[0 - 3] - I'm Ann Ziata, professional chef and culinary instructor,
[3 - 3] and today I'm gonna show you
[3 - 5] how to elevate your plating skills.
[5 - 7] We'll be going over six techniques
[7 - 8] to help you plate like a pro.
[8 - 10] This is plating 101.
[16 - 17] Your plate is your canvas.
[17 - 19] Different foods belong on different plates.
[19 - 23] On my left side here is a big serving of pasta,
[23 - 25] of spaghetti pomodoro.
[25 - 28] It's in a soup bowl, so it looks very cramped and crowded.
[28 - 30] There's nothing wrong with this. It could look better.
[30 - 32] So on my right, I have a variety of dishes
[32 - 34] that you might have at home.
[34 - 36] I'm starting here with a wide shallow bowl.
[36 - 40] Already, it looks bigger, more expansive, more relaxing.
[40 - 41] It has a little bit of a slope to it.
[42 - 43] It can hold pasta sauce really well.
[43 - 45] I have tongs here.
[45 - 47] You could also use a fork, you can use chopsticks,
[47 - 48] but tongs are nice and big
[48 - 50] and they're gonna help me create some shape here.
[50 - 52] Just give a little pull.
[52 - 53] So I have a plate wipe here.
[53 - 55] It's just a paper towel or a napkin
[55 - 57] with a little bit of water to it.
[57 - 60] We use these in every professional kitchen, making sure
[60 - 62] that the plate leaves the kitchen gorgeous.
[62 - 64] We're gonna add some extra touches
[64 - 66] that weren't included in the first one.
[66 - 67] We're gonna add a few garnishes.
[67 - 70] This is gonna add more contrast to the dish as well.
[70 - 72] I have some Parmesan cheese here and I have a microplane.
[72 - 75] I'm just gonna move the cheese in one direction.
[75 - 77] For our basil garnish, we just have some fresh basil here
[77 - 82] and then let's just place a few more artistically around.
[82 - 84] So looking at the two side by side,
[84 - 87] the one that I plated, you get a nice height from it,
[87 - 88] you can see more of the pasta.
[88 - 90] It's more inviting.
[90 - 92] This, we don't really have a clear focal point.
[92 - 93] It's all kind of mushed together.
[93 - 96] So when it comes to plating, it's all to serve the food
[96 - 98] and make the food shine.
[101 - 104] Contrast could be a difference of textures.
[104 - 106] We have soft elements, crunchy elements.
[106 - 108] These are things that we don't just taste
[108 - 110] but we can visually see.
[110 - 112] And then also contrast of colors is nice too.
[112 - 115] Contrast is gonna make the dish visually more interesting.
[115 - 117] It's going to make it easier
[117 - 120] for your eye to distinguish the items on the dish.
[120 - 122] The first bowl I have here is a bowl
[122 - 123] of butternut squash soup.
[123 - 125] There's nothing wrong with the soup,
[125 - 127] but it looks a little boring.
[127 - 128] It's a little one-note.
[128 - 131] Starting with a nice empty bowl, I have my soup here
[131 - 134] and I wanna leave about an inch or so at the top.
[134 - 136] It gives the soup a little bit of a frame.
[136 - 138] Add a little creme fraiche to the soup.
[138 - 139] It's gonna add a contrast of color
[139 - 141] with a little white in the middle,
[141 - 143] and it's also gonna add a little contrast of flavor.
[143 - 144] A couple pieces of crouton here.
[144 - 147] We're adding something that's dry and crunchy
[147 - 150] to something that is very smooth and pureed.
[150 - 152] Some chopped chives,
[152 - 154] now we have a fresh green element contrasting
[154 - 155] with something that's been cooked.
[156 - 157] We have our two dishes here side
[157 - 159] by side we can compare the contrast of.
[159 - 162] When your eye has a place to go, you see more contrast.
[162 - 164] It's going to look fresher,
[164 - 166] so it makes the croutons look crunchier,
[166 - 167] which is really cool.
[170 - 172] Height is an important element in plating.
[172 - 175] Not every dish needs to look like a little pyramid,
[175 - 177] but we do wanna add a little bit of height to it just
[177 - 180] so we can see everything in the dish.
[180 - 182] Adding height to your plate will make it look more dramatic.
