The Curated Stage for Dialogue between Visionary Chefs and Master Artisans
When the Plate Inspires the Story
Inspired by Design is a living dialogue between culinary artistry and crafted design—where every plate, vessel, and surface becomes part of the storytelling. Here, form evokes feeling, and beauty becomes a language at the table.
Born from our Summer Menu Challenge 2025, this ongoing initiative invites chefs worldwide to respond to pieces sent by designers, studios, and heritage brands—creators inspired by culinary identity. From porcelain to stoneware, wood to metal, each object arrives as a spark. The dish, the story, the plating… comes after.
Here, inspiration begins not with a recipe—but with an object.
The Designers speak First, Chefs compose
Whether it’s a sculptural plate, a hand-thrown bowl, a carved wooden charger, or a signature piece of design—each form invites a chef to tell a story with it, through it, on it. The result: a visual and sensory narrative captured in photography, film, and the plate itself.
“In the silence of an object lies the beginning of a story—it is the hand of the maker that invites the hand of the chef to speak.”
Creating poetry by elise.goffinon at @maison_omael
For Artisans who set the Stage
If you’re a designer, artisan studio, or heritage brand working with porcelain, stoneware, wood, metal, or mixed materials — this is your invitation to co-create with the culinary world’s most visionary chefs.
How we can showcase your work:
Editorial features on our digital platform and online magazine
Social media storytelling to a global culinary audience
Hand-matched collaborations with chefs who resonate with your design
Inclusion in our Discover Designers showcase
If your pieces are created with intention — to elevate moments, spark emotion, and bring presence to the plate — we’d love to share your story.
Plating Art by @nicolo.rotella
For Culinary Visionaires
If you’re a chef, restaurant owner, or culinary artist who finds inspiration beyond the plate — in texture, material, and design — this initiative is for you.
Inspired by Design invites Chefs to:
Be matched with a designer or brand whose pieces reflect your Culinary philosophy
Receive bespoke or curated tableware to inspire new plating concepts
Share your plated story through video, photography, and editorial exposure
Connect with makers who share your values of quality, beauty, and story
Where the plate speaks first — you answer with a dish the world has never seen.
Plated Narratives
Intention meets Terroir
The Designer
Elise Goffinon
Maison Omael | Paris
Paris-based designer Elise Goffinon of Maison Omael creates sculptural tableware that blurs the line between functional object and art. Her pieces, often in porcelain and Jesmonite, are characterized by their intentional curves and emotional resonance. Each piece is designed to “hold not just food, but intention.”
More about Elise Goffinon in our Discover.Designers edition.
The Chef
Christophe Hay
Fleur de Loire | Two Michelin Stars | Bois, France
In the hushed elegance of Fleur de Loire, Chef Christophe Hay crafts dishes that speak of terroir and time. His cuisine is a reflection of the Loire Valley, with a deep respect for ingredients and a narrative that connects the land to the plate.
More about the Chef on our Summer Menu Challenge hub
The Collaboration
This partnership began when Goffinon encountered Hay’s Summer Menu Challenge submission and recognized a kindred artistic spirit. The designer responded by creating and hand-delivering two custom porcelain and Jesmonite plates from her La Génoise — Half Sliced collection, each engraved with the chef’s emblem.
In his kitchen overlooking the Loire, Hay received the pieces as creative partners rather than mere tableware. His response unfolded as a multi-course dialogue where each dish engaged with the plates’ sculptural curves and intentional forms.
In their Words
“I wanted each curve of the plate to hold not just food, but intention. Christophe’s work reflects that same depth—a story told through silence and precision.” –Elise Goffinon
“When an object arrives with this level of thought and artistry, it doesn’t just hold food—it inspires it. Elise’s pieces became the starting point for our culinary composition.” – Christophe Hay
Chef Christophe Hay & Designer Elise Goffinon at Fleur de Loire, Bois
The Result
What began as a creative exchange evolved into something deeper—a connection forged over shared values and a mutual table. The personal delivery of the pieces and the breaking of bread at Fleur de Loire marked not an ending, but a beginning.
