THESE are the steps to follow to garnish your dish for an appealing look

If you love to make delicious dishes for your loved ones or own a food service business, then one of the most important things that you need to know is plating your food. Garnishing your preparation is an important key to impress your guests or customers.

No matter, how much tasty the food is, if it’s not garnished properly, then all your efforts are futile. There are steps and guidelines to follow for plating your food in the right way. Read below to know.

Steps to garnish your food properly:

Things to keep in mind before plating

Before garnishing, first decide what you are preparing. Is it dinner, side dish or just an appetizer? Then, start your plating accordingly. You also need to keep an eye on the portion as there has to be a perfect balance of protein, carbohydrate and veggies in the meal. And never overdo with garnishing because the taste of the food should never be overshadowed.

Guidelines for garnishing your food

These are the guidelines to follow:

1.First, choose the right plate for the garnishing. Keep its type and size in your mind. It should be of standard size that will allow your food to stand out without making it look too small. Colour of the plates is also an important aspect. White is the most common colour as it contrasts well and neutralises the background.

2.Now, while plating food, visualise the face of a clock. Protein should be placed between the position of 3 and 9; carbohydrate should be from 9 to 12; and vegetables from 12 to 3.

3.Always use moist or runny ingredients at the base because they can move easily on the plate ruining the entire look. So, keep runny ingredients at the base and then other solid foods on top of it. For example, you can place sliced meat or veggies on purees.

4.If you are serving small food like shrimp or brussels sprouts, then always serve odd amounts of it. Also, 7 shrimps are more appealing than 6.

5.Never overcrowd your plate with several things. You need to make one food item your focal point, mainly protein gets to play that role and use other things as complementary.

6.You can also create a beautiful background for your plate by adding green veggies or colourful fruits as accent points.

7.Then, you have to design the plate with sauces. You can put accent dots with the sauce on one side of your plate or drizzle the sauce at the top of the food.

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