[182 - 184] It makes it look more elegant,
[184 - 186] and it's gonna make it look more three dimensional.
[186 - 188] So here we have a salad.
[188 - 190] First, it just looks very messy.
[190 - 193] There's no focal point for my eye to go to.
[193 - 196] There's no visual direction for my eye to follow.
[196 - 197] First thing we're gonna do, we start
[197 - 199] with a nice clean plate.
[199 - 201] We're gonna toss our lettuces.
[201 - 203] And here we have some lovely chicories,
[204 - 206] we have some radicchio, some endive.
[206 - 209] The chicories here, they add a lot more color to the dish
[209 - 211] and you can see a lot more contrast as well
[211 - 214] and the shape is really interesting and fun,
[214 - 218] whereas the spinach here, it can have its time and place,
[218 - 219] but it looks a little flat.
[219 - 221] The greens I have here are going
[221 - 223] to hold their shape better too over time.
[223 - 226] They're not gonna wilt as easily as spinach will.
[226 - 227] I have a little vinaigrette here,
[227 - 231] just a little balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
[231 - 234] Gently add a little bit to the leaves.
[234 - 236] On our first plate, the dressing,
[236 - 238] it looks like it was just kind of poured on top,
[238 - 240] which means it's not gonna get evenly dressed.
[240 - 242] If we're pouring the dressing on the salad,
[242 - 244] it's also gonna flatten it as well
[244 - 246] and we are going for height here.
[246 - 249] Along with them, I'm gonna toss in some crushed olives.
[249 - 250] So we're doing it a little differently
[250 - 251] than the original salad,
[251 - 254] which has it diced up into nice bite-sized pieces.
[254 - 256] We want a little more drama for this plate
[256 - 259] so the best way to add drama other than height is
[259 - 261] having something a little oversized.
[261 - 264] So I have these two wedges of kabocha here.
[264 - 265] This is gonna give a little base
[265 - 267] for the salad to build off of.
[267 - 270] If you're not using kabocha squash, a cauliflower steak
[270 - 273] or a large piece of broccoli, place our leaves down.
[273 - 275] I don't have to use all of them.
[275 - 276] I don't wanna overcrowd it,
[276 - 278] so I'm just using what I need.
[278 - 280] Right now, I think it needs a little more green in there.
[280 - 282] And it should look pretty natural.
[282 - 283] I once had a chef tell me
[283 - 285] that leaves should look like fallen leaves,
[285 - 288] like they just fell from a tree very naturally.
[288 - 291] So these are some really thinly shaved radishes,
[291 - 293] quick pickled onions.
[293 - 297] So this looks a lot more colorful, it looks more even.
[297 - 298] It's a really attractive fuchsia color.
[298 - 301] They become a little bit more tender to eat.
[301 - 303] They're not this bite of raw onion,
[303 - 305] which in this salad it's just gonna overpower
[305 - 307] and it's very easy to make too.
[307 - 308] We have our feta here.
[308 - 310] I'm just gonna use my hands to crumble it.
[310 - 312] Again, we wanna make it look very natural, very elegant.
[312 - 315] I'm just kind of filling in around,
[315 - 318] trying to make it a little even, but not super symmetrical.
[318 - 321] When you're doing things in a more scattered style, I like
[321 - 323] to think more like a kaleidoscope
[323 - 326] where it's actually the same image repeating over and over
[326 - 328] and it looks like this big beautiful design
[328 - 330] and it's a little like messy in a way,
[330 - 332] but it's a very organized mess
[332 - 334] that it makes it aesthetically beautiful to look at.
[334 - 335] We have our pistachios.
[335 - 338] In the original salad, the pistachios are left whole.
[338 - 341] You don't really get to see their pretty green interior,
[341 - 344] so I prefer to use raw pistachios with a little bit
[344 - 345] of a chop on them just
[345 - 347] so we still get that fresh, green, nutty flavor.
[347 - 348] We see more of the color.
[348 - 352] We have some mint leaves here. Gently tear them.
[352 - 354] And this is my kabocha salad,
[354 - 357] and it is so dramatically different than the first one
[358 - 360] that it's almost comical.
[360 - 362] It's the same ingredients, it's the same elements.
[362 - 364] We just transformed them just a little bit,
[364 - 366] just a few tweaks to take something
[366 - 369] that looks a little bit more pulled from your fridge
[369 - 372] and something much more high-end celebratory
[372 - 373] you could have at a special event.
