We love hosting dinner parties. We have several each year. Some are extravagant while others more casual. With school-aged children we frequently host other families whose kids are friends with ours. We also love having family over for these dinners. A very important aspect to putting on a great dinner party is having a fabulous …
From porcelain to stoneware and other types of pottery, there are so many choices when you are choosing dishware. There are many options when searching for dinnerware, but four main categories stand out. When searching for your perfect set you should be aware of the differences between all four. Your dinnerware can be made of …
When it comes to dishes, there is an array to choose from. From various colors, shapes, and sizes to what type and how much you are going to spend, there is something for everyone. Aside from the style and price of the dishes you choose, there are other factors to consider including durability, longevity, and …
Have you ever been to a party and been directed to plastic “silverware” utensils? If you thought to yourself, that doesn’t really seem like silverware, you would be correct. Over the years, the terms silverware and flatware have become somewhat interchangeable, but there are substantial differences between silverware and flatware in terms of quality, durability, …
If there are two words that perfectly describe the whole experience and process of devouring an entire platter of seafood, it has to be ‘deliciously messy’. Most die-hard sea-food lovers will probably agree here on this because there is nothing as delectable as a perfectly grilled lobster with, say, a rich Beurre Blanc sauce. As …
The Etruscan tray, an Etruscan black earthenware dated 7th or 6th century B.C.E., is the oldest serving tray in existence. It suggests that a tray was used as early as the ancient times. Flat trays without handles also known as salver in the 17th century England were used to serve food for the royalty after a …
People didn’t take to eating with forks right away. When a Byzantine princess named Theodora Anna Doukaina gave gold forks as part of her dowry to Domenico Selvo in the 11th century, it caused such a scandal. God-fearing Venetians took it as an insult to God who they believed gave men their fingers as natural forks to …
Spoons are as old as knives and have existed as early as the prehistoric times. People in ancient civilizations made spoons out of wood, bone, rock, gold, silver, and ivory. In the past societies of Egypt and the UK, people used spoons as a status symbol. The modern appearance of spoons emerged only in the …
The very first coffee cups were made of wood. Then there were the first pottery mugs which had very thick walls that made it hard to sip. Mugs made of metal — particularly bronze, silver, gold, and lead — had thinner walls but were hard to use for hot drinks. Then porcelain was introduced around …
Early man used knives made of sharpened stones and bone as an all-in-one tool for hunting, as a weapon, and also for eating. These sharp primitive knives decorated with feathers, jewels, and carved designs were present at the dining table until the Middle Ages when forks became in vogue. Then France’s Louis XIV in 1669 banned these …
Before the modern plates were invented, people ate off of large leaves, gourd halves or seashells. Then clay was discovered and early pottery dinnerware was used. Early trenchers made out of slabs of hard bread, wood, earthenware, or metal were used until the 16th century. Out of all these, it was the bread trenchers that were …
Bowl food have made headlines as recently as the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Their wedding breakfast was a stand-up affair punctuated by a serving of the trendy bowl food. While the bowl was the primary food vessel for many cuisines, it only became widely accepted in the U.S. around 2016. …