Yes, I'm still reeling a bit (in a good way) from my Tuesday adventure with John Ash at the Culinary Institute of America (see my previous post). In addition to the cooking and the eating, one of the parts of the day I enjoyed the most was John's presentation to us on, well, presentation, in this case when plating and serving food. It was fascinating to listen to what he tries to achieve for his presentations, and some of his suggestions for when we're in the kitchen. Here are some of the highlights: * Your goal should be to have the plate of food "seduce the eye." In other words, you want your presentation to look fabulous, not just rely on taste.
* Attempt to have one or more elements of surprise. John said that we're all "intrigued by the sense of discovery." One way to do this is to pair items in an unusual way.
* Attempt to have a "visual storyline" where the eye moves from one food item to another to another. Note that most humans read from left to right, so that's normally how we view food. Also, try to avoid the "bulls eye" affect, where the mail element is right in the center of the plate.
* For variety and sense of play, make all the foods on a plate different cuts and sizes. You want, in other words, a variety not just of tastes and textures, but also shapes.
Coming soon: Cooking with John (aka, I Get My Toque On)
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