Villeroy & Boch: Custom China All Aboard The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

Renowned for its style, opulence and elegance, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train is a byword in luxury travel, with every detail a delight. The start of the 2012 season has unveiled a brand new bespoke range of custom china, designed exclusively by leading porcelain manufacturer Villeroy & Boch that reflects the exquisite Art Deco interiors of this magnificent train, adding to the luxurious experience of those travelling onboard.

Crafted from premium bone porcelain, the new designs are inspired by the decadent Art Deco interior of the train with a particular focus on the three restaurant cars, L’Oriental, Etoile du Nord and Côte d’Azur which each feature a unique décor and history to match. Each restaurant car will, for the first time, have its own unique crockery set that reflects its individual design. A large presentation plate and smaller petit fours plate will be decorated to reflect the restaurant car design, while the main serving plates feature a subtle decorative train track design.

L’Oriental, as its name would suggest, has an oriental themed décor with black lacquer panels depicting majestic water birds among oriental reeds and grasses. This design is reflected in the new china with the presentation plate framed with a ring of oriental grass and the elegant birds. The petit fours plate has a striking black glaze adorned again with the bird and grass design.

Etoile du Nord, with its resplendent marquetry, sees its china decorated with a warm wood marquetry pattern on the rim of the presentation plate, with an intricate floral marquetry design in the centre of the petit fours plate.

Côte d’Azur features the renowned Lalique glass panels portraying classical figures holding grapes, with a matching frieze of smaller panels. The china design shows the Lalique grape design decked round the outside of the presentation plate, whilst the petit fours plate is graced with the classical figures as seen in the original panels that decorate the walls.

Breakfast will be served in each cabin on a set of china with a gold design of the 1920’s delicate floral Art Deco marquetary by decorator René Prou, which can be found in Sleeping Car 3309, the oldest sleeping car in the rake, built in Belgium in 1926.

With dressing to impress a must on board the legendary train, the new china ensures that even the tables are dressed to the nines, adding an extra special touch to the dining experience, which is almost as famous as the train itself. The spectacular cuisine, created by Head Chef Christian Bodiguel and his team is produced with the finest ingredients resulting in dishes that burst with flavour and colour such as Roast gilt-head bream and carpaccio of scallops with finger lime caviar and Raspberry macroons with Szechwan pepper ice cream. The new custom china will be the perfect stage for each culinary masterpiece, the real star of the show.
Villeroy & Boch have been leaders in their field since 1748, with the family owned business spanning nine generations. Their core values of quality, tradition and authenticity made them the ideal partners to design the range for the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Commenting on the new association, Gary Franklin, Managing Director, Trains & Cruises at Orient-Express, said, “We are very excited by our new range of china for the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. We were looking at ways of bringing out the details found throughout the train and Villeroy & Boch were very imaginative in finding beautiful and creative ways to achieve this whilst also respecting the history and heritage of the train.”

Burkhard Schmidt, Director of the Hotel & Restaurant Division at Villeroy & Boch commented “The Orient-Express is an institution of incomparable elegance with a long history of tradition that today continues to stand for a luxurious way to travel that is unparalleled. I am proud of my Team and also thank Broggi, our partner in Italy, to having supported us with this very interesting and successful cooperation”

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Villeroy & Boch’s Burkhard Schmidt
For guests wanting to continue the dining experience at home, a selection of the Villeroy & Boch china will be available to purchase from the onboard boutique.

During the season between March and November, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, known as the ‘King of Trains’, travels to some of the continents most alluring cities in over 13 countries; including, Paris, Venice, Prague, Budapest, Krakow and Dresden with one special journey to Istanbul once a year. It is a symbol of love, romance, elegance and grandeur and transports guests on their journey in true vintage luxury.

Tradition, creativity and cosmopolitan flair – the unique combination of family responsibility (through eight generations) and innovative management has enabled Villeroy & Boch to evolve over the last few centuries into one of the leading global brands for ceramic products. Villeroy & Boch dining culture – their company’s core competence since it was founded in 1748 – enjoys the highest reputation today the whole world over – both among consumers and professionals alike in the hotel & restaurant trade. The outstanding quality of their product ranges, their distinctive design language and the comprehensive range of tableware, glassware and cutlery make the difference – providing the optimum basis for creative hospitality.

To learn more about Villeroy & Boch’s Hotel and Restaurant collection, go here:
http://www.villeroy-boch.com/en/us/hotel-restaurant.html

To learn more about the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train, go here:
http://www.orient-express.com/web/vsoe/venice_simplon_orient_express.jsp