Presentation Suggestions

I am a third year culinary management student, I have practical exams coming up. However I would like to know if anyone would like to give me advice on how to work my presentation. It will be a Garde Manger exam with a 'Tropical' theme, a buffet for six persons. it may be five courses I have not had my planning session to do my time plan as yet. But it will be based solely on cold food products. Any advice or suggestions that you can give will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Dayanna, Do not take this the wrong way I am not a bad guy but if you ask one of us to tell you what to do does not show off your skill. Right now you are asking for more than assistants on your school work. you are there to learn. and assistants and suggestions will come later when you are done with school and working full time in a kitchen. PLEASE do not take this the wrong way i am not trying to seem like an a@!$*@e. and good luck to you with your project. i hope it comes out fine for you.

I have to agree!! You are asking others to do your project for you. The idea behind this is for you to show off your skills and knowledge. Even though it sounds as though you are just asking for ideas, at least in school, those should be yours. You never know if something works or not unless you try.

[m brown]

Dayanna,
Try going through cook books and culinary trade magazines for ideas and videos. If you can, look back on your own work and stick with the process that gave you the greatest satisfaction along with a good grade.
Go with what you know. Follow the guide lines of the class and be creative.There is a lifetime of cold food presentations out there, find them.
break a leg!

[This message has been edited by m brown (edited December 08, 1999).]

I don't agree with you guys. I don't think Dayanna is asking anyone to do her project. The keyword is SUGGESTIONS here. I can't believe you have never went through a cookbook or cooking magazine and saw something and thought "hey that is cool, I think I will try it". Chefs work off of each other and we share ideas and techniques.
Dayanna I think what you should do is share what your presentations ideas are so far and then people can comment on them and then give you their thoughts on your ideas.

Later,

2Q....

Hi this is Dayanna I am taking your criticisms well I understand what your all saying and I appreciate your opinions. Anyway my ideas are so far to try and use lots of colours eg. red, yellow, blue, orange, and other little splashes of colours. I am planning on using palm and banana leaves to place on the ground in order to help create that tropical effect. I am making a vase out of pumpkin for my centre piece with vegetable made flowers and real flowers. I am already in the process of making my tiles for presentation. I am planning on using lots of fruits on the table I am presenting on eg. pineapple, papaya, grapes, jamaican apples,and other tropical fruits. I have an idea to make the bowls to serve my soups in out of ice with the fruit and flowers frozen in it, then place these bowls into a watermelon boat filled with ice. I do not want anyone to do this for me I just really want some advice or suggestions.

Thanks alot Dayanna.

Sounds like you're doing a good job so far but one suggestion to help you out. DO NOT USE BLUE!!! I made that mistake in a food show and the judges marked me down because there is no true blue in nature. Other than that as a Garde Manger chef I'd say you have a great beginning and remember that the skies the limit. Try unusual things or ideas that strike the imagination. Have fun and hope you do well.

[shahar]

You tell her to look through books, but this is the future. For inspiration and ideas we go through books, mags and the net.
In the exam she shows her sense of research and that was what she was doing, searching the net.

[ChefRon]

I have impaled cut pineapples on a metal rod on 45 degree angles, one to the right, the second to the left, the third to the right, etc., then skewered balls of colorful fruits to the face of each pineapple using frill picks. The rod is typically 3 feet in height and uses about 3 pineapples (yielding 6 halves). This gives vertical height to the table and the customer has access to the balls of fruit.