The No Fuss Way to Feed a Crowd! [Win $95 of Serveware]


The weather is slowly but surely starting to heat up and we’re getting a glimpse of those long hot summer days which are upon us. Long hot summer days spent with your family and friends is always the best part about summer rolling around.

The struggle with these long hot summer days is how to feed a crowd without getting stressed out?! I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be slaving over a stove and getting my kitchen super hot in the middle of summer. Sometimes you also don’t feel like eating a full hot meal like you would in winter.

The answer?? PLATTERS!

 

The no fuss way to feed a crowd, with out the stress! Platters

Platters are super easy to put together and can easily be customised to feed a large crew, you don’t need to turn the oven on and make your house even warmer and you can leave the platters out for everyone to graze on as they get hungry.

Stick around to the end of this post to find out how you can WIN an awesome platter prize worth over $95 (The prize was so awesome I may have accidentally purchased the same platters for ourselves ;))

The no fuss way to feed a crowd, with out the stress! Platters

Important Elements of a Platter

While platters are easy to put together there are a few important elements which should always be included:

// Vehicle
The vehicle for your platter is the ingredient which forms the base for everything else to fall on top of, for our platter I used the Baked Flatbread by Huntley & Palmers. These Flatbread come in a variety of flavours including the new Caramelised Onion and Sesame, Cumin & Coriander and the versatile Toasted Sesame.

You can choose a mixture of vehicles or just stick to the one and have a few different flavours like I did, it’s your platter, your choice!

The no fuss way to feed a crowd, with out the stress! Platters

// Cheese
Every platter needs to have at least one sort of cheese on it, if not more. You don’t need to go crazy with cheeses but a couple of good cheese is always nice. I find it quite good to chop up some of the harder cheeses into small squares to make it easier for your guests.

// Protein
If you’re going to have platters for your meal then you should look at adding a few different sources of protein on your platter. Our protein came from a mixture of different deli style meats as well as the cheeses which I mentioned above.

The no fuss way to feed a crowd, with out the stress! Platters

// Crunch
A little bit of crunch always goes down nicely in a platter. It’s a nice change from the other textures and you really feel like you can sink your teeth into it. I have used the Baked Flatbread by Huntley & Palmers as well as a few nuts for my crunch factor on my platter.

// Sweet
It’s always nice to have a little something sweet on your platter, or you can do what I have done and create two separate platters, one sweet and one savoury for your guests to mix and match. Try my Christmas Flatbread Bark (recipe below) creation which can be made in only a few minutes and prepared ahead of time so you don’t need to dart away to the kitchen while your guests are there.

The no fuss way to feed a crowd, with out the stress! Platters

Christmas Flatbread Bark Recipe

1/2 Box Toasted Sesame Baked Flatbread by Huntley & Palmers
1/4 Cup Dried Cranberries
1/2 Block White Chocolate (Or melted Cacao Butter for a low sugar option)

The no fuss way to feed a crowd, with out the stress! Platters

Thanks to Huntley & Palmers we have $95 worth of Serve ware to giveaway to one lucky winner so they can create their own platters this summer!

The winner will get:
1 * Wooden Serving Board (Doubles as a chopping Board)
1 * Eco Wooden Serving Platter (as pictured below)
1 * Black Paddle Platter (as pictured above)
1 * Cheese Knife & Pate Knife Set (as pictured above)
2 * Packs of each of the new flavors of Flatbread by Huntley & Palmers

prize pack easy summer platters

To be in to WIN simply comment below and let me know your one MUST HAVE on your platters….  Competition closes 17th November 8pm, open to NZ only. CLOSED! – Congratulations to Anya Kojis, flick us an email to claim your prize amanda@moveloveeat.com

For more inspiration check out Food To Love Here.

153 thoughts on “The No Fuss Way to Feed a Crowd! [Win $95 of Serveware]

  1. Love this post so much, and that serveware looks gorgeous!!
    My must-have for any platter is nuts (especially almonds and macadamias!!), and I have to tell you just looking at your gorgeous photos is making me hungry! oxoxo

  2. Our platters has to contain water crackers – the plainest crackers so you can taste the delicious cheese or chutneys.

  3. For me, grapes are a must-have on a platter 🙂 So yummy! Thanks for the recipe for flatbread bark, I never would have thought of that 🙂

  4. Definitely need an array of hard cheeses as well as olives, Beetroot dip, hummus, Sundried tomatoes and crackers.

  5. Camembert, pickled onion, gherkins, salami, hummus, range of crackers, grapes, strawberries, fresh pineapple

  6. I’ve been eating Huntly and Palmers cream crackers since I was little and you can’t bet them..but for platters water crackers and flat breads definitely the one…with all the relishes ,hummus ,cheeses cold meats salami’s grapes….olives ,sundried tomatoes gherkin and onions…yummm and or with a bread platter with oils and a reduced balsamic and homemade dukkuh crumbs mmm…love platters..they are so good and versatile..

  7. My must-have is cranberry raisins! They go with everything!!! Be it sweet or savory 😀

  8. Silverskin onions, mini pork pies & stuffed celery sticks to start with (that’s the pom coming out in me)

  9. I must have olives and artichoke hearts on my platter. Mmmhm. They go with everything. YUM SCRUM.

  10. Oh this serve-ware is gorgeous! Must have item on any platter is more than one cheese knife & little spoons for scooping up relish/chutneys. I always love the conversation when having a platter, its more relaxed & ongoing. So much fun!

