Infinito Design and the line of plates and platters that bring out the beauty of food
by Annarita Mariani
Back in ancient Rome, the gourmand Marcus Gavius Apicius was the first to come up with the notion that “you eat with your eyes first”. The idea hasn’t been disproved over the subsequent two millennia, and the hyper-communicative narrative of food has spread now more than ever, thanks to obsessive attention to the food that, as well as being good and healthy, must also – and this is an imperative – look good. But to look good food needs to be presented well, and that is where Laura Carboni, CEO of Infinito Design, comes in. The firm makes collections of plates and platters that are extremely well made, and carefully manufactured in terms of environmental sustainability and – as we will see in detail – of their approach to hygiene.
Loona perfectly reflects the Infinito Design approach: the plates have to be able to bring out the best of good food and convey emotion. The Loona line is available in six different variants: Calante, Eclissi, Nuova, Piena, Satellite, Terza.
«Beautifully presenting and adding beauty to chefs’ creations and excellent foods and beverages with a collection of plates and platters with a unique, customised design. Bringing emotion and surprising guests while they enjoy good food». That is the mission of the company from Le Marche which aims its output at Ho.Re.Ca. operators, high-range kitchen and furniture manufacturers, and highly-ranked professionals from the restaurant sector.
The slope of the wide sides focuses attention on the various creations of the Aura collection. Putting the various models alongside one another and overlapping them, you can try out new patterns to stimulate the imagination of the chef.
Infinito Design collections fit perfectly into the yachting sector, not just because of their beauty and distinctive, refined design, but also because of how tough and functional they are. For materials they use wood, a tradition handed down from the Ciesse family business which specialised in working hardwoods, and which goes perfectly with the new Krion K-Life Solid Surface composites. These resins are very resistant and so perfect for life on board. They are 2/3rds natural minerals and have a small percentage of high-resistance resin.
FoodBox is a new line of four square plates, each coming with its beautiful lid, which is designed to involve guests in a completely new approach which has aspects of giving, surprising, discovering, marvelling and amazing.
The components also include ceramic aluminium oxide (alumina) which brings resistance to acids and boasts excellent thermal conductivity. The material is not porous, thus very hygienic. But the icing on the cake, as you will have worked out from the previous sentences, is the fact that the temperature of the food will not be affected by the temperature of the plate, precisely because of its thermal conductivity characteristics food will stay at the same temperature. One thing to stress about these stand-out hygiene features is the fact that by being white, the resin activates a photocatalytic activity which, reacting to the stimulus of both artificial and sunlight, eliminates bacteria and viruses. And this quality does not diminish over time.
But as well as the excellence of the material, the real plus comes from its looks. The tableware has been designed to bring out the beauty and taste of the food that is prepared, and provide a creative impulse to chefs who will draw inspiration for the creation of new and surprising dishes from the shapes, hollows and dynamic geometrical structures of the containers.
As well as the one in solid wood, Infinito Design has six different lines on offer, each with a specific role. The Quadrilatero line means aperitifs and antipasto snacks. With redesigned aesthetics, a journey through flavours leads to tasting. This line was the first created in-house at Infinito Design and is presented in combination with wood. Chefs will know how to make good use of all the shapes in which it is available.
The elegant and essential style of TeGusto lines, it is suited to every time of day, for both sweet and savoury food, for various combinations of food and side dishes, and to every free interpretation and flight of fantasy.
By contrast, Originis, by the architect Franco Driusso, is designed with the oldest and most noble elements of the table in mind. It exalts and ennobles two foods – bread and oil – which have come back to tables in a commanding and elegant way and are elevated by highly-prized and beautiful tableware. Franco Driusso is also behind the Aura line, which enhances food in a refined way, and puts the focus on it.
The first model of Infinito Design, Quadrilatero, interprets its style and versatility. The warmth of wood is combined with modern and innovative materials like the Krion K-Life.
But it was the designer Cristina Zanni who was behind the FoodBox, Loona and TeGusto lines. It is neither a lunchbox nor a container with raw ingredients that need cooking, FoodBox is rather the essence of a surprise. Chefs will know how to give their diners the thrill of discovering a dish that is closed until it is on the table, with taste and delicacy kept unchanged. Infinito Design offers this box in four different sizes and thicknesses for a mysterious experience that is part of an unprecedented journey of taste.
Loona is the line that best reflects the company’s mission. The numerous curved shapes contribute new synergies to the tasting experience. Tableware and food are thus co-stars because one can’t exist without the other. And finally, the TeGusto line is for an approach that takes the diner on what is truly a multi-stage journey. It is a triumph of elegant functionality dedicated to food in all of its interpretations, which Apicius would most certainly have appreciated.
(Infinito Design, eating with your eyes first – Barchemagazine.com – August 2022)
