In Praise Of The Colorful Kitchen
Don’t get me wrong, I like the white. I really do. My mother’s house is white. My best friend’s dog is white. I like white shirts, white sheets and that white stuff in the middle of Oreos. I like Snow White, Betty White, Barry White and Vanna White. I’ve read E. B. White to my children, I’ve seen White Christmas eight times, and I still listen to the Beatles White Album. I’m even listed in the White Pages. So I like white. I just happen to like Color better.

I can’t help it. Color makes me feel good. It lifts my spirits. It makes me smile. My summer wardrobe consists mainly of colorful Hawaiian shirts – the bolder the print, the better I feel. Color just makes me happy. Anywhere and everywhere, I need to have a little color in my life.

At home a spash of Color brightens every room in my apartment. I know it sounds old fashioned, but I think Color makes a room cheery. I suppose the proper modern term would be user-friendly. But whatever you want to call it, the effect is the same: warm and welcoming. And nowhere is that more important than in the kitchen. I don’t know about you, but I spend a lot of time in my kitchen. I eat there, I cook there, at parties my friends inevitably gravitate there. It is the center of my home.

So when Gene and Yuki showed me the newest addition to the Bene Gifts Collection, a deliciously colorful selection of beautiful Polish Pottery from Bolesławiec in the south west region of Bohemia, I was in heaven. The distinctive Colors of this marvelous kitchenware are as bright and refreshing as a country garden in bloom.

Its signature pottery pattern, which employs six to eight stunning Colors, is known as “Unikat” in Poland. That translates as “unique” and these wonderful examples of Polish Pottery are indeed “unique” because each piece is hand-painted in traditional designs and then signed by the artist, making each individual plate or bowl a one-of-a-kind work of art.

But as beautiful as this artistic kitchenware is to display and collect, (our platters and bowls make colorful wall decorations for a kitchen and eye-catching conversation pieces in a bookcase or on an end table), these charming and festive examples of Polish Pottery are a cook’s delight and many gourmets would think of cooking in nothing else.

Pottery making in Boleslawiec dates back many centuries. In fact there is mention of the Bolesławiec Pottery Guild in town records as early as 1511. By the 18th century, the region was known for a type of pottery that employed a heavy chocolate glaze and was in common use by farmers of the period for storage. But by the late 19th Century the local potters had begun producing pieces for the parlor, the predecessors of the Polish Pottery we see today.

A special white clay from the region is used to make this colorful and durable kitchenware. The clay is soft when moist, but when fired to high temperatures, it becomes as hard as stone, which makes our Polish Pottery resistant to chips and breakage. The intense firing also allows it to retain heat and keep an even temperature throughout, which in turn makes it ideal for cooking and baking. But best of all for a modern kitchen, each piece of stoneware is safe for oven, microwave and dishwasher.

So as a gift, our colorful Polish Pottery is a hands down favorite. Practical, decorative, and just plain fun, it’s the ceramic version of a breath of fresh air on a hot summer’s day! And unlike my collection of Hawaiian shirts, this beautiful and elegant kitchenware is tasteful and appropriate for any occasion.