How do I carry plates and glasses the right way as a server?

Step by step

Say you’re running three entrées and a round of waters to a four-top (illustrative).

1. 1Plates: support them from underneath, with your thumb on the outer edge and well away from the food. Take fewer and make a second trip.
2. 2Hot plates: use a tray, or a waiter’s cloth or pad. Plates from under a heat lamp are hot.
3. 3Glasses: carry them on a tray, or by the base or lower part. Never with fingers inside or on the rim.
4. 4Silverware: hold forks, knives, and spoons by the handles only.
5. 5Tray: heaviest items in the middle, balanced on your forearm and hand, elbow in. Carry it at a height you can see over.
6. 6At the table: stand next to the guest instead of reaching across. In a booth, it’s fine to ask the guest on the end to pass a plate.

Not tax or legal advice. The grips in steps 1 and 3 are practical technique, not wording from the Food Code. The rule is that your fingers stay off the food- and lip-contact surfaces.

Plain English

What the Food Code says about tableware

The FDA Food Code is a model code that state and local health departments adopt, each on its own schedule. It defines tableware as eating, drinking, and serving utensils for the table: flatware, bowls, cups, serving dishes, tumblers, and plates. The rules below read the same in the 2022 and 2026 editions.

• Clean tableware: handled so the food-contact and lip-contact surfaces aren’t contaminated.
• Unwrapped silverware: presented so only the handles are touched.
• Dirty tableware: cleared from the dining room and handled so it doesn’t contaminate clean tableware.
• Preset tables: settings are wrapped, covered, or turned over, or the unused ones are removed when guests sit down.
• Refills: you can refill a guest’s drink if the pitcher or spout doesn’t touch the rim. A used plate or bowl can’t be used for a second portion.

The Food Code doesn’t say how many plates you may carry or which grip to use. Those are house standards and technique.

Dirty, then clean: wash in between

The Food Code has you wash your hands after handling dirty dishes and before working with clean tableware. If you clear a table and then roll silverware or grab clean glasses, wash first. See food safety basics for servers for the full list of when to wash.

What OSHA says about your back and arms

OSHA’s eTool on restaurant safety is guidance, not a regulation. It says carrying too many plates or glasses, heavy trays above shoulder height, and repeated reaching across tables can lead to back, neck, and shoulder strains and sprains. Its advice for servers:

• Limit how many plates or items you carry at once.
• Carry plates with your elbows close to your body, with wrists and fingers in a neutral position rather than bent back.
• Balance a tray on both your arm and hand, and put heavier items in the center.
• Switch carrying hands.
• Use both hands for coffee pots and water pitchers, and bring the glass toward you to pour instead of overreaching.
• Check that trays are clean, dry, and not damaged.
• Get help moving tables and chairs.

OSHA also suggests employers use serving carts and server stations near the dining room where space allows.

Glass and ice

Don’t scoop ice with a glass. OSHA notes a glass can break in the ice, which cuts you and puts glass in the ice bin. Use a metal or plastic ice scoop. If a glass breaks, use a broom and dustpan, not your hands. More in slips, burns, and cuts.