In the world of grown-up tableware, platters and serving bowls tend to take a back seat to nice glasses and decent flatware. But every home should have one or two, even if you rarely host dinner parties, because transferring your food from a cooking to serving vessel enhances the experience of eating. To surface the best dishes, sets, and a few more unorthodox plating vehicles, we asked a handful of experts — including chefs, designers, and prop and food stylists — about their own favorites. Aesthetics play a big role here, so we’ve collected a range to suit different styles, with variance in size, material, durability, and price. Read on to see if any strike your fancy.
A wooden salad bowl is a must-have, and Strategist writer Lauren Ro rounded up some great options a few months ago. This one from Crate & Barrel was recommended by several expert cooks, including Andrea Nguyen, who points out the “stunning” acacia grain and likes that it’s lightweight and easy to care for. She washes it right after a meal and refreshes the bowl with wood conditioner when she oils her cutting boards.
I recently got a couple of serving bowls and this platter from Haand. (The brand makes recipe developer and cookbook author Claire Safftiz’s favorite dinner plates and bowls, too.) I love them all deeply. The finishes are gorgeous. They pieces are on the heavy side — but that makes them feel substantial, not cumbersome. Still, the organic shapes lend an elegant look. They’re special, yet not distracting (meaning they would fit right in with any style of tablescape). Haand has serving pieces in multiple shapes and sizes, so it’s worth taking a look around their site and finding one that fits your needs.
Each Lawson serving bowl is distinct because of the reactive glaze, which produces subtle variations in color and texture when heated in the kiln. But because the actual vessel isn’t handmade, it comes at what prop and interiors stylist Kim Ficaro calls “an amazing” price. “There’s an organic and modern feel to it,” she adds. “It’s so simple, but has a little intrigue because of the glaze. There’s tone to it in a really sophisticated way.”
This cabbage platter is an iconic piece by the Portuguese designer Bordallo Pinheiro — one that has been recommended to us many times over. (He has multiple shapes and sizes available if you want to look for others.) Prop stylist Bea Chatska grew up with some in her mom’s kitchen and now has her own. “They’re playful and formal at the same time,” she says, “and kind of seasonless, too. They work well with an indoor set up and casual, summer, out-on-the-patio settings.”
Enamel is lightweight, durable, easy to clean, and generally affordable (especially compared to artisan handmade pieces). This option offers a great amount of versatility, as it’s actually a trio of prep bowls. They’re hearty enough to cook with day in and day out, and even take outside. But they’re still “stylish enough to put on your table,” photographer Julia Stotz says. The fitted silicone lids are also a plus — if there are leftovers or if you prep a dish ahead, you can simply remove the top and set them directly on the table.
The bottom of this serving dish acts as a bowl, while the lid, which is glazed on the inside, can be flipped over and used as a cake stand or serving platter. “Let’s say you make chili,” says Nicole Rucker, owner and chef of Fat + Flour in Los Angeles, “you can plate the toppings on the lid.” She’s even used the top without the bottom because “it’s just absolutely gorgeous,” she says. “Heath is very high quality.”
Prop and interiors stylist Kira Corbin loves this platter because “it has all the wabi-sabi that makes you feel connected to the human being who made it, but it’s also really functional,” she says. At first, the bright white glaze makes it look like a simple, any-occasion platter you’d find at Crate & Barrel or Sur La Table. But look closer, and you’ll see organic lines. It’s also big, which for the price is rare in hand-thrown pieces. “You could fit a turkey on this thing,” Corbin says. “It’s thick, sturdy, and heavy, the kind of piece that lasts a lifetime or more.”
Bennington Potters, based in Vermont, makes pieces that recipe developer and cookbook author Anna Stockwell calls “familiar and comforting.” She grew up with them in her mom’s house, and later started her own collection (which includes baking dishes and mugs in the same style). She says the glaze is somewhere between shiny and matte and has a very smooth feel. The shape, longer and narrower than many oval platters, is unique and especially suited to longer foods, like roasted carrots and broccolini. The blue color (Stockwell’s favorite) contrasts with most food in a pleasing way (so much so that she used this platter for several photographs in her cookbook). Finally, “you can pop it in the oven if you want to warm it up before serving because it’s ceramic,” she says.
