Food Presentation Chapter 29

Hot Food Presentation Key Points We eat for enjoyment as well as for nutrition and sustenance. Cooking is not just a trade but an art that appeals to our senses of taste, smell, and sight. “The eye eats first” is a well-known saying. Our first impressions of a plate of food set our expectations.

FUNDAMENTALS OF PLATING (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation FUNDAMENTALS OF PLATING (CONT’D) Your job as a cook and a chef is to get your customers interested in and excited about your food. When a chef plans a new dish, appearance as well as flavor must be considered. The senses of sight, taste, smell, and touch all come into play when we evaluate and enjoy food.

FUNDAMENTALS OF PLATING (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation FUNDAMENTALS OF PLATING (CONT’D) Three Essentials of Food Presentation Good Preparation and Cooking Techniques Well-prepared and properly cooked food with a good aroma is usually appealing all by itself. Professional Work Habits Serving attractive food is largely a matter of being neat and careful and using common sense. Visual Sense Effective food presentation depends on developing an understanding of balance, arrangement, and garniture.

FUNDAMENTALS OF PLATING (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation FUNDAMENTALS OF PLATING (CONT’D) Balance Colors Two or three colors on a plate are usually more interesting than just one. Shapes Plan for variety of shape and form as well as of color.

FUNDAMENTALS OF PLATING (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation FUNDAMENTALS OF PLATING (CONT’D) Balance (cont’d) Textures Good balance requires a variety of textures on the plate. Flavors You can’t see flavor, but this is one more factor you must consider when balancing colors, shapes, and textures on the plate.

FUNDAMENTALS OF PLATING (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation FUNDAMENTALS OF PLATING (CONT’D) Arrangement on the Plate Keep food off the rim of the plate. Arrange the items for the convenience of the customer. Keep space between items, unless, of course, they are stacked on one another. Maintain unity. Make every component count. When using a sauce or gravy, add it attractively. Keep it simple.

Hot Food Presentation Garnish What is garnish? The word garnish is derived from a French word meaning “to adorn” or “to furnish.” In English, we use the word to mean “to decorate or embellish a food item by the addition of other items.” The word is used also for the decorative items themselves.

Hot Food Presentation GARNISH (CONT’D) Classical Garnish In classical cooking, the terms garnish and garniture have been used the way we use the term accompaniments. The classical French chef had a tremendous repertoire of simple and elaborate garnishes, which all had specific names.

Hot Food Presentation GARNISH (CONT’D) Classical Garnishes (cont’d) Bouquetière : bouquet of vegetables Printanière : spring vegetables Jardinière : garden vegetables Primeurs : first spring vegetables Clamart : peas Crècy : carrots Doria: cucumbers (cooked in butter)

Hot Food Presentation GARNISH (CONT’D) Classical Garnishes (cont’d) Dubarry : cauliflower Fermière : carrots, turnips, onions, and celery, cut into uniform slices Florentine: spinach Forestière : mushrooms Lyonnaise : onions

Hot Food Presentation GARNISH (CONT’D) Classical Garnish (cont’d) Niçoise : tomatoes concassé cooked with garlic Parmentier : potatoes Princesse: asparagus Provençale : tomatoes with garlic, parsley, and, sometimes, mushrooms and/or olives

Arrangement on the Plate Hot Food Presentation Arrangement on the Plate Dishes can be adapted to many different styles of restaurant The following series of slides show how a series of dishes with common base components can be plated. Roasted Beet Salad with Gorgonzola Butternut Squash Soup Braised Short Ribs Roast Rack of Lamb Beef Tenderloin Sautéed Salmon Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Arrangement on the Plate Hot Food Presentation Arrangement on the Plate Creating a Plating Style Roasted Beet Salad with Gorgonzola Three main elements to arrange on a plate: Beets Greens Gorgonzola cheese

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Roasted Beet Salad with Gorgonzola, Plate 1 Arranged on a round plate Walnuts added for additional texture and new flavor element

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Roasted Beet Salad with Gorgonzola, Plate 2 Arranged on a round plate Pear slices included for sweet flavor contrast Golden beets removed to allow for pear slice addition Gorgonzola included as wedges Walnuts are candied

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Roasted Beet Salad with Gorgonzola, Plate 3 Arranged on a rectangle plate Pear is poached and sliced lengthwise A gorgonzola truffle is included along with pear chutney Greens and candied walnut pieces are used as garnish

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Roasted Beet Salad with Gorgonzola, Plate 4 Arranged on a square plate Vanilla roasted beets are used The to of a gorgonzola rectangle is caramelized Candied walnuts are powdered to put in a line Orange fluid gel and beet green oil are added flavor accents

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Butternut Squash Soup Base dish: Caramelized Apples

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Butternut Squash Soup, Plate 1 Finish with a swirl of caramelized juices from the apple instead of using cream

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Butternut Squash Soup, Plate 2 Flavor the soup with ground ginger Use a drizzle of sage oil Garnish with curried almonds

