"All over the world, in every area of life, and not just at the table, we are moving towards a dimension of greater informality and the table has also been decidedly de-formalised.

So much so that now we are seeing solutions that can be defined more as trendy than traditional, even in award-winning restaurants. Take, for example, the practice of setting the table without a tablecloth. Clearly, all the equipment needed for the table has also been greatly simplified. Today, the focus is above all on functionality, but always with an eye on the aesthetic aspect, which leaves us with hope that the pleasure of spoiling ourselves with beautiful objects on the table will continue to be very important.

The new trends

"On the one hand, the keyword is simplification, with increasingly spartan place settings. Setting the table with lots of cutlery is no longer the done thing. Instead, the cutlery is changed during the course of the meal, and even some of the finer, more important restaurants have been relying on a slightly more ‘Franciscan’ appeal in recent years. On the other hand, the formats used to receive guests have also been simplified, as proven, for example, by the recent trend of afternoon tea, which is gaining popularity in Italy now too. There is a tendency to propose moments that are not structured like a meal, but which enable us to get together around a table, create a themed menu, choose the right objects we need to host, and welcome our guests in a pleasant, but certainly less demanding way.”