Alfresco Dining, Picnics and the Tableware Pieces That Make Summer Easier

Summer eating has a different feel to it.

It is less about formal place settings and more about sharing. A quiche on the table. A jug of something cold. Bowls of salad. Pickles, chutneys, olives, dips, bread, fruit, cheese, and someone inevitably asking where the serving spoons have gone.

Whether it is a picnic, garden lunch, weekend BBQ or “let’s eat outside because the sun has made a rare appearance”, the right tableware pieces can make the whole thing feel more relaxed, useful and attractive.

This is where discontinued china and pre-loved tableware really comes into its own. You do not always need a full matching dinner service. Sometimes you just need one or two pretty, practical pieces that make the table look properly put together.

Flan and quiche dishes

A good flan or quiche dish is one of those summer pieces that earns its keep.

It is useful for quiche, obviously, but also for tarts, cold pies, roasted vegetables, tomato salads, bread, fruit or anything that looks better served low and open rather than hidden in a deep bowl.

The shape makes a difference. A flan dish sits nicely in the middle of a table and lets the food be seen. It feels made for sharing, which is exactly what summer eating should be about.

We currently have a few good examples in stock, including the Royal Worcester Evesham Gold quiche/flan dish, a Poole Pottery Summer Glory flan/quiche dish, and the Poole Pottery Vineyard flan/quiche dish. All three have the right sort of feel for a summer table without being too precious.

Jugs and pitchers for the table

Large jugs and pitchers are another summer favourite.

They are useful for water, squash, iced tea, homemade lemonade, Pimms-style drinks, or simply as an attractive way to get drinks onto the table without half a dozen bottles sitting around.

A proper jug also makes a table feel more considered. It is a small thing, but it changes the mood. A plastic bottle says “everyone fend for yourself”. A jug says “I made an effort, even if the burgers are slightly more charcoal than planned”.

For summer dining, I would usually look for jugs of around one and a half to two pints or more where available. Such as the 4 pint pitcher in Poole Pottery "Dorset Fruit". Smaller milk jugs and cream jugs are lovely, but they are more useful for sauces and dressings than drinks. Larger jugs are better suited to the centre of the table.

Ramekins, the small but useful heroes

Ramekins are often listed as cookware, but in summer they become excellent little serving dishes.

They are just the right size for chutney, pickles, olives, dips, butter, mustard, salsa, hummus, nuts, crisps, chilli sauce or that mystery relish someone brought and nobody can identify.

They are also easy to dot around the table, so people are not constantly reaching over each other. For BBQs especially, ramekins are one of the most useful pieces you can have.

Current examples include Royal Worcester Evesham Gold ramekins, Marks & Spencer Harvest ramekins, and Johnson Brothers Eternal Beau ramekin dishes. Different looks, same useful job.

Hors d’oeuvre dishes and divided serving pieces

Hors d’oeuvre dishes sound rather formal, but they are secretly brilliant summer tableware.

The divided sections make them ideal for olives, pickled onions, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, cucumber, crisps, dips, nuts, cheese cubes, little crackers, or anything that wants to be served in small amounts without taking over the table.

They are especially good when eating outside because they keep things tidy. Instead of five little bowls all fighting for space, one divided dish can do the job neatly.

Pieces such as the Royal Worcester Country Garden hors d’oeuvre dish or the Poole Pottery Sky Blue & Dove Grey hors d’oeuvre tray are good examples of tableware that feels both decorative and useful.

Serving dishes that do more than one job

Summer tableware works best when it is flexible.

A souffle dish can become a salad bowl. A casserole base can hold potatoes. A shallow serving bowl can take pasta salad, fruit, bread rolls or crisps. A gravy boat can serve dressing or sauce. A small jug can hold cream, vinaigrette or mint sauce.

This is one of the reasons discontinued tableware is so useful. Pieces were often made as part of larger ranges, but they do not have to be used exactly as originally intended.

If a piece looks good, holds the food properly and works on the table, that is enough.

It does not all have to match

For formal dining, a matching set can look wonderful.

For summer eating, a little mixing can be part of the charm.

A floral flan dish, a plain white bowl, a stoneware jug, a few colourful ramekins and a useful serving platter can sit very happily together, especially outside. The table does not need to look like a wedding breakfast. It just needs to look inviting.

In fact, summer dining is a good excuse to use pieces that might not come out every day. The slightly brighter pattern, the odd serving dish, the inherited jug, the quiche dish that does not match anything else but somehow works perfectly with everything.

Pre-loved pieces are perfect for relaxed summer tables

There is also something very sensible about using pre-loved tableware for BBQs, picnics and garden meals.

It is better quality than disposable tableware, more attractive than plastic, and often more interesting than buying something new just for one season. It also gives older pieces a fresh purpose.

That does not mean taking your finest bone china into a field and hoping for the best. Common sense still applies. But for garden tables, patio lunches and relaxed family gatherings, pre-loved serving pieces can be ideal.

They bring character to the table without needing everything to be perfect.

A few pieces can change the whole table

You do not need a full new set to make summer dining feel special.

A good quiche dish, a larger jug, a handful of ramekins and one attractive divided serving dish can make a surprising difference. They help organise the food, add colour and shape to the table, and make everything feel more relaxed and generous.

That is really what alfresco dining is about.

Not matching everything perfectly. Not fussing too much. Just bringing good food, useful pieces and people together around the table while the weather behaves itself for half an hour.

You can browse our current stock of replacement china and discontinued tableware on the website. If you are looking for something specific for summer serving, from flan dishes to ramekins, jugs or serving pieces, our Matching Your China service may also help.

Because sometimes the piece you are looking for is not about completing a set.

Sometimes it is just the one that makes this weekend’s BBQ table look lovely.