Food presentation is the art of modifying, processing, arranging, or decorating food to enhance its aesthetic appeal.
The visual presentation of foods is often considered by chefs at many different stages of food preparation, from the manner of tying or sewing meats, to the type of cut used in chopping and slicing meats or vegetables, to the style of mold used in a poured dish. The food itself may be decorated as in elaborately iced cakes, topped with ornamental sometimes sculptural consumables, drizzled with sauces, sprinkled with seeds, powders, or other toppings, or it may be accompanied by edible or inedible garnishes.
Historically, the presentation of food has been used as a show of wealth and power. Such displays often emphasize the complexity of a dish's composition as opposed to its flavors. For instance, ancient sources recall the hosts of Roman banquets adding precious metals and minerals to food in order to enhance its aesthetic appeal. Additionally, medieval aristocrats hosted feasts involving sculptural dishes and shows of live animals. These banquets existed to show the culture and affluence of its host, and were therefore tied to social class. Contemporary food aesthetics reflect the autonomy of the chef, such as in nouvelle cuisine and Japanese bento boxes. Dishes often involve both simplistic and complex designs. Some schools of thought, like French nouvelle cuisine, emphasize minimalism while others create complicated compositions based on modern aesthetic principles. [1] Overall, the presentation of food reflects societal trends and beliefs.
The foundation of food presentation is plating. [2] The arrangement and overall styling of food upon bringing it to the plate is termed plating. [1] Some common styles of plating include a 'classic' arrangement of the main item in the front of the plate with vegetables or starches in the back, a 'stacked' arrangement of the various items, or the main item leaning or 'shingled' upon a vegetable bed or side item. [3]
Banquets were important social events, usually hosted in private residences for friends and clients. The Romans placed great focus on the appearance of their dining room (triclinium), decorating it with murals and mosaics, as well as lavish sculptures and furniture. [4] The overall purpose of a private banquet was entertainment, not only through live performances, but also through the presentation of the food itself. The meal consisted of three courses- appetizers, main course, and dessert- brought out in elaborate rituals. [3] For instance, the main course was sometimes served to the tune of trumpets at particularly luxurious events. Foods that were particularly valued were wild game, such as pheasant and boar, certain kinds of fish, and wild berries, mainly because of their exoticism and high price. Some ancient writers recount Emperor Claudius adding crushed pearls to wine and flecks of gold to peas solely to increase their cost. Others recall live animals being served as shows of entertainment and richness. For instance, at one event mackerels were pickled live in order to showcase their silvery bodies thrashing in vinegar. [5]
Medieval aristocrats also desired to entertain and impress through food. Banquets were usually huge feasts with diverse choices of dishes. Social etiquette dictated that the wealthy and powerful be given beautiful and elaborate dishes while the poor be given simple food, usually scraps. [6] Such banquets not only entertained guests, but also showed the wealth of the host. In particular, the patron sometimes commissioned artists to create complicated sculptures made from food items to awe and inspire. [7] Particular favorites were pies or cakes designed to expel live birds when cut open and multicolored jellies stacked together, dyed with spices and vegetable matter.
In the same way, contemporary food reflects both personal and societal aesthetic beliefs. While cuisine in the past was intrinsically related to wealth and social status, contemporary cuisine is much less distinguished by class. The disintegration of highbrow and lowbrow foods has led to increased accessibility of various foods. [8] Now, it is possible to find a hamburger at a five-star restaurant and exotic cuisines on street corners. Therefore, contemporary food presentation is determined much more by modern aesthetics and creativity than displays of wealth and power.
Nouvelle cuisine is a school of French cooking that rejects ostentatious displays of food in favor of simple presentation and high-quality ingredients. In contrast to historical chefs that obeyed the orders of patrons, this manner of cooking elevates the chef from a skilled worker to an inventor and artist. The aesthetic of nouvelle cuisine emphasizes minimalism, serving fewer courses and utilizing simple plating. [9] Chefs were extremely creative in constructing innovative recipes and plating.
