Design studio March Gut has created a maple wood board for a hotel restaurant in the Austrian alps, which allows all dishes and cutlery to be served in one trip and while maintaining social distance.
At a length of 1.2 metres, the Alma tray is just longer than Austria's minimum required distance of one metre, which must be maintained from people of other households in public to help stem the spread of Covid-19.
It was designed for the Biohotel Schwanen in Bizau, Austria.
The Alma tray can be slid across the table with one hand
A rounded foot on one end allows a waiter to slide the board across the table with one hand, delivering all of the food and drink for a group simultaneously, without having to repeatedly lean over the diners.
Set in the centre of the table, the tray is designed to remain in place throughout the duration of the meal, allowing people to share or retrieve their dishes before returning them to the tray to be taken away. Textile inlays prevent the dishes from slipping
The product has been shortlisted for this year's Dezeen Award in the workplace design category and was designed entirely during lockdown.
As a result, the studio communicated with its carpenter and Biohotel Schwanen owner Emanuel Moosbrugger only via the internet and by sending prototypes across the country.

"Emanuel tried out several prototypes with his team," said Christoph March, who founded March Gut alongside fellow industrial designer Marek Gut.
"Of course you need a bit...