Garnishes and Presentation

This is not a class based on the title, only a few tips and pet peeves that are solely mine.

Please do not use a sprig of parsley on everything. Never sprinkle chopped parsley around the rim of a dinner plate. One need not wonder of the hatred between the front of the house (waiters) and back of the house (cooks) when a cook does this to a waiter.

Do not garnish with anything that is not in the dish. Don’t add capers to decorate, or lemon slices if they’re not used in the dish. Conversely, I like to let allergy-prone guests know if there is fish or there are nuts in a dish by garnishing accordingly. Still, last Christmas, husband Jim took a canape of smoked salmon garnished as such and popped it in his mouth! A tooth-brushing and two Benadryls later, he was fine.

As to presentation, this verticality movement is becoming ridiculous. I recall a Gordon Ramsay episode when he was served a sausage sticking up vertically from mashed potatoes and said it looked like something from a pornographic movie! For family and guests at home, I keep the presentation simple. No, I always keep the presentation simple but make sure the plate is attractive. I spent too many years eating peanut butter sandwiches over the kitchen sink not to do so.

Taste, color, texture. Picture a poached chicken breast in a white sauce, served with cauliflower florets and mashed potatoes. All white, all soft. Now picture a succulent browned skin-on chicken breast with perhaps a spoon of jus, sauteed spinach with garlic and olive oil, and roasted rosemary potatoes.

It makes my mouth water just to think of it. It’s true that you eat with your eyes (and nose) before you ever take a bite of food.