In French they are known as “Piece Montée”.
Originally a large ornamental item of patisserie used to decorate the table at a banquet or a party. It usually reflects the theme of the occasion. In France, it is still popular for a wedding or baptism and displays the artistic skills of the confectionary trade. It was very popular in the Middle Ages, today a simple type of piece montée is the croquembouche, made of profiteroles filled with cream which has been sweetened and suitably flavoured, glazed and decorated with fancy sugar work.
Although food holds the spotlight in all buffet presentation, the objective of buffet planning must be to achieve visual beauty both in the artistic presentation of each item of edible food and in the arrangement of the many dishes on the buffet table. Nothing heightens the beauty of the buffet more than an outstanding centre piece (piece montée) which may be made of ice, tallow or other such materials. The term non-edible is used generally, to indicate that the centre piece is not meant for consumption along with the rest of the food on the buffet.
The guest should be able to identify the theme of the buffet at a glance, just by observing the non-edible decorations that provide eye-catching background for the presentation. A non-edible decorative display piece should be a work of art, always in good taste, whether the figure is made of ice sugar, tallow or any other material.