10 tips from chefs to better prepare your dishes
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 10:19 am
Ultimately, does the dressing and presentation of dishes really matter?
To put it simply, the answer is yes.
The way you present your food is precisely what will make your customers salivate and want to try a dish. We eat with our senses: sight, smell, touch. And in the age of Instagram and food blogs, presentation has never been more important.
A study by Professor Charles Spence , an expert on our perception of food, suggests that the way food is presented can actually improve the taste of a dish.
As part of his study, Spence conducted an experiment on 60 people: each qatar cell phone number was given three salads, which they rated before and after eating. The salads were made up of the same ingredients, arranged in different ways. One salad was presented without any thought given to its presentation, another was arranged neatly, and the last was arranged to resemble a Wassily Kandinsky painting.
Which salad do you think the participants chose?
On the salad that looked like a painting, obviously.
Participants thought it tasted better (29 percent better than others, to be exact) even though it was made with the exact same ingredients. Customers would pay up to three times more for a well-plated dish, Spence's study ultimately concluded.
Even basic dishes like a salad can benefit from thoughtful presentation—they look more appetizing, offer added value.
So how can you use this information to your advantage?
We spoke with chefs Daniel England, Joyce Tang, Tanner Agar, Jim Solomon, Michael Welsh, and Brian Poe to learn more about their favorite presentation techniques. Each technique is calibrated to highlight five key factors in plating a dish: color, arrangement, balance, texture, and ease of eating.
Enter the new era of catering
Learn about the all-new Lightspeed Restaurant POS Software (K-Series) in this free webinar, the POS software designed to help you navigate these uncertain times.
Watch the webinar again
The best techniques for presenting food
Adding height to the plate
Cut the meat into nice slices
Playing with textures
Use contrasting colors
Match your restaurant's presentation and theme
Choosing the right plates
Serve smaller portions
Use edible decorations
As the saying goes, less is more.
Express yourself
1. Add height to the plate
Daniel England, executive chef for San Diego's OMG Hospitality Group , likes to create height when designing his plates.
Height training
“It’s important not to separate the food while trying to fill the plate — build vertically,” he says. “If you need a little structure, you can always buy a cookie cutter to help you shape the base. It’s really simple: stack your ingredients in the cutter, then gently remove the cutter. Now you have your base, it’s up to you to build the rest.”
To put it simply, the answer is yes.
The way you present your food is precisely what will make your customers salivate and want to try a dish. We eat with our senses: sight, smell, touch. And in the age of Instagram and food blogs, presentation has never been more important.
A study by Professor Charles Spence , an expert on our perception of food, suggests that the way food is presented can actually improve the taste of a dish.
As part of his study, Spence conducted an experiment on 60 people: each qatar cell phone number was given three salads, which they rated before and after eating. The salads were made up of the same ingredients, arranged in different ways. One salad was presented without any thought given to its presentation, another was arranged neatly, and the last was arranged to resemble a Wassily Kandinsky painting.
Which salad do you think the participants chose?
On the salad that looked like a painting, obviously.
Participants thought it tasted better (29 percent better than others, to be exact) even though it was made with the exact same ingredients. Customers would pay up to three times more for a well-plated dish, Spence's study ultimately concluded.
Even basic dishes like a salad can benefit from thoughtful presentation—they look more appetizing, offer added value.
So how can you use this information to your advantage?
We spoke with chefs Daniel England, Joyce Tang, Tanner Agar, Jim Solomon, Michael Welsh, and Brian Poe to learn more about their favorite presentation techniques. Each technique is calibrated to highlight five key factors in plating a dish: color, arrangement, balance, texture, and ease of eating.
Enter the new era of catering
Learn about the all-new Lightspeed Restaurant POS Software (K-Series) in this free webinar, the POS software designed to help you navigate these uncertain times.
Watch the webinar again
The best techniques for presenting food
Adding height to the plate
Cut the meat into nice slices
Playing with textures
Use contrasting colors
Match your restaurant's presentation and theme
Choosing the right plates
Serve smaller portions
Use edible decorations
As the saying goes, less is more.
Express yourself
1. Add height to the plate
Daniel England, executive chef for San Diego's OMG Hospitality Group , likes to create height when designing his plates.
Height training
“It’s important not to separate the food while trying to fill the plate — build vertically,” he says. “If you need a little structure, you can always buy a cookie cutter to help you shape the base. It’s really simple: stack your ingredients in the cutter, then gently remove the cutter. Now you have your base, it’s up to you to build the rest.”