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Olivia Greenway, travel journalist and copywriter

My kingdom for a plate

May 4, 2015
By olivia

When the fashion for serving food in or on something other than a plate first caught my attention – what, ten to fifteen years  years ago? – it was a bit of a novelty. I can remember having French fries served in a mini chip frying basket and thought it was rather cute. But now, it has become something of an epidemic. So much so, that Ross McGuinnes set up @wewantplates on twitter and has a following of 37K (update 110K 2016) so I can’t be the only one who is irked.

 

It’s gone beyond a joke to being frankly, bloody irritating. I’ve had butter piped into a kilner jar, growing herbs in flower pots I’m supposed to snip off myself; French fries served in mugs, and so much food presented on a slate I’ve lost count. At a Michelin-starred restaurant recently, the food was good but what I came away with was how pretentious the chef was. In one meal I had butter piped onto a rock, salad in a glass jar, bread in a sack and cheese on a plank. The main meal was served on what looked like giant china pavlova bases. The cheeseboard was over complicated and included a shot glass of apple juice, a petri dish of sunflower seeds and aforementioned green salad, both unwanted. Cheese and (just) biscuits anyone? Forget it. Service was slow; I’m not surprised with all the faffing about carrying those intricate items. And the wash up area must have been a nightmare.

 

Slate belongs on roofs and breadboards in domestic kitchens; anyone knows how unhygienic they are. By contrast, I had a lovely meal served on – quelle surprise – a regular white plate in Ireland last month (pictured) and could have wept with relief. Come on chefs, just serve really good food. That’s what we want.

 

What do you think?

Categories : Food, Lifestyle
Tags: chefs, food, plates, serving food

Trips 2018/2019

2019

January: Zanzibar

March: Cape Town & Pretoria

May: Slovenia

October: South Africa (tbc)

November: Kenya (tbc)

 

Trips 2018

March:  New York, including Frick Gallery

May:  Vietnam including Halong Bay

June:  Giverny and Monet’s garden

June:  Majorca

December: Hyderabad and Chandigarh, India

Trips 2017

January: Johannesburg, Pretoria, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
February: Bangalore
April: Lake District
May: Malaga
September: Mexico, Cancun
November: Delhi, Agra, Shimla
December: Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Venice

Trips 2016 (not clickable)

January: Oxford, Tenerife
February: Hampshire
March: Manchester
April: Sicily, Germany
October: Bangalore, New Delhi
November: Bangalore, New Delhi
December: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

List of trips 2015 (not clickable)

January: European ski resorts; Milan
February: Germany, Austria, Switzerland
March: Istanbul, Jersey, Vienna, Prague, Budapest
April: Road trip Ireland
May: Road trip France, Germany, Benelux and Copenhagen
June: UK luxury hotels
December: Cannes

List of trips 2014 (not clickable)

January Weimar, Vienna
February - Berlin, London
April - Chicago, Toronto, Montreal
May/June - Driving trip, Spain
July – Majorca
July - Paris
August - Southern UK
September – Northern Italy including Venice
October - South of France
October/November - Germany, Austria and Switzerland
December - Cape Town, Durban, driving along Garden Route South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda

List of trips 2013 (not clickable)

  • January - Tenerife
  • March - Istanbul
  • April - Italy luxury hotels - mid and southern Italy including Sicily
  • June - Las Vegas
  • June - Massive west coast road trip - Vancouver, BC
  • June - Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Napa Valley, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, San Diego
  • September - Washington DC, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia
  • September - Carolinas, Georgia, northern Florida (Talahassee area)
  • September - New Orleans, Orlando, Miami; Vancouver
  • October - Puglia, Italy and Milan

List of trips 2012

  • January - Hawaii, USA
  • February - France - Le Touquet, Lens, Lille
  • March - Nelamangala, India
  • July - Milan, Italy
  • August - Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • August - Iguazu Falls, Brazil
  • August - Montevideo, Uruguay
  • September - Delhi, India
  • November - Dubai, UAE

List of trips 2011

  • January - Madeira, Portugal
  • February - Bangalore, India
  • April - British Virgin Islands, Caribbean
  • May - Sicily, Italy
  • May - San Francisco, USA
  • June - Bangalore and New Delhi, India
  • July - Prague, Czech Republic
  • July - Munich, Germany
  • July - Washington DC, USA
  • August - Lake District, UK
  • September - La Grande-Motte, France
  • Annapolis, USA
  • October - Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • December - Helsinki, Finland
  • December - St Petersburg, Russia

List of trips 2010

  • February - India - Kerala & Chennai
  • March - Manchester & the North West
  • March - Austria
  • April - Czech Republic
  • May - Lake District
  • June - Cologne
  • July - India - Bangalore and Delhi
  • August - Eastern Cape & KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
  • September - Grasse, south of France
  • September - Wick, Scotland
  • October - Utah, USA
  • December - Montreal, Canada
  • December - Madeira, Portugal
Olivia Greenway, travel journalist and copywriter
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