Is the blate here to stay?

The love child of deep dishes and flat plates is taking over dining tables globally — tapping into the need for sensory experiences and comfort

Recently, at a dinner party with friends, the dining table looked like a counter of condiments, with delicious-looking bowls in all shapes, sizes and colours. The idea was simple: make your own meal bowl.

As a fan of khao suey, or even khichdi, topped with an assortment of pickles and crackers, its always felt like my comfort cheat meal. So, it was interesting to see a dinner party that skipped plates and adopted the fuss-free vibe.

I work on a lot of restaurant concepts, events and food curations, and lately “meal bowls” have been a buzzword, even at weddings. People are excited to add Indian bowls and even ice cream bowls (served in large coconut bowls) to the menu. Then, a few days ago, I was surprised when my sister sent me a link with an email titled ‘Weekday one-bowl recipes.’

I thought, are we ditching the plates?

It’s interesting how we view food and design. The kitchen and homeware categories are driven by our daily habits. We all know how coffee mugs were a rage around the lockdown, and when Zoom calls were at its peak, candles and cushions created a bumper profit for brands.

Kiran Rao, the owner of Amethyst, the dine and shop boutique in Chennai, sent me a report by London-based brand Habitat, about homeowners ditching plates as a trend for 2023. It stated that ‘we’re embracing a more tactile, home-style approach to eating that places sensory experiences and comfort at its core’.

I wanted to dive deeper and understand what consumers were really looking for. At Khanoom, a bespoke ceramic studio in Jaipur that specialises in hand painted pottery and tableware, co-founder Priyamvada Golcha says: “We have been getting a much greater demand for our botanical vegetable entrée bowls and medium sized serving bowls. Clients want to use them in a multitude of ways, such as for soups, salads, pastas, dal, khichdi and burritos.” They even have an SSS bowl that stands for soup-salad-starter bowl!