10 hostess hacks to make your food look better than it is
I’m not a cook. We’ve discussed this. I do, however, love to entertain. Because having guests to my home typically involves feeding them, I try to compensate for my lack of culinary skills with stylish presentation. A little sleight of hand never hurt anyone.
With a few hostess hacks, I can elevate the most humdrum potato salad from the grocery store deli, chicken wings from the hot counter and a plastic tub of watermelon chunks into a sublime picnic. More on that in a minute.
Chef David Tiner, director of the Louisiana Culinary Institute in Baton Rouge, is unsurprised. “We eat with our eyes first,” he said. “Then we eat with our nose. I’m a big believer that if looks good and smells good, I’m going to like it.”
The presentation may not be everything, but it’s at least two-thirds.
“As long as the food is out of the box and on your serving pieces, which will reflect your style, guests won’t care where it came from,” said Sharon Brenner, a caterer in Winter Park. “Everything tastes better in a pretty bowl, and pizza set out on a cake riser looks instantly nicer.”
Whether you are a culinary institute graduate or you buy take-out tacos from a food truck, here are 10 more ways Tiner and Brenner say that home hosts can make their food look better than it is:
1. Use platter power.
Anything that comes in a to-go container will instantly look better on a platter. Pick one that’s the right size. Too small, and the food is hard to serve. Too big makes guests think you don’t have enough. “When placing sliced food on a platter, don’t just dump it in a pile; set it in same position it was when you sliced it,” said Tiner. “It looks more appealing.”
2. Elevate. Height is important when presenting food. Fight the flat. Rather than serve everything at counter level, use risers and cake stands. You can even turn a Dutch oven or a cast iron skillet upside down to create a food stand or set dishes on a wooden wine crate. A tall decorative vase filled with flowers,