Only a few years ago, a standard plate was used to serve all the dishes, but now, there are curved, square, rectangles, oval and shallow bowls. It is not just about the shape, writes FUNKE OSAE-BROWN, but about eating from an unparalleled collection of exquisite extraordinary dinner set.

Eating is not just about the quality of the ingredients used in preparing a meal or the way a meal is served, it is about the plate on which it is served. Having a dinner or lunch, for instance, is about eating from an unparalleled collection of exquisite extraordinary design of dinner sets.

Eating from just any plate can be a turn off for the rich and their guest; hence, many of them pay great attention to the kind of plate on which their meals are served. And so, the Rosenthal Versace dinnerware adorns the dinner table in the home of those who can afford such luxury of paying as much as N2.8 million to acquire the dinner set, which is about an elegant dinning culture.

Presidents and heads of state tend to prefer the white dishes because white serves as a great backdrop for the food’s colour. Hence, the taste of food and the plate on which it is served is key. Also, the corresponding table, crockery and cutlery can greatly influence the feel of a dining table at home. For instance, modern China and crockery will look completely out of place in a traditional room and vice versa. This is something that many people these days notice when dinner is served.

Only a few years ago, a standard plate is used to serve all the dishes, but now, there are curved, square, rectangles, oval and shallow bowls. Different dishes are presented on each plate, according to the necessary part. A beautiful piece of fried food can give that wow factor when coming to the table.

In Rosenthal Versace, the famous perfumes designer and other accessories, presents vibrant colours and classic elegance that also describe the calibre of people who eat from such exquisite pieces, as its pieces are simply timeless and unforgettable.

Highly successful in the world of fashion and home collections, Rosenthal brings Vanity legendary Gianni Versace’s original and most famous motif to luxury porcelain tabletop. The new Vanity Rosenthal Versace collection is crafted using the line elegant Ikarus form. It is a must have opulent design for Versace collectors.

Vanity is a complex baroque design, evocative of the delicate inlay work of baroque-style varnished furniture that features hues of dark blue and gold that comes alive in a complete brilliantly designed plate. The new Vanity collection includes shimmering dinner plates, soup bowls and salad plates.  Crafted of fine porcelain by the prestigious German company, Rosenthal, they are dishwasher safe.

“It’s about class,” says Dupe Ogunlesi, CEO, Adam & Eve, “what endears a Versace Rosenthal dinnerware to people is the creativity. The beautiful designs that stare you in the face while eating including the glamour that comes with being served on such plates.”

Ogunlesi believes acquiring such wares is more for the quality as most of them have guarantees running into 50 to 100 years. This perhaps makes one believe never again will a designer approach the intuitive genius of Gianni Versace in creating such exciting visual images transformed for eternity into Objects d’Art that will last for millenniums.

From the sumptuous to the eccentric on the line-up of top exquisite dinner manufacturers are Versace, Porcel, who designed the plate for President Barack Obama’s inauguration three years ago. For cutlery range, Arthur Price of England boasts that its King design is a slight adaptation of a design it first produced in 1817. It still remains its most popular design. Herdmarr of Portugal is celebrating its 100 year of cutlery manufacturing next month. These brands offer value and luxury.

“Great dinning experience is about vibrant table settings with a really wide variety of dinner sets, such as plates made of porcelain or stoneware,  cutlery, tablecloth and other accessories allowing for self-expression,” adds Ogunlesi. The dining experience is all about elegance, depending on the individual’s taste. It can be casual, fun, child friendly, depending on the choice an individual wants.

In some homes, eating from a N3.5 million plates is an everyday affair, while in others, it only happens once in a blue moon. Banke Amole-Adams, daughter of Nigeria’s former ambassador to Japan, states that in her father’s house, such expensive dinner sets are used when other ambassadors visit or on special occasion such as State Dinner.

“They are usually for show,” she tells me, “when my father was alive, we had that kind of dinner set specially wrapped and kept away somewhere in the portmanteau. There is an expensive plate like that I got when I married. It is in the wardrobe. I don’t know the kind of visitor to serve on that kind of plate.”

As a married woman and a mother of two, Amole-Adams says she cannot afford to buy such an expensive dinner set. “That kind of money can buy a car or a piece of land. Even if I buy it, I will lock it up in a safe,” she adds.

Unlike Amole-Adams, a top executive who prefers not to be named says she is attracted to the Italian designs, as “you can’t help it but impress anyone who visits your home with such dinnerware. I have given such ware as gifts before. I believe almost every woman should fall in love with them. They are really nice.”

Adam & Eve is one of the major exquisite stores in the Lagos metropolis where such dinner sets are sold. Among their offerings are: Royal Derby (official designer for the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge’s royal wedding), Aynsley, Belleek – part of the really selected few who are still wholly producing in the UK, Porcelanas da Costa Verde (elegant porcelain), Faria & Bento (hard wearing stoneware), Bon Vida (somewhere between elegance & casual), and Porcel (always adding unusual twists to its design), all European, internationally acclaimed manufacturers producing for top brands.

The Versace Rosenthal includes its classic signature, Vanity. The Marco Polo helps add a touch of orient to the table, one of the reasons it is endeared to all. The Meandre D‘Or comes in classic white with the Versace stamp, while the Dedalo is a combination of black and platinum for the distinct flavour of macho.

The Les Reves Byzanthins is in dusty pink, mustard with a definite Italian elegance, while the Christmas In Your Heart is flirty, upbeat and cheerful. And the Chef & Sommerlier (made in France) gives you an attractive range to pick from.

At the dinner table, drinking glasses are also key as they define the style of the host and his guest. They come in heavy crystal (Royal Scotland, Royal Doulton, Galway brands) or thistle light, mouth-blown, Italian glass. “Drinking glasses are really important. The mouth-blown is very light and is good for elderly people who don’t have the strength to hold heavy crystal. They come in Hi- ball, flute, goblet and the new kid on the block- champagne saucers. It is all about class,” reveals Ogunlesi, “it is about making a great impression with famous mouth-blown Italian glasses for an elegant dining culture.”