Meanwhile, Dan works with the chefs on compiling a menu, pairing wine and overall experience during the dinner. Together, they help to create a truly unique dining experience with dinnerware custom designed and made to fit that evening’s specific menu. TabletopJournal: So, tell us about The Plate Collective and how it got started and why you are involved in it. And, we’re always curious….before The Plate Collective were you selling your ceramics in other areas?
Kate Riley: The Plate Collective is a quarterly dinner my Husband Dan and I coordinate here in Milwaukee. Dan is a chef and he asked me one day if I could make a piece for him to use at the restaurant. It was an appetizer plate, after that another chef asked me for custom pieces also. I came up with the idea because restaurants wanted plates, but didn’t have the budget for it. So I thought we could all collaborate and share it with diners. Each dinner has four chefs doing one course. Dan makes the amuse, which is paired with a cocktail and a take home cup I make. Each course is paired with wine.
Kate Riley: Before I started with The Plate Collective, I was making molds and slip casting different pieces. I was selling tiny ceramic milk jugs and ceramic mason jars. I also still make a line of my own pieces they are more whimsical like watermelon and pineapple lamps. And platters with Pee Wee painted on them. 
KR: I have plates in about 12 restaurants in Milwaukee. One of the First restaurants I worked with before the Plate Collective started was C.1880 with chefThomas Hauck. He now has 3 different style plates there. He has been involved in 2 dinners. The first dinner we had chef Cole Ersel from Wolf Peach who wanted a rectangular plate with high walls and a grater on the side for grating corn on the cob onto the food. It was an interactive experience between the food and the diners and the diners really enjoyed that. 
KR: We ask the chefs to be part of the dinners and tell them to brainstorm ideas. When we meet the chef comes with ideas for plates. We talk shape, color, texture & size. I take home some notes and poorly drawn sketches of ideas and get to work. I make one or two sample pieces for the next meeting. We go over pros and cons and, then, I just make the whole set for the dinner. There isn’t a lot of time for me to fuss too much. TJ: Where do actually produce the dinnerware and from what types of clay do you produce them? And, it looks decorations are handpainted – do you do the handpainting?
KR: I make everything in my studio in my garage. I order clay from a local company and other companies online. I hand make everything and hand paint and glaze everything. I use a mid-to-high fire clay and glaze. 
KR: We think about the diner the whole time that we collaborate. I want a comfortable and pleasing shape for the diner to eat from and the chef wants the food to compliment that and it all works together. The guests love it because it’s not just about the food its about experiencing the whole process. They can tell the thought and care that goes into each piece and also the food. They experience pieces of art with each course.
TJ: Do you produce anything that might be considered a “standard” or “stock” product? Where can home chefs buy your dinnerware?
KR: I have one stock piece…I call it the Chefs Plate it is a regular 10” plate matte white with a bronzy gold rim. I ask people to contact me for custom pieces as I can make any of the dishes from the dinners.
TJ: What are some do’s and don’ts you wish chefs were more cognizant of when thinking of designing dinnerware for their menu items? And, do chefs always know what they are looking for? Or, do they expect you to bring them pieces that even they didn’t realize they needed?
KR: There are no dos and don’ts. I really try to make anything they want because I like a challenge. If I can’t make it happen I usually have a “plan B”, but I haven’t ever used it. 
KR: I think the change comes from the changing food. I think more restaurants work more with local farms and seasonal ingredients. It’s comforting to eat a great meal and not have it on a stiff, manufactured plate.
TJ: What advice would you give to young ceramicists and artists in general that are looking to break into the hospitality tabletop industry?
KR: I think for anyone making a craft, its hard work. Stick with it! I didn’t have a specific goal to make plates but it kinda became my path.
TJ: What’s your favorite menu item that you’ve ever eaten from of one of your dinnerware pieces?
KR: I don’t get to try everything because I hang out in the front answering questions and helping the servers. The food is always SO good! It would be impossible to pick just one.
TJ: What should the hospitality world expect next from Kate Riley and The Plate Collective?
KR: The Plate Collective just hit its 1-year mark and we have two more dinners scheduled through the spring next year. We would like to bring in more chefs from other cities, but who knows?
I’m just going with it for now because I’m having a lot of fun!
To learn more about The Plate Collective and all the fun things that Kate Riley is up to…or, maybe even create your own custom dinner, go here:
http://www.platecollective.net/
– David James
