Paperware fan brings her issues to the table
By Beth Teitell
Tuesday, December 2, 2003
I say this with the deepest gratitude to my Aunt Eleanor, who generously gave me and my husband 12 place settings of Wedgwood White dishes when we got married: I wish we had instead registered for paper plates (and paper towels, too, as the majority of my cooking takes place in the microwave, and Bounty works much better in there than Calphalon).
Why paper? Well, whenever I'm planning to entertain a crowd - two or more - the thought of doing dishes so unnerves me that I either a) decide not to have people over or b) convince myself that paper is just as nice.
"No one's going to have a worse time because they're eating off paper - good conversation and food and drink are what really make an occasion,'' I told myself the other day as I headed toa party favors store to shop for a shower I was throwing.
I dropped a pretty penny on pink dinner and dessert plates, little bowls and coordinating napkins, even though - and I hate to toot my own horn here - I could have cheaped out and used Aunt Eleanor's tablewear and the lovely cloth napkins from Provence I just had to have (but which, of course, I've never used because I'm also cowed by the specter of party-related laundry).
Even though I got beautiful paper goods, and everyone seemed to have a good time at the shower, I still feel kind of insecure about non-china. So with the holiday entertaining season upon us, I decided to seek a professional ruling on the china-vs.-paper question.
I called a major purveyor of paper plates, Party Favors in Brookline, and spoke to owner John Pergantis.
"I sometimes feel ashamed when I use paper,'' I confessed, sensing I was speaking to a sympathetic audience.
Oh, how wrong I was to be embarrassed. "Paper plates can be better than china,'' Pergantis said. "You can match them to the season, the party, the decor, and of course, accent napkins can bring out a theme.''
I liked what I was hearing, but deep down I knew he wasn't really neutral. So I called two quasiprofessional entertainers.
"Here's something really terrible,'' the first one told me."I'm trying to convince my husband we can use disposable plates for (our daughter's) bat mitzvah. The only thing I find appalling is the waste. If we got nice plastic plates, maybe people would think we have some kind of flair - that's not the right word - they'd admire our daring. I bet some would be secretly envious and wish they had the guts to do same thing.''
My second expert suggested mixing china with paper, but warned of a slippery slope. "Nice paper leads to those plastic wine glasses that come in two parts,'' she said ominously. "In the end, people will think you're brilliantly ecclectic - or you've lost your mind.''
In other words, what paper needs is a good marketing campaign. I'm thinking of something along the lines of "Paper: The Other White Plate'' or "Paper: When You Care Enough to Use Disposable.''
