The Art of Food Presentation: Everybody Can Do It, Even You

Last Saturday I was sitting on my second-favorite bench in my fourth-favorite park, when a woman walking by shouted at me, “you look Raphael-esque!” Some people might have just ignored being shouted at by a passer-by, but not me. I happen to be completely tickled by being compared to a great work of art, and I shouted back, “Oh, go on!” But she had already gone on and crossed the street.

I stayed on the bench longer than I meant to, holding my pose and getting bitten by mosquitoes, thinking about the power of a nice presentation. Even though I wasn’t exactly sure what painting she was referring to – and assuming it was a painting and not a Ninja Turtle – I surmised that the shouty woman perceived artistry where there was only me because of the way I had arranged myself. Sitting in an elegant slouch, with an open-necked shirt, in front of some kind of myrtle tree plant was not at all a complicated arrangement, but evidently it had an inviting visual appeal. And the presentation of food on a plate ought to be similarly enticing.

In restaurants a great deal is made about the look of an order. In pastry school we had a whole course focusing on how to present a pretty plate. But I don’t think creating a sightly dish need be the result of too much study or guile. It just needs a tiny bit of forethought and, of course, a little common sense.

First of all: don’t crowd the plate. No matter how good a cook you are, people will only be reminded of sloppy cafeteria lunches when everything is all piled on together. If you’re a person with a voracious appetite who must eat loads of food at one sitting, that’s fine. Just invest in some appropriately gigantic dishes.

Another thing to keep in mind is color. Certainly, nobody intends to serve up a big plate of beige – but sometimes it’s hard to avoid. Let’s say your dinner is an optically lame whole-wheat cous cous and grilled chicken: you could liven it up by giving it a garnish. Just chop some fresh parsley or cilantro and sprinkle that on top. It’ll still be a plate of earth tones, but at least the green bits show you’ve made an effort.

Or, even better, toss a handful of cherry tomatoes with a tablespoon or so of olive oil, salt, and freshly ground pepper on a baking sheet. Place it under the broiler until the tomatoes get a little shriveled, blistery, and slightly caramelized, no more than four minutes. Stir them into the cous cous, they’ll taste so good and look like scattered jewels (which are the best kind of jewels, obviously).

Now, if you’ve got guests coming over whom you’d like to impress (i.e., anybody who comes over), you’ll want do a little something to class up the plate. It only takes a few artistic touches here and there to have your dining companions swooning – or at minimum have them moderately intimidated by your fanciness. For example, as soon as any guest enters my home I always make them a cocktail garnished with a fresh sprig of mint. People really freak out over this, I can’t tell you why – it’s only mint. But there you go.

For the main course, do use an unexpected element. I have a friend who, whenever he has a date visit his apartment for the first time, will make a salmon dish that he serves sprinkled with black sesame seeds. The color contrast is fun and fresh, he says, and the ladies love it. I have to take his word for this (we’re not that kind of friends).

For dessert, do not underestimate the importance of sauce. Worried that fudgey brownies or butter cookies are the only sweet dishes in your repertoire? Well, don’t be. You can serve them with great aplomb on small plates atop a swirl of homemade sauce. All you have to do is plop three or four tablespoons of jam (raspberry or apricot are personal favorites, but anything will work) in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in some water (or alcohol) to thin it slightly, then drizzle on the plate. Oh so fancy.

Now, if these ideas don’t appeal, my best suggestion is to serve up any old hash from the kitchen and tell your guests that the evening has a rustic theme. Give everybody their own jug of wine, rip off hunks of bread to nosh on, and sing drinking songs. I’m quite sure it is what any artiste would do.

(The photo above is of a painting by Vincent Van Gogh, which I found on the internet by googling famous paintings + food. I wanted to use a photo of a Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino painting, but he really didn’t depict anything edible. Just the madonnas and the whores. Also some cherubs.)