Plating up with Ilona Topolcsanyi: Production pottery

Object: stories of design and craft

Ilona Topolcsanyi makes bespoke tableware for some of Australia's most notable chefs. She’s even made plates that world leaders have eaten from, like Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and Xi JinPing.

Hear how Ilona designs and makes by hand large orders of beautiful, hard-wearing and functional tableware.

Learn how she works with chefs as a problem-solver, figuring out how to make bowls where the sauce sits perfectly.

Ilona and her partner Colin Hopkins run their business Cone 11 in Naam, Melbourne. Their tableware has subtle surfaces that range from shimmering pearly whites to rich encrusted terracottas.

Some of the restaurants Ilona has created work for include:

• Dan Hunter: Brae, Birregurra Victoria
• Joel Bickford: Aria, Sydney NSW
• Josh Lopez: The Wolfe East Brisbane QLD
• Seth James: Wills Domain, Margaret River WA

Guests

• Ilona Topolcsanyi https://www.cone11.com.au/
• Josh Lopez is the chef and owner of The Wolfe East Brisbane, Queensland https://www.thewolferestaurant.com/
• Dan Hunter is the chef and owner of Brae, Birregurra, Victoria https://braerestaurant.com/

Full Show Notes

Read the highlights and takeaways, and see photos of Ilona's work with Josh Lopez and Dan Hunter on the Show Notes page for this episode on the Australian Design Centre website.

Credits

Object is hosted by Lisa Cahill, with production by Jane Curtis and sound engineering by John Jacobs. It's made with support from Visions of Australia regional touring program.