Plating
The arrangement and overall styling of food upon bringing it to the plate is termed plating. Some common styles of plating include a 'classic' arrangement of the main item in the front of the plate with vegetables or starches in the back, a 'stacked' arrangement of the various items, or the main item leaning or 'shingled' upon a vegetable bed or side item. Item location on the plate is often referenced as for the face of a clock, with six o'clock the position closest to the diner. A basic rule of thumb upon plating, and even in some cases prepping, is to make sure you have the 5 components to a dish; protein, traditionally at a 6 o'clock position, vegetable, at a 2 o'clock position, starch at an 11 o'clock position, sauce and garnish
While cuisine in the past was intrinsically related to wealth and social status, contemporary cuisine is much less distinguished by class. The disintegration of highbrow and lowbrow foods has led to increased accessibility of various foods. Now, it is possible to find a hamburger at five star restaurants and exotic cuisines on street corners. Therefore, contemporary food presentation is determined much more by modern aesthetics and creativity than displays of wealth and power.
Modern science can illuminate how and why people respond in certain ways to food plating and presentation. According to a sociological study, people react differently to various aesthetic principles such as color, composition (including a number of components, placement of components, and use of negative space), design, and the organization of a plate. They found that participants responded best to plates with four different colors, three different components, some empty space, and with a disorganized and casual design. This research is particularly important because understanding how food presentation affects how people eat can be used in the study of health and nutrition. For instance, another study showed that participants who ate off of uncleaned tables (i.e. all uneaten food was left on the table) ate less than those that had their tabled periodically cleaned. This is presumably because those that could see the leftovers of what they had eaten were less likely to take more food. This could be useful, for instance, in combatting the obesity endemic. Another example of science in food aesthetics is the development of molecular food in Spain, which emphasizes the essence of food using scientific elements. Molecular science can break down the roles of carbohydrates and protein in order to isolate what creates particular tastes. For instance, modern science makes it possible to freeze ice cream using liquid nitrogen and create wine using sugars, creating efficient and visually interesting new dishes. Like other aspects of culture, food presentation is subject to trends and fads. For instance, "unicorn food", a style of presentation that uses a rainbow color palette to decorate food, became popular in 2017. The pastel-like hues are supposed to represent the colors of the mythical unicorn.
Learn more about plating on the Modernist Cuisine page