— Mel Dorling

You bet. Universally, when it comes to plate presentation, think about a few things. One would be creating height on the plate. So, whether it's a large platter presentation for a group or an individual plate presentation, rather than spreading things out on the plate, bring them together to create a high point, some height in some fashion. Also, you can layer different components on the plate. You might have a puree of something as a base. Perhaps you build that up with some roasted vegetables or grains, and then you top that off with whatever main component that you might be working with. Again, whether it's plant-based or not, there's often a focal point, right? It could be a cauliflower steak that's got some beautiful browning on it and accompanying sauce that we want to put on the top so that the consumer sees that first. And then underneath that is going to come one or two layers of these other things on the plate that are part of that meal. Again, whether it's a puree of something, often a root vegetable works very well. In addition to layering or stacking items, you can have a little side of maybe it's asparagus that you can bring to the plate for some added shapes and additional color and texture. So these are other aspects of plating that you want to keep in mind, okay? When it comes to texture, think about visual texture as well as the texture on the palate once you start eating the food. So if you have a puree on the plate in some fashion, which is going to give you a pretty consistent unidimensional sort of a feel, think about maybe usingA diced something with dry heat applied to it. So you can develop some crispy outer edges that provide some textural difference. Also think about the garnishes, and this is where nuts and seeds can come into play. A few minutes ago in today's program, I mentioned these Parmesan tuile, or these wafers that you can bake in the oven and then crumble or keep whole as a garnish, and they add a textural variant, as well as visual texture and flavor, and aroma as well. And in this way, think about adding these other components. Sauces are also a great way to add another component to the plate that will give color variation potentially. It certainly adds some flavor and taste variation or layers to the eating experience. And a couple other things that come to mind when you are putting pieces of something on the plate, use odd numbers. Plate three of an item instead of four, five of an item instead of four. Because odd numbers are more stimulating to the eye and to the brain, and we like that better as a consumer. So think odd numbers, and then also think about what's called negative space. And negative space means open, uncovered space on the plate. So if you've got a plate that's this big, maybe you bring your food to the center and you leave some open space around the edges, and that's called negative space. And so that way, the plate is not overcrowded, and it's just a little more balanced and looks more appealing and interesting, again, to the brain as we bring that stimuli in through the eyes. All right, so those are several things to think about. Plating takes a little bit of practice, and I always recommend looking at photographs, and you can just do a search online and look at the way people interpret different things and approaches to food, and find something that's appealing to you and practice. Give it a try in real life, and keep on manipulating it, and find your own style that will emerge through all of that.