HOSPM

1115 Assignment # 2
(Different Styles of Plate Presentations)

Submitted by:

Cristine Cruz

BSHM 1-1

Submitted to:

Ms. Jennylynne Lubrin

Plating Presentation

When it comes to cooking you want your food to not only

taste amazing, but to look attractive as well. Plating is important
to the human appetite, as sight partially stimulates it. There are
many different techniques used when it comes to plating and
takes a true artist to make a plate standout. (Escoffier School of
Culinary Arts)

Different Styles of Plate Presentation

Vertical and
Horizontal
Lines

Arcs, Swooshes, and

Swirls
Stacked Plating

Deconstructed
Plating

Free Form
Plating
 Japanese
Kaiseki

Classic Plating

Free form

Plating
Landscape Plating

Communal Plating

One-dish meals
 Guidelines in Plate Presentation
1. Choose the Perfect Plate
Selecting the right plate for your meal is key to attractive food presentation. Here
are some things to keep in mind:

Choose the right plate. One way to conceptualize plating is to think of yourself as an
artist, the plate as your canvas, and the food as your medium.

Choose the right size plate. Choose your plate wisely by making sure it's big enough to
allow your food to stand out, but small enough that your portions don't look too small.

Choose a complementary plate color. The color of your plate is also significant. White
plates are popular because they create high contrast and provide a neutral background for
your colorful creations. Utilize white space by thinking of the rim as your frame, and
consider using the rule of thirds to highlight your plate's focal point(s). When applied to
cooking, the rule of thirds prescribes placing the focal point of your dish to either the left
or right side of the plate, rather than the center.

2. Placing Your Ingredients

Here are a few of the most important aspects to consider as you build your dish:

Plate with a clock in mind. As you begin plating your ingredients, picture the face of a
clock. From the diner's point of view, your protein should be between 3 and 9, your
starch or carbohydrate from 9 and 12, and your vegetable from 12 and 3.

Use moist ingredients as your base. Another rule of thumb is to plate moist or runny
ingredients first, as they tend to move during delivery if they aren't held down by other
foods. One way to anchor runny ingredients is by placing other foods on top of them. For
example, you can angle sliced meat or vegetables against purees and mashed vegetables.

Serve odd amounts of food. If you're serving small foods like shrimp, scallops, or bite-
sized appetizers, always give guests odd quantities. Serving 7 brussels sprouts instead of
6 creates more visual appeal, and diners will also perceive that they're getting more food.
Place food to create flavor bites. Essentially, flavor bites are forkfuls of food that
combine all of the ingredients in your dish into one bite. Creating flavor bites is the
perfect accompaniment to creative plating as it pleases both the eye and the taste buds.

Don't overcrowd your plate. Be sure to never overcrowd your canvas, and keep it
simple by focusing on one ingredient - usually the protein. Finding a focal point also
ensures that the accompanying ingredients will play a complementary, supporting role.

3. Pay Attention to the Details

As you plate your dish, you'll also want to pay attention to the details:

Think about color and contrast. One of the best-kept secrets to beautiful plating is
paying close attention to the details. While your focus will obviously be on the protein,
considering how the other elements of the plate create color and contrast is also very
important.

You can create a beautiful background for your plate by adding green vegetables
or brightly colored fruits as accent points. Similarly, try to pair ingredients with
complementary colors as this will further enhance your dish's visual appeal.

Create height on your plate. Another way to catch your guests' eyes is to utilize the
power of height. While compactly stacking ingredients isn't as popular as it was 5-10
years ago, creating a tall plate can go a long way towards enhancing visual appeal.

You can also balance out taller ingredients by leaning long, flat items against them. For
example, you can plate your steak on top of polenta and lean asparagus spears against
them at a 45-degree angle.

Use texture to enhance your dish. Finally, don't forget about texture. Contrasting a
smooth vegetable puree with crunchy onion straws or topping a steak with crumbled blue
cheese creates appealing texture combinations that are classic in high-end cuisine.
4. Design and Create with Sauces
Once you've plated your main ingredients, you're ready to top your dish with
delicious sauces. Don't just pour the sauce carelessly all over the plate, though. Instead,
think of your squeeze bottle or spoon as a paintbrush, and your sauce as a medium. Then,
use them to enhance your plate.

