An old adage goes thus, “We feed our eyes first, before our stomach”.
The term, Food plating is taking a new dimension in the gastronomy industry it has evolved over the years and many creative styles still unfolds on a daily basis.
It’s an artistic way chefs or cooks express themselves. Therefore, it’s an art on it’s own, brings out the creativity of chefs in this field and also makes food more appealing to the eyes of food enthusiasts.
Moreover, many of these food photos are been styled in various ways to clearly indicate a message being passed which could be Seasonal, Occasional, Cultural, etc.
We understand that revolution is also taking place in the food industry this led to MCZ reaching out to some chefs
on their take on food plating, what triggers the idea?, how necessary is it to plate our food? and also the relevance of food plating in the society we live in presently.
1. Chef Ehis Ebenezer ..
” With Nigeria fast economic growth ,social development, advancement in tourism and individuals passion ,then the culinary world of individuals changes over time. ECCA culinary school is devoted to improving the way food are been purchased, prepared and presented. It a necessity for our cooking school to direct more resources,time in teaching the public the value,joy,professionalism,business demand attached to good food and appealing plating .The Arts of food plating to chef Ehis is a nature ,style ,passion
2 We at ECCA culinary are driven by passion ,nature , culinary demands. .
3 Food plating is an Arts .it imperative to culinary success . Good plated meal helps to improve the appetite of a diner. It promote the person behind cooking especially if plated by a caterer chef ….
4 Food presentation promote the culture of the economy ,it interprets the traditional believe attached to a meal . food plating will attract tourist around the globe. It define the personality of the chef , people and society. Thank”
2. Chef Shine Akintunde
“1. Food plating is an art and a chef tool of defining him or herself..
2. What triggers plating?? Hmnn well I will see a lot of factors ranging from what you see as trends, the availability of garnishes but most importantly for me it’s the visuals generated from the inner mind…I call seeing the end from the beginning. I.e u start plating within u the moment you start cooking… because u already knows the key elements going on the plate in terms of their colors, level of doneness and likely vegetables and garnishes to pair…
3.. of course this days dinners eat with their eyes first…hence it has to look good and appealing to the eyes and then send a message ahead to the mouth…
4. The look and feel and the need to revolutionarise our food to be able to compete on the international front…
Thank you..ChefShine”.
Chef PrinceWill Okpala spoke to MCZ via telephone to listen click https://soundcloud.com/mycookery-zone-mcz/foodplatingreport-chef
3. Chef Marco J Morana “1. It very much depends on the chefs and their background
2. Common sense and years of practice, not to mention an element of creativity.
3. On a personal note plating is very much a must for myself and team. It’s the clients first introduction with the food (visual), after all to make an old quote “we eat with our eyes”
4 here’s a scenario, two people are standing side by side, One is immaculate in every sense of the word, the other stinks and is scruffy,in every sense of the word ,Who do you want to be with for dinner ?… In other wards, people will always look at something that is more appealing and attractive .”
4. Chef Gina Ehikodi “Food plating is great… its a saying that you actualy eat first with your eyes. when food doesnt look appealing, you may not have the urge to to touch it. Even when you are extremely hungry, a food that isn’t well presented could put you off. So i think Food plated properly is a win.
Am thinking culture, environment , creativity… these can help conceptualize how the plating of a meal should look like. When you see a Nigerian food and an Asian or European food, ingredients may like be d same but with the plating you can easily tell which comes from where… we all have our traditional styles first before the extra “swags” we add to them these days.
Well necessary, i cant say yes or no to that because its the extent of the plating that determines the answer to this question. Every food is plated, at least it goes on a plate or ( whatever its served in). What matters is that it should be appealing to the eyes. Now this is different from all those who practice food art or photography, they have to go the extra mile to make d food beautiful and catchy, that is an art, the aim is the whole asethetics, beauty and not necessrily to be eaten. Truth is some of all those artistic food may not be appealing to the taste bud because some are not even properly cooked to get the pretty colours, its for the art. So for someone who is really hungry at home or you are feeding a hungry crowd, drawing and painting on plates wont be your aim then. What is important is serving clean and appealing.
Well, i am a simple person, love fancy but not too Fancy. I think what is relevant in the society is getting hungry people fed not painting on their plates ( lol). Leave the artistic food plating to those who are in it for bussiness eg food bloggers, cook shows, food photographers and their likes. What is Iya Sikirat’s bussiness with asethetic plating when her Buka joint is filled with hungry customers? And of what relevance will her wasting time plating before serving her customers be to the society rather than truly waste economic time.”
5. Iyabo Adeline Lawani
“1. What’s your take on food plating?… I believe that a thoughtful presentation just makes the meal more enjoyable. A well garnished meal makes your dish to pop up more you know — to the eye after all the eye eats the food first before the taste!
