Food

Presentation
If you own a food service business,
you know that food presentation is
crucial to marketing your restaurant
on Instagram. Studies from Oxford
show that a quality food presentation
increases customers' perceived value
of your meals, allowing you to raise
your menu prices. Chefs tactfully
arrange ingredients to curate flavor
and textural complexity, and their
creative plating techniques stimulate
appetites before the first bite.
How to Plate Food like a Chef
While there are no fixed food presentation
rules, there are several important concepts
to keep in mind as you arrange your
meals.

1. Remember your plate is your canvas.

2. Arrange food items using the rule of
thirds.
3. Entice the eyes with visual stimulants.
4. Use the sauce as paint for your plate.
5. Garnish to enhance both appearance
and flavor.
Plating Techniques

Conceptualize plating as an art form:

you are the artist; the plate is your
canvas, and the food is your medium.
Master the following plating
techniques to perfect your craft.
1. Plate Presentation Techniques

Selecting the right plate for your meal is the first step in the food presentation process.
Consider the following to choose the ideal plate for your food presentation:

 Plate Size - Your plate should be big enough to make your food stand out and petite
enough to prevent your portions from appearing small.
 Light vs Dark Plates - Use light and dark plates to make your meal stand out. White
plates are popular because they offer a neutral background for brightly colored foods.
Dark plates lend beautifully to light-colored dishes, such as a whitefish or creamy
polenta.
 Plate Color - A plate’s color can stimulate or reduce appetites. Red increases the
appetite, so serving appetizers on red plates keeps customers interested in ordering
large entrees and desserts. Professional platers consider blue dinnerware unappetizing
because there are few naturally occurring blue foods.
 Restaurant Style - If you operate a fine dining establishment, classic China dinnerware
pairs well with traditional plating styles. A trendy gastropub should invest in unique
plates with unconventional shapes that facilitate maximum plating creativity.
2. Food Arrangement
Techniques
How you arrange your food determines your meal’s aesthetic tone, structural integrity, and flavor
dispersion. Here are a few of the most important food arrangement techniques:

 The Rule of Thirds - When applied to cooking, the rule of thirds prescribes placing the focal point
of your dish on either the left or right side of the plate, rather than the center. Use white space by
thinking of the rim as your frame and highlight your plate’s focal point(s).
 View Your Plate as a Clock - As you place 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/carbohydrate from 9 to
12, and your vegetable from 12 to 3.
 Don’t Overcrowd Your Plate - Keep your design simple by focusing on one ingredient (usually the
protein). Having a focal point helps you arrange your accompanying items to complement your
standout item.
 Moist Ingredients First - Plate moist ingredients first and prevent them from running by topping
them with other foods. For example, you can angle sliced meat against mashed vegetables.
 Create Flavor Bites - Flavor bites are forkfuls of food that combine all the ingredients in your dish
into one bite. Flavor bites are essential to quality plating as they please both the eyes and the
taste buds.
 Mix Textures - Contrasting a smooth vegetable puree with crunchy onion straws or topping a steak
with crumbled blue cheese yields appealing texture combinations that are classic in high-end
cuisine.
3. Visual Plating Techniques
Maximizing the visual elements of your meal is a key plating technique. While your arrangement develops around
your protein, manipulating the colors and sizes of the other elements on your plate enhances your focal point and
creates a gourmet presentation.

 Serve Odd Quantities - If you’re serving small foods like shrimp, scallops, or bite-sized appetizers, always give
guests odd quantities.
 Color Diversity - Colorful dishes build the expectation of a flavorfully complex meal before your patrons take their
first bite. Add green vegetables or brightly colored fruits that contrast with your focal point.
 Monochromatic Meals - Plating color-coded items together visually builds the expectation that the dish only
offers one flavor. When the palate receives multiple textures and flavors instead, it surprises the tastebuds,
causing them to engage with the dish.
 Add Height to Your Plate - Stimulate your guests' eyes by building height. While compactly stacking ingredients
isn’t as popular as it was 5-10 years ago, building layers of food for guests to explore offers an exciting experience.
 Create Visual Balance - Balance your plate’s landscape by leaning long, flat items against taller elements (ex:
leaning asparagus spears at a 45-degree angle across a stack of lamb lollipops).
4. Sauce Plating
Techniques
With your principal ingredients plated, you’re ready to top your dish with delicious sauces
that enhance your food presentation. Think of your squeeze bottle or spoon as a paintbrush,
and your sauce as a medium. Once you're done adding your sauce, make sure you wipe
down the edge of your plate with a towel, so no drippings distract from your presentation.
We explain some of the simplest, most fail-proof sauce plating techniques below.

