Overheard a line cook say 'plating is just moving food around' and I almost lost it

I was grabbing a drink after my shift at a spot in Denver last week, and the guy next to me, who works at one of those trendy gastropubs, said that to his buddy. He said it like it was a deep truth, that the art of the plate doesn't matter if the food tastes good. I've been in kitchens for 15 years, and that mindset is why so many places feel generic. A perfect sear on a scallop means nothing if it's just dumped next to some slaw. I think about the time I spent two hours just tweaking the placement of microgreens on a duck dish, and the guest literally took a picture before eating. That moment of care is part of the meal. It's respect for the ingredients and the person paying for them. How do you guys handle cooks who don't see the value in the visual side of things?

3 comments

3 Comments

hall.finley1mo ago

Ugh, that line would make me see red too. How do you even start to fix that mindset in someone? It's like they're missing a whole sense. That picture the guest took is proof, it's part of the experience you're selling. When a plate looks thrown together, it tells the customer their time and money don't matter. I've tried showing side by side photos of the same dish, one messy and one clean, and asking which one they'd want to pay for. Sometimes it clicks.

mark_anderson1mo ago

Oh man, my buddy had a server who kept doing that! He finally made them eat a sloppy version of their own staff meal and it totally changed their tune.

faithf778d ago

Maybe we should just serve all staff meals on frisbees.