At Pia's table in Paris

It's Pia's turn to talk with us about the art of hosting around her table dressed in Tomète.

Pia opened the doors of her Parisian apartment to us, which she shares with her companion and her dog Leika.

Expert in content creation for ten years, Pia advises brands on their content strategy and also shares her universe on her Instagram account @pia_mbd .

Pia's tastes are very sure, as much for her personal style as for her interior. The latter was thought of as a warm cocoon, where contemporary creations naturally rub shoulders with vintage finds.

Pia was raised in a family where the art of the table holds a special place, in particular thanks to a mother very involved in family or friendly receptions.

We dressed Pia's table with our white round scalloped sets and ocher and our white and ocher scalloped towels.

Welcome to Pia's table!

Tomète: What type of host are you? Team “I think about the menu and the decoration weeks before” or team “last minute”?

Pia: Rather organized. I think about everything beforehand, but I often end up executing at the last minute because my working days are very busy! Fortunately, our neighborhood is well stocked with good products so I always achieve my goals 😊  

4 / 6 - then, it would be a bit cramped in the living room and around the dining table. And my kitchen is also a little too small to consider large preparations. One day, I hope to be able to see bigger!  

If you could invite just one guest to your next dinner party, alive or dead, who would it be?

My mom obviously, who taught me everything but to whom I would unfortunately not have the chance to return the favor. But she's somehow in every one of my meals ❤️  

A piece that we will listen to for sure if we are invited to your house:

From Charlotte Cardin, Jorja Smith, Céleste, LÉON… only female voices filled with warmth.  

The cocktail or the drink that we can hope to taste when arriving at your place:

A pastis as an aperitif and an herbal tea after the meal!  

Your dream menu includes :

Already, it does not include gluten! Otherwise the meal is unfortunately ruined for me and my bloated belly…  

Then, the menu will depend on the season, my boyfriend having converted me to a much more seasonal and local consumption. Finally, it will most certainly have Lebanese influences – either as an aperitif (for example, zaatar rolls), or as a dish (certain dishes from my childhood that I love to reproduce: daoud bacha, the equivalent of meat balls with plenty of onions or adas bi hamod, a soup of Swiss chard and lentils with lemon). In general, I love to prepare comforting and generous one-pots, such as a curry or risotto.  

I'm a little less good at desserts; I love them at brunch or snack time (chocolate banana bread, pancakes, cookies!) but at the end of the menu, I generally have little time and courage to stick to them. Except for a simple, quick and to die for chocolate coulant recipe (everyone will testify to that!) or a fruit salad.  

What gift do you usually give to your hosts when you are invited?

If I have time to cook, then I like to participate directly to the preparation of the meal. Otherwise, I often bring an aerial cake from La Meringaie ; they are very light and are suitable at the end of a meal.  

What place does the art of the table have in your family? A memorable memory or a specificity to share on your family meals?

My mother always knew how to do things with style; she really transmitted to me the art of receiving and with it, the art of the table, that of special occasions. When she took out her ocher tablecloth with burgundy flowers, it was to open the house and treat the guests.  

When I moved in, I immediately knew that I wanted to create a friendly dining room space to, in turn, receive my loved ones and take care of them.  

The choice of quality table linen and largely antique or handcrafted crockery was a natural way to dress up and personalize this space!  

I had the chance to have dinner with my family practically every night of my childhood. My mother cooked “in batch” two days a week, during which we weren't allowed to set foot in the kitchen – except to peel carrots. And if we received, then there, she set about it a week in advance to plan the menu, the table, and so on. We still laugh a lot about this mania she had!  

A book of recipes or decoration to recommend to help our readers prepare their next receptions?

I bought quite a few of these books after I moved in (Ottolenghi, Whoogy's, etc.) but in the end, I only open them a little; rather, they serve as decoration. My desires are changing, I find the cookbooks too rigid and often, I lack ingredients to reproduce the recipes and I find that frustrating.  

I cook in a rather spontaneous way, from my childhood memories, current desires and recipes gleaned from Instagram.  

Share an anecdote about your worst (or best) experience around the table when you received at home?

I received a friend for tea and I had prepared the chocolate coulant mentioned above, which I had sold him rather well - except that it turned out to be absolutely infamous: I had stirred the preparation badly, the eggs had therefore cooked inside the cake, like scrambled eggs… Ew !!  

Your favorite at Tomète:

Without hesitation: the round, scalloped placemats, in ocher linen (available here ).  

I also love the especially thoughtful mismatched napkin sets (available in slate blue , ocher/terracotta or forest green ).  

And the jeweled napkin rings, little marvels that I would wear in my ears (available here ).  

Who would you like to see on our timeline for our next Home Tour?

Margaux de Fouchier ( @margauxdefouchier ), for a long time a big fan of her interiors!