Chef Jason Tan is well known in the industry for his love of plateware, a love affair that has lasted 15 years and counting. It is his passionate hobby, one that has seen him amass a personal collection of over 500 mostly unique pieces, which he often brings to the restaurants he works at (as was the case at the one-Michelin-star Corner House). At Euphoria, which he co-founded with business partner and fiancee Arissa Wang, the couple are known as Mr and Mrs Onion, a nod to Jason’s love for the onion. His signature dishes are based on his gastro-botanica philosophy, the essence of carefully sourced vegetables, meat and seafood.
“Of course, many chefs can find beautiful plateware off the rack, and work with them really well,” muses Jason. “But I enjoy the creative process of customising pieces that are one-off. Arissa and I dined extensively around the world (pre-pandemic), and you do notice when you get the same pieces. This made us even more determined to customise ours.”
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Plateware trends have shifted from the stark white formal chinaware of the past to more natural textures and stoneware, he observes. It is clear that white plates are not his style, so Jason has cheekily adopted some for Euphoria – but not the typical ones, of course. His carefully chosen modern versions play with both matte and shiny textures, and often boast botanical shapes – like that of leaves or, of course, onions.
“Ultimately, plateware should be part of the experience to make you feel welcomed and comfortable in a restaurant,” Jason declares. If you’ve ever cut into your food a little too hard and made an embarrassing clatter on a hard plate in the hushed atmosphere of a fine dining restaurant, you will know what he means. That’s why he picks plates with the right texture, so that you can eat comfortably off them. “Euphoria isn’t just for foodies. We have guests who save up for a special occasion, perhaps visiting once a year, and we want everyone to have an exceptional dining experience from start to end.”
Oignon Jamboree
“I had the dish planned in my head before we opened, so I knew what I wanted the plate to look like. Arissa, who also designed the restaurant, made drawings of the dish and found a maker in Taiwan. Samples were sent back and forth multiple times before we got the right shape. Instead of using one onion in different ways, like I do in my Oignon Doux Des Cevennes dish, this creation uses five different alliums and showcases the onions as pickle, broth, puree, oil and parfait.” – Jason Tan, chef and co-founder of Euphoria
Alice in Wonderland
“I’m using more wood vessels for the first time here. After a long dinner, sometimes 2.5 to 3 hours long, diners get tired and full. We’ve specially customised this box for the final course of petit fours to give them something interesting and cheerful to end with strongly. It’s named Alice, as Arissa’s other name is Alice, and we wanted to reference the playfulness of discovery. The wooden box was designed in Asia and custom made in Canada from Japanese oak with Canadian walnut wood, with a fun opening mechanism. It’s the right size to hold the petit fours, and guests are delighted as they interact with it. Some have literally broken the box while trying to take it apart! We’ve had over 100 inquiries to buy it, although the price is very high due to the shipping.” – Jason
Originally published in Her World.