Plating Techniques

Today I want to present a host post from Essentially Healthy Food about plate garnishing. Please meet Suzie Banks and her article  

Plating Techniques - Follow the Shape of the Plate

Plating is a very subjective area. The plate is to a chef or cook what a canvas is to an artist and like a piece of artwork, the end results often provoke mixed reactions. Styles of food presentation are also very fashion led. Creative chefs tend to lead the way with new plating trends, ideas which eventually become the 'current style' in plating which means that plating styles are continually evolving.

This results in countless different plating styles. Some rely on using hidden grids and other design principles to accurately position food whilst others are more random in appearance.

So how do you decide how you are going to plate your food? The easiest style is dictated by the shape of the plate you use and then you simply follow that shape. Round plates lend themselves to circles and curves whilst straight lines suit square and rectangular plates.

When I'm planning a dish, particularly for a special occasion, I like to sketch out some plating ideas on a piece of paper. I find it saves the mad panic of where to put the food when you're in the middle of plating up and also you can work out exactly what accompaniments and garnishes you'll need so you can factor these into the design and preparation. With this in mind, I've produced some sketches to give you some ideas for various different shaped plates.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to plating, you are limited only by your own creativity and imagination. However, remember that the objective is always to tantalise the taste buds by making the food look deliciously tempting.

Round & Oval Plates

Think Circles, Curves, Sectors & Swirls!

The plating style of the Strawberry & Passion Fruit Tarts is a classic design. The round tart is placed centrally on a round plate and is surrounded with a circle of strawberry quarters and passion fruit seeds which are roughly placed using a hidden 16 point radial grid. for guidance. Not positioning them too uniformly gives the dish a more natural feel and the casualness of the passion fruit seeds helps to soften the appearance even further. The single strawberry placed centrally on the tart gives the dish a prominent central point.

Square & Rectangular Plates

Think Straight Lines, Squares, Rectangles & Corners!

As you can see in the photograph, the Chicken & Asparagus Terrine with Grape Salsa follows a rectangular design with the sliced terrine and salsa placed in two parallel lines down the length of a rectangular plate.

On the other hand, the Smoked Haddock with a Sun Dried Tomato & Pine Nut Crust makes full use of the corners of the square plate. The potatoes and fish are placed on a central line with the watercress dressing drizzled in two parallel lines either side whilst the cherry tomatoes and beans fill the corner positions.

Triangular Plates

Think Triangles, Straight Lines & Points!

Obscure Shaped Plates

Think Creatively - Follow the Curves, Lines or Angles!