Wood carving, serving platters, and the recipe...  

So. . .
now I know that the fissures in the cork tree are radial. What else ? How would one wash those cork platters -- or would they be discarded ?
As a complete food ignoramus, what are the yellow things -- potatoes ?

Zip ?
Nada ? Bupkis ?

Fantastic!
Well worth watching. Now excuse me while I go eat something.

oh, zip what?
Yes, potatoes. Nice bright creamy yellow flesh of a youkon gold?
An Idaho style would be to mealy. I ended up using small sliced rings of
a few fingerlings and a diced-very-fine southern yam. Added at the proper
time for correct cooking.

Yum
A whole different kind of cooking (and eating) than Betty Crocker ever heard of, I bet. . .
So, no, I didn't eat like that as a kid in Rye in the 'fifties. . .!
Cork platters ? I'd say so -- but a mystery to me about re-use. Maybe it washes fine ? Maybe they store it in sea water so it remains "fresh" ?
Gad there's so much I don't know. . .

SDR
Potatoes are really tasty. You should try one!

I think the taters look...
I think the taters look yellow from the saffron. Here is an excerpt of a nice article from Saveur, that talks about the cork trays and saffron tinted potatoes. Full article linked below.
"When we had finished the soup, Vitiello brought us a carved cork platter heaped with saffron-tinted fish, shellfish, and potatoes. He skillfully portioned the larger fish, left the smaller ones whole, and lifted a few pieces onto each plate. I tasted the intense rascasse and firm-fleshed saint-pierre, both distinctive in flavor, and the sublimely subtle congre."
http://www.saveur.com/article/Travels/True-Bouillabaisse

yes the broth. ; )
I considered mentioning that. The tinting of the potatoes...
But i thought to address the simple potato questioned.
A baker would not be proper in a delicate fish stew.
I did begin with leek and veuve clicquot. Most in the stew.
I was only cooking for 6 this year. Not the usual house party of 75-100.
I do find the cork fascinating. Something so large is not needed often.
I did have a bit of leek in my martini ! Delicious.

Forty
years ago I priced saffron, for a lemon chicken recipe I found in the Christian Science Monitor (it's a long story. . .) Needless to say, I did without. Still came out good.
Haven't tasted saffron to this day, as far as I know. . .