Plat Ovale Cachemire vs Bleu Nuit: Which Colour to Serve
By Jars Céramistes – Grès Émaillé Artisanal Français depuis 1857 | Published: 2026-11-01
Category: Buying Guides
Choose between two hand-sprayed, crackle-glazed oval platters: warm grey cachemire for neutral tables, deep bleu nuit for contrast. Here is how to decide.
Quick answer
Pick the cachemire if you want one neutral ceramic serving dish that blends into white, wood or linen tables and lets the food carry the colour. Pick the bleu nuit if you want a blue stoneware platter that makes a deliberate contrast at dinner parties. Both share the same imperfect oval form and hand-sprayed crackle glaze, so the choice is about the table, not performance.
What actually differs: colour, not shape
The two platters come from the same poetic, imperfect ceramic line: irregular lines, an organic oval shape and a glaze sprayed by hand. The catalogue describes both as ideal for serving cereals or grilled vegetables, so neither is built for a different job. What changes is the glaze: cachemire is a glossy grey with fine crackle, bleu nuit a deep night blue with the same crackled finish.
Because the glaze is applied by hand, expect variation between pieces. That is part of the charm, but it also means you should judge the colour family rather than an exact shade. If you need an identical match across a set, the handmade crackle finish is a limitation worth accepting before you buy.
How each colour behaves on a real table
A neutral ceramic serving dish like the cachemire disappears politely into most table settings. It sits easily with white porcelain, pale linen, oak and stoneware, and it does not fight patterned plates. The trade-off is that it can look quiet next to a very pale table or a white sauce.
The bleu nuit does the opposite: it anchors the table and makes food colours read clearly. Roasted orange vegetables, green herbs and pale grains all stand out against it. The trade-off is commitment: a strong blue platter steers the table palette and can clash with busy patterned china or a very colourful tablecloth.
Dinner-party logic versus everyday logic
For a serving platter for dinner parties, contrast usually wins because guests see the platter from across the table. Bleu nuit gives that instant focal point and photographs well against warm food. For everyday serving, a neutral ceramic serving dish is more forgiving: it works at breakfast for cereals, at lunch for grilled vegetables and at dinner without restyling the table.
If you host often but also serve daily, the honest answer is that one platter cannot do both jobs equally well. Decide which use is more frequent, then accept the compromise on the other.
Decision rules for choosing your platter colour
- Start with your existing plates: If your plates are white, cream or wood-toned, either colour works. If they are patterned or strongly coloured, choose cachemire to avoid competing with the pattern. Lay a sample of your usual table linen next to the screen before deciding.
- Match the colour to your most-served food: Choose bleu nuit if you often serve roasted orange or green vegetables, pale grains or fish with herbs. Choose cachemire if you serve a lot of white sauces, pale pasta or light-coloured dishes that need a calmer base.
- Weigh hosting against everyday use: If the platter is mainly for dinner parties and shared tables, bleu nuit gives more presence. If it will be used daily for cereals and side vegetables, cachemire is the more versatile neutral.
- Accept the handmade variable: Both glazes are sprayed by hand and finely crackled, so colour and crackle pattern vary slightly between pieces. Buy for the colour family, not an exact shade match. Order both if you are undecided and keep the one that suits your table.
The two platters at a glance
- plat ovale bleu nuit: Night-blue glaze, finely crackled and sprayed by hand. The deep blue creates strong contrast with roasted vegetables and grains, so it suits tables where the platter should be seen.
plat ovale bleu nuit - plat ovale cachemire: Cashmere glaze: glossy grey, finely crackled and sprayed by hand. The soft grey blends with white, wood and linen settings, making it the easier everyday neutral choice.
plat ovale cachemire
Who should choose which
Best for
- Hosts who want a blue stoneware platter with visual presence at dinner parties
- Tables with plain white, wood or linen settings where a deep blue accent works
- Serving roasted vegetables, grains and fish with herbs
Not for
- Tables with busy patterned china where a strong blue would compete
- Buyers who want one neutral ceramic serving dish for every day and every table
- Anyone needing an exact, repeatable colour match across a set