Hasami’s porcelain tableware lines the shelves of many boutique home stores. The pieces feel considered and special, but their affordable price makes them more accessible than handmade ceramics. Corbin says that the shape “does double duty,” referring to the wide bottom (much like a dinner plate) and the particularly high lip that serves to keep food contained whether you’re plating a pile of chunky vegetables or liquidy sliced tomatoes. “You can do flat, composed presentations,” she says. “There’s more of a landscape.” The appeal isn’t only aesthetic, though. “It’s easier to mix and toss when you have horizontal space,” she says. This style actually comes in five nesting sizes but the largest (price shown here) is going to be the most useful for serving anything more than a small side.
Prop stylist Bea Chatska was the first person to introduce me to Porta, the Brooklyn-based shop that has the tablewares of my dreams. Though the piece she originally recommended isn’t available anymore, this place is so chock-full of gorgeous items (seriously, it’s worth scrolling through the whole serving section), I felt compelled to include one. I like that this features a decorative border but is otherwise white so that it won’t compete with food.
This fairly neutral option comes recommended by Stotz. She points out that white glaze has universal appeal and will look good in anyone’s kitchen or dining room. But since each bowl is handmade with ever-so-slight differences, they still feel unique. “We’ve used these on set a bunch and I just know they’re really beautiful in person,” she says. “Up close, you can see the texture and tell how high-quality it is.” She also points out that it’s attractive enough to sit out as a fruit bowl when not in use.
Strategist senior editor Hilary Reid was sent this serving platter and has gotten so much use out of it for everything from grilled lamb skewers to a pile of corn on the cob. The sides are low enough to show off whatever it’s holding, but also high enough that she doesn’t worry about said corn on the cob rolling off. And despite being called “oat,” the glaze is a beautiful light blue shade. “It’s casual enough that you could use it on a weeknight dinner, but also really stands out on a dinner party spread,” Reid says. While it’s hand wash only, it cleans up very easily.
While some expert cooks keep their Boos cutting boards on the counter for consistent prep, Jess Damuck, a food and prop stylist and cookbook author, and Sara Kramer, co-owner and chef of Los Angeles’s Kismet, both say they like to use it as a platter for cheeses, charcuterie, tinned fish, and crudité. They appreciate that it’s “truly multipurpose,” as Kramer puts it. “It’s really big, so it holds a lot. There’s not a dinner party, especially with a lot of people, that I don’t use it for,” she says. If you’re worried about stains or smells from food prep, just stay away from raw meat, garlic, and any vegetables that tend to leave color behind.
While not technically a platter, the Great Jones Little Sheet is a two-for-one beloved by many pro chefs. Its primary function is a sheet pan, but the quarter size and bright colors (deep blue, raspberry, forest green, and mustard yellow) mean that it’ll look at home on the table, whether you’re putting it there directly from the oven or pulling it out to serve. Because they’re made from aluminized steel, they won’t break on you during grill sessions or outdoor dinner parties.
Upstate specializes in textiles and glassware, the latter of which is all handblown in New York. Ficaro describes the pieces as having a “’70s-inspired feel,” like this platter she says is as much a design piece as it is a means to serve food. “There’s a softness with the color and the swirls,” she says. “It feels almost jewel-like.” Each one is subtly footed to double as a cake stand.
Social-media consultant and writer Rachel Karten says this set of serveware, which includes three platters and six bowls, is the best thing she put on her wedding registry last year. “I’ll often use all nine pieces when hosting,” she says. “The small bowls for olives and pits, the big platters for brisket or roasted salmon. The bundle allows me to have a consistent theme, popping in my eclectic pieces more thoughtfully throughout.” Plus they’re dishwasher safe — a real bonus after a dinner party.
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