New trends in dining: Bows, modern art, and 18th-century style service

You, like me, probably couldn't miss the social media recipes awash with red and bows.

Bows are everywhere, some gigantic, others minimalist: on pants, shirts, jeans, t-shirts, Christmas trees, tables, all sorts of stylized cakes, and so on.

Of course, like many other trends, this one is strongly influenced by fashion, which last year highlighted the aesthetic of ballet, combining fragility, femininity, and rigidity – imperative qualities for this dance, but also in a world with wars, masculine rules, and a need for a touch of magic!

The bow, a simple element which is in fact a ribbon, easily transforms a neutral mood into one of childlike joy.

Bows have always been loved; Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France, spent more than 200,000 francs during her lifetime on hair bows. Two other fans of bows for their outfits were Princess Diana and Madonna.

Although in the post-Soviet space, the influence of the '90s is much seen at parties, a trend still connected to fashion, in the West, at the intimate dinners of great designers, an artistic style reminiscent of 18th-century tables is emerging, where simple foods are highlighted, creating compositions in the style of modern art, or in a conical shape, à la Croquembouche.

Another trend we embrace is plates served with only one type of product, for example: a plate with only olives, another with only prosciutto, one with a type of vegetable, and so on.

Another tip is not to create too many layers of plates at individual place settings; overly festive tables are often on the verge of becoming opulent, heavy, and uninviting.

In this serving, I wanted to show you how you can use two styles of teapots and two shapes of plates for a stylized and professionally composed serving. It's not necessary for the teapot to be from the same collection as the plates; sometimes a teapot from a different story can look more interesting.

I avoided a tablecloth to highlight the warm wood of the table.

And last but not least, I added porcelain place card holders to express my love and consideration for each family member.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and many memorable meals for your collection of memories!