Happy November! Isn’t it exciting to think that Thanksgiving is just 20 days away? All summer long the shop has been filling up with vintage and antique platters in anticipation of the big turkey day soon to arrive.
Unlike some other pieces of dishware in the kitchen, a large platter is pretty much essential when it comes to dealing with big food for a big crowd. Big plates are one of those items you can’t really skimp on or try to improvise with something else. I know because I’ve tried. Back in the day when I lived in several tiny apartments in New York City with either no room for a big dish or no extra room in the budget to buy a big dish, I tried all sorts of creative ways to present a turkey.
There was the year of the giant wood board, when the roasting juices ran all over the table. There was the year of serving it in a speckled enameled roasting pan, which I hoped was going to look wonderfully homey but instead looked wonderfully woebegone. There was the year we hoisted the turkey up on an elevated cooling rack, only to have it slip and slide around each time we attempted to carve it. That next year, the turkey was carved in the kitchen and separated out onto several dinner sized plates according to white meat and dark meat, but that lacked all the festive pomp and circumstance of bringing a big bird to the table. Then I found an antique platter on a weekend getaway trip in South Carolina and everything got a whole lot easier. Every Thanksgiving turkey since has come to rest on this two hundred year old dish that originally came from England…
It is my most prized treasure in the kitchen. The cracks and the crazing and the beautiful staining carry so many stories. It has a lovely decorative backstamp and a deep rim which is perfect for holding not only the turkey, but also all the herbs and the onions and the citrus fruit that go with it for presentation. I don’t have to worry about the juice running all over anymore or the bird slipping and sliding as we carve it.
I love this platter so much it gets used for non-holiday meals too like tacos, cheese and crackers, charcuterie, etc. Everytime I use it I think about how I’m adding another layer, another meal, to its 200 years of meals. And that feels exciting. I like to think about what the Victorian Englanders would say about their platter being used as a serving dish for 21st century tacos. I like to think about all the Thanksgiving turkeys that have been presented here on this very platter over the course of two centuries. And I like to imagine the people who used this dish and how they carried it and where they lived. I love that it is not only a platter but it’s also a piece of history from other people’s past lives.
This summer I overheard a conversation between two women at an estate sale who were talking about tableware. One woman remarked on the fact that she had a different platter for every holiday. And that her collection, a mix of vintage pieces and contemporary pieces, acted as the anchor for her table decorating decisions every year. She went on to say how it made party planning easier because she knew what food looked good on which platter and what colors worked together and which didn’t. Her platters helped narrow down the choices of what to make and how to serve it.
Her friend responded by saying that she only owned three platters – all plain white and all in different sizes. She admitted that she used them but didn’t love them and certainly never thought of them as inspiration for her table decor.
The collector explained that it had taken over a decade to find just the right platters but now that her collection was complete and all the holidays were accounted for, she looked forward to celebrating each occasion, anticipating new memories while remembering old ones. The two friends went back and forth about holiday decorations, and other things not related, but the best part of this story comes when it circled back around to the platters and the collector who had one for each holiday. “Mine feel like old friends,” the collector said. “I look forward to seeing them every time I pull them from the cabinet.”
For four months that conversation has stuck in my head and I’ve thought of that woman, the collector, every time I’ve been out curating items for the shop. I think it is her, and all the like-minded dish lovers out that I have been shopping for all along. I love the fact that her platter collection is now a tradition and helps carry sentiment along with food and festivity.
I wanted to help bring that sense of nostalgia to your table too, in hopes that you would find a new friend and a new helper from history. One that would make your party planning and your table setting easier and more interesting at the same time. From now until November 9th, the kitchen shop is hosting a 20% off sale on all platters, antique and vintage. They run the gamut as far as styles and patterns from traditional to boho, plain to fancy, and small to large. A little something for everyone.
As with all the items in the kitchen shop, my greatest desire is to pair old pieces up with new people so that the stories of food and family and history can continue to thrive long into this century and many more beyond. Hope you find a platter that’s suited just for you!
To see a list of all the platters available in the shop click here or visit the serving pieces section here and hunt around yourself. All eligible pieces have already been marked down so you don’t need to worry about entering coupon codes or any additional sales info upon checkout.
Happy friend finding!
In the Vintage Kitchen: Where History Comes To Eat 