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Butternut Squash Soup, Plate 3 Cut the apple into 1-in. (2.5-cm) disks and caramelize Finish with candied squash seeds and maple emulsion foam

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Butternut Squash Soup, Plate 4 Arrange caramelized apple disks in the center of the bowl Top the apple disks with slices of smoked chicken breast Top the chicken with pickled apple and frisée leaves. Dot the soup with sage oil

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Braised Short Ribs Base dish: Braised short ribs A vegetable A starch

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Braised Short Ribs, Plate 1 A simple arrangement in the center of a round plate Braised short ribs, Dauphinoise potatoes, and steamed green beans with shallots

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Braised Short Ribs, Plate 2 In the center of a round plate, use grits made with heavy cream as a base. Top grits with collards with ham Place short ribs on top of the collards Nappé the short rib with sauce and top with crispy onion rings

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Braised Short Ribs, Plate 3 Prepare grits with smoked cheddar; chill until firm in a hotel pan; cut rectangles and brown lightly in butter On a square plate, arrange the grit cake, short ribs, collards with ham, and glazed tournéed carrots

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Braised Short Ribs, Plate 4 Use a potato purée flavored with horseradish and thinned with cream Using a rectangle plate, spread some of the purée on the plate and top with pont neuf potatoes Add the short rib and spinach flavored with garlic Top the short rib with a salad of frisée and shallot

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Roast Rack of Lamb Base dish: Roast rack of lamb A vegetable Duchesse potato preparation

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Roast Rack of Lamb, Plate 1 A simple arrangement in the center of a round plate Arrange the lamb, lamb jus, duchesse potato, and Brussels sprouts with walnuts

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Roast Rack of Lamb, Plate 2 Another arrangement in the center of a round plate The lamb and jus are served with zucchini sauté provençal The duchesse mixture is used to make potato croquettes

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Roast Rack of Lamb, Plate 3 An arrangement on a square plate The lamb is rubbed with pesto before roasting The duchesse mixture spread in a pan, topped with a bread crumb and parmesan cheese mixture, and browned; a rectangle of this is used on the plate The plate also includes zucchini sauté provençal and orange and tarragon fennel sous vide

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Roast Rack of Lamb, Plate 4 The lamb and jus are arranged on a rectangle plate with a swoosh of creamy cauliflower purée The lamb rests against small mounds of orange scented spinach and roasted cauliflower with almonds and raisins The duchesse mixture is make into small, round croquettes

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Beef Tenderloin Base dish: Beef tenderloin Bordelaise sauce Potatoes Broccoli

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Beef Tenderloin, Plate 1 A traditional plating on a round plate A slice of roasted tenderloin with Bordelaise sauce is arranged with broccoli and mashed potatoes

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Beef Tenderloin, Plate 2 A traditional plating is modernized on a square plate The tenderloin is arranged with broccoli mornay, roasted potatoes, and Bordelaise sauce

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Beef Tenderloin, Plate 3 Beef tenderloin sous vide is featured on a rectangle plate The beef rests against sautéed mushrooms It is accompanied by broccoli flavored with lemon zest and browned, shaved garlic Potato rods rissolé sprinkled with parsley chiffonade completes the plate

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Beef Tenderloin, Plate 4 A square plate is used to plate this beef tenderloin sous vide garnished with fleur de sel sea salt The beef rests on olive oil and garlic confit potatoes Shaved-garlic and lemon-scented potatoes is behind the beef and potatoes with a swoosh of caramelized roasted onion purée Bordelaise sauce on the plate and crispy fried shallot rings top the beef

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Sautéed Salmon Base dish: Escalope of salmon with red wine sauce A vegetable A starch

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Sautéed Salmon, Plate 1 A traditional plating on a round plate It is accompanied by mixed vegetables and parsleyed new potatoes The salmon is lightly coated with fine herbs and shallot

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Sautéed Salmon, Plate 2 Another plating on a round plate The salmon is placed on top of side-by-side mounds of braised green cabbage and potatoes with bacon and onion The salmon is garnished with halved grape tomatoes, tossed with olive oil and roasted

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Sautéed Salmon, Plate 3 A traditional round plate is given a modern feel with a swoosh of roasted vegetable purée The salmon is served with fine diced roasted winter vegetables and green lentils with celery root and mustard The salmon is topped with pear salad

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Sautéed Salmon, Plate 4 A modern plating on a square plate The salmon and sauce are on one side of the plate Herb and garlic sous vide potations with a swoosh of carrot purée are on the other side of the plate The salmon is garnished with delicate salad greens and slivered radish

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Grilled Pork Tenderloin Base dish: Grilled marinated pork tenderloin Greens Sweet potato Apple

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Plate 1 A traditional plating on a square plate Slices of tenderloin rest against mashed sweet potato and sautéed spinach Applesauce is a traditional accompaniment for pork

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Plate 2 In the center of a large, square plate, the pork is served on a bed of spinach The pork is garnished with apple relish The sauce is the juice from the apple relish mixed with olive oil

