The Taste Blue Deep Oval Platter is one of those table pieces that quietly walks into a dining room, clears its throat, and makes the salad look as though it hired a publicist. Designed by Paola Navone for Porzellanmanufaktur Reichenbach, the platter belongs to the Taste Blue porcelain family, a collection known for its lively blue decoration, sculptural shapes, and elegant European craftsmanship. It is not merely a place to put roasted carrots. It is a mood. A dining-room wink. A reminder that serveware can be useful, beautiful, and just dramatic enough to make guests ask, “Where did you get that?” before they even taste the food.
In an age when many kitchens are drowning in plain white plates, minimalist bowls, and “neutral everything,” a blue porcelain oval platter offers something more memorable. It still feels refined, but it has personality. It works for casual brunch, holiday dinner, seafood night, cheese boards, fruit displays, and even wall decor if you are the kind of person who believes plates deserve a second career after dinner. And honestly, some plates do.
What Is the Taste Blue Deep Oval Platter?
The Taste Blue Deep Oval Platter is a porcelain serving piece associated with Reichenbach’s Taste collection, designed by Italian designer Paola Navone. Archived product listings describe it as a blue porcelain platter, historically retailed through Tabula Tua and featured by Remodelista as part of the Taste Blue series. The broader Taste Blue collection includes several shapes and styles, including plates, bowls, and oval serving pieces, with blue decoration that gives the porcelain a hand-finished, artistic character.
The phrase “deep oval platter” matters. A flat platter is wonderful for cookies, sliced bread, or roasted vegetables that behave themselves. A deep oval platter, however, gives you a little extra security. It can hold saucy foods, slippery fruit, dressed salads, pasta, olives, grilled seafood, and roasted meats with juices. In other words, it is the platter equivalent of a reliable friend who also dresses well.
The Design Story: Paola Navone Meets Reichenbach Porcelain
Paola Navone is known for an eclectic, global, and slightly playful design language. Her work often mixes tradition with surprise, and the Taste collection fits that personality beautifully. Reichenbach, a historic porcelain manufacturer in Thuringia, Germany, brings the technical seriousness: fine porcelain, craftsmanship, and a long tradition of decorative tableware. Navone brings the twist: abstract outlines, historical references, and a relaxed, almost painterly sense of blue.
The Taste collection reinterprets classic porcelain shapes rather than copying them politely. The wide, graphic edges and oval forms hint at old European tableware, but the blue treatment makes the pieces feel fresher and less formal. It is not “grandmother’s china cabinet” in the dusty sense. It is more like grandmother’s china cabinet went to Milan, had an espresso, and came back with better shoes.
Why Blue Porcelain Still Works in Modern Homes
Blue and white porcelain has survived centuries of changing trends because it is flexible. It can look coastal, European, farmhouse, modern, artistic, or traditional depending on what you place around it. Pair it with white linen and silver flatware, and it becomes quietly formal. Put it on a rustic wood table with lemons, grilled fish, and mismatched glasses, and suddenly it feels like a long lunch near the sea. Add brass candlesticks and deep green napkins, and it becomes a dramatic dinner-party centerpiece.
Blue is also a useful color on the table because it creates contrast. Golden roast chicken, red tomatoes, bright citrus, green herbs, creamy cheeses, and pink shrimp all stand out against blue porcelain. Food photographers love contrast for a reason: it makes dishes look alive. The Taste Blue Deep Oval Platter does that work without needing a ring light, a styling assistant, or someone hovering over dinner saying, “Wait, don’t eat yet.”
Shape Matters: The Practical Beauty of a Deep Oval Platter
Oval platters are underrated. Round plates are easy, rectangular trays are efficient, but an oval platter feels generous. It naturally follows the shape of many foods: whole fish, sliced tenderloin, asparagus, roasted carrots, baguettes, ribs, stuffed peppers, and long arrangements of fruit. The elongated form also fits well down the center of a dining table, where a round bowl may take up too much real estate and a square dish may feel too stiff.
