Couple marry cuisine with art
The right plate can turn a simple meal into something special, Lisa Penketh believes.
The ceramic artist is hard at work making plates and tiki mugs in her home studio ahead of the opening of Arden, the Hardy St, Nelson bar and cafe she’s opening with partner Logan Ursell.
The couple returned to Nelson last year after a decade working in Melbourne bars and restaurants with their idea to open a venue where Penketh’s ceramics will play a starring role.
Pottery is in her blood. She spent her formative years making pinch pots with her great-aunt, a local ceramic artist. She went on to study textile design, but a few years ago, her fingers itching to work with clay again, she signed up for a ceramics course in Melbourne.
‘‘I loved it. People would go there to chat but I went for quietness and focus, and to work.’’
Soon, she began making tableware for top Melbourne restaurants, including Hell of the North and Henry Sugar. This showed her that the right plate can turn a restaurant and its food into something extraordinary.
‘‘It pushed the idea that tableware can be beautiful, and food can work with the plate, and that the chef can play a role from design to plating.’’
The couple plan to serve simple but stylish meals, using herbs grown in the courtyard and making their own breads, syrups and pickles.
Behind the bar, Ursell will serve wines from home and abroad, as well as the tiki cocktails that could become an Arden signature.
‘‘Everyone loves a tiki drink,’’ says Penketh, who is painting unique touches on each mug.