I get a weekly newsletter from the national food chain, Whole Foods®, and this week they sent something I just have to share with you.

Topic? Plating. The author of this article, Aida Mollenkamp, is well within her rights to share her perspective on the art of food presentation. She's a California-based food expert, TV host, writer, and culinary curator. She's on a mission to raise awareness about the power of pretty plating (aka food presentation).

Considering we eat with our eyes before we ever take a single bite, the subject of plating is not superfluous. And then there's the added bonus that cooking mistakes can often be overlooked if food is presented beautifully. Aida calls this party planning insurance - something I've needed more than once.

Here are a few of her plating pointers:

FIRST, embrace seasonality. Spring produce is gorgeous with all the lovely light greens of asparagus and peas and the deep reds of rhubarb and strawberries so use that to your advantage. Something as simple as a platter of halved strawberries drizzled with cream is not just seasonal but looks phenomenal too.

NEXT, deconstruct. Aida suggests we take advantage of the natural beauty of the food. Case in point, with this salad, pictured, instead of chopping up the romaine, she halved the baby romaine hearts for a more impressive plating than the standard tossed salad.

THEN, pick a pretty platter. (Say that fast 10 times!) There's no point in slaving over the meal if you're going to serve it on some cruddy plate. Though you don't need heirloom porcelain pieces, pick platters that are good looking. When in doubt, keep platters monochromatic so that the food - not the platter - takes center stage. I consistently find gorgeous serving pieces at thrift stores.

STILL on the platter or serving piece theme: Make it pop! One of the simplest ways to make your food look fabulous is to plate it on a contrasting color, so consult that color wheel your high school art teacher talked on about. Ironically, the prettiest colors are often no color at all - white and black are always safe bets.

AND CONSIDER going miniature. While this idea can be overdone, it works well when it comes to food like these mini goat cheese and caramelized fennel tartlets. Serving things in miniature allows the final platter to have an attractive pattern and it makes serving simpler since portion-sizes are pre-determined. (Remember the ideas on using ramekins in last week's newsletter?)

AND DON'T FORGET garnishes. The other reason those Fennel Puff Pastry Bites (above) are such lookers is because of the garnishes. The rules with garnishes are that you want to reiterate the ingredients of the dish and that they should be edible. Aida saved some of the fennel frond tops and topped the tartlets just before serving. And notice how simply this plate is garnished - just orange wedges that compliment the orange sauce used in the recipe. I keep fresh mint in the garden or fridge for garnishing desserts - especially anything chocolate. There's no need to get overwhelmed, think we need to be food artists, or spends loads of time or money on this technique.

CONSIDER COMPOSITION. Aida says plating is really like a still life painting. And much like those painting greats that could glorify a simple bowl of fruit, a well-considered composition makes food that much more appetizing.

STILL on the composition theme: Work like a flower arranger. Always look for the visually interesting element in the food you're serving and try to highlight that. Even a simple green salad can look stunning if you take a florist's approach and consider symmetry and patterns. One of the easiest ways to serve a large salad is to put the greens in a large bowl then arrange all the other ingredients in concentric circles on top.

FINALLY, mix and match. Yes, you do want pretty platters, but every piece doesn't need to match and they don't even have to be serving pieces. Aida uses cutting boards for anything sliceable from cheese to breads, dessert bowls for nut mixes or candies, and a tiered tray is always a great way to add height and drama even if it's just for serving raw vegetables and dip.

Aida concludes her article by asking "What other things do you do to dress up your food before you serve it?" I thought about this and here are a few things we do at our house:

1. I use inexpensive red and white checked tissue papers that I use to line chip bowls and bread baskets. I also use these papers to wrap sandwiches (much like a restaurant does when serving a hamburger). Parchment paper works nicely for this also.

2. We serve a fresh fruit salad atop a romaine or butter lettuce leaf.

3. I especially like to serve chowders and stews in bread bowls - nothing new there, but what makes them snap is a "cheese lid" we make by melting 3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese in the oven. This fans out into nice crispy circles that work well as "soup lids." And then they make yummy "dunkers" when eating the soup!

And so, like Aida, I ask, what do you do to dress up your food? A little garnish here, a pretty serving piece there, a few simple tricks takes ho-hum to some really pretty plating!

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Sources:
www.thepricehike.com
www.mindfulmixture.wordpress.com
www.yourhomebasedmom.com
www.wholefoodsmarket.com
www.delightsbites.blogspot.com
www.gettingawaywithveganism.wordpress.com
www.city-data.com
www.amazon.com
www.health.com
www.foodrenegade.com