Why do restaurants serve food on manky looking wooden boards.

[Aeroflotgirl]

We went to a well known restaurant last night with some friends. I have never been there before, so diden't know what to expect. The food was great, but food was served on this rather manky looking chopping board type thing. I asked for a plate so that I could put my food, and was given one. Is this the done thing now! Wooden boards are not that hygienic, I was thinking of all the germs harbouring on there. I will go there again, and next time as I am ordering, ask the server for a plate.

There is usually a sheet of waxed paper over it. But as i said that gets shredded as you cut your food

My favourite burger place serves their food on boards. They no me well enough now not to try that fuck wankery with me now, and get me a plate.

I once had a roast dinner in a country pub which was the ultimate in cockwombliness; The meat was on a mini board, the veg in a porcelain dish, the yorkie had its own tin, the gravy was in a gravy boat, all this was served on a tray, and there was barely any room for my relative's food on the same table. I stared at it for a moment, and asked the waitress to get a large plate. I then put all the dissembled parts of my roast dinner ON THE SAME FRIGGING PLATE and returned all the fuck wittery to the waitress. She said nothing. My relative looked mortified, but I will not be cowed.

It's all so pretentious. Glad I don't eat out very often!

The oddest receptacle for food I've encountered was at a restaurant in North Yorkshire which served bread in a flat cap. It made me feel really queasy and completely put me off the rest of the (quite expensive) meal.

Put It On A Plate

OP, I wholeheartedly agree. Bring back plates!

muttsnutts yes exactly! That spade with fried food on it Stealth no wax paper, straight on the board like that! I just could not help thinking of the others who have eaten off that board, and it looked like it!

The whole board thing does come with all sorts of negative 'hey look at us' connotations. But on a more practacle note sometimes a board is just not fit for purpose. I like my steaks and burgers cooked medium rare, ie juicy, and it's a pain when said juices run off the board and onto the table. So yes I will ask for a plate if ordering certain things purely if it means I don't have to spend half the meal mopping up a mess or trying to avoid getting my elbows covered in fat. It's hardly an unreasonable request and if a waiter or head chef acts like an arse over it then quite frankly they can fuck off and I will go somewhere else.

It's a crappy idea, both from a hygiene and practicality point of view.

The sooner the fad dies, the better. And until it does, I will be asking for a plate.

Good on you heathen, if more people did that, then they would get the message, plus the extra faffing about, takes time and more washing. Yes that's it, it's extra wankery, designed to look trendy.

Muttsnutts, that link needs to be sent to every restaurant in the country that doesn't use plates!

My new resolution: whenever I go into restaurants, I'm going to check out what they're serving to other diners, and if they aren't using plates I'm going to ask for one.

I'm a chef, we use boards for things like sharing platters, bread and olives- finger foods. Or something that comes in a ramekin anyway, such as creme brulee. No one complains and I think it looks nice.

P1nkP0ppy Yes the boards do go through the dishwasher, exactly the same as the plates.

I prefer a plate, I must admit. Don't think I would have said anything though, but that's my problem.

I have had steak served on a board where the board was warped and therefore spun around annoyingly every time I tried to cut the damn thing, much to the amusement of everyone else at the table. I will request a plate in the event I ever go back there for sure.

I dont mind a shared starter or bread platter on a wooden board but I find them annoying to eat a meal off of.
The worst thing is that bloody piece of paper they put under your food which ends up cut to pieces 😠
I prefer a good old fashioned plate with room to cut stuff up and put your fries on so they can be salted properly I hate all this 'alternative' crap 😂

" OrangeFluff

I'm a chef, we use boards for things like sharing platters, bread and olives- finger foods. Or something that comes in a ramekin anyway, such as creme brulee. No one complains and I think it looks nice."

Yes that all sounds nice and normal. Boards are perfect for some things. Just not a dinner!!

And urgh to not having the sheet of paper. Though I usually end up eating some of it I prefer it to directly on the board.

Reminds me of those hygiene strips you get in underwear.

OrangeFluff - all of that is fine and perfectly practical and acceptable.

But serving a meal, possibly with sauces or juices, and which you need to cut up, on a board, is not.

Boards for finger foods are fine. Anything wet - no. I've never seen the paper liner either.

It must make waiting staff's job so much harder. It is painful to watch the waitress inching towards you, trying to stop the garnish rolling off the breadboard, like it's an egg on a spoon.

And you can balance more plates when you collect them, unlike boards, slates, pint mugs, shopping trolleys, shovels, stilettos (🙄) cloth caps...

When at university almost 20 years ago, my flatmate and I once ate chicken fried rice and curry sauce from pint glasses, due to a lack of anything else suitable. I had no idea how ahead of the curve we were. 😂

I agree with you OP, I want my food served on a plate, all together, not de-constructed so I have to do the Chefs job and construct it into what it was supposed to be, I go out for a meal so I don't have to do any of the preparation, cooking or serving. Also, I want hot food served on a hot/very warm plate and cold food served on a cool plate.

You weren't embarrassing at all. I can't stand this, it turns my stomach, so I literally can't eat it. I always send it back and ask for a plate.

Yes stealth straight on on a manky board with all sorts of unmentionables harbouring inside in those previous knife cuts. Yay lots of fellow players who just want a complete dinner served on a nice China plate. Not too much to ask.