In our previous article, “Food Plating 101: Mastering the Basics”, we shared the primary concepts for creating a beautifully plated dish. Today, we’ll look at taking your food plating technique to the next level with advice on using sauces, garnishes and moulded ingredients to transform your eye-catching creations into irresistible delights.
Drizzle your sauces
The delicate, skilful application of sauce can differentiate a culinary chef’s masterpiece from a regular cook’s plate.
Create accents in the form of dots on the side of the plate. When applying sauce, lightly pour or drizzle it on the plate – either over the dish or underneath. With sauces, less is more.
Garnishes
Garnishes serve as an accent to perk up or highlight the colour of the main dish. It’s meant to enhance and match the flavours of the dish, not overpower it.
Here are some simple guidelines to keep in mind when applying garnishes:
- Do not heap garnish on one corner of the plate
- Provide a flash of colour by arranging simple and complementary garnishes around the main dish
- Garnishes should always be edible, so avoid using parsley flowers, lemon twists, cinnamon sticks or raw herbs
- Apply your garnishes quickly, so you can ensure food arrives at diners’ tables warm
Moulded ingredients
Delight diners by serving up works of art – culinary art – with moulded ingredients. Cleverly cut or sculpted ingredients can enhance the visual appeal of dishes and make it Instagram-worthy. For example, slicing fillets of meat on the bias is one easy way to show doneness and quality. Sculpted food adds distinct features to your dish, such as height and structure, while keeping the plate neat and clean.
Now, it’s your turn
Take these ideas and implement them into your dishes. Experiment and create exquisitely plated dishes that your diners will love. We can’t wait to see (and taste) what you conjure up.
