Entertaining, like your dress style, is a form of personal expression and you can express your sense of style at the table. The saying "we eat with our eyes first" is true. The moment our eyes meet food, our appetite, attitude, comfort level and desire to eat are favorably influenced by the food's appearance. One of the pleasures we most enjoy about dining at an expensive restaurant is the moment the entree arrives decked out in all its glory. We are in awe and can't wait to dig in.
So, whether you’re entertaining, preparing a special meal or jazzing up an old favorite, think both visually and graphically in dressing your plates. These plate presentation tips will set your dishes apart from the crowd. Remember, the perfect dish includes food that tastes as good as it looks!
The Plate as a Backdrop
Consider the color of the plate, which takes second stage to well-presented food. Choose a suitable plate size for the volume of food you are planning so the plate looks comfortably full when arranged. Add edible adornments that don't clash with or blend into the plate.
Plating the Food
Plating is the act of arranging the meal on the individual plate immediately before served. Presentation should look natural and should feel as though everything on the plate is meant to be exactly where it is. Try to strike a balance between having enough food on the plate to suggest hospitality without overcrowding.
Suggestions for Obtaining Balance and Contrast
- Flow - How should the eye travel? Think about scanning a beautiful sunset. Be sure to arrange items in a way that allows the eye to travel in a pleasant, appetizing manner.
- Textures - Food can be grainy, shiny, smooth, velvety, coarse, rough or smooth; similar textures are boring. Combine hard and soft textures or smooth and rough for contrast.
- Shapes - Combine foods with different shapes. Even if you offer a sampler plate of three scoops of sorbet, add different shapes with cookie “cigars,” nuts, or fruit slices.
- Ready to Arrange - When plating don’t leave too much space between items, but don’t overcrowd. Keep all food within the plate rim.
Essential Presentation Tips
- Odd numbers of food items on a plate are more pleasing to the eye than even numbers.
- Symmetry often looks too contrived or too rigid for something as natural as food. If you want to do something symmetrical with a rectangular or oblong platter, consider placing, say three, elements of the same dish (with plenty of space between each) in tall piles on the plate or platter.
- Plate food immediately before serving it.
- After plating, check to see the plate is clean. Plate edges should be especially spotless. Clean spills or sauces away with a moistened clean paper towel.
- Keep foods within the rim of plates. When food hangs over the rims, it appears sloppy. White plates show food best.
- Garnishes need to accent and be compatible with the meal. Don’t get into the “parsley and lemon wedge” rut, or over garnishing.
- All plate garnishes should be edible.
- Prepare garnishes in a way that best accents natural beauty and patterns. Crispy bacon on a bacon flan, a sprig of fresh thyme on a mound of herb-roasted potatoes, julienned lemon zest on a citrus tart are examples.
These visual elements not only add flavor to a dish but are graphically beautiful when used to “paint” your plates!
Basil Oil
Blanch 2 bunches of basil leaves. Shock in ice water. Squeeze water out of leaves. Put the leaves into a blender with 1 cup of olive oil and puree. Let stand overnight, if possible. Strain through a fine mesh strainer lined with damp cheesecloth, pressing against the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much oil as possible. Transfer to a fine-tipped squirt bottle and refrigerate until needed, for up to 3 to 4 days. Bring to room temperature before using. Sometimes I don’t strain because I like to see the bits of basil in the oil—very pretty on a white plate!
Tomato Oil
- 1 cup tomato paste
- 6 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 basil leaves
- 2 shallots, sliced
Cook all ingredients together with 2 cups olive oil over very low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let sit for 3 hours. Strain as instructed in above recipe.
Curry Oil
- 1 cup corn oil
- 1 teaspoon minced shallot
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- Pinch salt
Over medium-low heat, sauté shallot and garlic in 2 tablespoons of the corn oil for about 1 minute. Do not let brown. Add curry powder, turmeric and salt and cook for another 20 seconds, until just fragrant, stirring constantly. Add remaining oil and simmer for 5 minutes over very low heat, stirring occasionally. Allow ingredients to settle to bottom of pan. Strain oil as above.
Balsamic-Port Glaze
- 1 cup excellent-quality balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup Graham’s or Dow’s ruby port wine
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
Combine all ingredients in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium and boil gently until reduced by half, about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the mixture is consistency of syrup. Remove from heat and let cool, then remove the garlic. Store glaze in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Makes about 1 cup.
