Bench-sized trays
Sized to a small chiller or a marble slab.
Hand-poured moulds · artisan short-run trays
Artisan trays for small, regular batches.
Four or six cavities, poured by hand, is often exactly right for a small chocolatier, bakery or patisserie. No production tool needed.
Overview
Artisan short-run trays, done properly.
Small producers do not need thousands of parts. They need a few good trays that match their bench, their chiller and their week.
We hand-pour small trays for artisan production, with the drawing and grade kept on file for easy repeat orders.
What we design for
The details that make this format work.
Artisan economics
No steel tooling cost for small volumes.
Repeatable reorders
Drawing and grade on file.
Upgrade path
Move to production tooling when volume justifies it.
What we ask up front
The same four questions we ask on every job like this.
What you want to make
Sketch, photo or sample, whichever's to hand. We start from what you actually have.
How you'll fill and demould it
The demould motion matters even on a single cavity. Tell us how you plan to work with the mould.
How many you actually need
A hand-poured tool is right for tens or hundreds, not tens of thousands. We'll be honest about when to graduate to a production tool.
The grade
Food-contact from the start. We don't use a general-purpose silicone on a food job and swap later.
Related case study
A chocolatier's praline tasting tray.
Twenty-four cavities, six different shapes across four repeats each, all on a tray sized to a specific chiller shelf.
At a glance
The ideas in pictures.
How a production tray is laid out
Swipe to see the whole diagram
How a food mould gets made
- 01DrawingWe agree the shape with you
- 02MasterMade to the drawing
- 03Proof cavityPoured in food-grade silicone
- 04Your testTry it with your own recipe
- 05Full trayPoured or pressed to size
- 06On recordGrade and drawing kept for reorders
Swipe to see the whole diagram
Questions
What people ask about this format.
When should I move to production tooling?
When bench labour costs more than a tool would. See our scaling guide.
Can I add cavities later?
Yes. We can pour a larger tray from the same master.
Is it food-grade?
Yes, platinum-cure food-grade silicone throughout.
Related formats
Other formats in this family.
Prototype food cavities
One cavity to test an idea. Explore
All hand-poured moulds
The full service overview. See service
Every service
All twenty services in one place. What we make
Ready?
Talk to us about artisan short-run trays.
Send a photo, a sketch or a sample. We'll come back with a route and a quote.
Real people, a real workshop
You deal with the people who make it.
No call centre and no middlemen. When you contact TCI Culinary, you speak to the team who design, build and check your mould.
- A real Warwickshire workshopUnit 15, Waterloo Park, Bidford-on-Avon, Alcester B50 4JG.
- Real people on the phoneCall the team on 01789 224228, Monday to Friday.
- The same team on every jobDesign, production and aftercare come from the people you see here.
- BRCGS Grade AATechcraft Industries Culinary Ltd. See the certificate details.
Thomas LaneManaging Director
George PrestonDesign & Project Manager
Kelly BallingerHead of Partnerships
Jim AndertonProduction Manager
TheodoreEmployee Welfare