Setting the Table with Enrica Stabile in Provence

As a Milanese antiques dealer and tastemaker, Enrica Stabile has long championed the beauty of provenance and patina. We join her at her family home in Provence, where sun-warmed stone and vintage Sarreguemines set the scene for a summer season of languid lunches and informal al fresco dinners. Enrica shares her signature style and approach to effortless entertaining.

INTERVIEW BY JAMIE SHARP | ROOMS & GARDENS | 17 JULY 2025

All Image credits © Joanna Maclennan

How do you set the tone when hosting guests at home?

Our family is a big one—four grown-up children and four grandchildren. I'm accustomed to having quite a large number of people sitting down for both lunch and dinner in a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere that's totally informal. Everybody helps with cooking, laying the table, sharing many laughs, and mostly eating!

Do you have any favourite pairings of color, texture, or period that guide your tablescapes in Provence?

I love mixing. A beautiful table is, for me, a mix of patterns and colors. What mainly works for me is green for my pedestal glasses, cream and pink for my plates, and quite a few pieces of "terres mélangées"—a kind of marbled mixture of earthy tones, an absolute Provençal specialty—as serving dishes or bowls. These medium color tones, not too strong, not too weak, make the table really interesting with an array of colors that blend in great harmony.

Are there personal touches or heirloom objects you always include?

For many years I have had on my table a pair of beautiful early 19th-century engraved glass "coppe"—a gift from a dear friend. They are my starting point when I do a table setting. I always use them both as fruit holders for small fruits like strawberries, cherries, or clementines, or as flower holders mainly for garden roses. Their transparency and elegant shape instantly bring a "coup d'éclat" to the table.

How do you incorporate antique pieces into your table settings?

All my table plates are vintage. I change them according to the time of day. For lunch in the garden, I use light green plain-colored "Salernes" with a delicious scalloped edge. For dinner inside, I use my Sarreguemines "Vue d'Orient" plates in a fantastic dusty pink.

What's your go-to summer dish when hosting friends in the garden?

My favorite summer dishes are both basically made with fresh products I buy at the local market, where I go nearly every day in the late afternoon. "La tarte à tomate" is mainly fresh small oval tomatoes thinly sliced, one above the other to build a perfect round wheel, on top of a round dish of pâte brisée, plus a lot—and I mean a lot—of fresh basil also thinly cut. Then olive oil on top, and in the oven for 40 minutes at 160°.

Simple, but divine. My other ace up the sleeve is the "Gâteau de Courgette"—mainly onions and many courgettes. When cooked, add canned tomatoes (1-2 tins according to size), 2 eggs when cooked, lots of parmesan, lots of basil, spread thinly on the oven plate, with a mixture of parmesan cheese and bread crumbs on top. Cook at medium temperature for forty minutes. The day after, it's even better!

Which flowers or natural elements do you turn to when decorating the table?

My tables are never complete without flowers. I use whatever I have available in the garden. I try to mix as much as possible, mainly in the small size range, balancing the colors as best as I can. Lastly, I like to use some ivy to drop casually out of the vases, making interesting patterns on the tablecloth.

What advice would you give to a nervous or first-time host?

Perhaps good advice for having a relaxed evening when entertaining is to prepare the food as much as possible in advance and to keep it simple, but do the table with a lot of care to show how much you care about your guests! Try to mix people of different ages—younger people, older people—it's fun to see different perspectives, always fun and inspiring!

How would you describe your characteristic hosting style?

Very good food, very relaxed atmosphere, attention to details, refined sense of aesthetics.