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Plate 3 A modern arrangement on a rectangular plate The pork rests against Roman-style spinach Fennel and coriander sweet potatoes are next to the pork The sauce is made from apples that are roasted before being puréed

ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Hot Food Presentation ARRANGEMENT ON THE PLATE (CONT’D) Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Plate 4 Puréed sweet potato enriched with butter and cream is spread on a square plate as a base The pork is garnished with pink Himalayan salt and placed at one end of the sweet potato The apple and fennel salad is at the other end Roman-style spinach and fennel and coriander sweet potato are used between the pork and salad

Cold Food Presentation and Buffet Service Key Points The buffet is a popular and profitable form of food presentation found in nearly every kind of food service operation. There are at least three reasons for this popularity: Visual appeal Efficiency Adaptability

Cold Food Presentation and Buffet Service Buffet Arrangement and Appearance Lavishness and Abundance The appearance of an abundance of food beautifully laid out is exciting and stimulating to the appetite. There are many ways to create this look: Color Height Full platters and bowls Proper spacing

Cold Food Presentation and Buffet Service BUFFET ARRANGEMENT AND APPEARANCE (CONT’D) Simplicity Overdesigned, overdecorated food scares people away from eating it. Too much design detracts from the food. Sometimes food is so overdecorated that it no longer looks like food. Excessive garnish is quickly destroyed as customers take portions.

Cold Food Presentation and Buffet Service BUFFET ARRANGEMENT AND APPEARANCE (CONT’D) Orderliness Simple arrangements are much easier to keep neat and orderly than complicated designs. Colors and shapes should look lively and varied. Make sure they go together and do not clash. Keep the style consistent. If it is formal, then everything should be formal. If it is casual or rustic, then every part of the presentation should be casual or rustic.

Cold Food Presentation and Buffet Service BUFFET ARRANGEMENT AND APPEARANCE (CONT’D) Menu and Serving Sequence The following should be taken into account when arranging a buffet: Hot foods are best served last. The more expensive foods are usually placed after the less expensive items. Sauces and dressings should be placed next to the items with which they are to be served. A separate dessert table is often a good idea. Plates, of course, must be the first items on the table.

Cold Food Presentation and Buffet Service BUFFET ARRANGEMENT AND APPEARANCE (CONT’D) The Cocktail Buffet Only appetizer-type foods (tasty, well-seasoned foods in small portions) are served. Stacks of small plates should be placed beside each item rather than at the beginning of the table. The table(s) must be easy to get to from all parts of the room, and must not block traffic.

Cold Food Presentation and Buffet Service COLD PLATTER PRESENTATION Basic Principles of Platter Presentation The three elements of a buffet platter: Centerpiece or grosse pièce. The slices or serving portions of the main food item, arranged artistically. The garnish, arranged artistically, in proportion to the cut slices.

Cold Food Presentation and Buffet Service COLD PLATTER PRESENTATION (CONT’D) Basic Principles of Platter Presentation The food should be easy to handle and serve, so one portion can be removed without ruining the arrangement. A simple design is best. Attractive platter presentations may be made on many materials, as long as they are presentable and suitable for use with food. Once a piece of food has touched the tray, do not remove it. Think of the platter as part of the whole buffet.

Cold Food Presentation and Buffet Service COLD PLATTER PRESENTATION (CONT’D) Designing the Platter Plan ahead. Plan for movement in your design. Give the design a focal point. Keep items in proportion. Let the guest see the best side of everything.

Cold Food Presentation and Buffet Service COLD PLATTER PRESENTATION (CONT’D) Cheese Platters Whole cheeses or cheeses in large pieces are generally more attractive than an arrangement of slices. This also helps the guest identify the varieties. Be sure to supply several knives so guests can cut their own portions.

Cold Food Presentation and Buffet Service COLD PLATTER PRESENTATION (CONT’D) Cheese Platters (cont’d) An assortment of fresh fruit is often included on a cheese tray. This adds a great deal to the appearance of a cheese presentation. The flavors go well with cheese.

Cold Food Presentation and Buffet Service COLD PLATTER PRESENTATION (CONT’D) Sanitation Cold food for buffets presents a special sanitation problem. The food spends a great deal of time out of refrigeration while it is being assembled and decorated, and again while it sits on the buffet.

Cold Food Presentation and Buffet Service COLD PLATTER PRESENTATION (CONT’D) Sanitation (cont’d) It is particularly important to follow all the rules of safe food handling. Keep foods chilled until the last minute before they are served. It is a good idea to arrange each course or item on a number of small platters rather than on one large one. The replacements can then be refrigerated until needed.

Hot Foods for Buffets Key Points Hot items are nearly always served from chafing dishes. These hot foods cannot be elaborately decorated and garnished the way cold foods can. Hot foods for chafing dishes should be easily portioned or already portioned in the pan. Hot foods are best placed at the end of the buffet so that they do not cool on the guests’ plates before they are seated.