Food Trays and Greaseproof Paper for Counters and Kitchens

What is in the food trays and greaseproof paper range?

This range is the flat end of food packaging. Two items are open trays that food is served in. The rest are papers and paper bags that wrap, line or separate food.

Paper often gets ordered as an afterthought, yet it is the item a kitchen gets through fastest. One busy burger bar can use several hundred sheets on a Saturday.

All nine items are compared below.

Who uses food trays and kitchen papers?

Street food traders and event caterers use trays more than anyone. Food goes straight from the hot plate to the tray, and the customer eats standing up.

Papers reach a wider group. Burger bars line baskets, delis wrap sandwiches, butchers wrap meat, cheesemongers wrap wedges and bakeries bag pastries.

Many of these businesses use paper and trays together. A tray of chips gets a printed sheet on top, or a wrap of fried chicken goes into a tray for carrying.

For hot food served to eat now, open food trays for street food are the most common starting point.

• Street food stalls, vans and festival kitchens
• Burger bars and wing shops with dine-in baskets
• Delis, sandwich bars and farm shops
• Butchers and barbecue restaurants
• Cheese counters and market cheese stalls
• Bakeries and cafés selling pastries to go

How do you choose a tray size?

Trays are sized by the floor of the tray, in millimetres. The portion you serve decides the size more than the food type does.

A snack tray for a few onion rings can be around 100 x 70 mm. A full meal of fries and a main often needs 230 x 150 mm.

Depth matters for anything with sauce. Loaded nachos or curry on chips need a deeper tray so the sauce stays inside the walls.

If you are unsure, serve a normal portion onto a plate and measure the footprint it covers. Add about 20 mm each way for fingers and a fork, and you have a sensible tray floor.

Nachos are a special case because the dip needs its own spot. Nacho trays with a dip holder keep the pot from sliding into the chips.

What makes greaseproof paper different from ordinary paper?

Greaseproof paper is made so that oil and butter sit on its surface rather than soaking through. Ordinary paper goes see-through and soft as soon as fat touches it.

That makes greaseproof the default for anything fried, buttery or oily. It wraps burgers, lines baskets, separates burger patties and bags pastries.

Plain sheets are the workhorse. Plain greaseproof paper sheets are often ordered in two or three sizes for different jobs around the kitchen.

Greaseproof is not waterproof. Very wet food, like a dripping kebab, can still soften it over time, so a tray or box underneath helps.

Kraft paper is the other option for wrapping. It is stronger and has a natural brown look, but it does not resist grease in the same way unless it is coated.

When is printed greaseproof paper worth it?

Printed paper turns a cheap liner into a branding surface. Every basket, tray and wrapped burger then shows your name, often in customers' photos.

It works best where the paper is seen. Dine-in baskets, open trays and burger wraps are all on show. Paper used to separate patties in a fridge is not, so leave that plain.

Printed greaseproof paper with your logo usually carries a repeating pattern, so the brand shows however the sheet is folded.

• Print: one colour or two colour gives the crispest result
• Pattern: a repeat works better than one central logo
• Sizes: match your basket or tray, then add a little for overhang
• Use: keep printed paper for front of house only

Which papers suit delis, butchers and cheese counters?

Counter trades each have their own paper habits. Deli paper is thin and comes as interleaved sheets, so staff pull one at a time with gloved hands.

Butcher paper is heavier and often comes on a wide roll. It wraps cuts of meat and lines barbecue serving boards.

Cheese paper is chosen so a cut wedge can be wrapped neatly and re-wrapped at home. Cheese paper for counter wrapping is often ordered in two or three square sizes to match the cuts you sell.

Each of these can be plain or printed with your shop name. Printed counter paper is a quiet way to carry the brand into the customer's fridge.

How do basket liners and greaseproof bags fit in?

Basket liners are square sheets cut to sit in a dine-in basket with the corners standing up. Common sizes run from 250 x 250 mm to 400 x 400 mm.

Greaseproof bags are for food that goes out of the door in the hand. A sausage roll, a biscuit or a croissant goes into a flat bag, and butter stays on the inside.

Bakeries and cafés use bags far more than trays. Greaseproof paper bags for pastries are often made from 125 x 175 mm up to 215 x 250 mm.

What board and lining do food trays use?

Food trays are usually white or kraft folding board. It is light, folds into a firm boat shape and takes print well on the outside and inside.

Oily food benefits from a grease-resistant lining or coating on request. Without it, chips and fried chicken can leave marks on the outside of the tray within minutes.

Inside print is available on trays, which suits a pattern or a short message that shows as the food is eaten. A matte or gloss varnish on the outside adds a little resistance to handling marks.

Most trays arrive flat. They fold in a second with a push on each corner. Once folded they nest neatly, so a stack of 50 takes little room beside the hot plate.

What mistakes do kitchens make with trays and paper?

Paper looks simple, so mistakes often come from not thinking about it until it runs out. These are the common ones.

Butchers sometimes order paper too narrow for a joint or a rack of ribs. Wide butcher paper for meat counters is often 450 or 600 mm across for that reason.

• Ordering one paper size for wrapping, lining and separating
• Printing paper that will only ever be used out of sight
• Using ordinary paper for fried food and getting see-through sheets
• Choosing a tray too shallow for sauced dishes
• Running out of liners because they are used faster than boxes

How many sheets and trays should you order?

Paper usage is easy to underestimate. Count how many baskets, wraps and bags go out on a busy day, then multiply by the days between orders.

Trays follow food sales more directly. If you sell 300 portions of fries a week, you need at least 300 trays a week, plus a few for spills.

Liners are the item kitchens run out of most. Every dine-in basket needs a fresh sheet, so food basket liners cut to size go faster than anything else on a busy night.

Quantities are quoted per order, and you can mix trays and papers on one quote. Many kitchens order paper in larger runs than boxes because it stores flat in very little space.

How do you order food trays and greaseproof paper?

Tell us which items you want, the sizes and roughly how many. If you want print, send your logo and say whether it should repeat.

Trays and sheets are priced from £0.25 per unit, and your written quote fixes the final figure. Food-contact materials available on request.

Your free design proof shows each item before printing. Production takes 4 to 6 business days after approval, and free tracked delivery reaches any UK address in 2 to 3 business days.

1. List each tray and paper, with the job it does in your kitchen.
2. Measure baskets, trays and wraps for sheet sizes.
3. Choose plain or printed for each item.
4. Upload your logo, then check and sign off the free proof.
5. Receive everything together, flat and tracked.