3 minute read
Serves You Right
Whether you’re serving dinner to your family or hosting a whole crowd, mastering the art of serveware can be a challenge. But no worries... you’ve got this! by Amanda Harper
TIPS:
Take Inventory Beforehand
Hosting a dinner party can feel like a long timeline of personal chaos. Once you’ve determined a date and the overall feel of the meal, take inventory of your serveware. Either use this as a guide to shop for missing pieces or to steer your menu planning according to what your dishes can bear.
Think About Flow
... both in terms of serving your guests (or letting them serve themselves) and the progression of the meal. Your serveware not only accommodates your dishes, but also your guests. You need ample space to either serve your guests from the dishes or for them to reach each item. If guests will approach the buffet from both sides, you’ll need two sets of utensils.
Remember Temperature
If dishes need to be kept hot, consider finding chafing dishes that can bring the heat. For warm dishes, get well-insulated serving dishes, and don’t forget the trivets! Consider placing cold dishes over a bed or bowl of ice.
Bring Out the Best
Use your antiques pieces! Polishing up your silver pieces will add so much character to the table. Bringing out the main dish on your mother’s serving platter will pile on the charm. Even vintage linens can offer a ton of style to simple serving dishes.
Mix & Match
Bringing varied materials into your serveware mix will elevate the overall look. Cast iron with marble, wood with ceramic, copper with stainless steel... these combos will make your whole spread seem so curated and cool.
Have Fun
Don’t forget that the entire point of your dinner is to enjoy time with your guests. While hosting naturally requires a little elbow grease, you shouldn’t let the desire for perfection dampen your enjoyment. Chances are, your guests won’t even notice the hiccups.
Reach NEW Heights
If you are serving anything buffet-style, here’s one of the best hosting tricks we have to offer: vary the heights of your serveware. Naturally, this allows guests to see everything you’re offering, even at a distance, encouraging them to sample each of your delicious goodies. But a less-obvious benefit? Guests won’t accidentally jumble up the food you’ve carefully arranged. It can be more hygenic, as well; guests are less likely to accidentally touch items that are spaced further apart.
You NEED:
Soup Tureen
Even though you made your soup in a crockpot, your guests never need to know. A classic or even vintage soup tureen doubles as a showstopping table centerpiece.
Condiment Cups
A matching set of small bowls or ramekins will up your charcuterie game. Use them for pickles, spreads, dips and other hard-to-contain accoutrements.
Baskets
Of course you probably have a “bread basket,” but any basket can corral just about anything on your buffet. Plus, the rattan look is still very much on-trend.
Lazy Susan
Prevent guests from reaching quite so far over the food with this essential. This piece of serveware can “serve” you year-round as a convenient boost to your storage.
