Enrico Astori's commission was ambitious and demanding: to design a complete table service: plates, cutlery, glassware, cruets...

This tableware should be valued more as a support for a feast than as an independent formal exercise. The strict advice of my wife at the time, Victoria Roqué, chef de cuisine and soul of the prestigious Azulete restaurant for seventeen years, was fundamental in that respectful approach to the ritual of eating.

Plates

The shape of a plate has a history of thousands of years and cannot be substantially modified without serious danger of falling into banality. We just introduced subtle changes in the measurements, proportion and inclination of the rim, and thickness. The serving plate was somewhat larger than normal. The standard carving plate kept its usual size and we saw its use indicated for desserts and some starters, while for more complex starters and main courses we preferred the composition on a serving plate.

The soup plate increased in diameter since creams are served in a consommé cup and for other types of soups and stews it is convenient to have more surface area, thus avoiding having to refill it for a normal portion. The small casserole allowed the table to serve meals cooked in the oven that were usually presented in a rustic clay pot.

The profile of the elongated plates-trays was the result of the pairing of the traditional occidental circular plate and the Japanese rectangular tray. They are suitable for serving individual whole fish, skewers and canapés.

The three-legged trays were used for sweets during coffee or for some appetizers.

Bowls

All bowls have a semi-spherical base, which makes cleaning the inside much easier. They rest on three legs, one of which is integrated into the handle.

Regarding dimensions and uses, we can comment:

The coffee cup is small, slender and with a very thin rim, ideal for the lover of a “ristretto” coffee.

The mini bowl is for butter, for concentrated sauce or mustard.

The bowl can be used for salads and certain soups.

Ornamentation

I was obsessed with making sure that the ornament did not distract from or conflict with the food. Using the off-white color of the porcelain, I decorated the underside of the rim of the plates and the center of the hemisphere on the bowls with a bright vermilion in such a way that on the table we could only see its reflection on the plate below or on the tablecloth.

Although it may seem unusual today, I designed some delightful individual ashtrays that were stackable and allowed you to put out your cigarette without crushing the butt.

Cutlery

In the long tradition of cutlery design, it is not easy to make radical contributions. Today we appreciate the limitations of the last revolutionary cutlery in history, the beautiful Nordic design of the 1950s. Three-pronged forks and short-pronged forks in general do not allow for rolling pasta, short-bladed knives make it uncomfortable to cut large pieces, shallow, circular spoons hold little liquid and make it difficult to put into the mouth. Our cutlery respected the ritual of eating and the diversity of utensils for different delicacies: we only made modest contributions in some pieces.

The fish knife, with its serrated edges (right and left, respecting the symmetry essential for left-handed people), allows us to easily cut the fibers of lobster, crayfish and squid, which is so difficult with the usual blunt shovels.

The dessert cutlery, although the head is somewhat smaller, had handles of the same length, as we did not understand why the diner's hands were supposed to have shrunk during the meal.

However, the tea and coffee spoons have very thin handles so that, when inserted into the cups, they do not cause them to tip over.

The handles, given my love for figuration, are decorated with relief motifs that allude to the use of the different pieces: the head of a fish for the fish, an apple for the dessert, a coffee bean for the coffee spoon and a leaf for the tea spoon.

Glasses

The glassware consisted of a water glass (Gualtiero Marchesi had taught me that, to avoid confusion, water should not be served in a goblet) and seven glasses for various uses, all with a tall, thin stem, with a braided shape to improve grip and offer a shaded tone; its mouth opens slightly outwards to better accommodate the lips. The collection also included a water bottle with a sinuous, feminine shape, like a torso, which creates a gripping area. In 1995, I expanded the collection with an oil cruet designed to prepare vinaigrette, and a candleholder where the candle floats in water and the flame - always at the same height - is surrounded by a sphere of frosted glass.

The stainless steel cutlery - silver-plated or not - was made in Italy; the tableware - in beautiful translucent porcelain - in Japan, and the glassware - in very fine crystal - in Badalona.

Delta de plata 1991

En las colecciones de: Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, Vitra Design Museum, Israel Museum, Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts, Deutsches Kingenmuseum Solingen y Museu de las Arts Decoratives de Barcelona.