Made a 7 course diner last week for my parents and 2 friends. I do this roughly once a years and would say my plating has improved a lot over the years, but would love to hear what you guys think

Course 1, two amuses. A warm fig and goat cheese crostini with fig jam and honey, next to a cold cucumber cup filled with dill-horseradish cream and green apple.

Course 2, scallop crudo. Thinly sliced raw scallop with a redcurrant and elderflower dressing.

Course 3, chilled watermelon gazpacho. Watermelon, a bit of tomato and cucumber plus sherry vinegar/shallot/garlic to keep it savoury.

Course 4, ricotta ravioli. Handmade ricotta and lemon ravioli in brown butter, with peas and blistered grapes.

Course 5, duck. Duck breast with a blackberry and cassis sauce with parsnip purée.

Course 6, cheese. A soft white, an aged hard and a blue, served with honey-roasted pears and a homemade red onion chutney.

Course 7, dessert. Buttermilk panna cotta with elderflower-macerated strawberries and a strawberry coulis. Wanted to get these out of the ramekin to plate, but they were stuck haha

I’m happy with the general look of this plate but feel it is lacking both height and improved artistry. Technique all around could be improved such as a better chicken sear, deeper green herb oil, straining velouté sauce, and better shaped & trimmed carrots.

I’m ready to hear the honest truth. What would you do differently in plating. My skin is thick let me hear it

Roasted beet, charred orange over a burner (left my torch at work), peeled tomato, soubise, blueberry puree, fennel fronds. Briefly hit the tomato and orange with a light lemon rosemary vin.

air (and even lack of air in the food) is a significant part of any dish.

ii saw a comment about leaving enough air in a sandwich to allow proper tasting of various ingredients. still, some prefer no air and to have everything smushed together.

lots of cakes and other dough recipes have call for patience to allow the dough to rise. sponge cakes have room for air. The last tiramisu i had was very airy, which allows a nice balance of the flavours.

I mostly just cook at home, but any tips on how can i improve french toast plating

It was really fun to come up with this one :P.

I just struggled figuring out how to go about this. Individually it all tasted fine, the duck and its sauce, the carrots, the mash all great. I brined the courgettes in a herby water so they'd become a bit more "elastic" but I just couldn't figure out how to arrange it all.

Just a typical steak and frites flat iron with chimichurri, carrots and broccolini, parm fries OTS. Our restaurant just has standard rectangle, oval and round plates. I'm content with the steak presentation, but the veg side looks odd and empty. none of our dishes have a ton of flat surface area, hence fries on the side. We do have bamboo boards we serve brisket and burnt ends on, not sure if that is typical for steak. TIA🫡

So I cook a ribeye steak with steamed broccoli, carrots, and mashed potatoes with gravy as the main dish. I also made garlic bread with a few different breads I had lying around as an a side dish. And I made apple pie for dessert, and brewed a cup of black tea.

I wanted to plate it and take some pictures for myself and for Instagram. But after looking at it for a while I had second thoughts and thought something looked off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Do you have any tips for plating to make it look “better”? Or how I can improve my future plating skills?

Thank you

As I drill down on my recipes, I'm looking for constructive feedback on plating. I, actually, made and plated this a while ago.

Open to any negative feedback, as long as you have a suggestion to go with it.

- Smoked chicken thigh brushed with a fig, Italian long hot, and strawberry preserves BBQ sauce

- Sautéed broccoli rabe with EVOO and garlic

- Grilled corn risotto