A bento box is a Japanese meal traditionally consisting of rice, meat or fish, and vegetables served in a portable box. In Japan, as well as in the United States, a large focus is placed on the aesthetic arrangement of the food. There have even been contests to see who can come up with the most inventive way of creating bento boxes, allowing for creativity in amateur chefs and everyday people. Sometimes bento boxes are used to make sculptural designs, such as rice shaped to look like animals. [7] These specific types of bento boxes are known as Kyaraben or charaben, (キャラ弁) a shortened form of character bento. (キャラクター弁当 kyarakutā bentō) Kyaraben are most often made by mothers to encourage their children to eat more nutritious diets and as a way of showing their love and dedication. [10]
Kaiseki (懐石) is a Japanese multi-course haute cuisine dinner consisting of 7–14 courses, often served at ryokan, but also in small restaurants known as ryōtei , particularly in Kyoto. [11] A large focus of kaiseki is in the elaborate preparation and aesthetic presentation of these meals to enhance the natural flavors of fresh, local ingredients. [12] Meals are often garnished with edible leaves and flowers to enhance the seasonality of the meal and its ingredients and are arranged to resemble natural plants and animals.
Kaiseki dinners most commonly involve an appetizer, sashimi, a simmered dish, a grilled dish, and a steamed dish. Other dishes may be added or omitted depending on the chef. [13]
Modern science can illuminate how and why people respond in certain ways to food plating and presentation. According to a sociological study, people react differently to various aesthetic principles such as color, composition (including a number of components, placement of components, and use of negative space), design, and the organization of a plate.[ citation needed ] They found that participants responded best to plates with four different colors, three different components, some empty space, and with a disorganized and casual design. This research is particularly important because understanding how food presentation affects how people eat can be used in the study of health and nutrition. For instance, another study showed that participants who ate off of uncleaned tables (i.e. all uneaten food was left on the table) ate less than those that had their tables periodically cleaned. This is presumably because those that could see the leftovers of what they had eaten were less likely to take more food. This could be useful, for instance, in combatting the obesity endemic. [14] Another example of science in food aesthetics is the development of molecular food in Spain, which emphasizes the essence of food using scientific elements. [15] Molecular science can break down the roles of carbohydrates and protein in order to isolate what creates particular tastes. For instance, modern science makes it possible to freeze ice cream using liquid nitrogen and create wine using sugars, creating efficient and visually interesting new dishes. [16]
Like other aspects of culture, food presentation is subject to trends and fads. For instance, "unicorn food", a style of presentation that uses a rainbow color palette to decorate food, became popular in 2017. [17] [18] [19] The pastel-like hues are supposed to represent the colors of the mythical unicorn. [18]
French cuisine is the cooking traditions and practices from France. In the 14th century, Guillaume Tirel, a court chef known as "Taillevent", wrote Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of medieval France. In the 17th century, chefs François Pierre La Varenne and Marie-Antoine Carême spearheaded movements that shifted French cooking away from its foreign influences and developed France's own indigenous style.
Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan is based on rice with miso soup and other dishes with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients. Side dishes often consist of fish, pickled vegetables, and vegetables cooked in broth. Common seafood is often grilled, but it is also sometimes served raw as sashimi or as sushi. Seafood and vegetables are also deep-fried in a light batter, as tempura. Apart from rice, a staple includes noodles, such as soba and udon. Japan also has many simmered dishes, such as fish products in broth called oden, or beef in sukiyaki and nikujaga.
An hors d'oeuvre, appetiser or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the meal, or they may be served before seating, such as at a reception or cocktail party. Formerly, hors d'oeuvres were also served between courses. There are two types of hors d'oeuvre from service point of view:
Roux is a mixture of flour and fat cooked together and used to thicken sauces. Roux is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight. The flour is added to the melted fat or oil on the stove top, blended until smooth, and cooked to the desired level of brownness. A roux can be white, blond (darker) or brown. Butter, bacon drippings or lard are commonly used fats. Roux is used as a thickening agent for gravy, sauces, soups and stews. It provides the base for a dish, and other ingredients are added after the roux is complete.
A full-course dinner is a meal with multiple courses, almost invariably eaten in the evening or afternoon. Most Western-world multicourse meals follow a standard sequence, influenced by traditional French haute cuisine. It commonly begins with an appetizer, followed by the main course, the salad course, and eventually the dessert, but the exact sequence varies widely. Full-course dinners are generally very formal as well as very expensive, and can have as few as 3 or as many as 21 courses. Some major styles include service à la russe and service à la française.
