The Art of Plating
Abeautiful plate of food is something you feast your eyes on long before the flavours of the dish hit your palate. Food can be a visual experience just as much as it is about the actual taste of the food. Go to any restaurant and you will see many diners snapping quick pictures of their food before they tuck in.
When done well, plating is an artform and careful consideration goes into it. It’s much more complex than simply plopping the main ingredient in the middle of a plate. There are many presentation trends in the restaurant world, and chefs in South Africa are eagerly experimenting with these. Think minimalist, modern, futuristic: these are not art movements, but plating styles.
A work of art is what many foodies have come to expect from a fine-dining experience — having an appreciation for not just delicious food, but food that is exquisite looking. Whether a plate of food is a Monet, a Picasso or a banana taped to a wall, all depends on the chef and their creative flare.
Norman Heath, Executive Chef at Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront in Cape Town, believes that a plate of food must be as attractive as it is delicious, especially in the age of social media. Countless images of food appear on social media channels every minute of every day. There is a demand, he says, for Instagram-worthy plating.
“We spend a lot of time planning our menu, not just in terms of seasonal ingredients and the overall taste and feel, but thinking about how we will present the dish,” Heath says. “When I trained, we learnt the clock plating technique which focused on the ratios of protein, vegetables and starch. It was really simple. Now, with Instagram and food trends, it has pushed everyone to the next level.”
Then there is the belief that food actually tastes better if it is presented beautifully. “A lot about dining out is visual. If it looks great, you’ve already got the diner 90% there. Then you blow them away with the flavours,” he explains.
Plating trends include everything from smears and dollops, to foams and flowers. A Few of the most popular plating trends on the international scene right now include edible flowers, adding touches of gold leaf, plating on unusual crockery, layering delicate slices to look like scales, creating craters in purées to hold sauces, shaping accompaniments in moulds, or styling a plate to resemble something else altogether (a garden, for example, where everything is edible from the “soil” to the “plants”).
“We investigate food trends from all over the world. We learn from international trends, and customise it to the South African palate and style, to make it our own, and set our own trend. You have to stay on top of trends or you will be left behind,” Heath says.
There are no hard and fast rules to modern plating. Dishes can be very structured or have a natural aesthetic. Food can even be 3D-printed now or served theatrically at the table in a cloud of smoke or under a dome that melts away when a sauce is poured over the top.
Heath explains that plating isn’t just the action of putting something on a plate, it depends on many factors — the ingredients, the flavours, the textures, and even the season. Every detail of the dish is very carefully planned out because it all contributes to the overall experience. “It’s a different process for winter and summer, for example. In summer, dishes are typically light, fresh and bright. While winter dishes are generally more hearty, warm, comforting and typically have less of a fine-dining aesthetic,” he says.
Every element must also be relevant, according to Heath, and have a purpose on the plate. Gone are the days of sprinkling chopped parsley on the side of the plate. Times have changed and patrons now expect even the garnish to contribute to the flavour of the dish
That’s not to say that food must be pretentious, however. Heath remembers some of his favourite dishes that he has ever eaten were simple, but sublime in flavour. During a dinner at Morimoto in Dubai, Heath recalls eating a simple dish of tempura crab salad with an “out-of-this-world Asian dressing that had so much depth of flavour”. Eating it, he says, was an experience that really stood out – as did the plating. On another occasion, he ate a simple five-ingredient salad at a local Cape Town eatery, and what he remembers most about the dish is that the ingredients really spoke for themselves and shone on the expertly styled plate.
“That’s how I love to cook. There are many food trends, but ultimately I like food to be delicious and uncomplicated. At home, I like to braai. That usually involves preparing fish for the braai that I have caught myself that day. I’ll perfect a tuna dish at home and often it will end up on the menu at Radisson Blu,” Heath says.
“Our location on the seafront lends itself very well to seafood. That contributes to the sensory experience. It’s about playing with the sight, the sound, the smell. To me, that is art.”
If you wish to get a first-hand lesson about the art of flavours and tips to plating canapes with Chef Norman, Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront offers a canapé plating master class for small groups and functions. For more information, call +27 21 441 3000 or email capetown.reservations@radissonblu.com.