Design and rules for serving dishes

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

If a person has a catering business, they know that the rules of serving dishes and presentation are critical to ensure that guests are satisfied with their restaurant visit. However, chefs often don't pay attention to decoration and are more concerned with the taste of their dishes.

People eat with their eyes, and original and thoughtful serving improves the appearance and taste of food. The focus on decoration also allows chefs to showcase their creations to guests. While there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to "correct" presentation, there are a few important concepts to keep in mind when preparing and presenting a restaurant's delicious culinary creations.

Design and serving rules

Before you start cooking, the chef should think about what kind of cuisine he represents. Does it create a hearty steak, a delicate side dish or an appetizer? You can't start assembling the plate until all the flavors have been finalized, so it would be wise to prepare the ingredients beforehow the process will start.

In addition, the chef should pay attention to portion sizes before starting to follow the rules for serving dishes. To do this, you need to focus on the balance of proteins, carbohydrates and vegetables in order to prepare the right nutrition. Ultimately, carefully placed ingredients create art, but the presentation should never overshadow the taste.

In order to learn the rules for serving dishes, you need to follow some steps.

Choose the perfect plate

It is this action that is the key to an attractive food presentation. Here are some things to consider.

Choose the right plate. One of the rules for serving food is to think of yourself as an artist, the plate as a canvas, and food as paint.

Choose the correct size. It is necessary to pick up a plate, making sure that it is large enough, the food should not fall out. But at the same time small, so that the portions do not look too small.

Additional color of dishes. The color of the plate also matters. White tableware is popular because it creates high contrast and provides a neutral backdrop for colorful creations. It is necessary to use the empty space, thinking of the rim as a framework. And it is also important to know the rule of thirds in order to highlight the focal points of the dish. With regard to cooking, this postulate prescribes the placement of the main food on the left or right side of the plate, and not in the center.

Location of ingredients

Heresome of the most important aspects to consider when creating a dish:

• Hourly serving rule. When the chef starts filling the plate with ingredients, he needs to imagine the clock face. From a visitor's point of view, protein should be between 3 and 9 o'clock, starch or carbohydrates between 9 and 12, and vegetables between 12 and 3.
• Wet ingredients as base. Another rule of thumb for serving meals and snacks is to top the plate with liquid ingredients first, as they tend to spread if not held in place by other foods. One way to seal wet ingredients is to place sliced meats or vegetables on top of them, for example.
• Serve an odd amount of food. If a dish has a small volume, such as shrimp, scallops or canapes appetizers. Always give guests an odd number. Seven brussels sprouts instead of six create visual appeal and the visitor's brain will think they got more food.
• Don't overfill your plate. You need to make sure the chef never overloads his canvas and keeps it simple by focusing on one ingredient - usually protein. Finding a key ingredient also ensures that related products play an additional, supportive role.

Pay attention to detail

Rules for serving cold and hot dishes:

• Think about color and contrast. One of the best kept secrets of a beautiful presentation is the close attention to detail. Although the focus will obviously be on protein, veryit is important to consider how other elements of the dish create color and contrast. A chef can create a beautiful background for his plate by adding green vegetables or brightly colored fruits as accent points. Similarly, you should try to pair ingredients with complementary colors as this will further increase the visual appeal of the dish.
• Create a height on the plate. Another way to get guests' attention is to use the power of growth. Compact stacking of ingredients isn't as popular as it was 5-10 years ago, but creating a tall plate can greatly improve visual appeal. For example, you can place a steak on top of polenta and lean asparagus spears against it at a 45-degree angle.
• Use texture to enhance your dish. The contrast of smooth vegetable puree with crispy onion julienne or steak with shredded blue cheese creates appealing pairings that are classics in upscale cuisine.

Design and work with sauces

After the ingredients are laid out on a plate, you need to season everything with delicious sauces. There are also special rules for serving hot dishes and sometimes cold ones. It's not just about carefully pouring sauce onto a plate. Instead, you should think of your bottle or spoon as a brush, and the addition of sauce that sets off the taste as an artist's brushstroke and remember that the dressing should improve the plate.

One way to do this is to create accent points on one side of the dish (keeping in mind the rule of thirds) or lightly drizzlesauce with the main ingredients so that guests get a little taste in every spoon.

Use decorations purposefully

In the past, chefs casually tossed a slice of cabbage and a slice of orange onto each plate. However, these side dishes did not add anything exciting to the dish, and few people even ate them in the first place. Here are some examples of smart jewelry and how to use it:

• Choose edible ingredients. When the chef is done cooking, remember that all ingredients must bind the dish and be edible. Ultimately, decorations are meant to enhance and complement the flavors of the chef's created appetizer, not detract from it.
• Place garnishes purposefully. Decoration should never lie in a pile, in one corner of the plate. Instead, consider the entire dish thoughtfully to add color or texture. Also avoid using unappetizing garnishes such as raw herbs, large chunks of citrus fruits, and anything with a strong smell. Finally, you need to fill your plate quickly to keep the food hot.

It is worth noting that all these tips are also the rules for serving sweet dishes.

Table etiquette

Gourmet restaurants require much more attention to detail than just cafes and food delivery. Routine tasks include setting tables to the correct height for patrons, polishing cutlery, and folding napkins intosuitable forms. A traditional dinner menu and decor may involve up to 20 items for one guest, and with so many plates, crockery and glasses, it can be a question of what to put where. General food and drink rule:

Cutlery is placed outside, dinner plates inside as it matches the course of the meal

Cookware diagram

Tables are almost always set for righties. Clockwise usually arranged:

• glasses for wine and water;
• spoons;
• knives;
• plates with napkin on top;
• lunch forks;
• bread plate and butter knife;
• dessert spoon and fork.

Depending on the menu, additional items such as cups and saucers or special utensils such as seafood cutlery may be placed.

Glasses should be arranged diagonally or square to the right of the plate and consist of glasses:

• for water;
• white wine;
• red wine;
• sparkling wine.

It's important to make sure the countertop is symmetrical to create an aesthetically pleasing backdrop for clients. Until employees remember where to place plates, napkins and cutlery, a ruler can be used to measure the distance between the edge of the table and the dishes to ensure they are consistent in the design.

Tip 1: Always check that the tablecloth is free from wrinkles and stains and that the seams are facing down.

Tip 2: when setting the tableit is necessary to keep sharps and cutlery in the middle to minimize the appearance of fingerprints.

Serving Rules: Quality Requirements

Most upscale dinners will include 5 menu items: two appetizers, soup, salad and dessert. Many restaurants practice the open side service method, which means that the waiter's arms should never cross in front of the guest and food is always served from the left side of the customer. Plates must be rotated during display so that the protein of the dish is facing the person.

Dinner Wine Service

Tip: When serving drinks, never hold the glass by the bowl, always by the stem. The liquid will stay colder longer if the heat from the hand is not transferred to the glass. Be sure to use a cloth napkin when pouring wine to wipe off excess drops from the neck of the bottle.

Cleaning the table

There are some generally accepted gestures and signals that allow you to communicate the end of the meal by the guests of the institution. Napkins will be placed back on the table and cutlery placed vertically on top of the visitor's dinner plate. If clients need to get up to use the toilet or make a phone call, a napkin is placed on the chair. This is a sign that the meal is not over yet.

For multi-course meals, empty glasses and plates must be cleared before the next menu item arrives.

Important tips to remember:

• Ladies are always served first.
• Never eat, drink or chew in front of guests.
• Maintain good posture at all times - don't slouch, cross your arms or leave them in your pockets.
• Use employee entrances and exits only during official functions.
• Do not engage in informal conversations with guests.