At one time considered an essential for any well dressed table setting, the charger plate fell out of favor in the latter part of the 20th century, but is currently making a comeback as an important component of formal dining. Interestingly enough, there are some varying schools of thought on how to use the charger plates to best effect. Here are some basics of the charger, and how it is used. Chargers are simply underplates that are used at each place setting of a formal table. The charger will be larger than the actual dinner and salad plates used to hold the food. At one time, a proper charger plate was always made of either pewter or stainless steel coated with gold. However, the charger plate of today can be made of everything from plastic resin to silver.