Tips for Pretty Plating
The Holiday season is fast approaching. That means lots of family gatherings, playing host, and entertaining people. You’ve gone the catering route already. Now you wan’t to make something homemade for your dinner guests and show them what you’ve got!
Hi Friends,
The Holiday season is fast approaching. That means lots of family gatherings, playing host, and entertaining people. You’ve gone the catering route already. Now you wan’t to make something homemade for your dinner guests and show them what you’ve got! Wether you’re a good cook or not, the final presentation of the plated food is very important in how the taste of the dish is perceived, believe it or not. Here are some tips and tricks to “wow” your guests with beautifully designed plates…….and hopefully the food is good too. heh
Build on your Starches
A typical balanced dinner meal will include a starch of some sort. “Build on your starches” means add it to the plate first. I usually will put it right in the center of the plate. For example, a big spoonful of rice or potatoes neatly mounded in the center of the plate.
Add a variety of Color
Be mindful of the different colors that will be in your dish. For this example plate, We’re building off a base of roasted diced potatoes and our main entree is roasted airline chicken. Those are two ingredients with very minimal color. If we presented these items on the plate by themselves, no one would be excited to eat it. So, We’re going to add a bright vegetable to the mix. It could be something green like broccoli. Red like beets. White like cauliflower. It really could be anything. For the example dish we’re building, we’re going to add broccoli and keep a fresh lemon, as well as some fresh chopped parsley handy for later.
Build “Up” on the Plate
Alright, so we’ve got our mound of diced potatoes in the middle of the plate and our steamed broccoli on the top right side of the potatoes in a nice neatly presented mound. Now we’re going to take our nicely caramelized airline chicken and lay it over the potatoes on an angle. Making sure we build the plate up high and not letting the potatoes flatten under the chicken. Building “up” on a plate with the focal point at the center is more of a southern style of plating. It creates for an interesting contrast of depth that catches the eye.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of Garnishes
Alright, lets review this again. So now we have our neat mound of potatoes in the center of the plate stacked nice and high. Our bright green steamed broccoli in a neat mound to the top right of that. And we just added the chicken atop the potatoes in a visually interesting way. This plate is already quite pretty by itself but it is missing a little something. Take the fresh parsley you chopped earlier and sprinkle it on the plate - dusting the chicken, potatoes, broccoli, and exposed part of the plate. Now take your lemon and zest some of the lemon rind over the chicken and the broccoli. Once satisfied, slice the lemon in half and drizzle some of the juice over the food on the plate.
Finishing Touches
Alright, now my mouth is watering. The only thing left to do is get a damp paper towel and gently wipe around the edges of the plate where juices may have dripped or unwanted parsley or zest may have fallen. Finish with a little salt and pepper, take a step back, and be proud of the edible piece of art that lays before you.
pro tip: You could even take the presentation up a notch further by adding a quartered wedge of salted tomato or a very light sprinkling of some smoked paprika to give it an extra pop.
Keep spreading love, good people!
Best,
D.B.
Perseverance Street
No matter what you’re going through with your business, in your personal life, navigating COVID - it’s important to have a steady hand on your back nudging you to keep pushing forward, even when you’re too tired. Preserve.
Are you afraid of being judged for the way you live your life?
I’ve got good news for you: The “what’s your plan’s?” or “get it together’s” wear off eventually. They get old. You stop hearing them…and when that day finally comes, you’ll officially be able to begin your life. YOUR life. The one you kinda sorta knew you wanted to have but got too bogged down by the opinions of others to actually pursue. So you let it sit to percolate in the back of your mind. Every once in a while thoughts resurface again only to be drowned by your doubts.
Listen, I’m not here to give you the hoorah speech that’s ultimately going to get you off your ass and stop making excuses. If i’ve learned anything on my journey, it’s that I don’t have that power, nor wizardry of “word craft” to convince someone to do something or believe in something I believe in. Life has us all on our own journeys, being experienced only through the eyes of the individual. We all get served lessons from life differently, at different times, and we conceptualize our learned experiences differently. I think wether this venture you’ve been dreaming up works out in the end or not, living with the failure and taking the lessons along the way is far more valuable than living with the regret of not knowing….
BUT I DIGRESS
I’m actually here to talk to the people that finally did build up the courage to make a pivot in their life and change direction. First of all, Congratulations. The leap you took is terrifying. Being a company that is still a very small start-up, and i hate to tell you this, but it’s STILL terrifying at times. There are absolutely moments of self doubt, doubts of self worth, and complete lapses in confidence. Being an entrepreneur can be lonely and it’s not just a “career path”. Being an entrepreneur is also a lifestyle choice. But life is all about balance and with the lack of security being an entrepreneur brings also comes an immense amount of freedom. That freedom is a gift, of course, but it’s also a responsibility. So, you’re a little shell shocked after the first few months. I GET IT! Let me tell ya, I was too. Stumble through this at the beginning. Allow yourself the grace of failing and making mistakes. Write down all the things you're experiencing and learn from them. Be Transparent when you fail and admit it. When you admit it to yourself, its freeing and when you admit it to a customer, although the initial ROI might not look good, that moment will make a lasting impression on them and they’ll be more willing to accept the mistake, forgive, and proceed to give you their business.
