We all have one friend who is a food shutterbug. They insist on going to an Instagram-worthy restaurant every time we plan to dine out. They would scan through the menu and order the most beautifully-plated dish with the art of food presentation, they can imagine. As soon as they sight the waiter arriving with the exquisitely decorated food platter, they would open their phone camera and be ready to capture every angle of the delicacy. They make us wait to feast upon the meal, as they keep busy clicking hundreds of pictures of plated food to put on their social media.
In this fancy, digital era, food presentation art, matters more than ever, and it has been rightly said that much before we roll food across our palates, we eat it with all our senses, especially the eyes.
Long gone are the days when we used to eat food to satiate our hunger. Today, we happily munch on the healthiest (not the tastiest) of foods if plated well and garnished with our favorite herbs. The art of food presentation and ideas gives food a restaurant-like appeal when implemented carefully.
Visual presentation matters
A well-styled dish imparts value to a diner’s dining experience. Ever wondered how a plate containing different colors and textures is always delectable to your palate?
Today, we bring the art of food presentation and ideas for beginners and seasoned chefs. With these, you need not grab and slop your finest dish hurriedly onto a plate or bowl just before the arrival of your guests. You can make everyone sing praises of your culinary style with the creative the art of food presentation and techniques. These are listed below and require a little bit of effort.
Restaurant-style vertical stacking
Many culinary artists prefer to cut their food horizontally, be it a slice of cheese or meat, and then stack it vertically. Height creates an illusion of being more food on your plate, and the cutting style flatters the ingredients of your nosh.
When the centerpiece or the main item on the plate is cut parallel to the platter. It brings out the natural quality of the ingredients, indulging the diner in the beauty of a well-put plate.
A person with a sophisticated palate is more likely to savor dishes made with fresh ingredients. The art of food presentation and technique highlights the texture, color, and consistency of food in the best possible way.
Use colorful elements
You would agree that a plate filled with a variety of colors is more appealing and nutrient-dense than potato wedges dripping down harmful fats, no? The use of contrasting colors, for example, orange-hued juicy fruits and green vegetables, cut in small sizes. It displays around your main dish, add to the overall appearance of the plated food while showing off the art of food presentation and technique. If everything goes well, your food might end up looking like an edible masterpiece!
Nothing is more wholesome and beautiful than fresh, uniformly sliced vegetables layered around the main dish. It enhances the visual appeal and taste of the food. Leaves of green Romanesco cauliflower and diced beetroot when layered around a salami roll. Then it will create a beautiful mélange of color and nutrition.
Give additional flavor and texture
Novice cooks tend to think that only food ingredients and cooking techniques are crucial in making a dish. In the end, hours of their chef labor go in vain as they leave supporting elements, color, texture, garnishing, and food plating for an afterthought.
In addition to the common belief that sauces make your food look appealing, dressing and garnishing give it consistency, texture, and an incredibly delightful finishing touch. Sauces of the right consistency bind your ingredients in the most luscious way. Nothing can beat the art of food presentation if your dish is topped with lemon wedges, micro greens, herbs, or leaves.
Contrasting textures made over, alongside, or under the food item using sauces, foams, purees, or coulis allow you to be creative with your food. Sauces and garnishes not just make your food look scrumptious but also put together a framed piece of art.
Not one plate fits all
If you think that you can present every dish on an oval, ordinary white plate. Then you might need to rethink, for one plate doesn’t fit all kinds of edibles. Would you like to know the best colors and shapes of plates for your food items? You need to keep reading.
Vibrant-colored foods like beef stew taste better when you present them on a white plate; salads and greens. It appeal the best when plated on a yellow platter. However, both yellow and green hues belong to the same color family, they complement each other beautifully.
Plates with warm and neutral tones like beige and brown enhance the look and flavor of pasta and chicken manifold. Pink and red platters are the best backdrops against the desserts, for they make your cakes and pastries look expensive and flavorsome.
There is no rule of thumb
Have you ever noticed those signature restaurants serve five pieces of everything? According to experts in the food industry, when a customer is served an odd number of food items, they seem to have a dopamine-pumping effect on their brain. This makes them prefer a particular dining place over others for a long time.
The creativity of a chef can do a lot to convert an otherwise boring blah of food into a delicious, edible piece of art. All you have to do is arrange your food symmetrically, without overloading the plate. Keep in mind to put your moist or liquid food item in the center. Moreover, wrap it with your side dish to give it a clean and appealing look. Just remember, there is no rule when it comes to organizing a platter, just believe your inner chef and start with laying out the dish on the right-sized serving platter! We wish you all the best for your next food plating!
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