Food Presentation

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 concassécooked with garlic • Parmentier : potatoes • Princesse: asparagus • Provençale : tomatoes with garlic, parsley, and, sometimes, mushrooms and/or olives

13. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 includedalong with pear chutney • Greens and candied walnut pieces are used as garnish

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

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

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

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

45. 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. 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. 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. 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