They definitely keep food in place. The bowls do especially well with any variety of soup or stew. I even tried cereal and it worked! The other night I used the larger plates for pizza. There was quite a bit of sauce and cheese left on the plate (not the plates fault, more so the pizza) and I was worried how well the plate would manage. Lo and behold - a quick rinse took care of it without damaging the plate! They also seem to enjoy the dishwasher, so give them a good run every so often.