Food Presentation Guide

Presentation of Food requires skill and practice . It is not just matter of pushing food on to plate and sending it out to guest as it is very important that creativity, skill used in the Cooking are not wasted due to sloppy presentation. In simple language - Food Presentation is an art of arranging , decorating food to enhance its aesthetic appeal. Poor presentation of well - prepared food lowers it's value as people eat with their eyes first. It should be also noted that there should be balanced of colour , texture, size and shape.

BASIC FACTOR OF FOOD PRESENTATION

1. Temperature :-

Good presentation of food is nothing if the food is not served at right correct temperature. Hot food should be covered by warm plate cover to retain temperature,serv d in warm plate and cold food should be served on chilled plate noticing it should be served on chilled plate. The golden rule isHot food should be served piping hot and cold food should be served chilled.

2. Flavour :-

When the guest begins to eat, they do not eat first the meat, then the potatoes and vegetables, They take bites of each and if combined flavour of the items are not pleasing then the dish is a failure ,No matter how well items are prepared. It is the flavour which determines pleasure of the meal. Also, any type of mis-matching should be avoided like - if shrimp in cream sauce is served on same plate with sweet and sour cabbage ,then the acid in cabbage with curdle the cream in shrimp sauce when eaten.

3. Colour :-

Though , a plate of fried fish and french fries may taste good it has minimal eye appeal as everything is brown in colour and crisp in texture . similarly, a simple addition of Portion of coleslaw on bright green lettuce leaf will transform the plate completely. Multiple colours are more eye appealing but too much of it will create confusion. The colour used should be natural and artificial,non good colour should be avoided. Moreover, the use of fruits and vegetables with a meat dish will always improve the colour.

4. Shape :-

Eye appeal can be gained not only through colour but through the shape of food as well. As with colour , variety is also the key S everything in same shape in plate looks boring. There should be variety in shape too and for that different fruits and vegetables can be cut into variety of shapes and we can use variety of cutters like round , square , triangles , half-slice to improve the presentation

5. Textures :-

Textures in food presentation takes two form - one is the food feel in the mouth and second is exterior appearance of the items like soft or hard, liquid or solid , full shiny or wet dry . The food presented should be balanced in texture, soft , firm and crunchy

6. Garnish :- ( search article Garnish )

7. The plate :-

Properly cooked ,healthy cut and appropriately moulded food should not be put in any plate you want. The food should be carefully positioned and it is chef responsibility to choose appropriate plate for a particular dish . Most plates are round but every shape plates are available and Highly patterned plates should be avoided. The food should be always the focal point of presentation and white plate are preferred most.

GUIDELINES FOR FOOD PRESENTATION

1. Do not overcrowd the plate

2. Create height on the plate

3. Plate with a clock in mind. For example ; protein should be between 3 to 9 , carbohydrates from 9 to 12 and vegetables from 12 to 3 from diners point of view. This is also known as classical plating

4. Choose plate with right size and perfect right for dish to present in attractive manner

5. Elaborate design are time consuming and confusing so not waste time on it

6. Simplicity is the key. it is more attractive to have a simple plate presentation rather than complex one

7. Garnish only when necessary and change garnish for different dishes.