I’m a home cook and I like to think I produce good hearty tasty dishes and in general this is true and presentation is often way down the list when getting things onto the table as quickly as possible.
However when I pay to eat out, good food presentation is part of the entertainment or theatre, it’s what we’re paying for. I’m not talking delicately arranged towers of food artfully drizzled with jus surrounded by patterns created by someone with a steady hand and careful use of a toothpick to produce art on my plate. These things are art. I often feel guilty if the plate itself could be exhibited in Tate Modern, surely my greedily launching into it with abandon is a criminal offence, or maybe a social one.
No, I like clean, unfussy plates, warmed when they should be with more than six chunky chips in regimental formation or a jellified blob of mushy peas, or more commonly tiny baby salad, sorry micro leaves... I digress, the point of this minor rant is garnish, or more succinctly over-garnish on plates.
I will elaborate on this by mentioning in brief a recent meal in a Chinese restaurant we had been looking forward to trying for a while, largely due to their promise of ‘healthier’ Chinese food. My partner and I am a duck fiends, so crispy duck was duly ordered and the waiting began. We waited and we waited and yes, we waited. Forty minutes later and most of the bottle of wine consumed, the dish arrived. The duck was not worth the wait, however dear reader, I hope you agree, the garnish more than overcompensated... I still chuckle uncontrollably when I stumble across this picture.
Can anyone top this? We would love to see other garnish craziness. Can you do better? While I too am prone to an over-scattering of coriander of a brown tinged curry, can anyone else match so brilliantly the garnish to the dish.
We challenge you!
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