Turn Your Dinner into a Work of Art

“You eat with your eyes first.” Have you heard this before and thought, “but how do I make my food appetizing for my eyes?”  In this video, I share my top tips and tricks for turning your dinner into a work of art. The basic design principles and food styling guidelines I share are just a starting point because this, as with all art, involves a lot of personal preference and creativity. Because at the end of the day, your plate design won’t matter much if you don’t actually enjoy the food you’re eating. So make some delicious food, express your creativity in plating it, and revel in the compliments and “oooohs and aaaahs” you hear!

Create A Framework

1. Focus on the main ingredient of the dish (oftentimes the protein)

2. Plan for a variety of colors and textures in your dish

3. Design to match the theme

Garnishes

1. Ensure the garnish adds important  flavor, texture, or color (ideally all three)

Color 

1. starts with the plate

   1. white for clean, classic look

   2. Dark for dramatic look and a nice background for pale, lighter foods

   3. Bold colors and designs can overpower food

2. A variety of color in your food creates interest, complexity, and causes our brains to expect flavorful food

Dimension and Balance

1. use the rule of thirds

   1. don’t pile everything in the center of the plate

2. Plate items in odd numbers

3. Create more dimension and height by leaning foods onto one another

Temperature

1. Warm foods on warm plates and bowls

2. Cold foods on cold dishes

3. Use separate dishes for hot and cold foods and at the very least use a buffer plate

Size

1. Use an appropriate sized plate for the size of food

   1. Don’t allow your food to spill over the sides

   2. Don’t leave an abundance of neutral empty space

   3. Plan your portion sizes appropriately for the number of courses 

Keep the focus on the main ingredient

Plate moist foods first and think about texture, what textures need to be protected from soaking up moisture or wilting etc.