It’s the trend that many diners wish to see an end to, but still chefs insist on serving up dishes on anything but a plate.
The craze hit the news again last week when EastEnders actress Tracy-Ann Oberman tweeted about her baffling dinner at a Spanish restaurant owned by acclaimed Michelin-starred chef Martin Berasategui, where a napkin was served on a rope-bound block of stone.
But she isn’t the only one to complain on social media about the very bizarre ways in which food can be plated up.
The Twitter account, We Want Plates, is dedicated to sharing the funniest images taken by diners of unorthodox ways that their food has been dished up.
And the most recent pictures will make you join the increasing number of voices demanding that restaurants return to using normal plates.
Diner Katy Cameron was horrified when she received a miniature washing line of vegetables at one pretentious restaurant
One Swiss restaurant serves up pieces of bread in a woolen slipper, bizarrely
This restaurant serves its selection of breads and cutlery on a miniature wooden chair, for no obvious reason
Glasses are traditionally designed to hold liquids, not ice cream, but one chef hasn’t got the memo
Diners who are served venison on an antler should hope that the bone was properly sterilised before it was used as a plate
Quirky, or just out of glasses? This restaurant has used a measuring jug to serve up a fizzy drink
This selection of not-so-artfully scattered cheese and crackers has oddly been served on a skateboard without the wheels
Glass of baked beans anyone? This cafe has attempted to make baked beans on toast look pretty but ended up just annoying its customers
Normally, restaurant would put broken glasses in the bin, but the chef at one restaurant misguidedly decided that it would be an arty addition to a brownie dessert (left). Meanwhile at another restaurant, a diner was bemused to receive her scampi in a bucket hanging from a metal pole (right)
Slates instead of plates are commonplace nowadays but there’s a good reason why some foods should be served on a simple plate: slates don’t have rims to contain any liquid. So if cheese melts, it will end up all over the table, as happened in this picture
We’re not sure what the chef was aiming for here as a stir fry looks very unappetising when served up in a pint glass, rather than a bowl
Wooden boards are not hygienic enough to serve food on, and restaurants have been rapped in the past for using them. That didn’t stop this eatery – but the customer didn’t hold back on what he thought of the unusual presentation
This woman asked for a slice of apple pie and ended up with a lot of cooked fruit in a jam jar, topped with a bit of crumble and half a fig. The rim of the jar would make it very hard to reach into it to eat the dessert
As if serving a portion of ketchup on a spoon wasn’t pretentious enough, this restaurant also gave the customer a tiny teacup full of vinegar. The lack of spout would prevent the diner from being able to control how much of the condiment they could put on their food
Paul Scoins ordered ‘luxury toast’ from a cafe in Harpenden – and was given one slice of toast on a slate
One lump or two? This diner wouldn’t want any sugar with this cup of tea, as the teacup is full of fishcakes, bizarrely
Last week, Tracy-Ann Oberman had her fans in stitches after revealing that her husband tried to eat his napkin after it was served on a stone block at a Spanish restaurant run by a Michelin starred chef
We Want Plates: The Crusade Against food on slates, chips in mugs, and drinks in jam jars, is out now for £7.99.