1. Food Presentation
Chapter 29

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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)

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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

41. 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

42. 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

43. 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

44. 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

45. 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

46. 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

47. 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

48. 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

49. 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

50. 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

51. 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.

52. 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.

53. 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.

54. 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.

55. 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.

56. 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.

57. 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.

58. 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.

59. 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.

60. 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.

61. 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.

62. 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.