  11. My must have is cheese, you can’t go wrong with cheese on crackers it’s an absolute essential on a platter. As well as some sweet components to contrast with the protein, grapes, cranberries, strawberries are also another must on my summer platters! Looks totally awesome need to go taste the flat breads hopefully my supermarket stocks it!

  12. Rutherford & Meyer – Fruit Paste – New Zealand made and goes amazing with camembert and goats cheese on flatbread! What a great prize!

  13. My favourite summer platter staple is crackers or flatbreads for placing tasty toppings on, such as hummus and sundried tomatoes.

  14. I flipping love platters! My must have in summer time is some delish soft cheese and crackers! Throw some grapes, nuts and cold meats in there and you’re sorted!

  15. Cheese, cheese and more cheese! That counts right? I mean, you can never have enough cheese!

  16. My must have platter item would have to be baby bell peppers stuffed with cream cheese… So so yummy!
    Also love cucumber sticks wrapped in smoked salmon.

  17. I believe every platter needs a really good quality chutney to tie items together or to have on its own on a cracker. I’m loving Tamrind chutney at the moment. It’s goes so well with everything!

  18. The platter MUST HAVE for me is triple cream brie cheese because it’s a crowd pleaser! Can’t go wrong with a delicious creamy brie 🙂

  19. feta, olives, grapes, crackers are all a go on a platter, also nice creamy blue brie goes down well

  20. Platters are my fav way to serve delish snacks when having friends over. My go to is definitely some spicy chorizo, creamy Camembert, grapes, perfectly crunchy crackers, a yummy pate & a fruit chutney! Gah I’m hungry just thinking about it!!!

  21. Some kind of really delish PESTO. there are so many diffrent kinds that can b made….soft..oily..with abit of crunch too scrummy with anything on a cheese platter.!!

  22. Every platter needs an amazing dip, preferably a yummy homemade one, to go with flatbreads. I have found some amazing recipes to try this summer – bring on the entertaining!

  23. Has to be quince paste on a cheese platter! It’s old school but a total compliment to strong cheeses- my fav!

  24. I would have to habe a large aray of deli meats on my platter all different salami, hams, pork, pastrami it all goes great with cheese and crackers!

  25. I love adding fruit to my platters…blueberries go,well,with cheese and watermelon or grapes too

  26. Must haves on my platters: Salami, Brie, Blue Cheese, Pesto, Cashews, chocolate peanuts, hummus, cucumber, tomato and olives.

  27. Flatbread maori bread toast kina crayfish half cooked kutai oyster thousand island sweet chilli pesto cheese game meat pork n chicken …a bit fresh but yuuumy oh and roock melon lol

  28. My must have is homemade basil pesto, I love the stuff! I grow heaps of basil to make it and freeze it.

  29. There are so many things that I love on a good platter, but if I had to pick one it would be a good prosciutto .

  30. My must have on a cheese plater would have to be oat cakes cheddar cheese a sherry onion jam yumm
    cheese cob loaf is always a pick of mine

  31. My must haves on a platter would be a selection of cheeses, raw nuts, deli cut meats and strawberries & grapes! Yum!

  32. I have to have a delicious homemade apricot chutney on my platters. Such a lovely accompaniment.

  33. Love Hummus, cheese, cream cheese, sauces,nuts, cut meats also the fruits strawberries and grapes…

  34. Camembert, pickled onion, gherkins, cherry tomatoes, relish, salami, meal mate crackers, grapes, fresh pineapple

  35. My fav thing on platters is cheese. I always have at least one camembert and one blue cheese. Plus often more

  36. Totally agree platters are fantastic and always a winner if cheese is involved….. so many varities and goes with so much

  37. Would love to win this , spend far too much time enjoying a good platter in the beautiful sun. Must have would be a good flatbread cracker.

  38. Must have sundried tomatoes on my platter, love having a sweet with my servings as well works well with a wine.

  39. Platter must have eye appeal. Lots of visual delights. Appeal to your taste buds. Delicious smoky meats, cheeses, gorgeous savoury crackers, crunchy healthy veggies.. A buffet of deliciousness on a plate. Come and help yourself .

  40. My must have and always the starting point is a good cheese as you can build your platter from there – cheese can be eaten by itself or teamed with any and everything else including meats, dips, veggies and of course these amazing flatbreads (that I only found out about on Saturday – SO good!!)

  41. My MUST have for any good platter is plenty of good spreads / patès / relishes – cheese and crackera go without saying, but spreads and toppings for them make it SO much more delicious. Along with a cheeky glass of wine or two! X

  42. I always need a great knife for my cheese platters, and my mother in law makes the best Tamerillo chutney it’s so good with cheese and crackers and I have just started liking olives (I don’t know until know what I was missing!) these are great ideas for making platters great and easy . always great to entertain with a glass of wine and a good chat 🙂

  43. Cheese! I can live without the rest, but all platters MUST have cheese, even if it is just a platter of only cheese! mmmmm cheese.

  44. Apart from the obvious cold meats, cheeses and spreads to go with the crackers or crusty bread, I would have gherkins, apricots and grapes.

  45. A must have for me is cranberry jelly! it’s my favourite thing to go along with strong cheeses

  46. These flatbreads are actually my latest obsession! The mixed herb ones with pumpkin and kumara hummus! Oh it’s a must try!!

  47. Very much enjoying flat bread of late!!! Very nice light summer choice to have with a variety of toppers 🙂 this would be a fab win!

  48. I find you also must have avocado and some smoked salmon besides the asortments of cheese and pickles.

  49. We always serve my mum’s amazing homemade tomato chilli relish It’s so good with sharp cheeses or even on fresh vegetables like carrots or celery.

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