The Maine Lobster Platter Story

The Story of the Maine Lobster Platter™

An early prototype: Abenaki Indians, the original Maine lobster lovers, used seaside rocks as a combination table and platter. Great stability and drainage, but portability was limited. It’s taken a few thousand years for a genuine improvement to come along: the Maine Lobster Platter™

The Maine Lobster Platter™ is the culmination of Roland S. Rose’s decades-long quest for serving plates that would do justice to New England’s most prized crustacean. It was born out of Roland’s frustration with the way lobster was usually served: on soggy cardboard platters, unappetizing styrofoam or aluminum.

Even at the elegant summer homes on the coast of Maine , Roland was dismayed to see ordinary round dinner platters used. A healthy-sized lobster would hang over the edge, and the shallow depth allowed juices and bits of cracked shell to end up on the tablecloth or his lap.

Roland thought, “There has to be a better way.” One afternoon, a passing lobster boat inspired a thought: “Of course: the high, curved bow keeps the water out of the boat; the same curve on a lobster platter would keep the juices in!”

Over the next few years, Roland measured (and enjoyed!) dozens of lobsters to determine the optimal shape and dimension for a proper lobster platter. Prototypes were sketched, molded and fired. Finally, he brought the basic platter to its present refined state with a juice channel around the inside of the platter and the unique embossed lobster design©.

But still, something was lacking. Finally, Roland went to a nearby harbor to study the lobster boats in hope of inspiration. And he found it: after noticing the bait bucket on the deck, he came up with the final element for the genuine Maine Lobster Platter™, a matching butter dish or ramekin that fits right between the claws on the platter.