{"id":18052,"date":"2025-03-13T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/four-ephrem.com\/communal-tables-when-catering-reinvents-sharing\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T13:47:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T11:47:39","slug":"communal-tables-when-catering-reinvents-sharing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/four-ephrem.com\/en\/communal-tables-when-catering-reinvents-sharing\/","title":{"rendered":"Communal tables: when catering reinvents sharing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The rise of the large table: a response to our times<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n

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In an increasingly connected yet paradoxically individualistic<\/strong> world, catering is becoming a space for social reconnection. The concept of communal tables<\/strong>, which originated in Denmark<\/strong> with the tradition of f\u00e6llesspisning<\/em> (“eating together”),<\/strong> embodies this desire for sharing and conviviality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In France, Le Pain Quotidien<\/strong> was a forerunner, introducing large tables for sharing<\/strong> in its outlets to encourage exchanges between strangers. A model that has spread to many European capitals, responding to a deep-seated need for commensality<\/strong>, a term championed by Nadia Sammut<\/strong> of La Feni\u00e8re<\/strong> restaurant, which evokes the art of sharing a meal to create social ties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The health crisis has amplified this desire for conviviality. Telecommuting, the digitalization of interactions and the rise of the liberal professions have fragmented our lives, reinforcing the desire to gather around a table, to share a meal in a warm setting. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Le Pain Quotidien<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Copenhagen, Berlin, Paris… cities that are breathing new life into communal meals<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n
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Copenhagen AbsalonPhoto credits: \u00a9 Giuseppe Liverino<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Northern Europe has seen the emergence of inspiring models where the meal becomes a moment of collective sharing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Copenhagen<\/strong>, Absalon<\/strong> offers affordable community meals where everyone shares large plates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Berlin<\/strong> has seized on this trend with places like Michelberger Restaurant<\/strong>, where large tables create a spirit of camaraderie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In France<\/strong>, third-party food outlets<\/strong> are gaining ground. Le T\u00e9l\u00e9graphe<\/strong>, an urban hostel initiated by Marion Kaplan<\/strong>, embodies this philosophy of encounters and transmission around food.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

When a wood fire sublimates the experience of sharing<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n

For centuries, fire has brought people together<\/strong>. In villages, people used to gather around the \n communal oven<\/strong>\n<\/a>where bread and family dishes were baked. Today, this tradition is being revived by restaurants and bakeries that are putting the wood-fired oven<\/strong> back at the heart of their culinary offerings. <\/p>\n\n

The promise of wood-fired cooking is twofold: an inimitable taste, enhanced by natural smoking and intense heat, and a show in the dining room. A wood-fired oven open to the dining area becomes a central point of attraction, arousing the curiosity of guests and reinforcing the immersive dining experience. This trend<\/strong> can also be observed in certain coworking <\/strong>spaces or third places, where food <\/strong>becomes a pretext for gathering <\/strong>and collective creativity.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

Bread, wine and fire: the magic of dishes to share<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n
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Great, convivial dishes find their essence in this authentic cuisine. Meat roasted slowly in the embers develops deep aromas and unrivalled tenderness. Bread, with its crispy golden crust, reveals incomparable texture and flavor thanks to wood-fired cooking. Slow-cooked dishes are the obvious choice for generous tables, where patience and mastery of the fire exalt the flavors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the south of France<\/strong>, Lo Pichotome<\/strong> in Forcalquier<\/strong><\/a> is one of those pizzerias that use wood-fired ovens to create a unique, immersive taste experience<\/strong>. Here, the enveloping heat of the oven doesn’t just bake the pizzas, it creates a setting where sharing becomes natural, where each bite recalls an ancestral culinary tradition. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Restaurants and bakers: why adopt this cooking style?<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n
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The Flambeur 120 Pro from the front<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The combination of communal tables and a wood-fired oven<\/strong> offers many advantages for professionals. It’s a powerful selling point<\/strong>, emphasizing authenticity, show cooking and differentiation. It’s also an efficient way of serving large tables<\/g>, thanks to fast, even cooking and smooth, efficient service. Last but not least, it’s a wise choice when it comes to optimizing energy costs, as wood represents a sustainable alternative to traditional energy sources. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Flambeur 120 Pro in profile<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Wood-fired ovens for this new trend<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n

A number of professional wood-fired ovens have set themselves apart to keep pace with this evolution. The Flambeur 120<\/g> is a high-performance, user-friendly wood-fired oven, perfect for indoor show cooking. \n The Loule<\/g>\n<\/g>with its rotating hearth, is ideal for fast-paced restaurants offering dishes to share. Le Boulanger 4m\u00b2<\/g> <\/g>and \n Le Boulanger 2m\u00b2<\/g>\n<\/g> have been designed for bakery-snacks<\/g> wishing to integrate an on-site tasting area. Lastly, L’Artisan 130 <\/a>and L’Artisan 160<\/a><\/strong> are ideal solutions for micro-bakeries <\/strong>or restaurateurs looking to diversify their offering with authentic, controlled baking. This dynamic is also part of a renewed interest in communal ovens<\/strong>, which several town halls and communities in France are putting back into operation after acquiring or renovating a wood-fired oven. These initiatives are helping to restore communal living spaces<\/strong>, where bread and stews are once again central to local conviviality. <\/p>\n\n

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Le Loule<\/strong><\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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2m\u00b2 and 4m\u00b2 Baker<\/strong><\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\"Boulangerie<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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L’Artisan 130 and L’Artisan 160<\/strong><\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\"L'artisan<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The table of the future: back to basics or reinvention?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The common tables<\/strong><\/strong> and wood-fired oven<\/strong> <\/strong>respond to the same quest for authenticity and sharing<\/strong>. <\/strong>As the world of catering continues to evolve, these trends give new meaning to the act of gathering around a meal. A return to our roots,<\/strong> yet a modern and inspiring reinvention, proving that conviviality is more than ever a value for the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Absalon’s communal tables in Copenhagen<\/sub> Photo credits: \u00a9 Giuseppe Liverino<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The rise of the large table: a response to our times In an increasingly connected yet paradoxically individualistic world, catering is becoming a space for social reconnection. The concept of communal tables, which originated in Denmark with the tradition of f\u00e6llesspisning (“eating together”), embodies this desire for sharing and conviviality. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":312,"featured_media":16088,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Communal tables and wood-fired cooking: the trend that's reinventing the restaurant business","_seopress_titles_desc":"Communal tables transform restaurants and bakeries. Combined with wood-fired baking, they offer an immersive gastronomic experience. ","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[384,383,389,17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18052","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bakeries","8":"category-catering","9":"category-inspiration-en","10":"category-news-ephrem"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/four-ephrem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/four-ephrem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/four-ephrem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four-ephrem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/312"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four-ephrem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18052"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/four-ephrem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18053,"href":"https:\/\/four-ephrem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18052\/revisions\/18053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four-ephrem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/four-ephrem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four-ephrem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four-ephrem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}