The way you present your food is what tempts customers to try a dish. We eat with our senses: what we see, smell, and feel. And in the age of Instagrammers and food bloggers, food plating and presentation matters more than ever. 

Transform your meals from simple to stunning using these Core Tips. 

Shapeshift

A simple tip for plating food is to follow the shape of your plate. If you are using circular plates, echo its shape by placing the elements of your meal in a circular composition to add rhythm to your dish. Similarly, a square dish will have added depth when served in a square plate.

Puree All The Way

Purees are essential for visually stimulating dishes not only because they can easily be manipulated into the shape of your choice but also because they can anchor hard to balance components as the base of your dish. The best part is they are really easy to make! Using a simple stick blender, you can pulse together veggies and fruits to create deliciously creamy pastes in seconds.

Blooming Dishes

Edible flowers can add just that pop of colour you were looking for to send your dish over the edge. Some of our favourites include violets, nasturtiums and bean blossoms. But remember, flowers have a taste so make sure to only add ones that make sense with the plate as a whole. As they are prone to bruising, our tip is to use precision tongs to delicately place your flowers where you want them on the plate.

Draw the Line

Speaking of focal point, you can use a simple sauce bottle to create lines that direct the eye in the direction of your choice. This technique works for both precise drawing and a more abstract approach. Try to experiment with the different ways you can draw emphasis to certain elements of your meal.

Our Top Tip?

Just have fun with it! The most exciting and innovative ideas are always born from experimentation. Not everything is going to look amazing the first time you try it but you would never know what does work if you never tried it. So use our tips as a guideline and give yourself the time and patience to play around with new plating ideas. We’re sure you’ll be creating culinary fine art in no time.

Tools of the Trade

Investing in some quality tools and equipment is the first step in taking your plating skills further. Level up your cooking game and add zest to your kitchen with Core Catering Supplies, the largest suppliers of professional-grade catering equipment in South Africa. Our vast range has all the cookware, serveware, tableware and more you need to create masterpiece meals.