
6 Food Serving Ideas For Your Restaurant
You have a new restaurant, menu, decor, and your table placement all set to go. You have everything ready, except you don’t know how the food should be presented. Unfortunately, you can’t just slop it on a plate like you are the lunch lady. No, in a restaurant, you have to have a plan and creative ideas for how to present your food well.
Food presentation is how you arrange the food on your plate for serving it to your guests. It’s very important, even though it doesn’t affect the taste. What it does, however, is prepare your guest for the dish. Also, you have to make it look attractive so that the diner doesn’t approach their meal with a negative mindset. Eating has a big psychological component to it; if something looks unappealing, it will end up tasting that way. Here are six food serving ideas for your restaurant that your guests will appreciate.
Food Garnishes
Decorating a dish gives it some pop. It is often a final touch, but only sometimes. There are many ways you can garnish, but almost all of them involve using something edible. The extra dash of flavor can complement the flavor and enhance the dish. An example of this is serving a lemon along with your fish. However, it can be edible but not meant for eating, such as in the case of parsley. Some chefs are going beyond the edible garnish and using other things to decorate their meals. Flowers or plants are very popular, and you can get creative, just be sure that the flower doesn’t have toxic components that can contaminate the food.
Abstract Looks
You can allow yourself to get creative and let your imagination run wild. Much like an artist can produce abstract art, you can create an abstract presentation design. There’s no need for forms, or color patterns, or height standards. You can position your food in a natural look or try something provocative. The abstract presentation looks like you unexpectedly plated the food, but it still looks visually appealing and interesting. It’s an order made out of chaos. A large white plate for a blank canvas is the best surface for an abstract presentation. Play around and find out what works for you.
Vertical Forms
It used to be that food presentation was based on a horizontal plane. The food was spread out on the plate on one level. However, nowadays, you can create great visual appeal by going vertically on the plate. Think of your food as the material to make a sculpture or a statue. In most cases, the main part of the dish is placed in the middle of the plate. Then, the other components of the meal are piled up in layers while the outsides of the plate remain empty, other than some sauces, garnishes, or spices.
This type of serving takes a lot of creativity and imagination. You might not like the results at first, but with some practice, you can open your mind and develop some great ideas. For the most part, this type of plating is used for fine dining, but even if you are a step down from that, you might find it appropriate for certain dishes.
Creative Cupping
Traditionally, some foods are served on plates, and some foods are served in bowls. Salads, soups, ice cream, and other food tend to be served in bowls. However, you can always choose a creative way to use bowls and cups to serve something. Take french fries, for example. You can serve them standing vertically in various food serving cups. At the bottom of the cups can be ketchup or whatever other sauces the diner wants. Each french fry would have a nice amount of ketchup, and the customer doesn’t have to worry about messes or having room on their plate. That’s just one suggestion for using the serving dish as a tool for creative food presentation.
You can also serve food in creative containers. For instance, serving sauces or drinks in test tubes or mason jars. You can use pots and frying pans for bowls and plates. You can let your imagination do the work.
Japanese Style
Sometimes presentation is about how you display food on a plate. However, with Japanese style, it’s about how the food is presented in different dishes. Also, there is the concept of minimalism. It is made beautiful by its simplicity.
Instead of serving the entire meal in one dish, every component is served differently. They never touch. As a restaurateur, you never have to worry about your colors being complementary and your dish looking coordinated and balanced. This is a great option if you need help putting dishes together but still want a great-looking meal. Remember, this is Japanese style, so you can use chopsticks if the meal is appropriate. Cut everything in small pieces, including meat and vegetables.
Presentation For Kids
Perhaps the diners who react the most to food presentations are kids. Think when they see something that doesn’t look appealing. They say, “eww, gross!” and eat their chicken fingers. If you can attractively present vegetables, then parents will love you, and kids will eat them. You can create meals in the shape of superheroes or the smiley faces of any other characters they love. Remember to think like a child, and your presentation will follow.
You might not realize it, but the presentation is so important for your restaurant. No matter what type of establishment you have, you want your food to look appetizing and appealing. It can take time to figure out what to do. However, with these tips to get you started, you can let your creativity roam free and come up with some amazing dishes.