9 Fruit Platter Presentation Ideas for the Office
Fruit platters are usually the cheapest item on a catering order, and they are the one people photograph. The difference between one that looks thrown together and one that looks catered is about ten minutes of arranging, plus knowing which fruit to cut which way.
Here are nine we build through the year, with what goes on each and how to lay it out.
Summer fruit platter
Watermelon does the heavy lifting. Cut it into triangles with the rind left on so people have something to hold, and fan them along one edge of the board. Pineapple goes in next, cut into long spears instead of rings, because rings slide off the board when it is carried.
Fill the middle with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries in blocks of one colour, not scattered through. Kiwi rounds go last, tucked into the gaps where the green will read against the red. Colour-blocking matters more here than anything else you do. Berries kept in three tidy areas read as deliberate; the same fruit spread across the whole board reads as a fruit salad.
Christmas tree fruit platter
Christmas in Melbourne is a hot-weather event, so build it from tropical fruit rather than anything that suffers in the heat. Four arrangements that work:
- Santa's hat. Strawberries in a hat shape at the centre, ringed with green grapes, kiwi slices and pomegranate seeds.
- Christmas tree. Kiwi slices as the base layer, then raspberries, grapes and kiwi chunks layered up the shape. A star cut from pineapple on top.
- Candy cane. Alternating rows of strawberries and white or green fruit, apple and pear both work, run diagonally across the board.
- Snowflakes. Snowflake shapes cut from watermelon or honeydew, laid on a bed of mixed berries so the pale shapes stand out.
If you are catering the whole office party rather than just the platter, our Christmas catering page has the per-head prices and the December booking deadlines.
Valentine's Day platter
Not every office marks it. The ones that do usually want something for the morning tea rather than anything romantic. Heart-shaped strawberries, raspberries and watermelon cut with a cutter, arranged in a loose heart on the board. A small bowl of chocolate sauce in the centre gives people somewhere to dip. Drizzled chocolate does not survive the drive, so leave it in the bowl.
Dessert fruit platter
Order this one when there is already a cake and you want something alongside it. Chocolate-covered strawberries, mini tarts and fruit skewers, laid out in rows rather than piled up. Keep the skewers at the front where people can take one without dismantling the rest of the board.
Mediterranean style
Figs, dates, citrus and olives. Halve the figs so the cut side faces up, segment the citrus, and keep the olives in a small bowl so their brine stays off everything else. It sits better next to a cheese board than next to sweets, so we tend to send it out in the afternoon.
Australia Day fruit platter
Blueberries and strawberries arranged into the Union Jack in the top corner, with the blue and red doing the work. Mango slices form the Southern Cross and apple slices fill the rest of the field.
If the flag is too fiddly for the time you have, do mango stars on a bed of strawberries. It uses the same colours for much less work, and from two metres away the difference is hard to see.
Fruit and cheese platter
Grapes, figs and apple against a few good cheeses. Keep the fruit and the cheese in separate areas of the board, because cut fruit sweats and soft cheese picks it up. Crackers go on the side, never underneath.
Melbourne Cup fruit platter
Race day sits in the first week of November, which is peak berry and stone fruit season in Melbourne. Blueberries, raspberries and orange slices give you the colour, and the board looks right next to a sweets tray. Order it as part of a wider spread, since most offices are picking at food through the whole afternoon that day. Cup Day is a public holiday in Melbourne, so our Melbourne Cup office catering guide covers which day to hold the lunch and what it costs.
Easter bunny fruit platter
Carve a watermelon into a bunny shape for the centre, then ring it with autumn fruit: apples, pears, figs and persimmons in a circle. Grapes, strawberries and kiwi fill the gaps. Easter falls in autumn here, so the seasonal fruit is completely different from what a northern-hemisphere version of this platter would use.
What a fruit platter costs
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Fresh fruit platter | $53 |
| Cheese platter | $74 |
| Fresh fruit skewers | $5.00 each |
| Fresh fruit salads | $6.80 each |
Platters come in a larger size as well. Fruit is seasonal, so the exact mix changes through the year. Watermelon, rockmelon, honeydew, grapes, strawberries and pineapple are the usual base.
For an office morning tea, budget one platter per ten to twelve people if it is sitting alongside other food, or per six to eight if the fruit is the whole offering. Order by 3pm the day before. Delivery is free to the CBD, Docklands and St Kilda Road precincts on orders over $80.
Order a fruit platter
Browse the fruit and cheese platter range or the wider catering platters menu, or get a quote and tell us the date and headcount.
Read more: healthy catering options for the office and morning and afternoon tea catering.
