Last remaining stock • In 4 active carts right now • Only 73 left
Lionel's Hand-Carved Serving Tray
Lionel's Hand-Carved Serving Tray
Dispatched within 1–2 days
90-day return policy
Insured & free shipping with tracking
Couldn't load pickup availability
Lionel's Hand-Carved Serving Tray
The Weald, Kent · since 1988
Carved by hand from storm-felled English elm. Never lacquered, never glued up.
Workshop closes 30 November · while stock lasts
“Every one of these was a tree headed for a burn pile.” — Lionel
38
years at the same bench
1 in 5
trays thrown out before shipping
0
living trees cut
“Nearly forty years I’ve been making these for other people’s tables. This Christmas I’d like to sit at one.”
— Lionel Hatcher, 68, near Sevenoaks, Kent
What arrives at your door
- One hand-carved serving tray in the shape you choose: Highland Cow, Eagle, Trout, Carp or Bulldog
- Already oiled with food-safe mineral oil, ready to use
- Wrapped and ready to give as a present
Five animals, five stories
Lionel carves the same five animals he has carved for nearly forty years. Every one of them is something from that patch of Kent.
29 × 21 cm
approx.
Highland Cow
The first tray he ever made, in 1990, for his mum. The farm next door kept a pair of shaggy Highland cows on the meadow. Six compartments, the most room of all five.
Best for: cheeseboards, Christmas spreads
28 × 28 cm
approx.
Eagle
For the white-tailed eagles that have come back to the south coast, and that he still drives down to look for. Wings spread, feathers cut one by one.
Best for: the football, a centrepiece on the coffee table
28 × 19 cm
approx.
Carp
For the pond at the bottom of the wood. A wide, smooth body with deep compartments.
Best for: fruit, the grandchildren’s tea, sides
28 × 13 cm
approx.
Trout
The slim one, also from the pond. Narrow enough to sit between the plates on a full table.
Best for: olives, pickled onions, a chest-of-drawers catch-all
22 × 22 cm
approx.
Bulldog
For Bramble, who slept under his bench for eleven years. The smallest of the five, and the one the grandchildren squabble over.
Best for: children’s snacks, keys and reading glasses
Why it is different
NO. 01
Rescued, not felled
Every tray comes from English elm that came down on its own in the Kentish Weald: storms, disease, old age.
NO. 02
Carved, not pressed
Each compartment is cut out of the block by hand. Nothing glued on, nothing pressed out of a mould.
NO. 03
No lacquer to peel
Oiled, never sprayed. There is no shiny coat to go cloudy, lift and end up in your food.
NO. 04
Dried slowly, then rested
Months of air drying, a kiln, then rest again before the first cut. That is what keeps cracks out of the compartments.
NO. 05
Darkens with the years
Elm mellows from warm honey to a rich, dark brown in its first year in the light.
NO. 06
No two alike
Every tray comes from a different trunk, so colour, weight and grain vary. Yours is the only one.
Why most wooden serving trays don’t last
01 · The lacquer
The usual tray
A sprayed-on shine that looks rich in a photo. Olive oil, lemon, a warm dish and a few trips to the sink, and it goes milky, lifts at the edges and flakes into the food.
Lionel’s tray
Oiled, never sprayed. There is no coat on it, so there is nothing to cloud over, peel or end up on your cheese.
02 · Wood dried too fast
The usual tray
Looks perfect the day it arrives. A few weeks later a hairline crack runs straight across a compartment, for no reason you can see.
Lionel’s tray
English elm air-dried for months, finished in a small kiln, then rested again before the first cut. One tray in five is thrown out along the way.
03 · The plastic platter
The usual tray
Hot, sour food on melamine: sausage rolls, chipolatas, warm dips, chutney. In a 2013 study, people passed about six times as much melamine after hot soup from melamine bowls as from ceramic ones.
Lionel’s tray
One solid block of English elm. Nothing plastic, nothing glued, nothing printed. Wood gives up nothing you would mind eating.
From someone who grades timber for a living
“Storm-damaged elm is cracked, twisted and full of tension. Sawmills won’t touch it, and most of it gets chipped or burnt. Getting a sound serving tray out of a log like that means drying it slow and throwing a lot away. That is the part nobody does any more.”
— Clive Dunmore, timber grader, East Sussex
From a bonfire to your table
1931
His grandfather buys the wood south of Sevenoaks, in the Kentish Weald.