One way to do this is to create accent dots on one side of your plate (while considering
the rule of thirds) or by lightly drizzling sauce over the main ingredients so guests get a
little bit of sauce in every bite.

5. Use Garnishes Purposefully

In the past, chefs casually threw a piece of kale and an orange slice onto every
plate as it left their kitchen. However, these garnishes didn't add anything exciting to the
dish, and few guests even ate them in the first place. Here are a few examples of smart
garnishes and how to incorporate them:

Choose edible garnishes. As you finish plating, remember that garnishes must be related
to the dish and should always be edible. Ultimately, they're designed to enhance and
complement the flavors of the entree you've created, not distract from them.

Place garnishes purposefully. Similarly, never heap garnishes in one corner of the plate.
Instead, disperse them thoughtfully in order to add color or texture. Also, avoid using
unappetizing garnishes like raw herbs, large chunks of citrus, and anything with a strong
odor. Lastly, make sure your garnishes are quick and easy to apply, so food still goes out
piping hot.
Trends in Plate Presentations and Garnishes

1. Showing off is in

“Restaurants will take a highly precise and structured approach.”

In recent years, cooking professionals have focused on allowing guests see the natural beauty of
their ingredients without any elaborate additions. However, The Art of Plating predicted that
restaurants will take a highly precise and structured approach in 2018. Staff at these
establishments demonstrate their abilities by carefully designing the appearance of each dish for
maximum visual impact.

One key method for orchestrating these plates is scaling: carefully layering on elements to form a
pattern that looks like scales. This technique can be used with a wide range of foods, from clams
to mushrooms, resulting in a look that’s both elegant and otherworldly. Other increasingly
popular arrangements include fanning out key elements, forming a well in which to pour
condiments and using molds to achieve unconventional shapes.

2. Adding floral flair

If you want to bring vibrant life and color to a meal, edible flowers are a great idea, and they’re
seeing a resurgence in many kitchens. Southern Living noted that nasturtiums are similar in taste
to watercress and go well with beef carpaccio, pansies bring a grassy flavor to fruit salads,
lavender’s sweetness goes well with dessert and roses add a subtly fruity element to soups. Even
if they don’t have a huge impact on the taste of a dish, thoughtfully chosen petals instantly make
a dish more intriguing and contribute an appealing seasonal touch.

3. Magnificently monochrome
Another way to attract the eye to a dish is by stripping away all the contrasting colors, allowing a
single hue to dominate. Monochrome dishes aren’t new, but many chefs are hopping onto the
trend, finding beauty in a stripped-down palette. As The New York Times pointed out, all-black
foods in particular have captured diners’ imaginations, showing up extensively on social media.
Even if food’s flavor is little impacted by this emphasis on darkness, devouring a monochrome
meal is an experience that people feel inspired to share.
4. A luxurious leaf
If you want to make a dish memorably decadent, just add a precious metal. Forbes reported that
gold could add an elegant touch to an array of dishes in 2018. While edible gold leaf does not
affect the taste of food, it does contribute a glittering appearance and an over-the-top sense of
luxury. This pricey addition gets people’s attention and makes a dinner or dessert an impressive
indulgence.

Some modern plating trends used to create visual and dramatic impact by:

 Using large and unusual plates and bowls

 Selecting crockery that contrasts well with food- White is very popular
 Stacking food high and arranging it in interesting ways
 Serving sauces and condiments as part of a dish. These are often placed in a small bowl
on the plate or drizzled into the plate for effect
References:

https://www.escoffieronline.com/plating-presentation/
www.theculinarypro.com
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/article/200/basic-guide-to-food-presentation.html

https://www.unileverfoodsolutions.com.ph/chef-

inspiration/chefmanship-academy/module-8-plating-and-

presentation/topic-3-3-traditional-asian-plating-styles.html