Style a grazing table using food as decor for your New Year’s Eve parties and brunches

However, these grazing tables do not have to be just a collection of various types of food; you can also experiment with the food itself, using it as the central theme of the entire decor. Cheeses replace sculptural objects, fruits cascade like floral arrangements, and breads, desserts and snacks are stacked into towers that add height and drama. The table becomes the décor.

And one of the most visible shifts on grazing tables is vertical styling. Towers made from stacked cheeses, layered doughnuts, croquembouche-style desserts or fruit pyramids are now common, especially at NYE parties and celebratory brunches. These edible structures replace centrepieces while also solving a practical problem, which is creating height without cluttering the table with props.

For Manpreet Dhody, chef and founder of ImWholesome, Mumbai, who has worked on edible table decor before, every element on the table, from the main food to the smallest garnish, is meant to be eaten. “When guests walk up, it should feel generous, welcoming, and instinctive, like someone has cooked for them thoughtfully, not styled something from afar. That’s the essence of hosting at home. I look for foods that naturally hold shape and create drama without effort. We build strawberry towers, macaron towers, madeleine towers and even charcuterie and cheese towers. Our cheeses often become festive pieces themselves, shaped like ornaments, gift boxes, baubles, or candy canes for Christmas and New Year. These foods give height, rhythm, and celebration, while still staying completely edible and approachable,” she says.

When asked about the rule of thumb for height, spacing, and abundance on a grazing table, she says she doesn’t leave gaps on a grazing table. “What some might call negative space becomes an opportunity for jams, compotes, crackers, chutneys, nuts, or accompaniments. Height comes from towers and layering, not space,” she adds.

Over at Monique Patisserie & Anvaya Hotel, Delhi, Executive Chef Maxime wishes to follow a theme for food and decor. “I want the guests to understand the atmosphere and environment of the table. If you are going for Mediterranean cuisine, you can choose to display a desert with a lot of sand and rocks. I think the food should become an experience before it is eaten, ” he says.

He further adds, “I had done a grazing table substituting the flowers for mushrooms. We used different types of mushrooms, like oyster and cremini mushrooms, to create an impression of a white garden right on the table. Even fruits work really well for this, especially if you want to create a big jungle theme.”

When talking about how food as decor elevates a grazing table, he says, “A very simple way of doing it could be using a spoon and placing the food on top of it so it becomes both the food and a decor element.”