10 Creative Pizza Plating Ideas
Pizza is an iconic, global dish that originated in Naples and is now enjoyed worldwide. It’s the perfect blank canvass for chefs and home cooks alike. You can stick with traditional toppings, or get creative with unexpected ingredients like smoked salmon, capers, and field greens, or even dessert pizzas. Whether you like soft flatbread, crispy Neapolitan, Chicago-style deep dish, or enormous New York-style slices, once you decide on your dough, your options for toppings are almost endless.
Americans eat about 100 acres of pizza a day. With such a high level of commitment to this cheesy delight, let’s explore some creative ways for foodservice operators to plate one of the country’s go-to menu items.
Elevate your pizza service from casual to elegant with this textured board. The black semi-gloss finish hides fingerprints and the rectangular shape is perfect for accommodating flatbreads. The foot under the board makes a natural yet hidden rim that’s easy for servers and/or guests to pick up without getting their fingers too close to the pizza.
Products Used:
14″ x 7″ Black Faux Slate Melamine Display Board: SB-1471-BK
Perfect for personal pizzas, this 11-inch melamine board has friendly, round edges that nicely complement pizza’s most popular shape. Faux birch wood adds a nice touch of rustic, natural elements. The handle is not just useful for serving, it creates an overall look that’s reminiscent of large paddles used to remove pizza from hot, wood-burning ovens.
Products Used:
11″ Round Faux Birch Wood Melamine Serving Board: Coming Soon!
Classic white on a contemporary rectangular tray positions brands as in tune with modern plating techniques while giving a nod to tradition. The raised edges create a soft valley that draws your guests’ eyes to the center of the plate, which is the perfect shape for flatbread. Slick, yet gentle styling on this piece softens the raised edges, resulting in a seamless look throughout.
Products Used:
15″ x 7.5″ White Melamine Tray: ML-287-W
A twist on the round birch board above, this faux oak paddle is slightly darker with more pronounced wood grains. The rectangular shape leans on modern design, and the handle facilitates serving from a tray or counter. If flatbread appears on your appetizer menu, the long shape of this board fits well in the center of a table leaving plenty of room for the entree dishes to follow.
Products Used:
11″ x 5.5″ Faux Oak Wood Melamine Serving Board: SB-1155-OW
Operators love this rectangular grid basket because it’s so versatile. You can use it to plate flatbread pizza or other appetizers on your menu. There’s even enough room to nestle some ramekins on the side to incorporate house dipping sauces. You’ll definitely want to use a food-safe paper liner with this basket. Not only will it keep your food from coming into contact with unapproved surfaces like servers’ hands, it makes for super quick and easy cleanup when your guests are finished.
Products Used:
14″ x 7″ Metal Grid Basket: 4-35814
12″ x 12″ Grease-Resistant Food-Safe Paper: 4-TS4010
This reversible pizza stand is double the fun with a 9-inch diameter on one end and a 7-inch diameter on the other. You can use the same stand to serve a salad course in a 1-quart bowl (pictured on left), then flip it over to accommodate a larger pizza stand for the main course (pictured on right). The height adds depth to your tabletop, which is both aesthetically pleasing and functional because it allows plenty of room for your guests’ personal entree plates.
Products Used:
7″ Tall Reversible Pizza Stand: IR-512
1 qt. White Textured Melamine Bowl: ML-78-W
20 oz. SAN Plastic Orbisª Tumbler: SW-1520-CL
We love this adorable setup because it puts a mini spin on traditional pizza stands and plating. The 8-inch Chopstix Stand offers enough height to draw diners’ focus toward the dish while not disturbing their line of sight across the table. The stand is comfortably accommodates an appetizer-sized pizza on a 10.25-inch plate. For an added operational perk, the stand is collapsible, so it takes up very little room in storage compared to other pizza risers.
Products Used:
8″ Collapsible Pizza Stand: WX01
10.25″ Black Melamine Round Plate with Ripple Texture: ML-82-BK
Go the popular minimalist route with these chrome-plated wire plate risers and white plates. The simple design puts the focus on your pizza, the star of the show, and allows for placement of dipping sauces or other service accessories (that fit, of course) beneath the plate. Available in 4- and 7-inch heights, you have options for how tall you’d like your plates to be while enjoying the extra space and depth created by lifting your entree off the table with these stands.
Products Used:
9.5″ Chrome-Plated Wire Plate Holder 4″ Tall: WS-4
9.5″ Chrome-Plated Wire Plate Holder 7″ Tall: WS-7
10.5″ White Melamine Round Plate with Ripple Texture: 207-5-1-W
Crafted with casual elegance in mind, the woven pattern on this white rectangular plate adds a touch of subtle texture that your guests will find inviting. It speaks to attention to detail that feels natural and comfortable. Raised, rounded edges hold your flatbread in place and make it easy for servers to move this piece from the tray to the table while keeping their hands a safe distance from your guests’ food. Additionally, the texture does a great job hiding smudges and fingerprints.
Products Used:
12″ x 7″ White Melamine Platter with Woven Texture: CS-1270-CN-W
A different style of minimalism, this faux granite melamine board is the epitome of sleek and modern. Clean, sharp lines at first glance are gently offset by ever-so-subtle variances around the edges for a hand-made, artisanal feel. The toned-down design lends itself to the emerging urban industrial dcor, popular at many high-end foodservice establishments around the country. While this look brings so much to the table in terms of style, it’s understated enough to allow the attention to stay on your beautiful flatbread pizza.
Products Used:
14″ x 7″ Faux Granite Melamine Matte Display: SB-1473-GW
We hope you enjoyed this tour of creative ways to plate your pizza masterpieces. Now go conquer your foodservice operation one beautifully plated pie at a time. If you love this as much as we hope you do, stop by our creative plating series and see what else we have in store for you.
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