Plating Perfection

Food presentation is the art of arranging, decorating or modifying food to enhance its aesthetic appeal. Plating is the arrangement and styling of food upon bringing it to the plate. Historically, the presentation of food was used as a show of wealth and power. Contemporary food presentation is determined much more by modern aesthetics and creativity than displays of wealth and power. Nouvelle cuisine, a school of French cooking, rejects ostentatious displays of food in favor of simple presentation and high-quality ingredients. In Japan, a large focus is placed on the aesthetic arrangement of food, and bento boxes and kaiseki are good examples of it. Modern science can illuminate how and why people respond in certain ways to food plating and presentation. Like other aspects of culture, food presentation is subject to trends and fads.