CHARGE INTO HOME ENTERTAINING

Lacquered Gold Dot Chargers Available At Target



Anna Weatherley "Solid Powder Blue" Charger at Bloomingdale's

The charger plate (also known as a “service plate”) historically made its appearance at formal occasions but more and more people are using them at all types of dining celebrations. The charger plate is an additional way of adding a splash of color or a dash of elegance and fancy to your tablescape. I prefer to use beautiful napery, flowers, and centerpieces to dress-up my table. To me there is usually enough china, serving pieces, silverware, and crystal stemware and I don’t want to add any extras. But to each her own. Here are the general etiquette rules governing charger plates.

The charger is already on the table (placed where the entrée plate belongs in the table setting) when the guests are seated. Food is never directly placed on it.

The charger remains on the table and the soup bowl (sometimes with an underliner) and appetizer plates (essentially anything served before your main course) are placed on top of the charger. It is proper etiquette to remove the charger (and the food-bearing plate) before the entrée course is served.

Charger plates definitely add an extra element to any table – in addition to the formal china they can be made out of different materials such as silver, wood, pewter, wicker, mother of pearl, and brass. Do you use charger plates?

Villeroy & Boch "Verona" Charger at Bloomingdale's

Jay Imports Wicker Charger at Bloomingdale's