[373 - 375] You could make it if you're trying to impress someone,
[375 - 376] you have your friends over.
[376 - 379] Something you'd wanna take a picture of really.
[381 - 383] What is negative space?
[383 - 386] Usually it refers to any emptiness on the plate.
[386 - 389] If the plate is too full, it's going to look cluttered.
[389 - 392] We don't have a place for our eye to relax and to go to.
[392 - 394] Adding negative space is gonna add contrast,
[394 - 395] it's gonna add drama.
[395 - 397] It's gonna give a way for things to pop
[397 - 399] and give it more dimension.
[399 - 401] So in front of me, I have a dish that's plated
[401 - 404] with a pea puree, scallops and shallot chips.
[404 - 406] There's no negative space. It looks bunched together.
[406 - 409] I lose a lot of the shapes of the scallops
[409 - 410] and even of the puree.
[410 - 413] I think also this dish has a lot of circles in it,
[413 - 416] which is very common in culinary arts where we love circles,
[416 - 419] but sometimes I think they're overdone.
[419 - 420] We wanna add more straight lines.
[420 - 422] Right away, we have a pea puree.
[422 - 426] It looks really lovely, fresh, green color. It's contrasting.
[426 - 427] This is a couple tablespoons worth.
[427 - 429] I'm gonna do it a little off center.
[429 - 430] It's just gonna be a little more interesting
[430 - 432] and it's gonna give us more negative space.
[432 - 434] I made a little dollop of the sauce
[434 - 436] and I pushed down against the plate
[436 - 438] so you can see the negative space in the sauce.
[438 - 440] This is also gonna give us a little landing pad
[440 - 442] for our scallops to live.
[442 - 443] So I have the scallops here.
[443 - 445] These are also presentation side up,
[445 - 447] which is gonna look much more appealing,
[447 - 448] whereas in this plating,
[448 - 451] it looks like the presentation side is being hidden.
[451 - 452] And we always are thinking about
[452 - 454] when we're plating what we wanna show off,
[454 - 455] and then also what we wanna hide.
[455 - 458] You see a lot more of this crispy ring.
[458 - 459] It looks very appetizing.
[459 - 461] I'm gonna have them sit along the straight line,
[461 - 464] this way, that they're not floating on their own.
[464 - 465] It's gonna look more cohesive.
[465 - 466] It's gonna look more dramatic.
[466 - 468] It's the appropriate amount of sauce.
[468 - 469] It's not too much, it's not too little.
[469 - 471] Also, we have three here.
[471 - 472] When there's two of something on a plate,
[472 - 475] whether it's two scallops or two scoops of ice cream
[475 - 478] or two whatever, they're gonna feel a little bit
[478 - 479] in competition with each other.
[479 - 481] Three, they're more balanced. They tell a story.
[481 - 483] There's a beginning, a middle, and an ending,
[483 - 486] and they're not just like one versus one.
[486 - 488] So the shallots on this plate here, they're a little big.
[488 - 491] They kind of hide the shapes of the scallop.
[491 - 492] Here, we're gonna use some smaller pieces.
[492 - 494] They're gonna add some nice straight lines
[494 - 496] to the dish which we love
[496 - 498] and just a little crispy element of contrast too.
[498 - 501] For our last garnish, sliced scallions,
[501 - 503] flavor-wise, this is gonna work with this dish,
[503 - 506] which is a little kind of like a springtime fresh green
[506 - 508] and this is gonna highlight that freshness
[508 - 509] and kind of mirror it on a small level.
[509 - 512] And also it has negative space, which we love.
[512 - 515] We love to see little holes in food, little lacy patterns.
[515 - 517] It's just very interesting and very pretty.
[517 - 519] I decided to just do one ring
[519 - 521] because there's a pile of the shallots
[521 - 524] and I think one allows us to really take advantage
[524 - 525] of the negative space of the scallion,
[525 - 528] and it just looks nice and simplified.
[528 - 530] This dish to me, really highlights the beauty
[530 - 531] of negative space.
[531 - 533] There's a lot of areas we can see underneath,
[533 - 535] things we can see behind things
[535 - 538] and we also have a lot of emptiness on the plate too,
[538 - 540] which just gives our brain places to relax.