 Smeared Sauce Plating Technique - Fill a squeeze bottle with your sauce. Squeeze a thick
layer of sauce and form a large, filled-in circle on your plate. Take a spoon or plating
wedge and dip it into the middle of the sauce where it’s thickest. Quickly pull the sauce
across your plate.
 Accent Dots Plating Technique - Fill a squeeze bottle with your desired sauce. Analyze
your plate from the perspective of the rule of thirds, then add accent dots. Use multiple
sauces to create additional color contrast.
 Smeared Accent Dots Plating Technique - Alternate between two sauce accent dots in a
curved line along the side of your plate. Then, take a small plating wedge and place it at
the center of the first accent dot in your row. Drag the plating wedge through the accent
dots, creating a multicolored, single-sided edge.
 Swirled Sauce Plating Technique- Fill a squeeze bottle with your desired sauce. Place
your plate atop a cake turntable. Point your squeeze bottle face down at the center of
the plate. Spin your stand while simultaneously squeezing your bottle. Adjust your wrist
to vary your swirled design. You can use multiple sauces to create more visual contrast.
5. Garnishing Techniques

In the past, chefs casually threw a piece of kale and an orange slice onto every plate. However, these
garnishes added nothing exciting to the dish, and few guests ate them. Modern garnishes pair
thoughtfully with the meal to create flavor bites. Follow these garnishing techniques and guidelines to
master the last step of food presentation.

 Edible Garnishes - As you finish plating, remember that garnishes should always be edible and
enhance the dish. To determine whether a garnish belongs, ask yourself whether you would want to
consume it in the same bite as the meal it accompanies.
 Intentional Placement - Never heap garnishes in one corner of the plate. Instead, disperse them
thoughtfully to add color or texture. For example, place crispy carrot shoestrings atop a delicate filet
of fish nested in a curry sauce and decorate the plate with pomegranate seeds.
 Less Is More - Never clutter your plate for the sake of a garnish. If your plate is full, opt for a drizzle of
flavor-infused vinegar or oil to enhance the taste and appearance of your dish without overcrowding
your plate.
 Garnishes to Avoid - Avoid using unappetizing garnishes like raw herbs, large chunks of citrus, and
anything with a strong odor. Also, avoid garnishes that take a long time to apply.
Food Plating Methods

There are three popular plating methods: classic,

free form, and landscape. Master each method to
create meals worth photographing. We provide
ideas on how to plate food using each method
below. We’ve selected a white square plate as our
canvas. Filet mignon, potato puree, carrots, demi-
glace, pea puree, lima bean and pea blend,
thyme, and fried leeks are our materials.
Classic Plating
1.Pipe the potato puree onto the
plate using a pastry bag.

2.Place the carrots next to the

puree using precision tongs.
3.Garnish the carrots with thyme using
precision tongs.

4.Plate the steak using precision tongs.

5.Garnish the steak with fried leeks using
precision tongs.

6.Drizzle the demi-glace around

the plate using a spouted saucier
7.Wipe the edges of the plate with a clean
towel

8.Finished classic plate.

 Free Form Plating

1.Pipe dots of potato 2.Slice the steak into three 3.Plate the pieces of steak using
puree onto the plate pieces using a chef's knife precision tongs.
using a pastry bag.
 6.Place dots of pea puree
4.Place the lima bean and 5.Plate the carrots using
around the plate using a
pea blend around the precision tongs.
large squeeze bottle.
plate using a spoon.
 7.Place dots of 8.Garnish the plate
the demi-glace with fried leeks using
around the plate precision tongs.
using a small
squeeze bottle

9.Wipe the edges of 10.Finished free-

the plate with a form plate.
clean towel.
 Landscape Plating
1.Place dots of pea 2.
puree around the Paint the pea puree
plate using a large onto the plate using
squeeze bottle. a brush.

4.Plate the carrots

3.Pipe the potato puree using precision tongs
onto the plate using a
pastry bag.
5.Lean the steak
6.Place the lima bean
against the puree
and pea blend around
and carrots using
the plate using a spoon
precision tongs.

7.Drizzle the 8.Garnish the steak

demi-glace with fried leeks using
around the plate precision tongs.
using a spouted
saucier.
9.Wipe the edges of the plate with a clean towel 10.Finished landscape plate.
 Plating Tools
Having professional tools is essential for commercial plating. We’ve rounded up the
foundational items you need to create restaurant-quality food presentations.

 Decorating brushes aid in detailed line work and broad sauce strokes. You can
also use decorating brushes to create a puree or coulis base for meats or
vegetables.
 Garnishing kits come with everything you need to garnish your signature dishes,
including plating wedges, tongs, squeeze bottles, and brushes.
 Molds keep plates clean and increase visual appeal by cutting ingredients to
specific shapes and sizes. Ring molds help you develop height and structure
when stacking ingredients.
 Precision tongs help you place garnishes or small, delicate items. Many tongs
feature micro-serrations for improved grip and stability.

 Plating wedges come pre-cut with flat, round, or pointed edges and are perfect
for smearing soft ingredients and creating sauce designs.
 Shavers allow you to top your dishes with shaved or grated chocolate, hard
cheese, or soft vegetables.
 Plating Spoons in varying sizes are essential to the art of food presentation.
Saucier spoons help you drag sauce across your plate and slotted spoons quickly
separate solids from liquids.
 Squeeze bottles help you apply sauce and aioli to your finished plate. Many
come with adjustable precision control tips.
Whether you own a fine dining
establishment, gastropub, or eclectic
cafe, thoughtful plating will attract
customers and earn their loyalty.
Even before they sample your meal,
your guests will eat with their eyes.
To test this theory, Oxford
researchers plated the same meal
two ways, artfully and without
attention, and diners reported that
the artfully plated version tasted
better. By integrating basic food
presentation techniques, styles, and
tools, you can enhance your plating
process and increase your menu
prices without deterring customers.