Luke Nguyen

Designer	Not Known
Maker	Made for Luke Nguyen by Baccarat
Marks	No marks on ramekins.  Name “Luke Nguyen” printed on bottom right-hand corner of platter; initials “LG” to left hand corner.
Material	Ramekins; Soft paste porcelain, 22ct gold to handle and exterior, Platter is laminated bamboo.
Description	Gilded bowl with white gloss glazed interior slightly indented footring base dimpled inwards from footring.
Condition	Good, some wear to gilding on footring
Number	No number
Production Date	Early 2000s
Width at rim	60mm
Width at base	40mm
Depth	23mm
Length (with handle)	97mm
Weight	90 gm
Volume	35 mm
Acquisition	Purchase Salvo Stores, Noble Park 30th September 2013
Rameking Reference Number	LNG 001-004

These four little ramekins form a tasting sampler platter.  These platters are used in some restaurants for patrons to try various dishes.  These were made for Australian restaurateur Luke Nguyen by Baccarat cookware, a brand of Playgroup Pty Ltd located in St Kilda Road, Melbourne.  Tasting samplers are made for other purposes, such as for holding small glasses of different beers.

Luke is an award winning Sydney Restaurateur and Chef (at the “Red Lantern” restaurant in Surrey Hills).  He is also an author of several books on cooking and has hosted a television series on Vietnam and its food.  Luke was born in a refugee camp in Thailand in 1978 to Vietnamese parents who had fled the country some months earlier.  He has also apperared as a guest chef on the television show Masterchef, season 2., and “Masterchef Vietnam”.  He also takes tour groups to Vietnam to experience their cuisine and learn to cook it.  In partnership, he founded the “Little Lantern Foundation” giving disadvantaged youth training in the hospitality industry.

Lustre Gold ramekins like these are press-moulded soft paste porcelain with 22 Carat gold applied to the exterior of the bowl.  Gilding, as it is known, on pottery is a complex and difficult method to learn and can be done using several differing methods.  Over five tonnes of gold are still used each year to gild ceramics.  Gold can be sprayed, brushed, screen-printed, acid etched or mixed with resin.  Early methods involved mixing the gold with mercury or honey giving the body a bright rich honey gold colour when fired at a relatively low temperature.  Ancient gilding on the wood of Egyptian mummy cases is still as bright as original. 

The method most used commonly for lining ceramics with gold is to mix gold powder and borax (borosilicate or a bismuth based flux).  The resulting powder is brushed onto the pottery with a very fine brush (usually camel hair).  When the mixture dries, because it is mixed with water it is fired, during which the borax is burnt off and the gold melts into the body.  The pottery comes out brown and must be burnished (polished) with a stone, usually agate to bring out the gold colour. 

Any further information would be appreciated. maybe Luke can get in touch?

One of the things that I have often lamented on this blog has been the loss of industry as a result of Government policy and imports.  In the case of Royal Worcester, had it not been for the collapse of the glove making industry in Worcester in the mid 18^th Century, Royal Worcester would not have come into being.  A number of local businessmen got together and decided to start a pottery.

One of the things that I have often lamented on this blog has been the loss of industry as a result of Government policy and imports.  In the case of Royal Worcester, had it not been for the collapse of the glove making industry in Worcester in the mid 18^th Century, Royal Worcester would not have come into being.  A number of local businessmen got together and decided to start a pottery.

One of the things that I have often lamented on this blog has been the loss of industry as a result of Government policy and imports.  In the case of Royal Worcester, had it not been for the collapse of the glove making industry in Worcester in the mid 18^th Century, Royal Worcester would not have come into being.  A number of local businessmen got together and decided to start a pottery.

One of the things that I have often lamented on this blog has been the loss of industry as a result of Government policy and imports.  In the case of Royal Worcester, had it not been for the collapse of the glove making industry in Worcester in the mid 18^th Century, Royal Worcester would not have come into being.  A number of local businessmen got together and decided to start a pottery.