I have been thinking about this ever since my daughter told me that "dinner was good,but I should make it prettier" I do'nt have a pretentious bone in my body and have never thought about the way a meal was plated would influance how it tasted.The worst dinner dollar for dollar I have ever had was in a fancy french resturant.I do'nt want art I want to eat.she made me think more about it but I am still in the mind set that if it will fit there thats where I am going to put it.Do you guys plot out your plate lay out and agonize over garnishes and fancy sauce swirles?Just wondering
Is presentation really that important?
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If it's a holiday or special friends than I go all out..Every day we just leave the stuff in the cooking pans and dish up, get comfy and enjoy our dinner and each other...If you daughter likes fancy every night hand her the business of making pretty...and the clean up, that usually works wonders
kades
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
It is more important in some circumstances than others. Not sure how important it is to the average family dinner. Presentation should at least be neat and appetizing regardless of venue. Save the art work for special occasions.
I don't do a lot of serious presentation. I have from time to time but really dislike doing it.
We have an attractive set of dishes and for every day, my job is to get the meal onto the plate while keeping the different foods from touching.
Ask your daughter to help you with the presentation.
I don't do a lot of serious presentation. I have from time to time but really dislike doing it.
We have an attractive set of dishes and for every day, my job is to get the meal onto the plate while keeping the different foods from touching.
Ask your daughter to help you with the presentation.
You don't just eat with your mouth. All of your senses can be involved and stimulated to enhance the dinning experience. You don't have to be pretentious to give the gift of a "pretty meal" to your family or friends. And there doesn't have to be any "agonizing" about it. Using color, texture, size and level of importance, any plate with two or more ingredients can be presented in an attractive way.
I don't think the idea is to pressure yourself into trying to become a culinary Rembrandt. Just have fun being creative, even childish. Make whipped potatoes into the Alps surrounded by a sea of gravy. Draw a funny face in powdered sugar on a slice of French Toast. You don't always have to pile up everything in the middle of the plate like so many "pretentious" chefs do that we see on TV. Forget them! Show your child/children that you can turn a slice of turkey, two steamed carrots and some peas into a clock. And with a little practice, tomatoes, carrots or radishes can be turned into beautiful flowers. You may surprize yourself. You can also engage your daughter into getting her opinion as to how she would make it "more pretty."
I don't think the idea is to pressure yourself into trying to become a culinary Rembrandt. Just have fun being creative, even childish. Make whipped potatoes into the Alps surrounded by a sea of gravy. Draw a funny face in powdered sugar on a slice of French Toast. You don't always have to pile up everything in the middle of the plate like so many "pretentious" chefs do that we see on TV. Forget them! Show your child/children that you can turn a slice of turkey, two steamed carrots and some peas into a clock. And with a little practice, tomatoes, carrots or radishes can be turned into beautiful flowers. You may surprize yourself. You can also engage your daughter into getting her opinion as to how she would make it "more pretty."
Silversage
Head Chef
Well said!
GrillingFool
Head Chef
Personally, I don't like my food piled all over itself, and would be insulted if it were presented to me that way. It's FOOD, not art. If you want to make art of it, have some presentation dishes in the restaurant lobby or something.
I like the food to be neat and clean, without splashes and dribbles. Anything else is just playing with your food.....
I like the food to be neat and clean, without splashes and dribbles. Anything else is just playing with your food.....
We eat a lot of "Plain Jane" food, tastes great but the things we like tend to be colorless. I've taken to adding red or green peppers to many dishes to just give it that dash of color.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
This reminds me of a Julia Child comment I can paraphrase here:
"When your plate comes out with the food all artfully arranged and piled high, you know someone's fingers have been all over it."
vagriller
Head Chef
I don't spend much time thinking about plating, but it usually ends up looking nicely plated. I don't swirl or drizzle sauces on the plate though. If I am taking a salad or something to a dinner or something with other people I spend a little more time making it look nice.
ella/TO
Sous Chef
with family I usually serve "family style". Serving plates on the table with the main on it's own dish, also the starch and the veggie. If I'm doing a salad, I usually serve that before the main on a salad plate.
When having company, I serve French style....from the kitchen....I place the food carefully, not on top of each other!!!....I also might sprinkle chopped parsley around the edges of the plates, or drizzle some gravy around the food.....It does look pretty, and more often than not, guests do remark on it
When having company, I serve French style....from the kitchen....I place the food carefully, not on top of each other!!!....I also might sprinkle chopped parsley around the edges of the plates, or drizzle some gravy around the food.....It does look pretty, and more often than not, guests do remark on it
I never "plate" the food for my guests, family or otherwise. I think the "key" to attraction is a meal with varying colors, textures,flavors(a better descriptive word escapes me) and food groups, neatly and attractively placed on serving pieces.
Mixing it up.
I am goeing between two threads and I figured that I should just post on my original thought.We all want our food to look nice.I will allways be the first to know how my dinner looks trust me.I know it was a kind of a broad subject and every situation requiers a differant approach.I just feel that going over board on presentation takes energy away from what is really important.I can either spend the time carving a castell out of a ruitibega or concentrate on getting every thing else done at one time.I know you all know how challenging the latter can be.Some of you guys have a real nack at pretty food.Msmoffet comes to mind.God bless you,because my kids are getting what they get.
I am goeing between two threads and I figured that I should just post on my original thought.We all want our food to look nice.I will allways be the first to know how my dinner looks trust me.I know it was a kind of a broad subject and every situation requiers a differant approach.I just feel that going over board on presentation takes energy away from what is really important.I can either spend the time carving a castell out of a ruitibega or concentrate on getting every thing else done at one time.I know you all know how challenging the latter can be.Some of you guys have a real nack at pretty food.Msmoffet comes to mind.God bless you,because my kids are getting what they get.
spork
Head Chef
I'm also not so good at presentation. What I do try to keep in mind though is to serve with an expression of personal care and effort. So, on this day, my plate might look like my typical mound of army chow, but it might be topped with a less than artistic candy heart. The thought counts in a shared meal.
When the presentation looks too luxe, it often feels impersonal to me, like it was made to satisfy the chef's ego, not my stomach.
When the presentation looks too luxe, it often feels impersonal to me, like it was made to satisfy the chef's ego, not my stomach.
licia
Executive Chef
I don't do the artsy things either, but I do plan my meal to have different textures, colors, etc so that when they are served they look appetizing. We don't do appetizers except for very rare occasions and rely on the food looking and tasting great to make the meal nice. I sometimes garnish a platter, but usually rely on the food itself looking great.
sparrowgrass
Head Chef
I don't plate anything for guests or family either, but I do try to make the table and the serving dishes look nice--lots of color in the food, nice dishes, no cartons or jars with labels on the table. But I am all about casual--no fancies here.
I plate up the food because I cook upstairs but we eat downstairs, easier than brining all the food and dishes downstairs. I wouldn't say they are works of art but I do try to make the plates look appealing and not like I just threw the food on the plate.
A second story kitchen...how odd.
vagriller
Head Chef
My first property was a 2 story duplex that had a kitchen on each floor. The kitchen on the 2nd floor was nicer than the one on the 1st. If I had converted the place back to a SFH I would have been tempted to keep the upstairs kitchen because it was much more workable. All of the neighborhood were converted from SFHs, and a 2nd story kitchen would have been the least strange thing I saw.