2. What triggers the plating of food in various captivating ways?….
When I cook I see colors popping out of the pot and I just want them all to come alive on my plate· So I see my Plates as the canvas and I just paint on to bring everything alive to catch the eye and whet the pallet. So Interestingly the plates I choose also places an important role too as it can really enhance and shape the way a dish looks.
3. Is plating of food really necessary?…
Wow what a question!!! Why Plating Your Food is as Important as Making a Good First Date … And really , isn’t cooking the most attractive and harmonizing thing you can think of ? It brings all the ingredients together and they just make good music in your pallet, so to take it to the next level it has to look right in the eyes, which helps to play the song of come eat me, come eat me, to the viewer. Isn’t beauty in the eyes of the beholder? First appearance is important you know it says I am gorgeous and I even taste better.
So Through food art, the cook is an artist, the food their medium, and the plate their canvas. And like all stages in the process of creating art, every step cannot be taken for granted.
4. In what aspect is food plating relevant in the society we live in?…
Only recently in Nigeria where I leave has food plating become so important to many as food bloggers have made a beauty out of out most complex meals like Eba, Fufu, Pounded Yam and our soups. It has any how made more people appreciate and respect food more.
Thank you”
6. Nengis Kitchen “Warm Greetings! My response to your questions are as follows
( 1)My take on food plating is definitely positive cause I am a food stylist,it gives me joy to see nicely plated food.
(2)For me food plating is part of my daily routine,so nothing actually triggers it because for Me it’s fun😁😁😁
(3)Yes it is necessary,my philosophy is that the eyes must eat first before the mouth.
(4)It is very relevant because it enhances and stimulates appetite especially for me. It also helps parents .”
7. Iquo Ukoh from 1qfoodplatter
” The African adage that ‘the eyes eat before the mouth’ encourages good presentation of food. The degree of plating is dictated by the occasion.”
8. Chef Black “Firstly, what is Food plating? It is the art of presenting food on a plate i such a manner that it is very attractive and welcoming to the eyes and Awakens the appetite of a person..
What triggers plating in various captivating ways? This starts from understanding food content on the plate…. how well these items blend in texture, colour and taste.
Food plating is necessary.
Lastly food plating is relevant because… ‘People of today eat with their eyes as well as with their mouth’…. without having a dish looking beautiful on a plate, it will be nearly impossible to get a person to eat. Thank you too”
9. Chef Croffie
“1. I think food plating is wonderful as it has gradually made its way in to our local cuisine.
2. I think it depends on the texture of the food, the kind of dish, the style /type of plates and plate setting and lastly the plating style of the chef.
3. It is cus we see before we taste and if the dish doesn’t look attractive, no one would even want to know if it tastes right.
4. I think the new and innovative ways we’ve started plating our local dishes has attracted the foreign taste buds to try out our food and eventually get hooked”
10. Tolulope O Martins (CEO Afrik Kalabash Magazine).
“Thanks for reaching to me, i feel honoured. 1. My take on food plating is just simple. “Every good meal cooked with love deserves a good presentation”. You will sell yourselve low without a perfect plating because as a popular saying “the eyes got to eat before the mouth”. Nevertheless i still admires every touch of our African authenticity, it’s our heritage…
2. My inspiration for a captivating food plating can be compare to AN EXPRESSION OF LOVE for the art and my guest.
3. As I’ve aforementioned, food plating is so important, IT’S A MUST. Just like a bride who care less about her look. Even our mothers go extramiles to buy beautiful dishes to present their meals..
4. In every aspect, starting from every home, to your guests, to your clients, to even the world. The only way will could add more values to our food culture internationally is to admire the ART OF FOOD PLATING. I’ll say African restaurateurs especially in diaspora should go extra miles in presenting our food culture to the world in more enticing ways thus it will give us more acceptance in the international market.
Thanks for reaching out.
Best regards,
Tolulope O Martins
Afrik kalabash Magazine”
11. Stephanie Kiki
“Good evening MCZ, the concept of food plating has gone far beyond “the amount of food on a plate” it shows your personality and innovation.
For me, I put the plate into consideration, texture of the food and above all my emotions during the process of making the food.
Yes! Plating of food is important because it motivates me apart from it being captivating.
We are in a technology age it’s important that the food it’s appealing to the eyes
Thank you 🙏”
12. Kristina Coughlin of (Cooking with Kristina)
“Hi there, I think food plating is very important. Not only does it make for a beautiful photo, but it allows you to really enjoy and appreciate what you’re eating. It’s great to combine various colors and change up the way the plate is styled to keep it creative.”
13. Chef Sukanmi
“1. Food plating is great, brings art into cooking and makes it all an interesting task..
2. The food type. The ability to conceptualize. The culture and origin of the good type. 3. Yes. 4. Art”
14. Chef Waltz Chika “1. Food plating or presentation are central to keeping clients happy as they experience your cuisine, However, plating is often overlooked by chefs who are either too busy or more concerned with the taste of the content been created. You have probably heard the saying that “YOU EAT WITH YOUR EYES”, LOL, BUT YES ITS TRUE. People eat with their eyes, so what creative and thoughtful plating does is to enhance both the look and taste of the food. Focusing on presentation allows chefs to showcase their intrinsic artistic and creative creations and demonstrate to clients/customers that they are getting the worth of their money.
