Dreamworthy dining

The Equip’Hôtel salon in November 2006 already showed much conceptual and creative vivacity on the tableware sector. In all likelihood, 2007 will see the arrival of innovative collections and their aesthetic trend says much about the times.Creativity wins over ostentatious luxury. Nonetheless, due to the economic situation, restaurant owners tend to limit the range of their suppliers, preferring to work with a smaller number of brands. This also avoids problems with restocking. “Today, clients prefer to concentrate on one or two manufacturers,” confirms Michael Fouquet. This requires the latter to provide an offer that is as exhaustive as it is eclectic, and that fits in to all types of settings.After the explosion of shapes and colors in recent years, an “already been there” feeling lingers in the air... It is difficult to continue to surprise constantly: square dishes, revolutionary for a time, have now become commonplace. The most fanciful shapes and colors have been successfully experimented. It is no longer a matter of “reinventing the wheel”. A new approach thus arises, like a pendulum effect: return to a stylized minimalism that knows how to disappear behind the preparations, or better yet: enhance them. The timeless is affirmed as a fundamental value.The key is to not interfere with the preparations themselves. This is what recent collections such as Kaolin by Deshoulières, is doing with chic classicism, white, porcelain and a combination of square and wavy shapes. “80% of our sales are for white products,” confirms Michael Fouquet of Villeroy & Boch, which praises "fluid shapes" over lines that are too strict and geometric. It also evokes the brand’s new collection, which is called Flow and “plays on round and asymmetrical shapes inspired by nature: drop of water, fish and organic design,” he explains. Then there is the “Dune” collection, which also...