How to Plate like a Pro:

Tips and Tricks for restaurant-style plating techniques

Playing with your food is encouraged in this space! And not just for nurturing your inner child, but as a way to make even everyday meals pleasing to the eye as well as the palate. We’ve always seen our sauces as paints with which to season your food, and your plate is the canvas!

Here are a few simple starting points for plating like a pro:

Sauce First

A little base of sauce can help keep your ingredients from sliding around the plate. Whether it’s a swoop, a dollop, or a drizzle, start with a bit of sauce on the empty plate.

Style with a spoon

Drag the back of a spoon through a pool of thicker sauce, like Golden Turmeric Tahini or Red Pepper Romesco, to create an elegant apostrophe shape. It adds the perfect flourish to even a simple plate of roasted veggies or chicken and rice.

Try a swirl

If you’re working in a bowl, start from the center and make a spiral with your sauce to create visual impact. This also ensures every bite gets a bit of extra sauce on it, win/win! For a long plate, start at one corner and make an evenly sized squiggle from one corner to the opposite one.

Finish with herbs

A pop of green instantly enlivens a dish! Use herbs like parsley, cilantro, mint, and chives for a flourish of flavor and color. Instead of chopping the herbs finely, tear them or just cut them once or twice. This will keep them from wilting and keep them super visible on the plate.

Get your drizzle on

Everyone loves a good zig-zag, we know this! Use a back-and-forth motion to drizzle an even amount of sauce over your dish while still keeping it neat and tidy.

Cook happy!

This is a big one for us. They say we eat with our eyes first, and the process of plating can be as much fun as cooking and eating. Remember to keep things whimsical and true to your personality, and you simply can’t go wrong.

And remember...

No matter what’s cooking, taking that extra step to create a thoughtful presentation adds a special, personal touch to even the simplest of meals. If you want to eat something straight out of the pot–we’ll never judge, just don’t forget to sprinkle a fresh flourish of herbs on there first!

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