Meals served on wooden boards

[Lotty]

When I was little, I remember butchers planing the block at the end of the day to clean them. I think that's why they always had undulating surfaces. There is a lovely old one in Fethiye market. I also prefer eating from a pristine white plate and even though they are deemed safe, I am reluctant to eat meat from a wooden board.   

[Jacqui Harvey]

A lot of the ones I have seen at Auction are stained red and have big lumps out of them done when the butcher was chopping through bones and chopped a lump out of the block.
Another thing that makes good money now are old wooden bread plates.  Some just say "Bread" on them some of the ones that were ordered from carpenters have thistles designs and sometimes family names.  I wonder how often they were sterilised. Most of them have lots of knife marks. 

[honeycombe]

Yes agree,  definately prefer plates to wooden boards,  recently went to a lunch where my cod and chips was served on a board.  Not impressed.    Another thing that  I wonder about is how thoughly forks get washed up,  many people I know including people who have washed up while staying with me just do a quick wipe over the front and back.   I always discreetly do them again with my brush to get between the prongs.  Lol

[chris35]

I think it would be much simpler to serve the food directly onto the table and cut out the middle man.

[davybill]

seems one of the most popular restaurants in Calis use them. Casa De Mamas,
don't see anyone complaining, and its hard to get a table weekends.

[angela]

My particular foible is people who stub out cigarettes on plates at the end of a meal, which makes my stomach turn just to think about it. The very idea that someone could do that on a wooden board that I am going (potentially) to eat off gives me the heebie jeebies, so it's a no from me! *shudders*

[sadler]

Couldn't agree more about the cigarettes being stubbed out but would anyone do it on a planka? Probably, but not in my company! 

[honeycombe]

Must admit never seen that done bur sounds utterly gross

[Firo]

Have eaten of many wooden plankas in many different restaurants over the years and never had any problems so I have no qualms about using them.
On the other hand I have many qualms about the ethos of trying to kill all know bacteria. It's only by coming into contact with some bacteria that we humans build up resistance and playing in mud did me no harm..
I am more concerned about watching them cut all different meats on the same plastic board in Migros today...
Some of the best restaurants and busiest use them... Nil Bar, Bella Mammas, Buzz Bar, Mancero, Jamie Olivers places in UK etc etc
We all need a certain immunity to bacteria to be able to live and the only way to build up that immunity is to be exposed to it.

[Colwyn]

This thread reminded me that I haven't oiled my chopping boards for a while. So I got it done this afternoon. Thanks for that.

As for eating on wooden tables ... here is a story a friend told me. He was holidaying in Crete and hired a taxi for the day to explore the interior of the island. Up in the mountains his driver asked if he wanted to stop for a drink - perhaps a taste of mountain raki? He settled into a session at a village bar. After a while the driver asked if he wanted to have lunch in this place, which he promised would be the very the best of Cretan food. So he agreed. The landlady of the place prepared for the meal by picking up the raki bottle, pouring a goodly amount of it over the table and wiping it all round with a cloth evidently as a sterilizing procedure. She did serve the food on plates though.