2. While there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to correct plating, there are several important concepts to keep in mind as you prepare to present your bistros delish culinary creations. What triggers the plating of food mostly is the kind of cuisine you are serving, the emotions behind what you are creating, it could be the theme of the said event or the intentions, could be a eureka moment Inspiration, and often times you will want to consider portion sizes before you begin plating. To do so, focus on balancing protein, carbohydrate and vegetable to create a nutritionally balanced meal. Ultimately, carefully placed ingredients create art, but presentation should never overshadow taste. A lot of power buttons triggers the art of food plating; it all boils down to the intention.
3. Now the multimillion dollar question, “IS PLATING OF FOOD REALLY NECESSARY”, of course plating of food is necessary, it is as important as the taste, however, home cooks have somewhat of the advantage when it comes to pressure in the kitchen as compared to top chefs. But all the same a niche should be carved in order to prep beforehand so as deliver a mouth-watering presentation with a burst of flavour.
4. Of a truth food plating is relevant in all aspect of the society, be it a bistro, fine dining, home cook, buka, etc., but time is an inevitable factor to pull all this together, a middle class Nigerian who is hungry, and then walks into a buka to eat would abuse you if you attempt to plate his or her meals, this has become a norm in Nigeria as we only think plating is essential for small orders, fine dining, and private chef’s orders. However, neglecting the central idea that food plating is for all.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Chef Waltz
God bless you.”
15. Chuks Anselyn ” 1. What’s your take on food plating?
Food plating is key for me. It must be done and be with all sense of living . it is the act of decorating food in a manner that stirs up hunger, first with the eyes before a dig.
2. What triggers the plating of food in various captivating ways?
food is like fashion, it must look unique, different and colorful at all times.
3. Is plating of food really necessary?
To a lay man-nope but to a professional chef -YES.
Food is art, and art is life, it’s life not beautiful?. plating of food brings great value to the dish, it draws huge attention.
4. In what aspect is food plating relevant in the society we live in?
We live in a vast society where creativity is on a huge demand at such food plating is exempted. Good food plating draws the attention of photography, food bloggers, food writers, food lovers together and dinners together which in return will generate huge profit for the chefs or restaurant operators.”
16. Serge Pambo
” 1- my take on Food plating
First thing to know is the fact that people eat also with their eyes . For that reason the playing is very important to me .
I make sure that what they see is very appetizing to them
2- to me , the shape of the plate that a chef chose, will define the way he or she will plate the food . Some are better for certain dishes
Ex bowl for pasta
Ex ovole plate for rush filet
Etc…
3 –
Playing is not necessary but counts a lot in certain type of cuisine . And for some chefs cooking a a very specific kind of restaurants. The plating is a part of the price and marketing.
Cooking in a basic restaurant will never really force you to plate your food some kind of way.
4-the plating of the food is relevant from the society where we are from and where we live in. In France it’s an old tradition.
It’s almost automatic for every chefs to plate the food some kind of way.
I apologize again for my super late answer ( no excuses).
I hope that you will forgive me .
Thanks for your feedback and understanding.”
17. Chef Pierre Thiam
“We first eat with our eyes. In that regard, plating is important”
18. Culinary Paul
“1. My take on food plating is it unveils some artistic Creative dimension of the Chef and in recent times, I feel we often eat with our eyes first than with Our mouth. Food plating is great as it makes the whole dish so appealing and for Me, often times I am tempted to keep the meal in a glass just to keep admiring and possibly develop a culinary museum or showroom.
2. What triggers the plating of food in various captivating ways is the colour and angular arrangement of various meal components. Once You can combine colours of vegies as well as syrups, reductions et al, you get a truly captivating plate.
3. Hmmmmm!!! It may not be necessary for some people but I doubt there’s any serious foodie and chef who denies the euphoria of seeing a well plated meal For me, I would say food plating is absolutely necessary and for me, it’s a quest for excellence and so I am currently studying on some great food plating techniques. I know I’ll host Kings and Nobles and so I have to please their eyes and hearts then their tummy.
4. In the aspect of fine dining and certain executive events, you can’t serve a meal like it’s for some road side consumption. Food plating is relevant to our society because, there is such great exposure now and for the elites who want 5 star dining, food plating is relevant and very soon would take another dimension as the times unfold. “
19. Chef Victor Williams
“Talking of food plating. the few years that I’ve been in the food industry, I’ve come to the realization that chefs don’t cook foods but emotion. In other words the plating of foods is a translation of love and art.. That’s why In the world of culinary today Chefs don’t just love what the do but have passion for it.”
My Cookery Zone 
I am have happy to be in this group
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