Would You Plate a Meal for Guests?

Jules

Jules

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Do you serve a meal for guests family style or plated? I’ve sometimes thought it would be easier to serve the meal plated like in a restaurant. The table is small.

The other day I didn’t have enough room in the bowl for the risotto so plated it and set the schnitzel partially across it. All the sides were in bowls. The look of horror on one person’s face shocked me and then she said she never lets her food touch. She didn’t move it and ate it all.

It definitely made me decide to never try plating a meal for any other company.
 

Jules said:
Do you serve a meal for guests family style or plated? I’ve sometimes thought it would be easier to serve the meal plated like in a restaurant. The table is small.

The other day I didn’t have enough room in the bowl for the risotto so plated it and set the schnitzel partially across it. All the sides were in bowls. The look of horror on one person’s face shocked me and then she said she never lets her food touch. She didn’t move it and ate it all.

It definitely made me decide to never try plating a meal for any other company.
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Unless it's summer and food is being served outside.. then I have always plated meals....
 
Me: "Care for a piece of pie?"
He: "I don't know, what kind is it?"

And if he wants it, it will be plated, and garnished my way.

People are too picky today, my opinion. If I'm lucky enough to be offered food, I'm delighted and grateful to sample someone else's cooking for a change. I've never said no in all my short life.
 
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It depends what it is, how many people and how much room there is. I have never known anyone to complain.

A colleague at work had OCD and she always kept her food separated, to the extent that she would use several small side plates and put a portion of different food on each one, rather than together on one plate. To be honest, if she hadn't done that, we probably wouldn't have noticed. If your guest has such a strong aversion against food touching on the plate, she probably should have mentioned it to you.
 
Mine is a galley kitchen with very little space to set out food. The couple of times I tried setting it out in the kitchen was just a zoo. I don’t have or ever want an island. My mess is basically kept out of sight.

The person with the issue is a relative. I’d never noticed this about her.

Afterwards I was wondering about OCD folks when their meal arrives in a restaurant. Some fancy places used to pile everything in a mound. Imo, that’s stupid.
 
Jules said:
I was wondering about OCD folks when their meal arrives in a restaurant. Some fancy places used to pile everything in a mound. Imo, that’s stupid.
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Restaurants are generally happy to plate your food the way you want as long as you explain it when you order.

It's telling that when the very first buffet-type restaurant opened outside of Las Vegas and Reno, nobody expected it to do well. It was immediately successful. Wildly successful. I think people prefer to plate their own plate.
 
MACKTEXAS said:
We never had more than 6 people total, which is how many our table would seat, and we put the food on the table, to be passed around. Some people might not like everything that was served, or prefer a larger portion of some foods and a smaller portion of other foods.
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That's exactly what we do with our table for six.

But this thread has me wondering if our guests think it's awful that everyone gets water to drink, nothing else is offered.

Coffee or tea is there in the morning and offered with dessert, but we three just all prefer big glasses of filtered water with meals and I forget that other people have favorite drinks they expect. We never buy soft drinks or have alcohol in the house.
 
Della said:
That's exactly what we do with our table for six.

But this thread has me wondering if our guests think it's awful that everyone gets water to drink, nothing else is offered.

Coffee or tea is there in the morning and offered with dessert, but we three just all prefer big glasses of filtered water with meals and I forget that other people have favorite drinks they expect. We never buy soft drinks or have alcohol in the house.
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Tea, or water is all we offered. We bought the gallon jug of tea already made. Coffee would be fine with dessert, as you said, but I'm not personally comfortable with serving alcohol at any time, for too many reasons to go into.
 
I used to always have platters on the table so everyone could serve themselves. I was also just wondering if Grace Before Meals is said at your place. We never did it, in my parent's day, but my eldest sister started doing it a few years ago, calling everyone
to attention to say it, she even started it in restaurants. I think it's a personal thing and should be said quietly to yourself. Thoughts on this?
 

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