The restaurant industry keeps evolving day after day, especially with the rise of millennials who will fore-go the trouble of self catering at home to enjoy a readily made meal at their favorite restaurant. With this trend comes competition among eateries to ensure they provide impressive services, not only on quality and quantity but also on presentation.
After working hard in the kitchen to see to it that your customers are left to lick their fingers and crave to return for more, the last thing you want is a not so appealing plating that looks disorganized on the table. Here are a few plating hints by Jumia Travel, Africa’s leading online hotel booking platform, on making sure your guests don’t just dine; stimulate their appetite and get them wowed by your visual food art.
Clean up
The best way to start things off is to ensure the eating environment, whether in the restaurant or at home is clean and tidy; it goes a long way in giving a positive first impression. Place a vase of flowers if necessary to add a touch of style and arrange everything in its place. At this step, see to it that the table arrangement fits your guests’ needs and numbers to avoid a last minute rush for extra seats or sets of cutlery.
Go plain on the plate color
You want to make sure every color in your dish is clearly visible and not interfered with by the flora patterns on the plates. Choose the right plate size depending on the portions you intend to serve; this provides for enough space to fit the meal without clumping it or leaving too much empty space on the sides.
Practice makes perfect
If it is your first time, do not wait until d-day to present your meal. Try it several times with friends and close family at home. If you are a professional hotelier, the opportunity may have presented itself during training. Master where the knives and forks are rightly placed; practice more and high chances are that you will thrill your guests with perfection.
Arrangement
The most important part in food plating is the arrangement of the different foods on the plate. Classical plating arranges the main elements of the meal on a clock style. Assume the plate is the clock and place the protein, which is usually the most sizable, between 3 and 9 o’clock. Starch/carbohydrates between 9 and 12 o’clock and vegetables of the same amount between 12 and 3 o’clock. This arrangement ensures that none of the dish overshadows the other and that each is accessible without necessarily trampling the others.
Make it colorful
Without overdoing it, make the dish as colorful as possible. Color in any instance catches the eye first and gets one excited to dig in and taste what they eye has already consumed.
Make it more appealing with decorations
Decorations can take any form as long as they are edible. From sauces, to parsley, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, fresh coriander, to the commonly used pieces of cut lemon; these add a special finish to the plating.
The most important takeaway is keeping your food presentation as simple as possible. Additionally, personalized service will make your guests feel special and appreciated, boosting customer retention for the restaurants. See your guests indulge with every of their senses and be proud of your impressive art in dish styling.
By Josephine Wawira, Jumia Travel