[540 - 542] The first one looks a little bit more choked up, right?
[542 - 544] Everything's kind of on top of each other,
[544 - 546] and you kind of are losing a lot of the shapes,
[546 - 548] a lot of the textures, because they're all just kind
[548 - 550] of hidden in this one blur.
[550 - 553] Negative space is going to allow your dish room to breathe.
[553 - 555] It's going to provide more contrast, more balance.
[555 - 559] It's going to make it much more visually interesting.
[562 - 564] It's important to highlight the key ingredient
[564 - 568] if you have an entree with a really nice focal point, right?
[568 - 569] This is kind of the main event of the meal,
[569 - 571] the main event of the dish.
[571 - 574] In this case, our main event here is a steak.
[574 - 576] We wanna highlight it but it's so special.
[576 - 577] We don't wanna cover it in sauce.
[577 - 579] We don't wanna pile a bunch of things on top of it.
[579 - 583] And this plate here, this is very like TV dinner style
[583 - 586] or kids' plate style at a cafeteria.
[586 - 587] We're gonna take these exact elements
[587 - 588] and we're gonna replate them
[588 - 591] so it looks a little bit more fine dining.
[591 - 593] The first thing we're gonna do is cut the steak.
[593 - 595] I'm gonna slice it at a little bit of an angle
[595 - 597] so we can really show off the inside of the meat
[597 - 600] and it will lay a little bit more relaxed.
[600 - 602] The steak sauce.
[602 - 605] Chefs love to put sauces on the bottom of the plate
[605 - 606] rather than on top of the food,
[606 - 608] because this way, we can see the food.
[608 - 609] The original plate here has a ramekin,
[609 - 611] which can look really thought out
[611 - 613] and looks a little intentional,
[613 - 614] but in the end of the day,
[614 - 615] it's just gonna get dumped anyway,
[615 - 618] so it's just kind of extra clutter on the dish.
[618 - 620] I am gonna do just a straight line
[620 - 623] so it follows the length of the steak.
[623 - 624] Just a little off center
[624 - 627] so I have room for the vegetables next to it.
[627 - 629] We want enough just so it looks like it's going
[629 - 632] to not overpower the meat, but also not skimpy.
[632 - 635] So now you can see here, the contrast of the inside
[635 - 637] of the meat, the nice crispy crust.
[637 - 639] Generous amount of sauce, but not too much.
[639 - 641] Nothing's on top of it. Nothing's hiding it.
[641 - 644] It looks inviting versus this steak,
[644 - 646] you have to do a little work to kind of get to it,
[646 - 648] and you're kind of hiding the doneness of the meat.
[648 - 649] So we have our sides here.
[649 - 652] We have some carrots and some broccoli rabe, roasted,
[652 - 654] nice and crispy.
[654 - 655] They're cut a little differently, right?
[655 - 658] We have round cuts here that are just a little kind
[658 - 661] of basic and boring, just a little like little logs,
[661 - 663] but this is a nice roll cut on the carrots,
[663 - 665] so you have a little bit more of a sharp line.
[665 - 666] You have some angles.
[666 - 668] You could see also the inside of the carrot.
[668 - 670] Really lovely dramatic shapes here.
[670 - 672] I'm gonna start with the greens on the bottom,
[672 - 675] just a little bed, a nice alternative to spinach,
[675 - 677] lovely, bitter, green.
[677 - 679] Right away, we have a nice contrast of something
[679 - 681] that is meaty and cooked
[681 - 683] and something that is fresh and leafy.
[683 - 688] Add some alternating carrots and broccoli rabe.
[688 - 691] I'm putting them together rather than keep them separate
[691 - 693] just because it should feel like one dish.
[693 - 695] Everything should feel very cohesive
[695 - 698] rather than like strangers at a party not talking
[698 - 699] to each other.
[699 - 701] Just making sure that there's contrast between the lines
[701 - 703] of the steak and the carrots.
[703 - 706] If they all look kind of parallel, it's going to clash,
[706 - 708] but here, they're going in different directions,
[708 - 710] which is gonna make it interesting.
[710 - 711] When we look at the two side by side,
[711 - 714] this one looks a little more ingredient
[714 - 717] focused individually, there's not a lot of cohesion.
[717 - 719] They're just kind of floating in space
[719 - 721] and they have nothing in common.
