easy food presentation

The way a meal looks is almost as important as how it tastes. Food that is pleasing to the eye always tastes better: imagine being served a plate in a restaurant that looked like a dog’s breakfast – your taste would likely be negatively influenced.

Approach the presentation of your meal like an artist would a blank canvas – strive for a pleasing arrangement and be mindful of composition, colour, lines and textures.

As a home entertainer no one expects you to go to the lengths that Michelin Star chef’s go to for their food presentation, but following these basic guidelines will transform your tasty meal into a memorable one:

Suitable servingware
Select a dish, bowl or platter that holds the food comfortably, is large enough for the food to be cut and deep enough to hold liquids without slopping. White or plain crockery is best for highly coloured or busy plates, whilst simple meals can be served on patterned plates or platters.

A busy meal like this is best served on plain crockery

Less is more
A simple display is preferable to a complicated one. Try not to overfill each plate, bowl or platter – leaving some space allows the eye to focus on the food. Remember to wipe away any spills or drips from the plate with a clean paper towel.

Colour and shape
Be mindful of the colours you are using when planning your menu. Imagine how dull a plate of chicken, cauliflower and potatoes would look! Vegetables are a wonderful way to add colour to a plate.

Try to incorporate a variety of shapes and forms as well as colour. For example avoid serving meatballs with baby potatoes and brussels sprouts – meatballs with mashed potatoes and carrot batons would be a more balanced choice.

Arranging the plate
Odd numbers are much more pleasing to the eye than even numbers. Serve food pieces in quantities of 3, 5 or 7 rather than 2, 4 or 6.

Avoid symmetry, as unless it is flawless it looks wrong. Place food off-centre and create slightly abstract shapes rather than striving for perfection.

Use odd-numbered pieces of food

Go for height
Instead of having the food lie flat on the plate or platter, create a 3-D effect by leaning or draping some foods over others. For example, lean asparagus spears over a steak or lamb cutlets over a mound of mashed potato.

Garnishes and other decorations
Garnishes are ideal for adding life to a plain plate, but are not necessary if your plate is already colourful or busy. If you choose to use a garnish, make sure that it is edible and is compatible with the meal. For example decorate mashed potato and chopped chives with a few whole chives or chocolate cake with chocolate curls.

Complex dishes should have a simple garnish, whilst uncomplicated dishes can handle a more complicated garnish. For example, chopped parsley would be a suitable garnish for beef bourguignon whilst plain grilled salmon would be better garnished with a melange of diced vegetables.

In addition to garnishes, use techniques such as drizzling and sprinkling to add interest to your meal and plate. Fill plastic squeeze bottles with sauces or liquid dressings and squeeze around the rim of the plate, or drizzle olive oil or other liquid over the food. Sprinkle chopped nuts or grated cheese either over your meal or around the rim of the plate to frame the dish. These techniques can also be used to mask imperfections.

Techniques like this add interest to the meal