Food Presentation and Garnishing Techniques

Cooking a meal for the special someone in your life or celebrating an occasion at home requires a lot of effort. All the time and effort would fall flat if it is not presented well on the table. Presentation is a very crucial part of every dish; you do not have to be a master chef of five star rated hotels to create the same class effect.

We humans cannot separate food from the lifestyles we have; just have a look at the various cuisines that we have all around the world. For me food is my passion, not that i am a big foodie, it is just that I share a passion for recipes.I and my family have loved having friends over every weekend and food becomes a part of the routine.  We all have hectic lifestyles and when we invite friends over we have so much to talk to and unwind.

What is a mouth watering dish, we always use this term very liberally but in the real sense is that their appetite should rise just at the sight of the dish. A dish that looks appealing to the eye is hands down hit among the guests. All you need is a simple instructions and some forethought to make it look enticing. The main dish should look like the brightest one and cast a spell over the glances of the guests.

When it comes to food, every person is very particular and very fussy and when you are having guests over you surely don’t want to mess the dish with inedible garnishing. My personal thumb rule stick with veggies, fruits and spices to add some zing and colour to the platter.

Main course:

Decoration and food should harmonize one another, always bear in mind that when you are serving a dish that the garnish and the dish don’t contradict in tastes. If you really do not have time then simple lemon wedges will do the trick to elevate the smoked fish of the main course. Serve it with some dill that is finely chopped it adds a touch of green and looks appealing too. In Indian dishes one garnish that can never go wrong is coriander and neatly slit green chilies.

If you cannot think of using the ingredients as a garnish then think twice if it won’t appeal your taste buds then the guests won’t like it too. Take chocolate mousse with parsley that is one combo I would never try.

If you are serving ice cream in the dessert then i would suggest you go with vanilla ice cream. You can take very cute and delicate bowls and place a scoop of ice cream on a glazed glass with chocolate sause. To top it add a complimenting wafer stick. It holds true with food as well, simle things can be elaborated on and made colourful. If the choice was chocolate ice cream then there is very less room for improvement. For all the diehard chocolate fans, you can always go for some extra chocolate sauce.

For an even more interesting fruit dessert garnish, make frosted fruit by painting on some lightly beaten egg white, rolling the fruit in superfine sugar, and letting it dry overnight.

Arrange them in a neat fashion and avoid clutter, don’t overdo anything, some subtle differences will surely make a lasting impression.

Sprinkle some flavours into the dish before serving so that even if the dish has been made in a jiffy stands out in the crowd.

Sprinkle nuts, saffron in shrikhand(flavoured curd), herbs such as parsley, finely chopped veggies to add a quick touch to the food.

hese simple food art tricks can be used by any bachelor or anyone who is single for that matter. Make use of this simple easy to follow decorations and you will surely stump the invited friends in the very first visit.

Sliced Onion

Onion may have a pungent smell hence to remove that add it to chilled salted water. This reduces the bitter taste to some extent, the onions are a part of Indian cuisine they go well with the chicken tikka masala and biryani recipes. You can make different decorations from fresh onion, slice it finely and separate rings carefully. You can use it as a colorful medium of red and black onion by rolling them in red pepper powder or black pepper powder.

Tomato Rose

Take a firm tomato for this decoration, start from the very tip and very carefully using a sharpened knife make an incision on the top. Beginning at the top of a tomato, peel the tomato skin with a sharp utility knife. The garnish works best if the peel is ¾" to 1" wide, is a continuous peel, and the peel is thin with very little flesh attached. You have to remove the skin in a circular manner, you will get a roll and when you place the top as the base and rotate the skin you will get a beautiful rose shaped decoration.

Carrot curls:

Before slicing, use a vegetable peeler to cut a strip of the peeled carrot. The carrot strip must be rolled and secured with a toothpick. Place in a cold glass of water in the refrigerator. Wait 2 to 3 hours and remove from water. When toothpick is removed, the peel should remain curled, stretch the curl out and place on the plate as a colorful garnish

For all the non vegetarion eaters, this my personal tip for a simple yet glossy finish for your meat, fish, poultry dishes; brush them up with oil; This cooked meat already has a golden skin and this oil just adds up to its shine making it irresistible.

Always keep the decorative items in the last prior to serving, as placing them before may make it soggier or lose its purpose.

With these simple and easy to follow tips I am sure they will help you in the kitchen and get the chef in you some well deserved credit from the guests. We all can look lets make it appealing and enticing for us and our guests. Make them a meal they will remember for a lifetime.