Serving elegant platters to your guests can elevate any occasion to make it more memorable, whether it is an event for fun or hosting a dinner with an elaborate formal place setting. Even if the theme is simple such as brunch on a Sunday or grand as in a formal dinner party, high quality platters will always be the focal point of the party.
It doesn't matter what food you choose - appetizers or desserts; the way you display them will contribute toward enhancing your guests' experience when they dine.
Below you will find several creative ideas for platters to serve at your next gathering that are sure to impress and exemplify the artisanal quality of Inox Artisan!
1. Cheese and Charcuterie Platters
An assortment of cheeses and cured meats is a timeless way to entertain and many options are available to suit everyone's taste, from soft to hard cheeses, salami to chorizo, etc. To help keep things organized, consider purchasing a large hand-hammered tray from our Serving Tray Collection. Copper bowls may be used to hold items such as olives/nuts and arranged in an eye-catching manner with garnished rosemary, which will provide a great contrast in colour with the stainless steel butter tray.
2. Fruit and Dessert Platters
If you want to include something sweet at your next gathering or dinner party, consider a fruit or dessert platter, arrange items such as fresh fruits, chocolates, mini pastries, cheesecake bites and macarons on tiered serving trays, use the trays from our Serveware Collection to provide a stunning and beautiful display that will draw attention to your table, using tiered trays will give your platter height and visual appeal, when using tiered trays, place the larger fruit on the lower tiers, and the small and delicate treats like macarons on the top tier, the Inox demitasse spoons will add sophistication and elegance.
3. Savory Snack Platters
Savory Snack Platters work great for parties or gatherings that fall into the middle ground of casual but still formal dinner place settings, as they allow for much versatility since you can cater to so many different tastes.
Therefore, we suggest using several different small bowls from the Inox Dining Collection to separate all of these savoury snack options; for instance, chips and artisanal dips, vegetable sticks and hummus, cheese cubes and pretzels, and mini sandwiches and sliders, in order to maintain an organized platter while at the same time providing visual appeal by clustering all of the items on the platter with bowls in the centre holding dips and also adding colour through festive linen napkins.
4. Appetizer Platters
Appetizer platters can set the tone for your entire meal as these bite-sized delights are perfect for mingling before guests move to their formal place settings so serve these appetizers like stuffed mushrooms, bruschetta and crostini, shrimp cocktail, and mini quiches and tarts on stunning trays from our Hammered Collection to add a touch of sophistication to your entertaining setup while using decorative cocktail forks or small skewers to make appetizers easy to pick up and garnishing with edible flowers for added elegance..
5. Breakfast and Brunch Platters
Breakfast and brunch platters can be a delightful start to the day and can provide a wide variety of breakfast favourites, we recommend using large vessels from our serving bowls collection to serve fruit and yogurt, and displaying assorted pastries and muffins on a beautiful platter, the following items should be included on these platters: assorted pastries and muffins, fresh fruit and yogurt, bagels with smoked salmon, eggs, and bacon, the display can be styled by mixing large and small bowls to create an interestingly varied layout, with fresh flowers or a small vase for a cheerful morning effect.
6. Beverage Stations
No entertaining setup is complete without a beverage station as whether serving coffee or cocktails your station should reflect the same elegance as your formal place settings so we recommend using stylish pitchers from the Beverage Collection to create an elegant station featuring items like coffee and tea with assorted accompaniments, cocktails and mocktails with fresh garnishes, infused water and juices, and wine and beer selections where you can use decorative trays to organize drink essentials and add small bowls for garnishes while arranging glasses and cups neatly for easy access.
7. Enhancing Your Table with Accessories
When putting together a formal place setting, accessories such as serving bowls, cutlery and table linens play an important role in enhancing the overall presentation of your entertaining spread, to achieve this goal, look for accessories that match your overall theme and complement the serving platters/cooking method by utilizing the extensive collection of items available within the range of INOX Artisan flatware collection, which will allow you to accessorize your entire table setting easily with serving bowls, cutlery in attractive finishes (Gold PVD, Copper, Antique), and quality linens (matching napkins/table runners) to help pull all the components together, to further compliment your table presentation, it would also be beneficial to utilize high-quality serving utensils that are attractive themselves, thereby providing a cohesive aesthetic when transitioning from platter to plate.
Creating creative and well-presented platters for entertaining involves choosing the right combination of ingredients and presentation styles, explore Inox Artisan for a variety of serving trays, flatware, and decorative accessories to create a beautifully arranged setup that impresses every guest.
FAQ Section
1. What is the best way to organize a cheese & charcuterie platter for a formal place setting?
Create a cheese and charcuterie platter for a formal event by starting with your larger items (cheese and meat), then filling in the empty spaces with your fruits, nuts, and crackers, be sure to place an individual spreading knife for each cheese item to prevent the flavor of one cheese from contaminating the other cheeses
2. Which desserts are best suited for dessert platters?
Any type of mini pastry (such as danishes, cookies, etc), truffles (chocolate and otherwise), cheesecake bites, and fresh fruit would be great options, use a multi-tiered display or large Inox platter for a stunning display of dessert items
3. How do I design a good looking, visually appealing snack platter?
Use multiple small plates or bowls to separate each type of snack and arrange the snacks at various heights to create visual appeal, you may choose to group items on the same plate or bowl or to use multiple small plates to keep each snack item isolated from all other snack items
4. What are some ideas for creating a beverage station?
Be prepared with a variety of beverage options and garnishes to create a complete beverage station, use attractive pitchers for your cold beverages, and use attractive glassware for all of your beverage servings, keep all items organized, so the beverage station appears as an inviting extension of the dining table
5. Is it OK to include multiple metal finishes on my formal table setting?
By creating layered textures through mixing your metals together, like using stainless steel trays with beautiful antique patinaed copper spoons or gold PVD knives, you enhance the look and feel of the entire setting as well as bring something to the table that represents a true, modern curated collection instead of looking like something that was plopped down from a department store
6. How Can I Keep Hot Appetizers Hot on My Metal Platter?
One important benefit of using high-quality stainless steel or copper platters from Inox Artisan is the thermal conduction abilities of each material, therefore you could heat your metal platter (in an oven on a low-setting) for a very short period of time before placing your hot appetizers on it to keep them warmer for a longer time, conversely, if you were to serve cold seafood or sushi on the same platter, putting it in the freezer for approximately 15 minutes prior to serving will keep those items colder for longer.
