL: To decide the right tableware you need to have the choice between different tableware; only the chef can with his sense of aesthetics to find in his platting and approach the right tableware.
DD: What are your favourite type of tableware and why?
YBL: I do not have favourite type of tableware, I can use everything possible. I have no limit in this case, and I believe it is reducing your creativity to limit yourself at one kind of tableware. Sometimes you can be surprised at what improvisation can be achieved when choosing tableware and be successful in the result.
DD: What are the plating trends nowadays and do you think chefs tend to go overboard with certain ideas?
YBL: Trends nowadays in my opinion are pushing the boundaries, there is no more limit, the more creative you want to be, the more crazy you must be with the choice of your tableware, and as mentioned before it’s all based on the 360° experience. Tableware is the link between the chef and the food to touch the guest heart and create memory.
DD: Does the plate or the food come first?
YBL: Food comes first.
Image: Octopus
DD: Which has the bigger, lasting impact – the first glance given to a dish or the final taste it leaves in your mouth?
YBL: I am looking always looking for the final taste that you leave in the mouth, this is the most important, this is what brings you back to your Proust's Madeleine, your childhood memory, and your deep memory.
DD: Will porcelain ever become obsolete?
YBL: Absolutely not, tableware is so important for the fining experience and is so close to the chef and his creations. It needs to evolve, progress and follow the trends as well as follow the creative frenzy of the contemporary chefs around the globe.
Check out his beautifully designed dishes at:
https://www.instagram.com/yblinc/?hl=en