The “deep” part adds function. A shallow rim can keep olive oil, vinaigrette, pan juices, berries, or citrus segments from making a dramatic escape. If you have ever watched a cherry tomato roll off a flat plate and disappear under a chair, you understand the emotional importance of raised edges. The Taste Blue Deep Oval Platter gives food room to relax while still looking composed.
Best Ways to Use the Taste Blue Deep Oval Platter
1. For Seafood and Coastal-Inspired Meals
Blue porcelain and seafood are natural partners. Use the platter for grilled shrimp with lemon wedges, oysters on crushed ice, seared scallops, smoked salmon, or a whole roasted fish with herbs. The blue surface visually echoes the sea without turning your table into a theme restaurant with plastic anchors.
2. For Salads That Deserve Better Than a Bowl
Some salads look best spread out. Think burrata with tomatoes, shaved fennel with citrus, arugula with grilled peaches, or roasted beet salad with goat cheese. A deep oval platter lets ingredients overlap beautifully while keeping dressing from pooling on the tablecloth like a tiny vinaigrette crime scene.
3. For Roasted Vegetables
Carrots, potatoes, squash, Brussels sprouts, and broccolini look especially handsome on blue porcelain. Add flaky salt, herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil just before serving. The contrast makes a simple side dish feel intentional, which is exactly how adults get away with serving vegetables and calling it style.
4. For Cheese, Fruit, and Casual Entertaining
The platter can also handle softer entertaining moments: figs, grapes, sliced pears, blue cheese, almonds, crackers, and honeycomb. Because the piece already has visual character, you do not need to overwork the arrangement. Leave a little negative space. Let the porcelain show. Not every inch of a platter has to be covered like it is hiding from rent.
How to Style It on the Table
The easiest way to style the Taste Blue Deep Oval Platter is to keep the surrounding pieces simple. White dinner plates, clear glasses, natural linen napkins, and wood serving utensils let the blue pattern take the lead. If you want a warmer table, add woven placemats, amber glassware, or brass candlesticks. For a cooler, more modern table, use gray napkins, matte black flatware, or a crisp white tablecloth.
Blue also loves green. Fresh herbs, eucalyptus sprigs, olive branches, rosemary, basil, and leafy salads all look vibrant beside blue porcelain. For flowers, choose white tulips, blue hydrangeas, yellow ranunculus, or loose wildflowers. Avoid making everything blue unless you want guests to wonder whether dinner has a dress code.
If your home leans minimalist, use the platter as a single statement piece. If your style is collected and layered, mix it with other blue-and-white dishes, vintage ceramics, or handmade bowls. The trick is to repeat blue once or twice around the table so the platter feels intentional rather than like it wandered in from another dinner party.
Porcelain: Elegant, Durable, but Still Worth Respecting
Porcelain is valued for its smooth surface, refined look, and durability when properly made. It is often fired at high temperatures, which helps create a strong, nonporous body. That said, fine porcelain should still be treated with care, especially when it has decorative finishes. Before putting any designer platter in the dishwasher, microwave, freezer, or oven, check the manufacturer’s instructions for that exact piece.
For everyday care, hand-washing with mild soap and a soft sponge is the safest route. Avoid abrasive pads, harsh cleaners, and stacking heavy items directly on top of a decorated surface. If you store the platter with other dishes, place a soft cloth, felt protector, or paper towel between pieces. It takes five seconds and can prevent the sort of scratch that makes you stare into space and rethink your life choices.
Who Should Buy a Blue Deep Oval Platter?
This kind of platter is ideal for people who enjoy hosting, appreciate designer tableware, or want one special serving piece that can work across many occasions. It is also a smart choice for anyone building a smaller but more thoughtful serveware collection. Instead of owning twelve forgettable trays, you can own a few pieces that do more visually and functionally.
If you mostly eat standing over the sink while answering emails, this platter may feel slightly overqualified. But if you host dinners, make weekend breakfasts, love seasonal fruit displays, or simply want your table to look more polished, a deep oval porcelain platter earns its place. It is not just for formal dining. It can make takeout sushi, farmers market peaches, or a pile of warm biscuits look like a lifestyle choice.
