Creating the perfect meal involves more than just delicious food. It's about the shared experience of serving that food to family and guests. Having the proper serving utensils, from salad servers for crisp greens to a set of butter knives or a cake serving set for delicious chocolate cake, can make every meal memorable.
What are Serving Utensils?
Serving utensils come in a variety of shapes and sizes. These tools are designed to slice, spear, scoop, grab, spread, and strain food. They transfer delicious food from serving bowls, trays, and platters to your plate. At INOX Artisans, we offer an assortment of handcrafted serving pieces.
Types of Hand-Forged Serving Utensils
Photo credit: Pantry to Table
The Hostess Serving Set
On average, a hostess serving set can include anywhere from 3 to 6 pieces. A trick to remember what pieces are included in a typical hostess set is to use the “H” of the word hostess to remember that everything in a hostess set “holds something.”
You may have seen hostess sets that include a butter knife, a sugar spoon, or a dessert server. Our hand-forged serving pieces include 4-piece sets of specialty pieces. This allows our customers to curate a set of sugar spoons for their coffee bar or a set of butter knives for the brunch table. For our hostess serving set, we include a serving spoon, slotted spoon, serving fork, and a soup ladle.
Soup ladle from the Twisted Urban Gold Hostess Serving Set
The large 3-tined fork from the Twisted Urban Hostess Set is perfect for serving this tender braised beef and vegetable dish.
Tondra Acacia Wood Bowls (Set of 3) and Celia Salad Serving 2 PC Set
Salad Serving Sets
Salad serving utensils consist of one spoon and one rounded fork. Used together, they help you pick up salad portions and drop them onto your plate. If you’ve never used salad servers before, watch this video to see how it’s done:
Video: Serving a salad using the Plateau salad serving set.
Sundance Pasta Server & Spaghetti Tong Set
Pasta Server Sets
Pasta nights are a favorite for many families, and having the right tools for plating spaghetti and other pasta dishes will impress everyone gathered as they wait in anticipation of their Spaghetti Carbonara! The pasta server (on the left) is ideal for lifting, portioning, and serving spaghetti and other noodles. Use the tongs to serve large stuffed pasta shells or to grab accompanying meatballs or shrimp. With roughly 350 different types of pasta, these tongs will become a handy tool in your kitchen and at the dining table.
A set of Jason butter knives leans on a stack of toast and butter
Set of Butter Knives
For many, Sunday brunch is a popular weekend tradition. It’s a great way to catch up with friends, make plans for the coming week with your family, or simply just relax and enjoy a midday meal.
Having a unique set of butter knives can add to the occasion, whether you’ve set up a waffle bar or you’re serving buttery pancakes or an assortment of bagels.
But you don’t have to be serving brunch to include a set of butter knives! Any dinner that includes bread or buns with the meal gets an elegant touch when you include a butter knife at each place setting. If you’re not sure about “breadiquette” at the dinner table, we have a whole section on it in our dining etiquette blog post.
Sundance Cheese Accessories Set
Cheese Knives Set
Before beef fondue parties became popular, wine and cheese parties had already taken the stage, and now, with the rise of charcuterie boards on social media, cheese parties continue to trend.
Cheese is enjoyed all around the world. When it comes to countries with the highest cheese consumption, we thought surely the United States would be among the top 10. But we were mistaken! According to the World Population Review, the top five countries for cheese consumption in 2025 are Switzerland, Luxembourg, Germany, France, and Italy. The United States ranks 14th.
If you’re a cheese lover, having an eye-pleasing charcuterie board and a cheese knife set will go a long way to impressing your cheese party guests. You’ll want a cheese knives set that can handle most cheeses, from spreadable cheeses to soft and hard selections.
Sundance cake serving set and Sundance pastry fork set
Cake Serving Set
Cake is that celebratory dessert that is served on all kinds of special occasions. A child’s birthday party comes to mind, but many adult birthday parties include a decorated cake. Anniversaries, wedding showers, baby showers and even Christmas can be occasions for that beautifully decorated cake just waiting to be cut and served to all the guests.
One of the most popular cake celebrations is the wedding cake ceremony. It’s always fun to watch the bride and groom feed each other a piece of the wedding cake. A special cake serving set is often part of this ceremony. Often, a family member will buy a set to give to the couple to use on their special day and beyond.
Dessert parties have become a popular theme, often with a beautifully decorated cake as the centerpiece on the dessert table. Using a cake serving set with a knife and server ensures clean, even cuts and prevents the cake from crumbling when being served.
Tips for selecting serving sets for your collection
Choose pieces that harmonize with your design style. Do you prefer rustic flatware and complementary pieces? Or maybe your aesthetic is more classic or modern. Whatever your style, look for corresponding pieces that blend with the overall style.
Look for unique pieces. Don’t hesitate to make a statement with a distinctive cake serving set at your dessert party or a set of butter knives with antique copper handles at the dinner table. Mixing and matching different materials can make your serving pieces stand out.
Think about what you need. Do you enjoy serving salad with every meal, or maybe your spaghetti Bolognese is a family favorite? If you serve a certain type of dish often, you’ll want to opt for at least one serving set to accommodate that dish.
Pick pieces that complement each other. If you love a cohesive look in your home and table settings, find pieces that are made of similar materials, finishes, or handle styles. For example, if your flatware has vintage gold handles, even if your serveware sets don’t have the same handles, choosing a cake serving set with the same finish will complement your existing flatware.
Choose serving sets that are weighty and well-balanced. Not only will a substantial forged cheese knife set or cake serving set make a bigger impact, but sturdier, well-made serveware will last for years.
Handcrafted Serving Utensils
Like our artisan-crafted flatware, our handcrafted serving utensils offer a personal touch and lasting value. When you consider that each cake serving set or set of butter knives is individually forged and shaped into sturdy, balanced serving utensils, you’ll want to shop our artisan collection. Paired with our handmade flatware and other tabletop accessories, our serving utensils will make every table setting feel thoughtfully curated.
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