Pre-Meal by Will Guidara

Happy Wednesday!

I’ll be honest: I don’t use special-occasion china.

At least, not yet.

Like a lot of people, I’ve spent the last few years trying to simplify. Less clutter, less noise, fewer things that sit unused on high shelves or in deep drawers. Less stuff.

But I’ve been thinking about those “good plates” lately, the ones you weren’t allowed to touch as a kid, the ones that only came out at the fanciest dinners.

And I’m starting to wonder if we might have thrown something important out with all that so-called clutter.

We had dinner with my mother-in-law Greta this week. We weren’t celebrating a major holiday or anyone’s birthday; this was just an ordinary Wednesday night dinner with Grandma. Still, Greta set her table with the good plates.

Seeing them reminded me that hospitality isn’t just about making people comfortable. It’s about making them feel honored, and marking a moment as meaningful. Using the good china isn’t about showing off, but a way to say: Hey, this moment matters; these people matter. This meal matters, and the memories we’ll make tonight will, too — so let’s act like it’s worthy of our very best.

I’m not running out to buy a full twelve-place setting of bone china with gold rims, but I am going to find something special — a set of crystal whiskey glasses, maybe, or a vintage platter — that I bring out to celebrate the people who gather around my table. Rituals are important, especially the quiet ones that elevate the everyday into an occasion worth remembering.

How will you mark the miracle in the everyday? What will your good plates be?

Have a good service,

Will