How to make a grazing platter like an Instagram pro - YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Food This is how to make a grazing platter like an Instagram pro By You Magazine - November 21, 2019 If your idea of party catering is decanting bags of crisps into the nearest available bowl, we applaud you. But if you want to try something with a little more wow-factor for your next gathering, you need to get involved in the grazing platter trend. Far from fiddly, tiny canapes that take hours to prepare, a platter is all about abundance and ease, overflowing with goods that can be nibbled on throughout a celebration, no cutlery required. And because everything is an Instagram opportunity these days, they’re also usually dressed to impressed with colourful fruit, vegetables and sprigs of foliage (indeed, the #grazingplatter hashtag has more than 50k posts and counting). Peardrop London That’s why to give you a headstart for your festive events, we’ve asked Rose Lloyd Owen, founder of Peardrop London – and creator of its delicious Moveable Feasts, which feature platters a-plenty – how to make the most impressive displays for any occasion. ‘The trend for grazing stations originally started in Australia and has slowly crept over here,’ says Rose. ‘I think people have been looking for something a little different to do at their party and grazing stations have the added bonus of being beautiful and a talking point. It’s also motivated social media – we’re always being asked for Instagrammable food.’ The easiest option is, of course, to order a platter in, but if you fancy giving creating your own a go, here’s your ultimate DIY grazing platter guide. Put yours out when the guests arrive and watch the compliments roll in. Peardrop London Colour it in ‘Break up blocks of colours with other colours – for example, lemon wedges on a plate of smoked salmon or lambs lettuce underneath pork pies,’ Rose advises. ‘Bundle charcuterie in segments of colours separate meat and cheese with sprigs of herbs. If you want to use bright edible flowers, larger ones like nasturtiums work best. Fruit is also a brilliant way to add pops of colour – try cutting three types of melon wedges (cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon) and laying them in lines together. Place things down in segments and strips to create some order and making the dish look beautiful.’ New heights ‘I’d definitely suggest altering the heights of food, as different levels are important for creating visual impact, as well as simply making things easier to reach,’ she adds. ‘You can turn anything into a riser – old wine boxes, baskets or small crates turned upside down for a more rustic look, or perspex, stone or gold containers for a more modern look. A cake stand is also a good prop and you’ve always got one stored in the cupboard.’ Porto Reactive Glaze Bowl £4 Hema Zigzag Porcelain Mini Bowl £4 99 Zara Home Bloomingville Small Orange Bowl £4 50 ASOS ENTUSIASM Bowl £9 for 4 IKEA Zuperzozial Set of 6 Bamboo Bowls £25 Urban Outfitters Pink Stoneware Condiment Set £12 50 Oliver Bonas Take a dip Everyone loves a pot of something delicious for dunking, but how do you make it work on a platter? ‘It’s nice to make little individual crudité pots with dips at the bottom for people to take and walk around with,’ says Rose. ‘Use small tumblers or even large shot glasses. I like to put dips in different sized pretty bowls and I’d always think about the garnish. Try roasting (tinned) chickpeas in smoked paprika, honey and chilli to spruce up shop-bought hummus or crumble feta and drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top of pea and mint dip.’ And the no-nos ‘Some foods don’t like to sit around, especially if it’s hot,’ Rose admits. ‘Obviously you need to be careful of fish and chicken liver pate spread on toast goes brown after a while, and kimchi I would say is a no no because of the smell!’ Peardrop London Get on board When it comes to serving everything up, chopping boards and trays are good but ‘nothing with a pattern,’ according to Rose. ‘I often find lovely things in West Elm and H&M home is good value. It’s also possible to lay food straight out onto your table, on top of food safe paper.’ Service please To plate or not to plate? ‘It’s always a tricky one but it all depends on the vibe of your party,’ Rose explains. ‘Side plates and cheese knives are necessary for a smarter event – especially where there are more of the older generation present. Napkins are essential at all times too, but if it’s a bit of a Christmas knees up, personally I like to just eat a sausage or piece of Jamon in my fingers! You can buy these cool bamboo boats and cones online, rather than plates. Otherwise, build little salads in glasses stacked on top of each other – mozzarella, rocket & griddled peach / plum, depending on the season, for example.’ Wooden Tray £12 99 H& M Elzora Chalk White Long Platter £25 Habitat Soho Home x Anthropologie Barcelona Platter £62 40 Anthropologie London Plane Platter £155 Conran Shop Edge Marble Terazzo Marble Serving Boards from £19 95 West Elm Bordallo Pinheiro Platter Leaf £27 Market For the ‘ gram ‘Ultimately, abundance is key,’ Rose concludes. ‘Fill every centimetre of your table or platter with something, leave no gaps and if it’s a smaller gathering, make the food area smaller and build up foliage, flowers, candles, plates, bread, napkins around the edges. Fruit (e.g. grapes or a pineapple) and bread are good space fillers. For me, vases of flowers are always a must-have too. ‘Flowers and foliage don’t need to be edible if they’re not in contact with the food. Eucalyptus works well and I love ferns too. Using bunches of carrots or radishes with their tops as decor always looks fun too. Other affordable options are plants, herbs in pots or foliage that you’ve grabbed from outside scattered around the table. ‘Another tip is to try and put your grazing table in the middle of the room, instead of against a wall, so people can help themselves from all sides. Make sure you have at least one person helping to keep it tidy!’ RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Kids can eat for free at these restaurants during October half-term How to make the viral negroni sbagliato with prosecco at home 7 Halloween recipes with serious hex factor Popular in Food Gabriela Peacock 14-day plan Anytime baked eggs May 23, 2021 Joe Wicks’ maple-glazed chicken thighs with Asian slaw June 6, 2021 Mary Berry is returning to TV screens for a brand new June 15, 2021 Eleanor Maidment My summer taste notes July 4, 2021 Uyen Luu’ s sticky mustard marmalade ribs July 25, 2021 Annie Bell’ s white peach bellinis recipe August 8, 2021 M& S has launched a new crunchy Caramilk-inspired golden chocolate spread August 24, 2021 Deliciously preserved pickle and jam recipes September 19, 2021 Gordon Ramsay’ s bang bang cauliflower October 3, 2021 Wow right now Clodagh McKenna’ s speedy family dinners October 24, 2021 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. 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