Antique Silverplate Cheese Knife and Fork Set

A silverplate cheese set — knife and two-tined fork — from the personal collection of Patricia and Walter Wells at Chanteduc, their farmhouse and cooking school in Vaison-la-Romaine.

The two pieces share an elegant, tapered handle, with fine raised linear detailing running the full length of the grip and a gently scalloped base. The metal has softened to a warm, slightly muted silver, carrying the natural patina that comes from decades of use. A neat collar joins each handle to its working end: on the fork, a twisted rope-effect neck leads to two slender pointed tines; on the knife, a plain collar meets a broad, slightly serrated blade suited to both cutting and spreading.

At Chanteduc, where cheese has always been central to the table, sourced from the markets of Vaison-la-Romaine or the surrounding villages of the Vaucluse, a set like this would have been entirely at home. It works beautifully on a cheese board for a dinner party or a long Sunday lunch, adding a note of considered formality.