Maqluba is a traditional Levantine dish that is popular across Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. It consists of meat, rice, and fried vegetables placed in a pot which is flipped upside down when served, hence the name.
Chinese aristocrat cuisine traces its origin to the Ming and Qing dynasties when imperial officials stationed in Beijing brought their private chefs and such different varieties of culinary styles mixed and developed over time to form a unique breed of its own, and thus the Chinese aristocrat cuisine is often called private cuisine. The current Chinese aristocrat cuisine is a mixture of Shandong cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine and Cantonese cuisine. As Beijing was the capital of the last three Chinese dynasties, most of the Chinese aristocrat cuisine originated in Beijing. Currently, there are a total of nine varieties of Chinese aristocrat cuisine.
Uzbek cuisine shares the culinary traditions of peoples across Central Asia. Grain farming is widespread in Uzbekistan, making breads and noodles an important part of the cuisine, which has been described as "noodle-rich".
The term Manchu–Han Imperial Feast refers to a style of cooking and a type of grand banquet that combines elements of Manchu and Han's Chinese cuisine developed in the Qing dynasty of China (1644–1912). The origins are disputed, but by the nineteenth century, the style became popular and was emulated in twentieth and twenty-first-century restaurants.
Moldovan cuisine is a style of cooking related to the people of Moldova. It consists mainly of ingredients such as various meats, potatoes, cabbage, and a variety of cereal grains. The local cuisine is very similar to Romanian, and also draws inspiration and elements from other cuisines in the region, including Greek, Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian, with a great influence left by the Ottoman cuisine.
Clams casino is a clam "on the halfshell" dish with breadcrumbs and bacon. Green peppers are also a common ingredient.
Italian meal structure is typical of the European Mediterranean region and differs from that of Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe, although it still often consists of breakfast (colazione), lunch (pranzo), and supper (cena). However, breakfast itself is often skipped or is lighter than that of non-Mediterranean Europe. Late-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, called merenda, are also often eaten.
Pigeon pie is a savoury game pie made of pigeon meat and various other ingredients traditional to French cuisine and present in other European cuisines. It has been eaten at least as early as 1670 in French cuisine.
A course is a specific set of food items served together during a meal, all at the same time. A course may include multiple dishes including side dishes or only one, and often includes items with some variety of flavors. For instance, a hamburger served with French fries would be considered a single course and might constitute the entire meal. Larger meals might include many courses, such as a course where a soup is served by itself, a course when cordon bleu is served at the same time as its garnish and perhaps a side dish of vegetables, and finally a dessert such as a pumpkin pie. Courses may vary in size as well as number depending on the culture where the meal takes place.
Erez Komarovsky is an Israeli chef, baker, educator, and author. In the 1990s he founded the Lehem Erez bakery and café chain, and he is considered the initiator of artisanal bread-making in Israel. Since 2007 he has led a cooking school in his home in Mitzpe Mattat in the Upper Galilee. He has authored several cookbooks.
Kashk bademjan, alternatively kashk-e bademjan or Kashk o bademjan, is a staple Iranian dish made with "kashk and eggplant" – also the literal translation of its Persian language name. The dish is served as a dip and typically garnished with liquid saffron, sautéed onions, garlic and often walnuts. It can be consumed either as an appetizer or a main dish, and is typically eaten with fresh bread.
Utica greens is an Italian American dish made of escarole sauteed with garlic and olive oil. Most recipes include hot cherry peppers, pecorino cheese, bread crumbs, prosciutto or another cured meat, and sometimes chicken broth. In the 1980s, Italian restaurants in Utica began serving this variation on traditional Sicilian and Southern Italian sauteed greens; the dish has since spread to other cities in the United States. Other variations include greens with potatoes, romaine, kale, Swiss chard, and pignoli nuts.
Niki Nakayama is an American chef and the owner of Michelin-starred n/naka restaurant in Los Angeles, specializing in modern Japanese kaiseki cuisine.
Kaiseki (懐石) or kaiseki-ryōri is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner. The term also refers to the collection of skills and techniques that allow the preparation of such meals and is analogous to Western haute cuisine.