Buying Considerations Before Choosing Designer Serveware
Before purchasing a Taste Blue Deep Oval Platter or a similar designer porcelain serving piece, consider size, depth, care requirements, and how it fits with your existing dinnerware. A 27-centimeter deep oval piece, for example, is excellent for smaller gatherings, appetizers, side dishes, and composed salads. Larger oval platters work better for roasts, whole fish, and family-style mains.
Also consider whether you want the platter to match your dishes or stand apart. Matching creates calm; contrast creates interest. The Taste Blue style works especially well as a feature piece because the blue decoration gives it enough personality to anchor a table without requiring a full matching set. That is good news for anyone whose cabinets are already negotiating for more space.
Food Presentation Ideas That Make the Platter Shine
For brunch, arrange smoked salmon, cucumber ribbons, capers, red onion, lemon slices, and dill. For dinner, serve roasted chicken sliced over herbs with pan juices tucked safely inside the platter’s rim. For dessert, try poached pears, blueberries, whipped cream, and shortbread cookies. For a no-cook summer meal, layer heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, olive oil, and flaky salt.
The blue porcelain makes simple foods feel more considered. Even a pile of oranges can look elegant if you cut them into rounds, sprinkle them with mint, and let the platter’s shape do the framing. The key is height and movement: stack some ingredients, fan others, and leave breathing room around the edges. A beautiful platter is not a storage container. It is a stage. Let the food perform.
Experience Notes: Living With a Statement Platter
Using a piece like the Taste Blue Deep Oval Platter changes the rhythm of serving. The first thing you notice is that you start thinking about food in shapes. Long foods suddenly make sense. Asparagus, carrots, baguette slices, grilled zucchini, and fish fillets all seem to line up naturally. A round plate can make these foods look like they are waiting for directions. An oval platter gives them a path.
The second thing you notice is how quickly a table looks finished. You can set out plain dinner plates, basic forks, and everyday glasses, then place one blue porcelain platter in the middle and the whole table becomes more deliberate. It is the tabletop version of putting on a blazer over a T-shirt. Nobody needs to know the rest of the meal came together in mild panic while the oven timer yelled at you.
In casual use, the platter is surprisingly friendly. It does not have to be saved for Thanksgiving, birthdays, or the one dinner guest who knows what porcelain is. Use it for Sunday pancakes with berries. Use it for tacos, with warm tortillas folded along one side and toppings in small bowls nearby. Use it for sliced melon in the summer or roasted squash in the fall. The more often a beautiful piece is used, the less intimidating it becomes.
One practical lesson: do not overcrowd it. A statement platter looks best when the design can peek through. If you completely bury the blue surface under crackers, grapes, cheese, and five kinds of nuts, you have created a delicious mound, but not a composition. Try placing the main food slightly off-center, then building around it. Let the blue edges frame the food. That small choice makes even a quick appetizer feel styled.
Another experience-based tip is to match serving utensils thoughtfully. Wood utensils soften the look and make the platter feel casual. Stainless steel feels cleaner and more formal. Brass or gold-toned utensils add warmth but should be used carefully to avoid visual overload. If the platter is already making a statement, the utensils should not arrive wearing tap shoes.
Finally, a platter like this has emotional value because it creates memory. People remember the blue dish with the tomatoes. They remember the fish served in the long platter. They remember the fruit at brunch because it looked abundant and colorful. Great serveware does not improve the flavor of food in a scientific sense, but it absolutely improves the experience. And dining, at its best, is not just about calories. It is about attention, generosity, color, conversation, and the small pleasure of making ordinary food feel a little more special.
Conclusion
The Taste Blue Deep Oval Platter is more than a beautiful blue porcelain serving dish. It is a practical, expressive, and highly versatile piece of tableware that brings designer character to everyday meals and special occasions alike. Its deep oval shape makes it useful for saucy dishes, salads, seafood, fruit, vegetables, and family-style presentation, while its blue decoration gives the table instant personality. Whether used as a serving platter, a centerpiece, or even decorative wall art, it offers that rare combination of function and charm.
Note: Product availability, pricing, and care instructions may change over time. Always verify current details with the retailer or manufacturer before purchasing or using designer porcelain in a dishwasher, microwave, freezer, or oven.