This collaboration has blossomed into a lasting partnership, where studio and kitchen continue their dialogue beyond the plate—a promise of future creations born from the same intentional spirit. The porcelain that traveled from Paris to Blois carried not just form, but the seed of an ongoing conversation between two artists who found in each other kindred creative souls. Where a single gesture of craftsmanship has become the foundation for many stories yet to be told.
Memory meets Material
The Designer
Adrià Funosas
Artilugis Studio | Barcelona
From his Barcelona studio, Adrià Funosas creates tableware that serves as stages for culinary storytelling. His work with Artilugis—featured at world-renowned restaurants including Disfrutar and Mirazur—focuses on objects that “spark emotion, elevate rituals, and honor material authenticity.”
More about Adrià Funosas in our Discover.Designers edition
The Chef
Mattia Stanchieri
Vibe Restaurant | Michelin Guide | Lisbon
In the intimate 22-seat sanctuary of Vibe Lisbon, Chef Mattia Stanchieri builds menus that are passports to memory. His approach transforms personal journeys into culinary narratives, where each dish carries “a stamp from the journey” and food becomes how he “collects cultures.”
More about the Chef on our Summer Menu Challenge hub
The Collaboration
This Mediterranean dialogue began when Adrià Funosas encountered Stanchieri’s Summer Menu Challenge entry—a love letter to Thailand told through Portuguese ingredients. The Barcelona designer, owner of Artilugis studio, responded with pieces from one of his handcrafted collections that mirrored the menu’s narrative depth.
At Vibe, Stanchieri welcomed these handcrafted pieces as creative partners, exploring how their textures and forms could inspire new plating approaches for his “Love, Laughter & Lemongrass” menu with a promise ” We’ll meet again-on The Plate “
In Their Words
“Design is not a solution—it is a language of connection. The more honest the material, the deeper the experience.” –Adrià Funosas
“We meet again on the plate. Adrià’s pieces became the perfect stage for our culinary stories, where Barcelona craftsmanship meets Lisbon flavor.” –Mattia Stanchieri
The Result
The collaboration demonstrated how objects can inspire recipes, with Stanchieri creating three distinct dishes that responded to the unique character of each piece. The result is a visual narrative where ceramic artistry and culinary storytelling become one harmonious expression.
The Full Story in Motion
Precision Meets Provocation...
The Designer
With over three decades shaping the tableware landscape, British designer Nick Holland creates at the intersection of form, function, and simplicity. His design approach — “making the food, not the product, the hero” — has earned him international recognition, including multiple German Design Awards and Tableware International Awards of Excellence.
His UNICO collection, a 2024 finalist at the Tableware International Awards of Excellence, exemplifies clean, durable design tailored for professional use — balancing visual clarity with plating efficiency. More about Nick Holland in our Discover. Designers edition.
The Chef
Inside a converted metalworks space in Vienna’s 15th district, Chef Sören Herzig has built a culinary destination where precision meets provocation. Known for his immersive, 38-seat tasting experience, Herzig is often described as “The Alchemist of Austrian Flavour and Form.”
His approach combines technical exploration with emotional intention, crafting menus that unfold like narratives — built around texture, motion, and memory. “I don’t want guests to recognize a dish. I want them to recognize a feeling.”
More about the Chef on our Summer menu challenge 2025 hub.
The Collaboration
This creative exchange began when Holland encountered Herzig’s submission to the All4Chefs Summer Menu Challenge — a 12-course exploration titled “Leichtigkeit, Tiefe, Charakter” (Lightness, Depth, Character).
Inspired by the chef’s visual and conceptual storytelling, Holland selected a set from his UNICO collection and sent them to Vienna — functional, minimalist plates designed to let the cuisine speak.
Herzig responded in his own language: plating three compositions, each influenced by the form and feel of the selected vessels. What followed was a respectful collaboration between design made for daily precision, and culinary expression shaped by mood and meaning.
In their Words
Nick Holland:
“Our design philosophy has always been about creating pieces that serve the food first. When tableware complements rather than competes, it becomes an integral part of the culinary conversation.”
