psshhh..Its time to start writing again...

So, in class we have been discussing plating and presentation.  So, I think I have distilled the whole process down to the bare essentials...so here it is:

You start with the idea for the dish.

IDEA

and then you develop that idea by determining preperation.

PREPARATION


-ingredients
why, how, what, when, where?
Using the Flavor Bible by Dornenburg and Page really helps with this...I think it has now become one of the most important culinary books since On Food and Cooking.  Definitely is a better resource since the update from Culinary Artistry.
-technique
dry cooking methods
moist cooking methods
combination cooking methods
sous vide
molecular gastronomy
Whatever technique is appropriate for your establishment...its not that we really have that many...cooking is by definition, appying heat to an item to convert it from raw to 'cooked'.
-timing
Can you do it in the time needed...and will you be able to prepare it in the time allowed?
-taste profiles
Salty, sour, sweet, bitter, umami...how do these work with or against each other?
-aroma
How will this affect the flavor profiles?  Use your wine wheel.
-mise en place
Will it fit in with your other mise en place?  What do you need to adjust, and what needs to be done? Cross-utilization? 
-color
Will the colors of your idea go well together?  Is it all brown?  Is it seasonal?  Have you been to Home Depot to check the color palettes lately?
-sound
How will your dish sound?  Crunchy?  Smooth?  Smooshy? Gushy?  How will this affect your overall sense of taste and flavor?
-design
This includes the categories of shape, texture of the component, and size.
-recipe
Write the standardized recipe.  Test it.  Adjust it.  Finish it.

After determining all of that you will write the menu description.


MENU DESCRIPTION

How you word your menu description will determine how well your dish will sell.  It can also determine the size of your portion and it will definitely determine the price.

After that, you have to produce the item.

PRODUCTION

Cook it!  Will it be ready in the time allowed?  Will the customer wait as long as it takes?  Aps in less than 10 minutes, entrees in less than 15?  Is the wait appropriate to your establishment?  Will the preparation bog down the rest of service?  How long will it take?

After you cook it, you have to plate it...

PLATING

-timing
You have to be able to do this fast...hot food hot, cold food cold, luke warm food...etc.  You should also follow the general guidelines for plating.
-k.i.s.s. it...
It's cheesy but, KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID, is the most basic rule of presentation.  Why do people insist on making it so complicated?  The simpler the presentation, the easier to eat, the faster the pick up, the more seamless the service.
-b.u.f.f.
Balance.  Unity.  Flow.  Focal Point.  These are the golden rules of presentation. Your dish should be balanced...whether symmetrically or asymmetrically.  There should be unity.  Even scattered presentation should look like it goes together...don't deconstruct and send me a plate of mire poix...send me a dish that looks like it needs to be eaten.  There should be some flow.  Where do you start to eat the dish?  Those obnoxious 'stacked' high altitude 'wow' presentations (commonly refereed to as wtf? presentations), you have no sense of where to start...or what goes with what.    And there needs to be a focal point.  Generally this is your money item...but it doesn't have to be.  It could be the tallest item, the most colorful, the largest, etc...all things should flow, and balance, and unify to this point.


After the dish is plated, it has to be served...

SERVICE

All of your hard work comes down to this...if it can't be served properly, it is all for nothing.  So think about these things:
orientation of the dish...is there a definable point on the plate to put immediately in front of the guest?
utensils...do you need a specific utnesil to eat it?  Soup spoon, steak knife, chopsticks, jack hammer?  Then it needs to be there when it is needed.
temperature...once again, hot food hot, cold food cold, etc etc etc.
drama...does the presentation give the guest a sense of drama?  Is there steam/smoke trapped under a cloche?  Is there a sizzle when the fajitas are served?  Does everyone in the dining room look jealous when the plate is delivered to the guest?  If so, then you have created the 'drama'.
Can your servers carry the dish to the table without effing it up?  Have you stacked it all up so that it falls over when they pick it up?  Is the plate so effing hot they drop it?  Is there powder BAMMED all over the rim of the plate that smudges when they put their grubby little fingers in it?  Think about it...

So...in the end...it concludes with the guest eating the food.

EAT IT!

The guest is going to start by eating it with their eyes...how does it look?
Is it going to be easy to eat?  Do they have to figure it out?  Then you have failed...if they dive right in...that is success.
How is it?  Does it have Taste?  Texture?  Aroma?  Sound?  Sight?  Does it engage all of the guest's senses?

Did it fulfill their expectations?  Did what you give them match with the menu description?  Did what you serve give them a sense of value with what you charged them?  Will they recommend you?  Will they be back? 

So...it all is summed up to me.  Let me know.

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