FOOD is nourishment for the body. It is an essential part of our daily living as we can not really do without food. That is why attention must be paid to anything that goes into our body must be paid attention to and most importantly, must look great to the eyes. It doesn’t matter how much money goes into preparing a meal or how much energy is expended, if the presentation is shabby, it kills the appetite and the whole taste is lost.
Recently, a birthday party was organised at an exotic restaurant. When it was time for meal to be served, everyone was not expecting anything of low quality to the environment. But to our surprise, the party meal, a combination of fried rice, jollof rice and moin-moin with fish and chicken was muddled together in a soup plate. It was the sight that first killed our appetite. Though most testified that the meal was tasty, the wastage was much due to poor presentation.
Do you know as Homemakers, it can be frustrating if after expending much time and energy to prepare a meal, you are left with left-overs as thank you for your meal? Everything is not about what you do but about presentation. Do you know that even your look or appearance after preparing a meal can put people off from tasting what you expended energy on? Physical appearance matters in life. That is why many will put on expensive clothes but the combination is just horrible. No excellence is seen and everything may reduce the person’s personality. Whereas some people with great style will wear less expensive clothes and you will just love them. So it is in meal presentation.
Imagine an artist who, after labouring over a painting, displays it without a frame, or a businessman who develops a marketing strategy, then writes it out on a napkin, or an author who writes a masterpiece, then sends it to the publisher as a rough draft.
Presentation matters in everything we do in life. It says a lot about how much effort has been put into it. After slaving in a kitchen for hours, you don’t present your hard work by just slabbing it on the plate. No one is going to eat it, no matter how great it smells.
So, what are the components of good food presentation? How do you know what to pay attention to when presenting food to your guests, yourself and your family?
No matter how delicious a dish may be, if it is served on a dirty plate, you will definitely not be tempted to taste it. Make sure all plates are sparkling clean.
• Adapt your plate presentation to the occasion. If you are preparing a children’s party, choose fun food presentations that will make them want to eat. They prefer “fun” designs rather than serious and traditional presentations. Plate does not only give pleasure to the meal, but it gives dignity and fulfillment to the one who prepared it.
Food presentation is all about timing. There is no point in offering your guests a fancy dish if it is served cold, when it was supposed to be served hot. So spend just enough time plating your dish.
• Another important rule of food presentation is balancing variety and contrast. It is good to have a variety of textures on the plate, but how these textures are combined is just as important.
• Garnish or no garnish? That is a crucial question when it comes to food presentation. There are foods that would look uninteresting without garnish. So let your artistic ability come to play if you are garnishing a meal.
• Matching portion size with plate size is another important aspect of food presentation. A plate that is too small for the food portion it offers will look messy and overcrowded. On the other hand, a small portion on too large a plate will look sparse.
•Never serve hot foods on cold plates and the other way around. This is another essential rule of food presentation.
Another suggestion is to get moulders. Moulders is not only meant for party meals. Treat yourself and your family as royalty. Use mould to make your meal tantalizing. They are quite good, try to invest in one. They come in various sizes and materials, like plastic, wooden and even ceramic. But however if you don’t have a moulder at home, you can make do with small bowls that have covers and let it guide you.
Make habit of presenting meal in colourful trays especially when you are not eating on the dinning table. Do not allow your guests to carry their food on their hands. It is bad food presentation. It starts with you. Train your household how to present meal with trays by making them use trays when eating.
For some women who complain about their husbands eating outside, it may be the presentation. You can’t be wrong as Homemakers if you adhere to the above.
The post Eye appeal …an important part of food presentation appeared first on Vanguard News.
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