A few weeks ago I attended at 2 day cooking class in rural Tasmania where we learned how to make charcuterie – salami, proscuitto etc. Part of the class involved having lunch cooked for us by our hosts, ex-chefs who apart from running cooking classes write and do food styling for Australia’s best food magazines.
It was a small class and warmly informal. We spent a lot of time hanging out in the beautifully lit kitchen, watching our hosts at work.
The thing that struck me the most was watching them plate up our divine lunch.
On both days there was absolute concentration and care when it came to placing the different elements on the plates. The rest of the time was full of chatter and banter, but there was silence when it came time to serving.
It really made a big impression on me how much care went into each plate.
Now I’m not saying that we need to be completely devoted when it comes to plating up at home, but a little more attention can only be a good thing.
care and attention
As my hosts in Tasmania showed, the difference between good, even professional food presentation and crap food is a little care and thought. This is the most important element. If you don’t care, your food doesn’t stand a chance.
natural beauty
This is a difficult one to explain. Try and think about what it is that makes a particular dish look delicious and then serve it in a way to flaunt that natural beauty.
For example I love the golden, cripsy skin of a well roasted chicken. Rather than carve the chook into individual slices with tiny slivers of skin, I would cut the bird into quarters and serve with the skin of the breast proudly intact and prominent.
use of white space
It helps to think a little bit like an artist when arranging your food. And just as a great painting is enhanced by an appropriate frame, so a delicious plate of food looks better if the ‘white space’ of the plate is allowed to frame the food.
It’s simple. Don’t overcrowd the plate.
colour
Again, think like an artist. Try to introduce different coloured foods onto the plate to give it life. Vegetables tend to have the most vibrant colours, so try including them when you can.
texture & flavour
When it comes to presentation, texture and flavour can be easy to overlook because we don’t associate these essential characteristics of food as much with visuals. But presentation is more than how food looks. It’s also a way to guide your diner as to the best way to enjoy the food you’ve prepared. So do take the time to consider how your presentation is going to impact on the texture and flavours of your meal.
temperature
Another not so visible, and easy to forget aspect of presentation is temperature. Cold food generally works best on cold plates and warm food on warm plates. Although sometimes it can be fun to mix it up.
serving utensils
With all the focus on making things look their prettiest, don’t forget to make sure you’re giving your guests the appropriate serving utensils. You want to encourage them to dig in and enjoy.
eating utensils
There are two approaches here. Try and make the eating experience as easy and as pleasurable as possible. Or try keeping it traditional.
Mostly these go hand in hand, except for when you’re serving a stir fry to a chopstick-challenged Irishman…Don’t make life to hard for your guests. You want them to enjoy!
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