Handmade Ceramics for Arkle Restaurant, Grosvenor Hotel, Chester.

It started with a message out of the blue from Elliot Hill, Executive Chef at The Grosvenor Hotel in Chester, home to Arkle, their signature fine dining restaurant. Holding 3 AA Rosettes, Arkle is known for elegant, refined food. Elliot had seen my work in an independent shop in Chester and got in touch directly.

We arranged to meet at the shop itself which gave me a chance to show him my range in person, to talk through forms and glazes, and to listen. He gravitated toward a style of bowl that sits at the heart of my collection which is defined by contrast: natural grey clay on the outside paired with a shiny white speckled glaze within.  They're some of my favourite pieces to make. 

Elliot selected a small, organic hand-shaped bowl, we spoke a little about adjusting the size, a small tweak to suit the dishes he had in mind and then he placed an order.

Making them was, as ever, a practice in rhythm and memory.  When hand-shaping, I find that working in batches allows my hands to understand the form better, each bowl reinforcing the one before it, like muscle memory.  I over made so I could select the strongest, most balanced ones from the batch.

Elliot has sent me photos of the food being served in the bowls. It’s been incredible to see thoughtful, artistic dishes placed in forms I shaped with my own hands. It’s an honour to know that something I made is part of that experience. 

Commissions like this are a privilege. Being invited into someone else's creative vision, whether a chef’s plating or a customer’s table, is a reminder that ceramics connect, and that’s a beautiful thing.