Sören Herzig:
“In our kitchen, we approach every element with intention. The relationship between food and vessel is fundamental — it’s about creating harmony between what’s on the plate and what holds it.”
The Result
The result is a visual dialogue — captured in plating videos, photography, and a behind-the-scenes unboxing — where simplicity invites creativity, and function becomes the quiet stage for flavour.
Across three vessels, Chef Sören Herzig explored plating not from tradition, but from touch. Texture, shape, and openness of the plate became guiding cues — sparking compositions shaped by contrast, emotion, and restraint.A minimal canvas, a maximal response. This exchange reminds us: design doesn’t need to be loud to inspire. Sometimes, it simply needs to make space.
Porcelain Meets Passage...
The Designer
Stefanie Hering
Hering Berlin, Germany
Where porcelain becomes poetry and craft transcends time, Stefanie Hering has spent three decades redefining luxury tableware. As the founder of Hering Berlin, this master porcelain maker has transformed the humble plate into a medium of architectural expression and sensory storytelling.
Her pieces—fired at 1400°C in Germany’s historic Porzellanmanufaktur Reichenbach—achieve a density and translucency that borders on alchemy. The signature contrast between unglazed bisque exteriors and delicately glazed interiors creates a tactile dialogue between hand and surface, between chef and guest.
From Per Se and French Laundry to Mirazur and Osteria Francescana, her porcelain has become the silent partner to the world’s most celebrated kitchens. As Wallpaper noted, “Hering Berlin creates the plates that Michelin stars are served on.”
More about Stefanie Hering in our Discover.Designers edition
The Chef
Nicolo Rotella
8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana | Two Michelin Stars | Shanghai
From the family restaurant in Turin to the pinnacle of Asian fine dining, Chef Nicolò Rotella carries Italy in his hands but the world in his imagination. At Shanghai’s iconic 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana, he orchestrates a culinary dialogue between memory and metamorphosis.
His dual summer menus—”ROOTS” and “JOURNEY”—serve as edible autobiography. ROOTS digs deep into Piedmontese soil: the earthiness of truffle, the comfort of handmade pasta, the ghosts of his father’s kitchen. JOURNEY soars across continents: New Zealand scampi dancing with Thai basil, burnt lemon awakening black abalone.
“Working in Shanghai has pushed me to unlearn and relearn,” Rotella reflects. “I cook without borders, but never without roots.”
More about the Chef on our Summer Menu Challenge hub
The Collaboration
When porcelain perfection meets culinary memoir, something extraordinary emerges. This collaboration began when Stefanie Hering encountered Rotella’s Summer Menu Challenge submission—a profound exploration of identity through ingredients.
Recognizing a kindred dedication to craft and narrative, Hering selected pieces from her collections that mirrored Rotella’s dual approach: pieces that felt simultaneously ancient and contemporary, grounded and airborne. The porcelain traveled from Berlin’s meticulous workshops to Shanghai’s glittering skyline.
In the restaurant’s sleek kitchen, Rotella and his team received Hering’s pieces not as vessels, but as co-authors. The plates’ architectural purity became the perfect stage for dishes that navigate the delicate space between nostalgia and innovation, between the comfort of memory and the thrill of transformation.
In their Words
Stefanie Hering: “Our porcelain is a collaborator, not a backdrop. It engages with the culinary narrative, echoing Nicolò’s journey through flavor and origin. Each piece becomes a stage where tradition meets the courage to evolve”
Nicolò Rotella: “The excellence of ingredients and respect for tradition are the soul of my cooking. Stefanie’s porcelain embodies this same spirit—each piece feels both timeless and completely of this moment, much like the best Italian cooking.”
The Result
What unfolded was more than a collaboration—it was a testament to how objects can carry meaning across cultures and how food can transport us across time. Hering’s porcelain became the constant in Rotella’s equation of change, the permanent ground against which his journeys of flavor could unfold.
The partnership revealed that the most profound culinary experiences occur when craft meets cuisine in intentional dialogue—when the hand that shapes porcelain understands the hand that plates memories, and both recognize they’re speaking the same language of beauty, precision, and soul.
