Celebrated French gourmand and food writer Curnonsky—also good friend of Julia Child—was the arbiter of French taste in the first part of the 20th century. He was a food journalist par excellence and wrote numerous books and articles on French cuisine. He had two favorite sayings:
« Et surtout, faites simple! » (And above all, keep it simple!)
« La cuisine, c’est quand les choses ont le goût de ce qu’elles sont. » (Good cooking is when things taste of what they are.)
I love this last one as it is what makes French cuisine so interesting, so delicious and so perfect. Food needs to taste of its own essence—of course, it needs to be oh-so-fresh to really taste good which is the norm in France. It also needs to avoid being covered up with bizarre flavor combinations or distracted by wacky textures.
But I would say that is only part of what makes true French dining so satisfying. The French know too that things need to be seen for what they are. In other words, the French make a habit of serving food on simple white dinnerware so that the food speaks for itself visually.
Recently I went back into my photo archives for examples of how this adage plays out. And once you start to pay attention, it is astonishing how many dining experiences in France happen on white porcelain that has little to no decoration.
Occasionally, the white porcelain has a touch of decoration such as the pale gray lines here. But the food is as inviting as ever, not hidden or overwhelmed by overwrought color or decoration…
Personally, I have been collecting white French porcelain for many years now, namely Apilco and Pillivuyt. It looks as new today as the moment when I bought it, and it always makes the food placed on it look fresh and enticing. And you can create a variety of table settings with flowers, decorative objects and colored linens–although using white linens for the “white on white” effect is eternally elegant.
This past summer in the Médoc region of France, I had a fabulous French porcelain moment when I stumbled across what was an Apilco ‘factory outlet’ for all intents and purposes. I had gone to the large outdoor food market at Vendays-Montalivet located on the Atlantic coast north of Bordeaux. As I perused the various vendors’ offerings, I came upon a sign for a nearby boutique that read « Porcelaine Blanche » (white porcelain).
Curious, I made a beeline for this white porcelain heaven and was not disappointed. Everywhere I looked were stacks of Apilco, Pillivuyt, Limoges, and more. Standard dining fare, interesting serving pieces, tea services, soufflé dishes (see February’s posting on Apilco and soufflés!), oyster plates, and more. Everything you could want in dining ware was there. And at prices a serious fraction of what you’d find in Paris or in the U.S. As I perused the offerings, I quickly saw that some pieces were less than perfect–but I just made sure to pick items that were flawless.
So the next time you set your table—dinner tonight?—think about the French love affair with white when it comes to dining. Use white dinnerware and serving pieces and see if the food doesn’t stand out more…and taste better somehow. And next time you are in France, notice how many restaurants, bistrots, brasseries and cafés let the food be the star of the show.
If you want to purchase white French porcelain in France, check out the housewares section of the large Paris department stores such as Galeries Lafayette, Printemps or Le Bon Marché. You can also find a nice selection at A.Simon kitchenware shop on the Right Bank. For the Apilco factory outlet, you’ll have to travel farther afield. But if you’re in the Bordeaux area and love white porcelain, it just might be worth the trip:
ESPACE PORCELAINE
46 avenue Brémontier
33930 Vendays-Montalivet, FRANCE
(Open April 1 to October 1 from 10am to 2pm and 4pm to 8pm, the rest of the year by appointment.)
