THE KITCHEN REPORT | Sabre Paris Cutlery

THE KITCHEN REPORT | Sabre Paris Cutlery
(The 40th birthday gift that makes even toast feel chic)

When I wrote to you last week about splurging on cutlery, I was only intending on purchasing one set: 4 spoons, 4 forks, 4 knives, 4 teaspoons.

But what I’d really been thinking about was kitchens, hosting, and how many of things you need.

When I first bought my first-ever dinner set, I bought six of everything. I had a tiny apartment and even that felt generous. Now, my dining table seats six comfortably, and it could do eight. Six of everything hasn’t felt like quite enough for hosting. It’s exactly what you need, no more, no less, and if you use one piece elsewhere, suddenly the table feels mismatched. I’m not obsessive about everything being perfect, but some things are nicer in consistency.

And lately, I’ve been at a point in life where I want everything I do have to be nice. Not lots of things, just considered ones.

So all of these thoughts bubbled together, and I realised: I did, in fact, want a full set. A gift from my parents for my 40th. Something I’d never splurge on myself, but would use and love for years. So it was decided: eight was the magic number.

We went into Florian Home to buy them. I’d been picturing black. Sam hinted at green and red. I briefly entertained tortoiseshell. But I really wanted something neutral. Black, when I saw it in the shop, wasn’t it. Then we saw the ivory. We held the knife and fork in our hands and acted out eating. That was it.

“Two sets in ivory, please.”

And now? They’ve been such a joy. They look beautiful in the drawer, elegant drying on the rack, and even better on the table. They make toast feel chic.

This is what I dreamed of when I dreamed of “nice things”: small rituals, eating, entertaining, washing up, feeling special and looking good. It’s nice to be here, surrounded by things that make me feel nice.