When you’re cooking mid-week meals for yourself, you probably don’t worry what it looks like. As long as it tastes good and it’s healthy, who cares how it’s presented? But if you are cooking a special meal, maybe for a dinner party or a date night, it’s nice to spend a bit more time thinking about the presentation.
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Restaurant food isn’t just better because of the taste, it’s about the way that it’s presented on your plate as well. If you have ever tried to mimic this fancy presentation, you will know that it’s harder than it looks. However, there are some simple things that you can do to improve your food presentation. These are the best presentation tips to make your home cooking look professional.
Use A Charcuterie Board
If you are hosting a dinner party and you have some great cured meats and cheeses as an appetizer, you could just stick them on a plate on the table. But if you are trying to create the full restaurant experience, you should use a wooden charcuterie board instead. You can even make your own wood charcuterie board out of some old scrap pieces, so there’s no need to spend any money. Presenting your meats and cheeses on a nice wooden board, with a bit of thought about the arrangement, immediately takes a simple appetizer and turns it into something much more elegant and classy.
Build Upwards On The Plate
Have you ever noticed how fancy restaurants use big plates and it seems like there’s only a tiny amount of food right in the center? This is because they create height on the plate instead of letting it spread out, which makes it look a lot fancier. If you’re cooking for your favorite pasta dish with spaghetti, for example, try twirling it around a serving fork and placing it on the plate so it has height. Even something as simple as some fries look great if you can stack them in a nice arrangement.
Cut Back On Portion Sizes
If you have ever tried to arrange your food nicely on the plate but ended up with a big mess, it might be because there is simply too much of it. If you are going for elegance, try cutting back on your portion sizes. Avoid big family style portions of lasagna or stew because you can’t really arrange them in a nice way. A small slice of lasagna, with some carefully placed tender stem broccoli resting on the top will look much nicer. Cutting back on portions is also great for your health too.
Think About Color
You think about color when decorating your home and it’s no different when decorating a plate. Consider the color of the main element of the dish and what other colors might accent it. Try to avoid too many beige foods or having everything the same color. You can use sauces and even colorful vegetables to add more variation to the plate and make it more vibrant.
By applying these simple concepts and experimenting with your plates, you can make your home cooking look like a professional restaurant dish!
Thank you for reading!
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