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?

I don't get the whole say what you want thing , do people get called through. To the kitchen, line up like school dinners and then say, three roasties please, then move off and the next in the queue steps up ?

My mother used to "plate up" (what we actually said was "put out the dinner"). I don't - prefer to let people help themselves - but it was pretty easy. She was standing 5 steps from the kitchen table by the hob/oven. As she put the food on plates one of us might say "I'll only have one potato" or one of us (me) might say "I'll put my own gravy on" and that was that. No lining up, no queue, no hassle.

We always plate up.

If we didn't, somebody me would eat all the roast potatoes.

Generally for the 4 of us, I'll plate up at the kitchen end and carry to the table. Seconds may well be avaliable from the pans. Sometimes it's serve from the table for foods from lots of packets such as jacket potatoes or wraps, or if it's something like lasange or shepherds pie that's been cooked in the oven to tableware anyway.

Lots of serving bowls can generate extra loads for the dishwasher, particularly for the larger dishes that sit awkwardly. With DCs, it also causes more spillage on the table.

For guests/ extended family, self service from dishes works better. However, many times I've been a victim of the Spud Scoffer. I have a reasonably modest appetite so will start with a sensible 3-4 potatoes, then have seconds if required. Meanwhile the Spud Scoffer has scavenged 12 spuds from the bowl into a giant spud mountain on their plate leaving no seconds and hungry people around the table. I could start with 6 or 7 in a defensive manouver but it's highly likely to result in wastage as I'm not likely to regularly need that many, and a pile to start is more likely to put me off rather than coming back for seconds.

I hate plating up; always results in somebody being encouraged to eat more than they really want (particularly bad for children) or wasting food by leaving it half-eaten on the plate. If people only take as much as they want, left-overs can be saved and reused in something else.

And children should be taught not to spud-scoff but to do a quick head count and make sure they are not taking more than their fair share. (Don't know any adults who are so ill-mannered they don't do this automatically)

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

No they certainly would not.

However countless threads on MN have shown that some guests are very greedy gits / cf's and don't give a shit about others. I am asking those who do the 'help yourself' thing about how they stop greedy people taking the best pieces of food, bread, veg etc.

What is the obsession with roast potatoes?! They've been mentioned at least 10 times

I am asking those who do the 'help yourself' thing about how they stop greedy people taking the best pieces of food, bread, veg etc.

It just doesn't happen with us. 30 years of serving dinner to family and extended family and friends and I have never had a greedy fucker hogging everything.

If I had someone over for dinner regularly who took all the roast potatoes or all the meat or whatever, then I would change how I served dinner when they came (and think about the friendship and the dinner invitation).

Same as pallisers. Family and friends have been trained since childhood to think of others. If someone did, I suppose I would say cheerily "Oh, I'd like some of that too".

I've also never had a guest or family member who has taken more than their fair share and left nothing for others. It's very simple as said to look at what's available and then take a portion size accordingly, even any kids I've had round have always managed it.

However for a small minority it is I guess an issue, a previous poster has said she has someone who will take twelve potatoes and leave nothing for others, but that's very odd and unsual behaviour.

If that's a child doing that, then they need to be taught portion size and sharing, if it's an adult, I would assume deeper issues there as it's not normal behaviour.

Surely serving dishes mean that you end up with more dirty dishes to wash ?

I genuinely don't know anyone who does it, and we dine at others houses often.
How hard is it to understand that people don't do the same thing for guests than day to day.

I hate plating up; always results in somebody being encouraged to eat more than they really want (particularly bad for children)
Just nonsense, children should eat plenty at dinner time or they will be moaning they are hungry after. I find all this portion control stuff really OTT and none of us are overweight before I get accused of driving an obesity epidemic. And if you're full leave it, if you can't then frankly you have food issues.

We serve ourselves in the kitchen and take our own meals through. No young kids though.

Always plate up if just us or have people for dinner. My mum and extended family do so perhaps I’ve done the same out of habit. I find it quite irritating having to ask/pass bowls at a dinner table. Also the food gets cold quicker. If there is something you don’t like/too much on your plate you can always leave it.

Serving dishes here.

No one's going to keep leftovers from plates so that’s a waste of food if not all eaten.

If in serving dishes you can freeze extra portions or you can have the leftovers as your Hobbit Dinner (second dinner, where you reheat in the microwave and eat it on your knee in front of the tv at midnight).

Usually plate up for family in the week, although I do say how much mash do you want etc. On weekends I let them help themselves.

We always eat round the table if we have guests and I always let guests help themselves.

How hard is it to understand that people don't do the same thing for guests than day to day

Sorry, let me clarify further, I'm guessing English isn't your first language, not knowing someone who plates up is not the same as not understanding it in the English language. It is simply not having any friends or acquaintances who do it. Understanding it is something very different and not what was being said.

Hope that helps.

A relative of mine used to run a cheap seaside guesthouse years ago. They served meat on the plate and vegetables in serving dishes in the middle.

They occasionally had a guest (always male) who dumped the whole serving dish of roast potatoes on their plate, leaving none for anyone else on their table. They got away with this only once - a few extra potatoes would be brought out with a warning that the serving dish was for the whole table and there were no seconds. I imagine that there were some interesting conversations around those tables....

It was only a problem with roast potatoes.

Just nonsense, children should eat plenty at dinner time or they will be moaning they are hungry after. I find all this portion control stuff really OTT
I'd rather my kids have a decent lunch and don't stuff themselves at diner time for the sake of it, they only go to bed shortly after, they don't need to eat that much.

And if you're full leave it
I don't want to encourage my kids to waste food. They help themselves reasonably, finish what's in their plates and are very welcome to have seconds or thirds if they are still hungry. Piling up a plate to throw everything in the bin is ridiculous.

I hate having a food plated up for me (unless at restaurants), I don't see why I should impose it to my own kids.

Depends on the meal. Just an ordinary family meal I always plate it up.

What pots and pans and tables are some people using that seem to repel each other?
It's not either to plate of use serving dishes.
Some of us put the pans straight on the table and people take food from there.
Also, there's no need to pass lots of dishes around the table if with guests. There can be one or two people putting food on other people's plates according to demand, so that there's no waste of food.
Flexibility and using your brains should be key to ensure the least effort and best results depending on the circumstances (type of food, type of people and number of people).

For guests I'd always let them serve themselves, but if it's just for normal family meal then just plate up if you don't like the washing up.

SurgeHopper
You can't be a true Brit if you don't understand the importance of roast potatoes. In our house they are up there with gravy and bread sauce.

I never plate up (young children excepted). I absolutely hate being presented with a plate of food that's been decided for me. I will choose how much I want, and of what. It does encourage people to eat more than they would normally. My DSis' portions are enormous for example..

When it's just family I will either call people into the kitchen to serve themselves or put it on the table. I would never plate for a dinner party.

Surge sorry! I missed the emoji's! light-hearted etc

and there is no apostrophe for emoji plurals....

Four of us always plated. Guests over always help yourself.