Have you been bowled over?

I'm sure you all have come to realise that I am a huge china & crockery fan. I also love collecting & using china in my tablescapes - mixing old & new items to create the look I like at home.

I host a Thanksgiving for a friend & that is always as formal as we are likely to get for 12 guests  ...

This week Mary Portas put forward the idea on her TV programme 'What Britain Buys' that bowls are now in great demand  because more & more of us are eating out of bowls rather than off plates!

She cited the popularity of food images on Instagram, as one of the factors, saying that food looks better in bowls!

Several broadsheet newspapers agreed with her -

The Telegraph reported on how-bowls-replaced-plates-in-our-kitchens

The Guardian saw it as How bowls replaced plates in our kitchens

The iconic ceramic makers Denby confessed that 

Housewares supplier Denby is certainly benefiting from this boom. Denby senior designer Nicola Wilson told Mary: “We’re really starting to see a trend in the UK for using bowls in the home - almost over plates - and this has been fairly recently. We’ve seen it in our sales figures: we now produce a lot more bowls than we ever did. It’s now totalling about 32 different bowl shapes than we’re slowly introducing into the UK market.” 

While Habitat commented that:

Habitat creative director Polly Dickens said the chain’s experience reflects this trend. “People are eating ‘internationally’ so we’re eating laksas (a noodle dish which is a combination of Chinese and Malay cuisine) and Japanese rice as well as risotto, pasta and main course salad – and all of these foods look better in a bowl.” - 

Which foods do you eat out of a bowl? Do you have several different bowls for different uses?

Whitebait served as a starter in a restaurant ...

Beef salad at home

So where do you stand on the bowl vs plate discussion?  Are they more acceptable for puddings / desserts?

Favourite vintage bowls because they are a good size with a nice rim & pattern ...

Small Robin bowls that are a sensible small portion ...

My A Wondering Star daughter has a stunning Portmeirion Sophie Conran dinner set which is beautifully modern & it has several bowl options which they use very effectively. They have a mixture of the white & pink items which all look so lovely together. Anything would look wonderful on these plates & bowls.

Her Sophie Conran set by Portmeirion is modern, has a great design & various bowl sizes & shapes

Salads are definitely easier to eat out of a beautiful bowl  - especially a bowl that is good at portion control. How lovely is this fig-and-pear salad or the beautiful bowls used when she bakes?

I am pondering whether this is just a natural progression in our eating habits - few of us even have a wide range of glassware these days & our flatware / cutlery has become more standardised from the Victorian obsession with so many items of cutlery ....

Is this trend driven by social media like Facebook & Instagram to photograph every aspect of our lives?

Is it just that our eating habits have changed?  Spaghetti is easier to eat out of a bowl & our salads have evolved in to meals in their own right.

Perhaps it is because our busy lives don't allow us as much free time to just enjoy leisurely meals?

What do you think? Have you got a growing selection of bowls? Are all bowls the same or do you have various ones for various purposes?

Tell all ... I would love to hear your thoughts on the bowl phenomenon.
Dee ~♥~

All photos are my own or A Wondering Star - please ask if you want to use any!