To want to eat my food off a plate. Not a slate, wooden board, out of a bucket or anything else equally as pretentious?

[Cheeseoncrumpets]

We went out for Sunday lunch today. Food was very nice etc but when my desert arrived (Banoffee pie with ice cream, chantily cream and some berries) it was served on a bloody slate! A slate for christs sake! Now aside from the obvious hygiene issues, as you can imagine the ice cream was melting and starting to run all over the slate dribbling onto the table. All of which could have been avoided had it been served on a plate or in a dish!

It's not the first time either. Before Christmas I went to a fancy gastro pub type place, ordered a massive burger and chips. Yes you guessed it, it came on a wooden board, the chips were in a silver bucket and the there was a blob of coleslaw running off the board onto the table. Then as the burger was too big to shove into my mouth I had it cut it, and the wooden board was sliding all over the place!

Why do food place do this? I can only assume it's because it looks good, but I find it pretentious and wanky. I don't care what it looks like as long as what it tastes like.

AIBU to think that's it's not practical? Slates and wooden boards were not designed to eat off, but plates were!

But what is the reasoning behind it? Surely there is someone on her who works in the hospitality industry and can tell us?

wewantplates.com

some comedian (can't remember who) was saying that if your nan served you a hamburger on a tile and chips in a plant pot you'd be bloody worried about her. but getting your food delivered like that in a restaurant seems perfectly acceptable. hmmmm

I couldn't agree more. Let's start a campaign for everyone to send back food that isn't served on a plate. In fact, if I go into a restaurant and can see everyone else is eating food off wanky bits of slate I'm going to make a specific request for a plate.

And I think TV cookery competitions could do a lot here. Competitors need to to be told from the outset that if they serve food on anything but a plate they will be automatically eliminated. Also if they spend hours making something delicious and then serve it up in as a stupid smear, or three tiny dots per portion.

I like it. I think it looks lovely

Sets my teeth on edge, cutting into wood or slate aargh!

Also there's no way that the wooden boards can be washed properly afterwards unless someone on here knows better. Ugh

We recently had lunch in a lovely pub/restaurant and ordered our food at theach bar. When it arrived it was served on a manky old wooden chopping board with deep splits all along the surface. There was no way in hell that it was hygienic because the splits were so deep that the juices from the meat were dribbling through it and pooling onto the table. When we asked for our meals to be taken away and served on plates, the waitress was most put out and said that we were the only customers who had ever not liked the "rustic appeal of natural wood". Never been back.

It's a hipster thing

It will pass

I read a ladybird book about hipsters that mentions first generation i-pads as a suitable plate-substitute for the hipster caf

Yanbu it's wanky, manly and gimmicky.

Tom Kerridges 'The Hand and Flowers' do this a lot. I don't like it.

My favourite pub recently did the wooden platter, bucket of chips thing. I asked for a plate when my food came and I realised. The chips were chunky and there was no where to cut them, I had a home made fish finger bap (lush), which was precariously balanced on a 10cm wide strip of wood and a ramekin overflowing with mushy peas. Bloody annoying and totally pointless. As someone said though, it does mean that they can get away with smaller portions. When I tipped my meal out onto the plate there was definitely less than usual.

nokidshere how do they react when you do that?

I detest hot food served on stone cold plates if it turned up on a slate I wouldn't be responsible for my actions!

Watch the Great British Menu and you'll see exactly where all this wankery comes from.

Ordered a plate of sandwiches on room service in a hotel and they were delivered squeezed onto a slate, with sandwiches falling off onto the duvet. Bloody ridiculous.

I always send food back and ask for a plate now! DH thinks I'm making a fuss, but I note he never chooses to eat off our chopping board at home.

If I go into a place and see food being brought out on anything but plates, I ask for mine to be on a plate when I place my order. If it's still brought out on something else, I send it back and ask for a plate.

Keep asking for plates and the trend for slates and boards might die.

Yes, The Great British Menu is definitely one of the worst offenders. When they start putting food in boxes or miniature gardens I desperately want the judges to tell them to stop being so bloody stupid.

When I was around four or five (so 1984 / 85) my mum and I had lunch at her friends house one day. She gave us chicken and chips in a basket. I thought it was just AMAZING and 30 years later I still remember it.

But, yes I agree, would like to be served my food on a plate. Not a slate, wooden board etc

Im a chef who recently changed jobs to an upmarket place that has some slates.Some desserts cheeseboards (where you get side plates to eat off) and sandwiches look lovely on them,
Tend to agree on mains though although i havent had the luxury of eating off them as dec is a very busy time.Our wooden boards are washed then put through the high temp dishwasher sanitiser and i wouldnt use them if they were split or cracked.Plates can be requested as can well done meat,Hope this helps.

Follow We Want Plates on Twitter and name and shame. Take photos and Tweet and ridicule.

Never thought you could send it back and ask for a plate. im
Doing that next time.

See also drinks in jam jars.

Yep, send it back or, if you clock it beforehand, ask for your food on a plate when you place the other.

Someone on here was once served a cocktail in a fucking tin can. So it was about half the size of a usual one and freezing cold to bring to the mouth to drink.

We went for a meal just before Christmas. I had arancini to start and they came served on a slate. The poor woman who brought them had such a job trying to stop them rolling off everywhere!

It's wanky bollocks and I hate it.

YY, slates are freezing cold, so your food is almost always cold, too.

I have a cheeseboard. It's for serving . . . fucking cheese, not my family's and friend's dinner.

Redcrayons.....I thought it was just me!! Drinks in bloody jam jars, with a rim so deep the drink just falls down your chin. What is that all about? Hideous.

fucking hell there's bangers and mash in a sodding wine glass on that 'we want plates' page!

The reggae reggae sauce man serves food on cold baking trays with grease proof paper on. Makes the food cold fast.

I don't trust wooden boards at all other than for slicing bread on at home.