Transcript Food Presentation Tips

Food Presentation Tips
Would you rather eat this….
Or this?
Use COLORFUL foods!
• Think of bright colors like green, yellow, red, blue, and
orange.
• The more color you have on your plate, the better.
• This technique has the double benefit of being nutritionally
superior. Each color represents a different set of nutrients
and when you ‘eat by the rainbow’ you’re ensuring your body
gets the widest variety of nutrients possible.
Add a colorful garnish.
• If your dinner itself isn’t that colorful, add a garnish that is.
• Fresh herbs, spices and zested citrus make great colorful
garnishes.
• For example add some fresh green parsley or cilantro (or
other fresh herb) to a meat dish; sprinkle bright red paprika
on eggs; add lemon zest with some cracked black and red
pepper to salmon.
Stack it!
• Rather than spreading your food out over your plate in little
heaps, stack it.
• This adds the third dimension of height and can transform a
really simple meal into something fancy.
Stacking the protein on
top of the veggies adds
visual appeal.
Shape it!
• Use measuring cups, measuring spoons, ice cream servers,
or any other shaped ‘frames’ from basic tools in your kitchen
as molds.
Choose appropriate dishware.
• Think about both the shape and the color of your dishware.
• If your food is nice and bright, a white dish allows the food
to pop whereas a colored or patterned dish would visually
compete with the food.
• If the food is a uniform color (e.g., a leek soup), then
patterned dish would offset this nicely.
• For Food Challenge, I recommend WHITE DISHES because
you never know what you are going to be working with.
Sauce it!
• Get creative with sauces!
• If you want to get really fancy, you can even squeeze some
sauce on the plate before adding the food.
Turn your idea or recipe inside out!
• Serve a sandwich “open-faced” or “deconstruct” something
and serve it in separate pieces in order of how you should
eat them.
Use your imagination.
• “You eat with your eyes first.”
• Don’t be afraid to try or practice new ideas or techniques.
• Be unique! Food is kind of like art. If you like it, go with it.