Who is sick of seeing fine art on a plate. Yes I agree that the food should look good on the plate, but it seemes to me that some chefs are so concerned with the look of the plate that the taste is gone. to quote B.B. King "the Thrill is Gone." 10 seconds after the dish is presented to the customer. so it had better taste as good as it looks.

Just a rant on my part
Gracias Bri

[This message has been edited by Bri (edited May 21, 1999).]

[Pete]

I agree with you partly Bri. First in importance is the taste of the food. That must be the number one priority but I also think that food must be presented in an eye-appealing fashion. Guests use all their senses when consuming a dish and the first sense they use is their sight. I do agree that many chefs do often times go overboard, but guests have also come to expect those kinds of presentations. I am personally one who believes in the taste over looks philosophy but I also have to please my guests, who are constantly telling me about the dramatic presentation they had at so and so. Where is the line drawn?

I agree with you both. enough is enough. I get a little tired of sitting down to dine and encountering the Hancock on my plate....
Presentation is nice but if it don't taste like nothin', what's it worth... At times, you find garnishes on a plate that are just overkill. sometimes... less is more, as they say!

Right on!! to you both. I don't believe that I ever said that presentation doesn't matter, but that I was just sick of these Frank LLoyd Wright style cooks (chefs). yes the plate has to look good, People do eat with their eyes. I also feel that some (not all) people are wow'ed very easily and most can't tell the diffrence between fair food & great food. i.e. well done steaks & seafood

[ChefRon]

I dunno. How much of this presentation obsession is what customers actually want and what chefs end up creating to fulfill their own egos? I mean, you can only serve so many millions of broiled half chickens in your career before you start to get ill. So some of us (me included) bone and stuff the things and present them standing in the vertical. If we're really honest, by doing so are we serving our guests or serving ourselves? After a while you end up creating a nightmare for yourself. Now you have ultra complex presentations few cooks can replicate. So now you're working 90 hours a week to do it all yourself and you begin lamenting the poor quality of area cooks. I think at age 41 I'm finally beginning to chill a bit.

[Nicko]

I agree with everyone, however you can't deny the importance of great presentation. There should be a unity and balance to a plate. If the plate is too busy then it doesn't have balance in my opinion. I have seen certain chefs use the stacking technique very well. The main thing I always asked myself was "ok I can do this now myself and it looks amazing". But, when the tickets are rolling down the mountain and your cook has to plate 70 or 100 or more are they all going to look the same? And most of all are they all going to go out of your kitchen hot? Most likely they will end up warm at best becuase you cook spent too much time fudging with the presentation? Stack if you want just make sure my is hot when I get it.

[m brown]

make it clean, make it taste good, make it pretty, put some thought into it. if there is room to tower it, then do it. if not, leave it alone.
if it doesn't taste good, making it tall ain't gonna help.
enuf said.