In a world of constant motion, this collaboration reminds us that some things are built to endure: the porcelain that withstands 1400°C fire, the flavors that transport us home, and the creative connections that span from Berlin to Shanghai, from memory to masterpiece.
The Full Story in Motion
Form Meets Finesse...
The Brand
MyGlassStudio
Worldwide
MyGlassStudio is not merely a manufacturer; it is a global brand that redefines luxury tableware through the medium of glass. Operating in over 140 countries, they approach each piece as a “creative platform”—a stage built from light, color, and form. With a library of over 1,800 shapes, their bespoke process is one of pure intention, fusing glass with metals, stone, and wood to create functional art that performs under the rigors of the world’s finest kitchens.
Each piece is more than a vessel; it is a lens that clarifies and amplifies the chef’s vision. Dishwasher-safe, chip-resistant, and citric-acid proof, this is design that endures, made for the hands of masters.
More about MyGlassStudio in our Discover.Brands edition.
The Chef
Arnaud Bignon
Spondi Restaurant| One Michelin Stars | Athens
In the historic neighborhood of Pagrati, Chef Arnaud Bignon conducts a symphony of contrasts. At Spondi, his cuisine is a dialogue between French technique and a global sensibility—Japanese precision, Greek terroir, and an artist’s emotional clarity. His dishes are built on the pillars of purity, discipline, and storytelling, where each component must earn its place on the plate.
“For the All4Chefs Summer Menu Challenge, I wanted to express Nature, Elegance, and Contrast,” Bignon explains. “It’s about the intensity of foie gras with the brightness of elderflower, the richness of lamb cut by the sharpness of wild garlic vinegar. Every day is a new challenge. Creating and exploring our passion is daily work.”
More about the Chef on our Summer Menu Challenge hub or Chefs Interviews
The Collaboration
This alliance of form and finesse began when the team at MyGlassStudio encountered Bignon’s Summer Menu Challenge submission—a menu celebrated for its balance of nature, elegance, and contrast.
Recognizing a shared philosophy where the vessel is integral to the experience, MyGlassStudio curated a selection of their pieces designed to harmonize with the warm, natural interior of Spondi restaurant. The collection featured their Bento Dinner Plate system and elegant wide-rimmed pieces, including a pasta plate and a cloche, all finished in a natural, earthy color palette.
The pieces arrived at Spondi not as mere tableware, but as collaborative partners. The glass, with its clean lines and subtle tones, became a natural extension of the restaurant’s serene aesthetic—a stage waiting for a performance.
In Their Words
MyGlassStudio: “We believe tableware should not only perform but inspire. For a chef like Arnaud, whose plating is so precise and intentional, our glass offers the ultimate clarity. It provides a form that disappears, yet profoundly defines the presentation. It is the silence that makes the music louder.”
Arnaud Bignon: “When you plate on something this transparent and minimal, there is nowhere to hide. Every element must be perfect. The MyGlassStudio pieces forced a beautiful discipline—they became the ‘thoughtful glass under the dish’ that allows the food itself to truly sing. They are the perfect partner for a menu built on finesse.”
The Result
The collaboration became a masterful exercise in matching culinary intention to architectural form. From the collection of pieces sent by MyGlassStudio, Chef Bignon selected two that spoke directly to his vision, treating them as essential partners in his plating narrative.
The structural Bento Box was employed for its compartmentalized design, becoming a modern stage for a curated selection of appetizers. Each section defined a different taste and texture, transforming the first act of the meal into a structured, visual journey.
The deep coupe bowl with its metallic rim and matte well was chosen for a precise composition of tartare and mousse. The plate’s contained form focused the eye on the vibrant, delicate textures of the dish, while its elegant frame complemented the restaurant’s refined aesthetic.
Together, this selective dialogue demonstrated the profound synergy between bespoke tableware and culinary artistry. MyGlassStudio provided a library of forms—a toolkit of potential stages. In response, Chef Bignon’s finesse brought two of them to life, proving that the right vessel doesn’t just hold food—it defines its presentation and elevates its story.
