Plate with features that cooperatively interact with utensils

Abstract

A food serving plate with features that cooperatively interact with utensils to provide fun assistance to young children with their effort to load food onto their utensils. The features on the food serving plate include either or both of: a slotted ramp that accepts the tines of an eating utensil, such as a fork, which allows a person to load food onto the utensil by pushing the food up the ramp and then sliding the utensil under the food when it has reached sufficient height; and a ramp with a nested depression that accepts the leading perimeter contours of a utensil with a food-receiving bowl, such as a spoon, which allows a person to load food onto the utensil by positioning the utensil within the nested depression and by pushing the food up the ramp with a second utensil with a blunt profile, such as a pusher, and over the nested depression.

1 . A food serving plate that contains a slotted ramp wherein the slots in the ramp are sized to accept the tines of an eating utensil, such as a fork, and wherein the height of the ramp at the peak of its slope is equal to or greater than the vertical thickness of the tines of the eating utensil. 
   
   
       2 . The food serving plate of  claim 1  wherein the slotted ramp is bound on one or both sides by a raised ridge that extends to a height greater than the slotted ramp along the entire slope of the slotted ramp. 
   
   
       3 . The food serving plate of  claim 1  wherein the slotted ramp terminates at an opposing feature being either vertical or sloped which has a height that is greater than the peak height of the slotted ramp. 
   
   
       4 . A food serving plate which contains a ramp that leads to a nested depression wherein the nested depression is sized to snugly receive the leading perimeter of an eating utensil with a food-receiving bowl, such as a spoon, and wherein the nested depression contains sufficient perimeter contours to properly position the utensil, and wherein the height of the ramp is elevated at or above the height of the utensil when the utensil is positioned in the nested depression. 
   
   
       5 . The food serving plate of  claim 4  wherein the ramp is bound on one or both sides by a raised ridge that extends to a height greater than the ramp along the entire slope of the ramp and which is sized to receive the contours of a blunt utensil, such as a pusher or the side profile of a knife.