Like the wineglass, the servicewear has been altered through a simple gesture. Removing the base from the servicewear alters the way diners are served and interact with their meals.
The tablecloth pattern is an organizing tactic to govern the placement of sculptural dishes. As such, the first plates are keyed to dimples in the placemats to ensure registration.
The decorative pattern is continued onto the starter course itself as a form of garnishing. As an example, one diner may receive a beef carpaccio laser carved with the continuation of the ornament at his/her placesetting, whilst their dining companion could receive goat cheese and crostini on a base of frozen fig jelly served from a mould representing the continuation of the pattern at their own place at the table.
The role of service includes the presentation and plating of meals in front of diners as the dinner plates are bottomless. The elaborate nature of the first course necessitates that servers have a trolley to transport the elements necessary to construct the starter. Subtle registration marks can be added on the meat and jelly to aid servers in orienting courses onto plates,
but server skill will also be necessary to accomplish this with precision.
The role of an asymmetrical starter is to present two dishes that complement and enhance each other when combined. This pairing suggestion will be made explicit by the server when preparing the plates in front of the dining companions.