[721 - 722] But here, everyone is getting along,
[722 - 724] just looks more exciting to eat.
[724 - 726] The sauce is free and flowing,
[726 - 729] which makes it look more relaxed, inviting, and fun.
[729 - 731] When you highlight the key ingredient of the dish,
[731 - 733] it makes it feel very special.
[733 - 736] This is also the focal point of the whole dinner.
[736 - 736] We really wanna make sure
[736 - 739] that we are giving that the attention it deserves.
[742 - 745] When it comes to plating, we wanna remember that it's an art
[745 - 746] and we're just having fun.
[746 - 749] And I've found that dessert is the course
[749 - 751] where you can get away with having the most fun as a chef.
[751 - 754] I'm telling you all my secrets, all the tips and tricks
[754 - 755] that I use that I was taught
[755 - 758] but at the end of the day, it's an art form
[758 - 760] so use your own creativity, do what excites you,
[760 - 762] do what you think is beautiful, make it your own.
[762 - 766] To my left, we have a very classic s'mores,
[766 - 769] roasted marshmallows, chocolate, and some graham crackers.
[769 - 772] We're gonna take the same elements, deconstruct them,
[772 - 774] and we're gonna also add some ice cream,
[774 - 776] because for me, a real dessert has chocolate
[776 - 777] and something frozen.
[777 - 779] So these are graham crackers
[779 - 782] that have been crushed into crumbs.
[782 - 784] I'm gonna create kind of the ice cream as the focal point,
[784 - 787] and then a bunch of lines that are directing us toward that.
[787 - 789] So I'm gonna do a little bit off center,
[789 - 791] a little crumb trail.
[791 - 793] It's just like a teaspoon or so,
[793 - 795] maybe a tablespoon at most.
[795 - 796] I can make it a little cleaner
[796 - 799] but I don't want it to look too fussy.
[799 - 802] I wanna look like I've stumbled in the forest
[802 - 803] and I see this little path
[803 - 805] and I'm like, this is gonna lead somewhere delicious
[805 - 806] all the way across the plate.
[806 - 808] I think for this we can have a little fun
[808 - 810] and touch the rims of the plate.
[810 - 811] So I've got my straight line.
[811 - 813] There's some few stray crumbs around it,
[813 - 815] but I think it looks natural.
[815 - 817] Then we are going to put a little chocolate sauce
[817 - 818] on the plate.
[818 - 821] So this is the same as the Hershey's, just melted down,
[821 - 824] and I'm gonna make a little circle, a little dollop of it.
[824 - 827] I'm gonna try not to make a mess across the plate,
[827 - 829] something for the ice cream to sit on.
[829 - 832] I have ice cream that's been cut into planks.
[832 - 835] So what you can do is take a container of ice cream,
[835 - 837] spread it into a turin mold,
[837 - 840] or like a cake, like a square loaf pan
[840 - 843] or you can cut it directly from the container it's in
[843 - 845] into these nice squares.
[845 - 848] It plays off of the shape of the chocolate
[848 - 849] in the s'mores of the graham cracker.
[849 - 852] It also adds more contrast.
[852 - 853] We have some nice right angles here,
[853 - 855] and a dish that has more circles on it.
[855 - 857] I have a nice offset spatula,
[857 - 859] so I'm gonna add my little square
[859 - 862] of ice cream right on top of the chocolate
[862 - 863] and we're gonna top it
[863 - 866] with three little roasted marshmallows.
[866 - 871] And that is your little fancier dinner party s'mores.
[871 - 873] You can see this one is a little bit more opened up.
[873 - 874] It's a little more abstract.
[874 - 875] We have a little frozen ice cream.
[875 - 877] It plays with similar shapes.
[877 - 879] All the ingredients are mostly the same,
[879 - 881] but it's just a little more fun.
[881 - 883] With plating desserts and being creative,
[883 - 884] there's really no rules.
[884 - 886] It's gonna taste delicious. It's gonna look really fun.
[886 - 888] Plating is definitely a skill
[888 - 890] and it's something worth practicing
[890 - 893] and kind of exploring with and creating your own style.
[893 - 894] It's going to make all
[894 - 897] of your dining experiences more elegant
[897 - 898] and a little bit more special.
[898 - 901] These little details make a huge difference
[901 - 902] when it comes to presentation.