For items that do not need draining, such as nuts, mashed potatoes and casseroles, use a solid serving spoon. If the spoon will be sitting in a hot chafer or steam table pan for long periods of time, you may want to consider getting a plastic, ergonomic handle. These cool-touch handles prevent guests from getting their hands burnt.

For serving dishes that may easily fall off the spoon, like roasted potatoes or salads, go with a notched spoon. The notches allow customers to pierce the food as well as scoop it, in case there are a few tricky pieces that they are having trouble keeping on the spoon.