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October 30, 2019

9 Breathtakingly Simple Grazing Table Ideas

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Move over cheeseboard, and make room for the grazing table.  With its self-serve, better-looking-than-a-buffet-but-still-a-buffet look, throw it together with these 9 simple ideas.
Grazing table among wine tanks at Sirromet Winery

The next time you host a dinner party, consider setting up a grazing table.

You make all of it ahead of item, and guests can serve themselves.

What is a grazing table?

It's basically a massive feeding trough turned fancy.

To be honest, I had never heard of one before until I visited Sirromet Winery as part of the 2019 Wine Media Conference in Australia.

Here are 9 simple ideas to create a stunning grazing table of your one.

White tablecloth with dinner plate, silverware, and glass settings

#1 Remove any white spaces

This is really the secret to creating a breathtaking grazing table. 

As you will see from the following pictures, having all the food mixed up, bunched up, and squeezed together makes the table uber visually appealing.

#2 Add big bowls of colorful salads

These are dramatic and so easily prepared ahead of time.  Serve in large bowls and disperse throughout the table.

Kale, feta, butternut squash salad

Kale salad with thin slices of butternut squash, red onion, and feta cheese.

Spread of romain salad, mussles, crackers, and cheese

Baby romaine lettuce with green beans, chicken breast, and corn.

Potato, cherry tomato, green bean, and egg salad

Vegetarian nicoise salad with hardboiled eggs, green beans, potatoes and cherry tomatoes.

#3 Add height

If the table is completely flat, the look falls flat too.

Grazing table elevated with a long board across round wooden planks

A long plank spread across two slices of tree trunks adds height and interest to the table.

Use any combination of shoeboxes covered with cloth or cutting boards propped up on top of cans.

#4 Lay food on top of food

That seems obvious, but food can look lonely on a plate all by itself.  A plank of smoked salmon is accentuated by other seafood and meats on top of it.

Smoked salmon on a wooden plank on a grazing table

Rather than putting shrimp in a separate bowl, lay it on top of the smoked salmon, along with prosciutto, salami, and anything else that will fit.

#5 Add flowers and shrubbery

Large flowers and any other green shrubs sprinkled on top of the table further the visual interest.

Desserts, crackers, fruit, and salami on a grazing table

#6 Skip the fruit bowl

Splay cut fruit rather than chopping it up into pieces in a bowl.

Assorted fruit, breadsticks, and chocolate sauce on a grazing table

A bowl of chocolate sauce next to the fruit is rather convenient too.

#7 Pile mussels on the half shell into a bowl

So often, I've seen mussels on the half shell spread out on to a plate.  They look much cozier here piled up in a bowl.

Fruit spread on a cheese board

#8 Make a cold mess

It's not a hot mess; it's a cold mess.

Anything that can sit at room temperature (cheese, fruit, meat, cookies, breadsticks) look great jumbled all together.

Fig, dessert, and cheese spread

#9 Set a simple table

Since the grazing table is so busy, a simple white table clothed dining table with minimal flowers provides a nice contrast.

Long white table with dining chairs at Sirromet Winery

Don't forget the wine

Feature bottles of wine, jugs of water, and other beverages on a separate table, so you don't create a bottleneck at the grazing table.

Sirromet wine glass and table setting

Photos are featured from the grazing table at Sirromet Winery in Queensland, Australia.

Finally, in case you don't think it goes together, it does.

The grazing table makes great bedfellows of food and people too that gather around it.

More Food & Wine Pairing Ideas

5 Iconic Abruzzo Wines from Torre Zambra

South African Chenin Blanc Paired with Vietnamese Food?

Top 5 Chablis Pairings with Japanese Food

Do you love pairing food with wine?  Spread the ♥, and please share!

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