The culinary experience begins before the first bite. The weight of an object in your hands, its texture, the way it holds ingredients, and even the empty space around them can alter the way we perceive a dish. Ana Roquero has spent decades exploring the relationship between objects and the people who use them. In recent years, she has brought that perspective into one of contemporary design’s most creative territories: gastronomy.

Born in Bilbao, Spain, in 1963, Roquero studied Fine Arts before pursuing Industrial Design. It was during her years as a student that an assignment to design a set of flatware revealed the direction she wanted to take. Rather than creating objects meant solely for contemplation, she discovered an interest in designing pieces that could solve needs and become part of everyday life.

“I’m an industrial designer who truly believes in industrial design. Every element has to serve a purpose and have a reason for being,” she has said of her approach.

From Industrial Design to Fine Dining

Before turning her attention to the table, Roquero spent nearly 25 years working in industrial design. In the late 1980s, she co-founded the consultancy Item and later established Linkdesign, where she developed projects across industries ranging from home appliances and vending machines to medical devices.

The shift came as she began observing what was happening within Spanish gastronomy. The kitchen had become one of the country’s most compelling creative laboratories, and chefs such as Ferran Adrià were changing not only what people ate, but also how food was presented and experienced.

In 2014, Roquero founded Cookplay in Bilbao with Thibault Paoulou, creating a brand dedicated to rethinking contemporary tableware. Its first collection, Jomon, received a Red Dot Design Award that same year.

Since then, Roquero has developed an unmistakable visual language: organic, asymmetrical, and sensual pieces that challenge the traditional geometry of the plate without compromising function.

She describes her aesthetic through that same apparent contradiction: “I like things that are calm, pure, and graphic, but sensual and organic at the same time.”

Designing for the Chef

The relationship between Ana Roquero and gastronomy goes beyond placing beautiful objects on a table. Cookplay approaches tableware as a tool capable of expanding a chef’s creative possibilities.

Jordi Roca, for example, used a double piece from the Jomon collection to present one of his desserts. Roquero’s tableware has also reached restaurants associated with chefs such as Juan Mari Arzak, Martín Berasategui, and Eneko Atxa, while Cookplay’s international client list includes Gordon Ramsay, Anne-Sophie Pic, Michel Bras, Gastón Acurio, and Quique Dacosta. According to the brand, it works with more than 1,500 clients and is present in over 60 countries.

That conversation continues to evolve through custom projects created for individual restaurants. In 2025, for instance, Roquero developed Redoli for chef Miguel Martí’s Poble Nou restaurant at Roig Arena in Valencia. The design draws inspiration from historic symbols associated with Valencia’s rice fields and fishing areas.

The result captures an idea that runs throughout her work: a plate can tell a story about a place before any food is served on it.

Porcelain, Nature, and New Ways of Eating

Porcelain holds a central place in Roquero’s work. For the designer, its durability can also be understood as a form of sustainability: a well-made object does not need to be constantly replaced and can remain in use for generations. At the same time, Cookplay has experimented with biodegradable materials, including fiber made from sugarcane waste for its Chikio collection.

Nature and functionality ultimately converge in her forms. Some evoke eroded stones, leaves, shells, or marine organisms without literally imitating them. Rather than giving chefs a conventional flat surface, their curves and volumes create new possibilities for plating, sharing, and eating.

After decades spent designing objects, perhaps this is Ana Roquero’s most compelling contribution: understanding that the plate does not have to disappear beneath the food. It can become an active part of it.

Because in contemporary gastronomy, design has a place at the table, too.