Plate Like a Pro

You know the old saying – we eat first with our eyes. In other words, whether you’re planning a formal dinner party or serving a midweek supper, food should look every bit as good as it tastes. Here are some simple but effective tried-and-tested tips that will help you plate like a pro.

The goal with presentation is to plate your dish so that it looks professional. Imagine it in a pub, café, or restaurant. Would you be impressed? Would your mouth water? Would you be happy to pay money for it? If so you’re on the right track.

The first rule of presentation is to plan ahead. Plating isn’t the work of the last few seconds of cooking time. It starts with your mise en place.

Research the dish you’re making. Look at hashtags, on Pinterest, Instagram, and in cookbooks, food supplements, and magazines.

If you like, do what many professional chefs do: draw a rough picture of how you want it to look. Decide whether you want to plate the recipe individually or serve it whole for sharing.

Choose your tableware. The size, the colour, and the texture should suit the dish and the environment in which it is served.

If you have the storage space, build a small tableware collection. Shop around in charity shops and flea markets, on the high street, and discover your local ceramicists. Hand thrown craft pottery, in particular, is having a moment in modern British restaurants.

Plates should always be clean and free of smears.

Build plating time into your time plan. You need to work quickly to ensure everything looks at its best – salad not wilted; sauce not congealed – so keep it simple. Anything too elaborate, and there’s a chance the food will be cold before it reaches the table.

Try not to overwork or overhandle the food.

Don’t feel under pressure to be different. Copying is encouraged!

Factor in resting time for meat. Carve it neatly and blot any excess juices before plating.

Garnishes should be relevant to the dish and to the recipe.

Edible flowers and micro herbs are now widely available in supermarkets. You can even grow them at home yourself.

Consider portion size. Very large portions can be over facing and are more challenging to plate.

There should be space on the plate, a border or ‘frame’. That said, current plating trends lean towards more asymmetry, as well as the serving of sauces right to the very edge of a lipped plate.

Look also at the ratio of ingredients. The dish has to ‘eat well’; it should be balanced and logical to eat. The eater shouldn’t need instructions on how to eat the dish!
You should be able to see all elements of the dish on the plate.

Look at the plate from the side. There should be more height in the centre.

Odd numbers are more pleasing to the eye than even. Think of dim sum and how the dumplings and rolls come in threes.

Good knife skills are essential for a ‘high definition’ finish. Cut ingredients with a sharp knife and they’ll look sharper and shinier.

Learn how to ‘rocher’ to shape a beautiful oval-shaped scoop of ice cream, tartares, butter, pâtè etc. ​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU_CpFWjIco