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I used to think that outside of a cafeteria, there were only two uses for serving trays: (1) serving your mother breakfast in bed once a year and (2) arranging a round of cocktails or snacks somewhere away from the kitchen during a party to prevent kitchen bottleneck.
But after eating hundreds (thousands?) of meals in my apartment during lockdown times, I’ve emerged as a person who routinely breaks their former rule of always eating at the kitchen table. There are plenty of good reasons to keep a dining routine that doesn’t require little trays of treats and drinks and snacks carried around the house. There are also plenty of good reasons for doing whatever the hell you want. If you’d like a brownie waiting beside your bath or a full aperitivo spread deskside to muscle through your final meetings, do it. Dress it up. Break out the tray and the good cocktail napkin. Enjoy it. Here are some trays I love:
A dressed-up sheet pan
I've written before about the way a sheet pan can work wonders outside of the oven for keeping your kitchen countertop organized. But of course the sheet pan also functions perfectly as a tray for serving food. The utilitarian metal classic can be fun for charcuterie and snacks, but it would be way more fun to go for one of the Great Jones numbers below that are coated in colorful nonstick surfaces so they're easy to clean and look great on the table as a serving piece.
Enamel two ways
These enamel-coated metal trays from art supply shop Blick are actually butcher trays, which artists often use as palettes. They can withstand a good amount of scraping with a metal palette knife or anything you layer on top of them, and they start at just $11. Use them to serve after-school snacks, to tidy your fridge shelf, or to organize your countertop.
For a more dressed-up version of this go for this gold and cream variety from Target. This beauty looks just as good as a jewelry catchall, a home for candles (in glass votive holders; I wouldn’t drip wax on these), or as a stage for your martinis.
Classic wood
Here’s the breakfast-in-bed classic: a simple wood tray with handles for little ones to grip on to as they make the precarious trip up the stairs with that wobbly glass of OJ on Mother’s Day. There is no stopping you from using this one for breakfast in bed any other day of the year. Or, load it with a good book and a strong drink and deposit it bathside.
A playful option
During my initial foray into tray collecting during quarantine, I wanted all of the decor in my house to be playful. A wacky, brightly-colored tray is just the right amount of a new style: You won’t get sick of it, like you would with, say, an impromptu quarantine-inspired paint job on the living room walls.
Simple stoneware
The look of a handmade ceramic tray (at a much more approachable price). If your kitchen is more country than modern, the soft edges and slightly streaky whitewashing on this tray might fit right in.
