Wouldn’t it be great if you knew about the incredible food plating and presentation tips from top chefs? Of course, you want to know! Food plating and how you present your food are important, so you can tempt your guests to try your dish and fulfill their appetites.
Besides, we eat not only with our mouth but with the rest of our senses—we use our senses of sight, smell, and feel too. You can notice this in food bloggers and those who share their dining experiences and food photos on Instagram. It goes to show how vital food plating and presentation are.
Here are the top six food plating and presentation tips from top chefs that you don’t want to miss.
Slice Meat Horizontally
Daniel England, a corporate chef in San Diego’s OMG Hospitality Group, recommends shingling slices of meat or “fanning” so you can show the true quality of the meat. He says you should slice your meat at a forty-five-degree angle and cut it against the grain to get a more tender part of the meat.
Form a Height on Your Plate
England continues that he likes to add height as he plates his food. Bear in mind that you should not separate the food as you fill the plate—you build your way from bottom to top.
Using a little structure or a mold, you can utilize it to start a base. From there, put some food in the mold and gently lift it up. That becomes the base you can use to build on until your dish is complete.
Experiment on Textures
Chief baking office at Oakland, California’s LaChinoserie, Joyce Tang, recommends playing with textures, sauces, and foams to make your dishes look more attractive. She also likes to experiment with contrasting textures on her plate.
Foams are easy to do, and they’re helpful in plating by testing out different textures and sauces.
Apply Contrasting Colors
Tang also highlights the essence of dabbling with contrasting colors. Instead of using artificial colors, she uses powdered sugar, matcha, or other natural colors.
She also stresses that the more time you spend building on your presentation, the more visual interest you can stimulate in your guests. Tanner Agar, chief experience officer and owner of Rye Restaurant in McKinney, Texas, agrees with this idea.
Agar suggests using bold colors to add appeal to visuals. One easy way to do that is by starting with colorful ingredients. Choose ingredients with color such as potatoes, cauliflowers, carrots, beans, lettuce, and much more.
Match Your Theme with Your Food Presentation
Jim Solomon, former owner and chef of The Fireplace in Brookline, Massachusetts, mentions that the style of plating should match your dinner’s atmosphere. Aiming for an ethnic vibe? Then it may not be a good idea to serve plates showing architectural or vertical compositions.
Your guests may expect a more simple and welcoming presentation packed with rich flavors cooked from the heart and served in rustic quality pieces. The way you do your plating should reflect the type of theme you wish to have.
Use the Proper Plates
Michael Welch is the executive chef at Backyard Kitchen & Tap in Pacific Beach, California. He recommends that you use the right plate color, size, and style. All these matters, especially the color, because it is where you will serve your dishes.
He says that most chefs stay away from blue plates because there aren’t any naturally blue dishes, and it’s an unappetizing color to use. If your meals have a lot of vibrant tones, they tend to stand out, so serving them on a white plate will do the trick.
Conclusion
Aside from the incredible food plating and presentation tips from the top chefs, there are more things you can do. Entice your guests to post your dishes on food blogs and social media platforms. And you need to always look out for more creative ways to beautifully plate and present your food. Because this will convince them to try your menu at your upcoming dinner. When all else fails, you can always hire a private chef to do all the work for you!
Food Fire + Knives looks to help everyone enjoy the ultimate dining experience by providing a private chef in Asheville. Contact us today to experience it for yourself, or give a gift card and treat the ones you love with a great experience!
