To plate it in the kitchen rather than let people serve themselves?

[IggyPoppers]

If you're having a family meal do you plate it straight from the whatever it was cooked in onto plates and then carry those plates through or do you decant the food into a serving bowl and carry that through? AIBU to not want even more dishes and to just plate it from the hob?

At my house you will get the first helping beautifully plated, if you want seconds (or thirds) it is help yourself in the kitchen.

fair enough SinkGirl but then you just warn the host in advance, same with allergies.

No decent host would serve something like oysters, tripes or Marmite
If you keep the menu fairly average, unless told otherwise, it's unlikely to make anyone ill.

I absolutely loathe being given my food plated up. Luckily for me I don't know anyone who does this, although thinking about it, mil used to.

But I suppose if you're really short on space, it's the only option.

I will plate up my dcs food though.

For a normal meal just us and the dc at home I plate it up. If we had people over I would have them help themselves.

I hate having people plate up for me. When they ask how much would you like. I always end up having much less than I'd like as I feel embarrassed to have a larger portion.

“Got nothing to do with the size of your house”

? Of course it has. My MIL always lays out beautiful serving dishes for everyone to help themselves from- but their dining table is roughly the size of my bathroom.

Obviously the mansion comment was hyperbole- but you do need space to have these big tables with enough enough room to sit everyone round (plus dishes) if you’ve got a fair size family.

You’re suffering from a spectacular dearth of imagination if you think everyone lives like that.

oh come on, most people are able to hold a serving plate whilst helping themselves, that goes round the table and you bring it back in the kitchen when everybody's done.

There's really no need to make your life more difficult than it needs to be!

So when letting others help themselves, what if someone decides they want 4 Yorkshire puddings leave 2 people with none for example

Gosh, is this why you plate up? Because your family would do this?

I've never witnessed that and I don't know anyone who plates up. It's very very simple to look at a dish, look at how many people. And work out a reasonable portion size for yourself, even small kids can manage it.

But I agree, if your family can't do it, and would take so much others would have to do without, then yes you need to plate up.

Sad for you though.

Depends on meal here
Put in middle of table- roast dinner, lasagne, fajitas, tacos, home made kebabs, burgers, couscous and tagine, pizza, etc
Plate up if just us but put in middle of table of guests - jackets spuds and toppings, pasta, sausage and mash, large pie etc
Plate up for us and guests
Fishfingers, sandwiches, kieves, one person pies, fish and chips, etc

usually we plate up a smallish but balanced portion and allow self serv seconds

visitors: depends on who is visiting. my parents need plating up or they would fill their plates without leaving enough for anyone else...

If it's just us I plate it up. If we have guests I don't. I'm pretty sure how much DH needs to eat but I won't decide that for someone else.

If it's just the 3 of us plate in kitchen, if it's more of us plate the meat then help yourself from table for veg and sauces

Let guests help themselves I can't stand food being plated up for me, I inevitably end up leaving stuff I don't like. Such a waste

Shocked at so many that don't plate up! Only at Christmas or parties do I not plate up!

I have a lazy susan in the middle of the dining table. I put the food in serving dishes on the lazy susan, and everyone serves themselves. Plating up means you decide what they want to eat - which may be a totally wrong assumption. Let them decide.

I can't believe the replies here, I always plate it up and carry through and I don't think I've ever been to someone's house where I plate up myself. Definitely couldn't be bothered with the extra dishes

I'm shocked by people who are shocked or don't believe some people don't behave like them.

For us, it wouldn't be Christmas dinner without 'I've give you one of my roasties for three of your sprouts' and the subsequent haggling

Plate from hob

You eat less

But if I do a lasagne I just stick it on the table on the dish I cooked it in. Would only then be a couple of extra bowls plates for things like veg/salad/garlic bread??

I tend to plate up in the kitchen asking people how much of everything they want. But recently I've started to think I should try with serving bowls with the kids so they learn to have some sense of the other around them (not hogging all the good bits!) and a sense of portion control etc. The problem is DSS would take every single roastie for himself and not eat anything else. But he'd have a fight on his hands from DD who is 2! But I think I need to endure the arguments and do it so that my kids don't end up on someone else's Christmas thread someday!

From dishes. I don't want someone assuming how much I want.

Where is everyone 'carrying it through' to?

Have you all got separate dining rooms?

We put everything on the kitchen table as we got rid of our dining room years ago.

I always plate it up and carry through and I don't think I've ever been to someone's house where I plate up myself.
Total opposite for me! I always do serving dishes and don't think I've been anywhere where I'm just handed a plate of food, I'd find it really odd. Not just amounts and what you get on your plate, but what if you want the opportunity to mash butter into your baked potato before topping it, or prefer your gravy on the side rather than all over?

We have a teeny tiny table so sometimes the dishes have to sit on the hob & counter more like a buffet than a laid table, but it still wouldn't compel me to make up a plate for someone unless they were an invalid.

Just us I plate up, guests then serving dishes on the table. I can't face serving dishes when just my husband and kids. If I plate up then everything is eaten, in serving dishes then 1 spoon of each thing is left and it annoys me.