The power of a single linen ; The view on table styling from Kyoko Shigeyoshi, a culinary school instructor.
eterble has asked space creative professionals with a variety of perspectives about how anyone can make a rich table space, ideas, and techniques. In this volume we talked with Kyoko Shigeyoshi, a culinary school instructor and a food coordinator, about the importance of the “mealtime” and the “power” of table linens.
ーHow Kyoko, a culinary instructor, got in to learn table stylingー
I have been teaching cooking classes for over 10 years. I am also involved in food styling, table coordination, and other food-based productions for events. My expertise is about making tricks to make good food to look and taste even better.
No matter how delicious a dish is, it does not taste good without a good presentation. There was a time when I was teaching at my cooking classes, I noticed the students won’t take any pictures although the taste of the food is good for sure. That’s when I realized it was about the presentation : table styling. This is how I got myself into learning the table coordination.
ーThe importance of presentationー
There were so many discoveries in learning table coordination, making me acknowledge and reaffirm my previous thoughts. In the beginning I only believed in the “taste”. Later I learned that people perceive taste as “80% by sight and less than 3% by taste,” with a much larger percentage of taste coming from the sense of sight.
I noticed that not only the plates, but also the table linens completely change the impression of the table. It is difficult to show off food by simply serving them in generic brown or white dishes. By laying a sheet of table linen over the table, it creates a space that envelops the table and makes the food look and taste even more delicious.
What was funny was that my students started taking photos once I started to propose the food with table styling. Nowadays people want to take photographs for their Instagrams and social medias. Of course, it will look better to have the food placed in a nice table setting with tablecloths or luncheons and other table linens. They become “insta-worthy”. Not only that, but the food will taste even better when you become aware of that.
ーStart with table luncheons!ー
I really want to recommend using luncheon mats.
In Japan, only few people use luncheon mats or tablecloths on a regular basis, and that is same with my cooking class students. I want people to start with using luncheon mats first. Then once you get used to using table linens, expand it to larger cloths such as table runners. It is interesting that the greater the area of table linen gets, you get more abundant feeling about the table.
I hope that people to use the table linens freely without being bound by stereotypes about the position in which it should be laid. Not just your main dining table, but the linens can be laid on side tables or even coffee tables. You could also lay it on top of the book shelf, incorporating items such as flower vase and baskets to enjoy the seasonal stylings.
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Some people might find it bothering to put them on laundry and give daily cares. I would recommend to start with smaller items such as luncheon mats, which is also easier to take care of. Then you can add in more table linen line ups depending on occasions and seasonal events. By doing so, you will realize yourself enjoying the life with table linens, almost unconsciously placing them in the morning, lunch, teatime, dinner, and the time with guests.
ーThe power of a single sheet of linenー
Modern day lives suggested dining table to be the “one place” where you do everything, from work to meal. Let’s say you are doing work on a table, and there the meal comes in right next to you and eat with laptop full open. This way, the act of eating becomes part of your “work”, and is hard to call it a proper “mealtime”. When you don’t have the full attention to the meal, you don’t taste, don’t even remember what you ate, and won’t be thankful to the person who cooked it.
You can create a proper dining area just by placing a single sheet of luncheon mat. The mat will create a mere line between the work and the meal.
I believe in the act of eating, because it is something that will continue until the end of your life. Mealtime is truly precious when you consider that you can only eat on your own during your healthy life span and that your remaining mealtime is limited. I think table linens are important part of dining experience, which can avoid you from unconsciously wasting the precious mealtime. A single sheet can create a big change. I praise the power that a single table linen holds.
ーIn public facilities too : hope to nurture the table cultureー
In recent years, number of people who eat alone are growing, including children to elderly people. I want people to incorporate table linens in their daily lives to make their mealtimes a little richer and more enjoyable. I hope that eterble table linens will be used not only for special occasions and parties, but also in public facilities such as children’s cafeterias and nursing homes.
If you eat in a place where there is nothing, the time will simply pass and you get exhausting feeling. Adding just one table linen to the mix can make a difference. In Japan, the culture of using table linen is still thin, but I believe that by incorporating it, this will also teach people the importance of eating. I have always had a desire to pass on “home cooking”, which is a precious part of mealtime, but I also hope to pass on table culture, such as the use of tableware and linens. I believe this will help pass on a rich dining experience to the next generation.
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Profile:
KYOKO SHIGEYOSHI
FSPJ certifies coordinator. FSPJ table coordinate online school instructor. She is also in charge of culinary school instructor, food styling, and other food related events direction.
Instagram:@kyoko_kko