Set of 8 Cocktail Forks

"We use these for shellfish and oysters," Patricia explains of this set of eight stainless steel cocktail forks from the Paris apartment she and Walter have called home for decades. Slender and polished, each fork has a long, tapering handle that widens slightly at the base and narrows to a flat, rounded tip — a clean, unfussy profile that is distinctly French in its restraint. The three-tined heads are compact and precisely proportioned, designed to coax a plump oyster or a morsel of shellfish from its shell with ease. The stainless steel has a bright, mirror-like finish, and the set of eight sits together with a satisfying uniformity. These are working forks in the best sense — purpose-built, well-made and entirely at home on a table set for a plateau de fruits de mer. Lay them alongside a bowl of crushed ice and a dozen oysters for an instant Parisian moment, or tuck them into a linen-lined drawer until the next occasion calls for them.