A Sight For Sore Eyes

The importance of a good first impression should not be ignored when it comes to exquisite dining since we eat first with our eyes. A meal's presentation can potentially make or destroy an overall eating experience.?

Because of this, it is essential to ensure that one is current with the most recent trends in the dining sector regarding food presentation. Not only does it contribute to the restaurant's overall visual appeal, but it also demonstrates that the establishment is modern and forward-thinking.?

There is a significant amount of ground to cover, from edible flowers to interactive plating. So, let's get down to business and look at what's new in the world of presenting food!

Back to Basics

When plating food, you have a lot of options. Look to upscale eateries and current culinary trends for inspiration; these establishments and movements all use unique approaches to plating that encourage creativity and play. Follow one of these three main plate styles for guidance on food positioning and creative touches:

Beginning home cooks might benefit from learning classic plating, the clock technique. This approach teaches you how to measure your food properly and helps you arrange it in an appetising fashion. Carbohydrates like pasta, rice, potatoes, and bread, as seen by the diner, belong at 11 o'clock on the plate, whereas veggies belong at 2 o'clock, and protein belongs at 6 o'clock. About half of the dish should be devoted to the protein source, with the remaining space going to the carbohydrate and veggies.

Plating in the free-form style is conceptualised from visual arts such as paintings. Plating each object beautifully, like an abstract piece of art. Free-form plating often consists of artfully arranged pieces of starches and meats, garnishes fashioned in spirals and other forms, and dots of sauces, purees, and oils of varying sizes and shapes.

The word "landscape plating" comes from how landscaped gardens are laid out. Rather than piling food high on a platter, the food is laid out in a long, low queue. Common components of this style include spiralled or julienned garnishes, entire leaves, fruits, and vegetables like peas and berries, and streaks and drizzles of purees and sauces.

In addition to these tips, chefs use some established principles for plating. The culinary world has five main guidelines for plating food: create a vision, keep it elegant, find balance, remember serving sizes, and highlight the dish's star.?

Establish a basic structure

Begin by drawing and sketching the plate so you can better picture it. Look at a picture or an item to spark your imagination. Put together a "practise plate" to carry out your concept.

Don't overcomplicate things

Choose only one component to highlight, and use the available space to streamline the presentation. Clutter draws attention away from the primary components of your food and may make it difficult for the customers to determine what aspects of the dish they should concentrate on.

Strike a balance in the dish

Experiment with different hues, shapes, and materials to avoid overwhelming your patrons. The taste and the function should never be sacrificed for the sake of the display.

Determine the appropriate serving size

Make sure that there is the appropriate quantity of each ingredient, and check that the plate is the appropriate size for the meal, neither too large nor too tiny. You must find the sweet spot between protein ratios, carbs and veggies to make a nutritionally sound meal.

Emphasise the most important component

It is important to highlight the primary component of the dish. Still, you should also give equal consideration to the other components, such as the garnishes, sauces, and even the plate itself.

2023 trends of plating in the UK?

The United Kingdom’s finest dining establishments work hard to make a unique sensory and visual experience for their clientele. L’Enclume in Cartmel, which received three Michelin Stars in 2022, plays with texture, offering more than a dozen rustic courses rapid-fire, some of which appear to be rocks or a potted plant at first glance. According to reviewers, their dishes are playful, untraditional, experimental, and uniformly delicious.?

Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen in Dublin received two Michelin Stars last year for its elegant French-style cooking. The Michelin Guide says the dishes are balanced and immaculately plated. The dishes are beautifully geometrical, immaculately clean and aesthetically pleasing. Like L’Enclume, Chapter One’s dinner tasting menu comprises several courses, including bite-sized canapes bursting with flavour. Reviewers moan over the unique take on foie gras and the laminated treacle and Guinness brioche, one of three bread courses. The laminated treacle and Guinness brioche come plated on a rustic sort of wicker raft, compared to the scallop ceviche, which is plated in an immaculate porcelain bowl.?

It’s safe to say delicate touches like edible flowers and beautiful herbs are here to stay.?

The trends in plating move fast, but recent reports suggest fine dining in the UK is moving away from Jenga-like stacks and dramatic swoops of sauce and returning to elegance and simplicity. Chefs say the placement theory should be sound even if the dish looks simple to guests.?

Plating trends that are on the way out?

A global pandemic and several years separate today’s plating trends from the popular 2017 book “We Want Plates ” by Ross McGinnes, but it’s safe to say chefs should err on the side of making their dishes elegant, simple, and easy to eat. A Reddit community of the same name is active to this day, roasting restaurants that serve quesadillas on the silver tentacles of a kraken, for one bizarre example. Other recent lambasted choices include tacos clothespinned to a wireline, a dessert dripping ganache from a board, and dumplings nestled in the faux dirt of a plastic ficus.?

UK chefs who want to earn one – or three – Michelin stars this year should remember to put flavour first, be playful, and avoid plating choices that result in sauce dripping into their laps. With those principles in mind, they can let their creativity take the reins.