Just Don’t Stop.
No matter what you’re going through with your business, in your personal life, navigating COVID - it’s important to have a steady hand on your back nudging you to keep pushing forward, even when you’re too tired. Preserve. Keep climbing that mountain and developing your self awareness along the way. Identify the things that help motivate and drive you forward and let yourself take it in. After all, you didn’t chose this path for the destination, you chose it because you love the process. Keep Grinding. Keep Hustling. You’re building muscles that you’ll one day be able to proudly flex…..after your winding journey down perseverance street.
Never Give Up! Failure and rejections are only the first steps to succeeding. [Everyday] ordinary people accomplish extraordinary things.” -Jimmy Valvano
Keep spreading love, good people!
Best,
Chef Jake
Learn about this HISTORICALLY CHEAP Breakfast Superfood: The Egg
I wanted to share a little graphic with you about the nutritional benefits of one the cheapest and most versatile breakfast food items money can buy.
Hey Foodies,
I wanted to share a little graphic with you about the nutritional benefits of one the cheapest and most versatile breakfast food items money can buy. I’m talking about the egg. I know, it sounds boring but try again. The egg is actually an extremely adaptable ingredient that can be used in so many kitchen applications like aioli’s, gribiche, or hollandaise. It’s used in sauces, cookies, and so many things in between. Soooo you might as well learn a little bit about what your putting in your body. Happy Munching!
Working with Yeast Doughs - What to Look For
As someone that bakes bagels for a living, I’ve learned a thing or two about what you need to look for in a healthy yeast dough. Here are a few pointers and things to look out for when working with a yeast dough.
Hey Friends,
As someone that bakes bagels for a living, I’ve learned a thing or two about what you need to look for in a healthy yeast dough. After all, yeast is a living organism and you need to treat it as such! Here are a few pointers and things to look out for when working with a yeast dough.
#1) Use Instant Yeast, for your baking endeavors. It’s easy to work with, has a relatively long shelf life, and you don’t need to worry about keeping it alive. Besides, even most professional kitchens and bakeries use instant yeast for their dough.
#2) When hydrating the flour with water remember that cold water will slow down yeast activity ultimately giving the dough more time to develop its flavors. This also means it will take longer for your dough to rise and be ready to work with, however. Warm water will speed up the yeast activity meaning that it will rise much faster, but at the compromise of flavor.
#3) Oil is often called a “Shortener”. This is because when added to a flour that contains gluten, the oil will cause the gluten strands to shorten, making the dough less stretchy, which could ultimately affect the oven spring of your finished product. This could also be a desirable characteristic, depending on what type of final product you’re trying to make.
#4) Besides sweetening the dough, the presence of added sugar speeds up yeast activity and allows the dough to proof more quickly. Be careful of adding too much sugar, however. If the dough rises too quickly the gluten strands won’t have time to strengthen. This means as soon as you try to pick up the dough or work with it at all, it’ll deflate very quickly and most likely be sticky and hard to work with. Also be mindful of the affects of white vs. brown sugar. Brown sugar causes the end product to have a more firm and darker crumb.
#5) Salt is necessary in order to give the dough flavor. Be weary when mixing the salt with your other dry ingredients, though. Salt prohibits the development of yeast in the dough. To be safe, add salt to one side of your bowl and yeast to the other side of your bowl before adding your wet ingredients. This allows the yeast a chance to get hydrated by the dough before the salt comes into contact with it.
#6) Mixing the dough allows the gluten strains to strengthen and develop. In most dough applications, the dough is properly mixed when you can poke it with your finger and the exterior of the dough bounces back from the indentation left by your finger. Dough is slightly tacky but easily comes off fingers.
#7) A little baking soda when dissolved in water, can be brushed on to most dough products just before they are about to be baked to give your dough a “pretzel effect”.
#8) Baking with dough can be very challenging for cooks of any level. The moisture in the air can affect the way flour fills your measuring cups. When baking, it’s important to measure ingredients by weight. Using a scale will ensure consistent results and a better finished product!
I hope these tips helped you overcome whatever baking challenges your facing! If this blog didn’t answer your baking questions, reach out to us on chefjpexperience.com and we’d be happy to do our best to steer you right.
Keep spreading love, good people!
Best,
Chef Jake