Totem – Serving Pedestal

Totem is a low oak serving stand, worked from solid wood: a round disc of 15 cm diameter on a conical foot that narrows towards the table. The outer edge of the disc is bevelled, so the profile steps back as it rises and the piece reads lighter than its diameter suggests. A circular recess in the top holds a white glass plate of 12 cm with a matte surface, and the oak stays visible around it as a narrow ring.

The glass is an insert and lifts out of its recess. It absorbs no moisture and takes on neither colour nor smell, so a tartare, a mousse or a marinated element can sit directly on the surface while the oiled wood beneath stays dry. The matte finish removes the hard reflections of polished glass, and the white ground leaves the colour to the food. Because the plate comes out, the two materials are cleaned separately and the wood can be re-oiled without working around the glass.

At 15 cm across and 7 cm high, the pedestal carries one element rather than a course: an amuse-bouche at the opening of a menu, a praline or petit four, a single cheese with what belongs beside it, one part of a composed dessert. The height is what separates it from a flat plate. The serving is lifted clear of the line of glasses and cutlery, it is read from across the table, and at the pass there is room to work around the rim. The oak is polished very fine and treated with food-grade mineral oil for contact with food; grain and depth of colour differ from one piece to the next.