16 October 1987
The Great Storm flattens half the wood in a single night. The timber merchants take the straight butts; everything twisted or split is burnt all winter.
Spring 1988
Lionel, 29, pulls one elm trunk off a bonfire and takes it home on a borrowed trailer.
1990
The first tray, a Highland cow for his mum. It is still on her dresser in Tonbridge, used every day.
Last year
The council serves a compulsory purchase order on the wood for a relief road. A timber broker gets the rights and asks £900 for a single split log.
30 November
The last elm in the barn is the last he will ever get. The workshop closes; what is left is posted from his niece Kirsty’s house until the shelf is empty.
Perfect for
Things you can check yourself
- Run a thumb inside a compartment. You will feel faint, smooth ripples where the gouge went. A machine-cut tray is router-flat.
- Turn it over. No glue line, no joints, no stamped logo. One block of wood, edge to edge.
- Tilt it towards the window. A soft satin glow, not a plastic shine. That is oil in the wood, not a coat on top of it.
- Follow the grain. It bends round the head and the legs, because each animal was laid out on the trunk before the first cut.
“I’ll be honest with you: this is a serving tray, not a chopping board. Keep the knife on a board and the tray on the table, and it’ll be on that table long after I’m gone.”
Lionel Hatcher · at the bench near Sevenoaks
Before you order
- Solid English elm, carved by hand
- Food-safe mineral oil finish, no lacquer, no plastic
- Five shapes, each one a different trunk
- Dispatched within 1–2 working days, free UK delivery
- 90 days to send it back, for any reason or none
90 days, no questions
Fill it, serve on it, put it in front of the whole family. If it is not right, the size, the colour, the grain or no reason at all, send it back within 90 days for your money back. No restocking fee.
Care: Hand wash with warm water and a little soap, dry right away. No dishwasher, no soaking. Rub in a few drops of food-safe mineral oil once a month and it will outlast you.
Good to know: Every tray is cut from a different trunk, so colour and grain vary from the photos. Small knots and dark streaks are part of the wood, not flaws.
Details
| Maker | Lionel Hatcher, near Sevenoaks, Kent |
| Wood | Storm-felled English elm |
| Finish | Food-safe mineral oil |
| Highland Cow | approx. 29.3 × 20.5 cm |
| Eagle | approx. 28 × 28 cm |
| Trout | approx. 28 × 13 cm |
| Carp | approx. 28 × 19 cm |
| Bulldog | approx. 22 × 22 cm |
| Care | Hand wash only, oil monthly |
| Delivery | Dispatched within 1–2 working days, free UK delivery |
| Returns | 90 days, for any reason |
L.H.
Kent
1988
Lionel Hatcher
Carved by hand since 1988 · the Weald, Kent
The Final Sale
The Final Sale
A note from the barn in Kent:
Lionel Hatcher has carved serving trays from storm-felled English elm in an old barn near Sevenoaks since 1988. Last year the council served a compulsory purchase order on his family’s wood, and the timber rights went to a broker who now sells every fallen elm at furniture-maker prices. The wood drying in his barn is the last he will ever get, and his hands are telling him it’s time. Lionel closes the workshop on 30 November. Whatever is left after that is posted from his niece Kirsty’s house until the shelf is empty.
When they’re gone, they’re gone.
Free Delivery
Free Delivery
Free delivery across the United Kingdom
- Dispatched within 1–2 working days
- Delivery time: 7–14 working days
- Insured: Every parcel is fully insured
🌳 Carbon-neutral delivery
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here's how to reach us.
Got a question? Here's how to reach us.
My niece Kirsty and I personally respond to every single email — as fast as we possibly can. Whether you have a question about your order or just want to talk wood, we're here.
You can reach us:
- Mon – Fri: 9:00 – 17:00 (UK time)
- Saturday: 10:00 – 15:00 (UK time)
Email: info@cedarandtinco.com
Can I return my order if I don't like it?
Can I return my order if I don't like it?
Of course. We stand behind everything on Cedar & Tin Co. 100%. If you're not happy, neither are we. Just shoot us an email within 90 days and we'll make it right — no hassle, no headaches.
How are your products made?
How are your products made?
Every single product on Cedar & Tin is 100% handmade — crafted by hand, using only premium quality materials. We're proud to carry on a tradition of craftsmanship that has been passed down through generations.