Gourd Lidded Serving Dish

Genuinely usable. Food safe, dishwasher safe and microwave safe.

The base holds a proper quantity. A 27cm scalloped dish takes a side for six, a full bowl of soup for four, or a serving of vegetables for a table.

The lid is the reason to buy it. It keeps food warm on the way from kitchen to table, and once it is down it hides whatever is inside until the moment you lift it.

26cm tall is substantial on a table. Allow for that on a laid table with candles and glasses, and set it slightly off centre rather than in the middle of a sightline.

2.9kg is a two-handed carry when full. The lid lifts off separately, which helps, but the base with food in it wants both hands.

It is properly usable, which most decorative serveware is not.

A great many good-looking serving dishes turn out to be display pieces with a warning attached. This one is food safe, dishwasher safe, microwave safe and watertight, in stoneware fired hard enough to take all four. That is the difference between a piece you use and a piece you photograph.

The form is a gourd, with the lid rising to a point and finishing in a curled stem that acts as the handle. Ribbed lines run down the lid like the segments of a squash, and the base is scalloped to match.

The reactive glaze pools and runs in mottled bands of sand, oatmeal and pale cream, darker where it has gathered in the ribs and lighter over the raised segments. It is a glaze that moves in the kiln rather than a flat colour, so no two pieces are the same.

And the scalloped rim on the base means it looks finished with the lid off. On a lidded dish that matters, because half the time it is sitting open on a table.

• Food, dishwasher and microwave safe, which decorative serveware rarely is
• A lid that keeps food warm between kitchen and table
• Gourd form with a curled stem handle, ribbed like a real squash
• Reactive glaze pooling in the ribs and running pale over the segments
• A scalloped base, so it looks finished with the lid off
• 27cm across, holding a side for six or soup for four
• Stoneware, fired hard and dense enough for daily use
• Good enough to leave out, rather than living in a cupboard

Roast vegetables, a gratin, dauphinoise or a stew carried from oven to table with the heat kept in. The lid comes off at the table, which is a small piece of theatre worth having.

The scalloped base works alone as a salad or side bowl, with the lid set aside on the sideboard as an object in its own right.

Lid on and empty, it is a sculptural piece rather than a stored dish. On a kitchen island or an open shelf it reads as decoration rather than equipment.

The gourd form makes it the obvious centrepiece from September through to Christmas, grouped with candles and a little foliage.

At 26cm tall it blocks a sightline across a table. Set it toward one end and keep everything else low around it.

This is the interesting piece on the table. Simple white or stoneware plates and plain linen, so nothing competes with the glaze or the form.

When the base is in use, the lid standing on a sideboard or a shelf is a good object in its own right. Not something to hide in the kitchen.

Sand and oatmeal glaze wants timber, linen and stone around it. Something darker nearby, a glazed vessel or a timber board, gives it contrast.

The ribbing on the lid is made of shadow. Candlelight along a table brings it up where overhead light flattens it completely.

Dishwasher safe, which is unusual on a piece that looks like this and the main reason it will get used. Wash the lid and base separately so neither knocks the other.

Microwave safe for reheating. Take the lid off first unless you want steam trapped, and remember that a stoneware base holds heat, so use a cloth.

Not for oven or hob. This is a serving dish rather than cookware, so cook in the pan and transfer.

Avoid sudden temperature changes. Do not take it from a fridge and fill it with something boiling, which is how any fired ceramic cracks.

Mind the stem. The curled handle is the most delicate point on the piece, so lift the lid by the stem gently or from under the rim.

What to expect. A reactive glaze pools and runs differently on every piece, so yours will vary in the depth and placement of the mottling.

It ships packed for ceramic with the lid protected separately. Current timescales and charges are set out on our delivery page.

Any questions before you order? Reach us via our contact page or live chat.

If it is not right, our returns process is straightforward, and everything is covered by our guarantees and warranties.

Our price match promise stands if you find the same piece for less elsewhere. Fitting out a restaurant or a holiday let? Ask about trade accounts.