Use of a charger

[vilasman]

My wife and I are having a debate on whether it is proper to use place mats and chargers at the same time and whether any plate can be used as a charger or does the charger have to be bigger than the plate used for eating

Any thoughts?

[*Deborah*]

I have no idea about the propriety or otherwise of placemats with.

I would say the charger should be bigger than the plate above it, with the possible exception of an oversize soup or pasta dish.

I would say that any oversized plate can act as a charger, or if you are serving in smaller plates/bowls, a regular dinner-sized plate would work.

On the other hand, anything that looks OK to you is OK, too

[Marlene]

The charger should be bigger than the plate. And yes, you can use place mats and chargers at the same time.

[vilasman]

Argh! why must she be right

[Marlene]

Sorry. I entertain a lot. I also just got back from a bunch of seminars put on by the Gourmet Institute and one of them was the Art of Setting a Table, given by the Style Director at Gourmet.

She was pretty clear on the use of chargers, placemats etc. You wouldn't use chargers and placements together for a formal setting, but certainly for a casual one, absolutely.

Edited October 24, 2006 by Marlene (log)

[bleachboy]

I thought that typically you set the charger down but then took it away before any food was served? Therefore, the charger would need to be impressive but wouldn't necessarily need to be functional nor any particular size.

I could be wrong, though. I entertain well, but I'm no Emily Post.

(Also, we nearly always use placemats as our table is bare wood. Sometimes we use a tablecloth, but primarily we prefer placemats, usually black.)

[Marlene]

The charger remains for the first and second courses, but is removed for the main course. So if your having soup and salad or another appetizer and soup or salad, the charger stays for those courses. If you are only serving a main course, the table is set with the charger, and then the dinner plate on top, and is removed before serving.

The charger is also set flush to the table edge, while the dinner plate, when the charger is removed, is set about an inch in from the table.

Formal place setting.

More casual place setting.

Edited October 24, 2006 by Marlene (log)

[Smithy]

Well...er...I'm going to just show my ignorance in the hopes of learning something. What is the purpose of the charger? I'd always assumed it was to protect something (one's hands, the table) from a very hot dinner plate. Marlene's place settings, which are lovely, don't seem to support that theory. Why bother with the charger, except as an excuse for more china?

[Marlene]

Actually, they're Gourmet's place settings, not mine. They are from this weekend's past seminar on "The Art of the Table". In any event. the word charger is adapted from the french chargier, meaning to load. When chargers were first used, (in the 1300's,) they were used as platters for serving meats, or "loading meats on a platter or chargier". They became popular in the 1800's as an "underplate" for a formal setting, but it's only in the last few years that chargers have become popular again. Today, they really are just used as a way to make your table look nice. Like centrepieces, for example. In a formal place setting, they add a touch of elegance to the table, and in a casual one, they add some fun.

At one time, chargers were only ever used for formal place settings, but as the trend to casual entertaining continues, people look for ways to brighten up their tables with a variety of centrepieces and other things, and chargers are now being made in less formal dinnerware, , in stoneware, brass, and even plastic for the outdoor entertainer!

Me? I still lean to the old school way, and only use chargers in a formal setting, rarely in a casual one.

Edited October 25, 2006 by Marlene (log)

[lancastermike]

Actually, they're Gourmet's place settings, not mine.   They are from this weekend's past seminar on "The Art of the Table".  In any event.    the word  charger is adapted from the french chargier, meaning  to load. When chargers were first used,  (in the 1300's,) they were used as platters for serving meats, or "loading meats on a platter or chargier".  They became popular in the 1800's as an "underplate" for a formal setting, but it's only in the last few years that chargers have become popular again.  Today, they really are just used as a way to make your table look nice.  Like centrepieces, for example.  In a formal place setting, they add a touch of elegance to the table, and in a casual one, they add some fun. 

At one time, chargers were only ever used for formal place settings, but as the trend to casual entertaining continues, people look for ways to brighten up their tables with a variety of centrepieces and other things, and chargers are now being made in less formal dinnerware, , in stoneware, brass, and even plastic for the outdoor entertainer! 

Me?  I still lean to the old school way, and only use chargers in a formal setting, rarely in a casual one.

←

The depth of my pal Marlene's knowledge never ceases to amaze me. At my house the formal setting means I will use a paper towel instead of the back of my sleeve, put the empties in the trash instead of throwing them out the window, and I won't let the dogs lick the dishes till everyone is finished eating.

[Smithy]

[Lactic Solar Dust]

How about no chargers, place mats, or even plates at all? Would not a discussion on the different surfaces available to eat off of make for an interesting topic? How about no surface at all?

[Busboy]

How about no chargers, place mats, or even plates at all?  Would not a discussion on the different surfaces available to eat off of make for an interesting topic?  How about no surface at all?

←

I seem to recall from Jacque Pepin's memoire that when, as a child, he was sent out of occupied Paris to stay on the farm with poor relatives, he at at a heavy wooden table into which bowls had been carved. They simply ladled the stew into the into the hollows on the table, and wiped them clean (with stale bread, no doubt) after dinner. Makes the prospect of setting an extra place for guests a little daunting.

Marlene: those settings look as though they're ready for what used to be described to me a "Russian Service", where the the waiter serves a course on the top vessel to each guest around the table; clears after the guests are finished, revealing the plate for the next course; and repeats the process, like Maxwell Smart trying to get into Control HQ, until the final plate is reached. Is that the case? Or do they clear the whole setting? Or is that just for show.

Chez moi, when we dig the china out, we do it as I learned in a formal French restaurant: we have the chargers in front of the guests when they sit down and leave them through a drink and perhaps an amuse, until they are whisked away for the first course (only to re-appear with the main course, because I like big plates).

[Marlene]

Correct busboy. Each course is served, then removed, till the charger is the only plate left. Then the charger is removed, and the dinner plate put in its place. Russian service or very formal service, (white glove). For slightly less formal, but still elegant, it would be done more your way. leave for the first course or amuse,

Edited October 26, 2006 by Marlene (log)