Food presentation in restaurants / pubs

I don't like eating out. I avoid it like the plague. As for serving food on wooden boards - yuk! I read an article that warned of the dangers of putting wooden implements in a dishwasher as they end up with more germs than they went in with. The level of hygiene is a disgrace in most establishments and don't get me started with kitchen staff who do not wear nets or hats

I was a bit surprised to have my Eton Mess served up in a plain glass jam jar - why?

I agree, I have started asking for a plate before the waitress/waiter walks away.Its to fiddely and I don't seem to enjoy my meal the same.

As long as we don't end up with those grubby baskets used to serve pub food in the 70s.

i was told by the owner of a very up market coastal restaurant to ask for child size portions... after we explained they offered too much food for one person and asked for two plates and one meal ... she said they would not mind at all... especially if you just said... your portions are too big for us...

Can I throw in a word about deconstructed meals? When I order ravioli I want something that has been "lovingly hand crafted" not some sheets of pasta floating in stock with a few dollops of meat and cheese. If I have Eton Mess I want it to be a mess! Not separate little stacks of strawberries and meringue with a tiny pot of cream.

I think it can be fun, enjoyed breakfast on a shovel in Cornwall.

On a shovel? Makes the split breadboard I got seem quite reasonable now!

Charleygirl just ask for a spoon and they'll get one for you quite quickly.

Haha, I second the 'We Want Plates' social media group. Hilarious. I'd rather go hungry than eat some of what's being served on those groups.

Oh good- I'm not alone.I must look up the We want plates website.Next time I visit the pub with the board I shall definitely ask,very nicely, for a plate.

PS : to whoever said we are vindictive, I think that's a strange choice of word ( pedants please excuse the grammar). Eating out is expensive these days , and not supposed to be a challenge.

Gotta live dangerously, Chewbacca!

I like a plate but I ate my breakfasts for a year in Thailand off banana leaves, out of I should say as the food was wrapped (parcelled up hygienically) in banana leaf. That tradition I didn't mind and it never caused any difficulties.

Didn't we used to wrap things like butter in cabbage leaves?

Oh, Deedaa, I so agree. Brittany Ferries served me a mushroom risotto last year. Long narrow plate. two spoons of plain risotto one end, a couple of (unheaped) tablespoons of mushrooms the other and a collection of salad leaves in the middle.

When I go out to eat a meal I want good quality food well cooked and well served. I am more than willing to try new flavours and new foods but I want it served in a way that makes it easy to eat, savour and enjoy. If I want to look at a work of art, I will visit a Gallery.

I saw a couple of food photos in a colour supplement recently. They were so beautifully artistic that they it made them entirely offputting as dishes to eat.

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