My Favorite Food Things - Day #7 - Serving Dishes

I don’t have a favorite brand or type of plate, but rather a favorite style.

Food in and of itself is colorful and beautiful. In order to showcase the beauty of a chef’s creation all food should be served on clean, plain surfaces, namely white surfaces. Occasionally a chef can get away with another solid color – as long as the contrast between the food and surface makes the dish ‘pop.’

In general, I always serve my food on white surfaces. This way I allow only the food to be seen, never masked by the background.

I also believe that the food shapes and forms must contrast with the serving piece. For example, round food should be served on square plates. And food in the shape of cylinders should never be served in a canoe shaped dish, but rather on a long, flat rectangular platter. So forth, and so on…

The final component to my favorite serving piece is size. The portions of food should never crowd the plate. This can cause the food to visually “blend” together – creating a collage. Food is not a collage. They are individual pieces that succinctly come together in the mouth, not on a plate. A plate too large can also have a negative impact. If the plate is oversized the food can seem dwarfed or worse pretentious - the caliber of the food (innovativeness / level of creativity) must match the size of the plate.

When color, shape, and size are perfectly balanced with great food the diner is left with a night to remember.

Check out Crate and Barrel or World Market for the best selection of white serving pieces.