Plating Food

As an individual who thoroughly enjoys the art and process of food preparation the need for proper plating is absolutly essential in my opinion to any dish. Much like you and I find a women or man attractive and thus first impressions tell a great deal about the future like or dislike, the first view of a dish is just as important. In an article found in How to Cook Gourmet, titled, How to Plate Like a Pro, the author Chef Kathy discusses the reality of food, in her opinion, if the presentation is excellent, it can over power the taste of the food, making for a masterful dish. To do so she discusses, plate size... bigger the better.... color... natural earth tones, the need to build height and depth to your plating, the use of bright colors and contasts to bring interests to the dish and also the need for simplicity due to the fact that you must serve the dish quickly so that when presented it will still be warm.

In terms of 'food as art' the process detailed by the Chef on plating using the clock it method : The conventional "smiley face" (starch at ten o'clock, meat at two o'clock, and vegetables at six o'clock) is always a safe bet... where you also use the vertex as a focal point matches with the formulas and patterns often found in the methods that artists approach their canvasses.

A perfect real life example of the importance of plating through a comical sense can be seen in recent ads by Carls Junior and Pizza Hut. In the Carls ads they plate one of their 'six dollar burgers' in a nice restaurant, serve them for more money and then reveal to the client that they just paid for a fast food burger. The individuals are relatively shocked but this concept works, because when put down on a nice platter, things that appear visually are often considered to taste better. Next time you buy fast food for someone, plate it... I am sure the will be quite impressed.

Kathy, Chef. "How to Plate Like A Pro." How to cook gourmet. 26 Apr. 2009.