5 Plate Presentations That Really Aren’t Acceptable Anymore
Tree-trunk serving boards, sushi boats and slate plates… oh, how we sometimes long for an ordinary white plate. There are quite a few plate presentations that really aren’t acceptable anymore. Here are our top 5.
The Hand Amuse-Bouche
Amuse-bouches served on spoons or in little dishes are so passé. In many a restaurant, you simply have to lick a crème or foam with cucumber pearls off the back of your hand. Anything for the creative fine-dining experience. But has anyone ever considered that this way of eating can lead to inappropriate moments, and that licking your food off your hand—I repeat, off your hand—is really a bit far-fetched?
The Tree Trunk
Sausages, cheeses and hams all end up without a second thought on the cosy tree-trunk serving board. This immediately gives the whole thing a wonderfully rustic feel. It was original at first and looked pretty nice, but five years later there isn’t a place in the universe where they serve bar snacks any other way. A downright nightmare for forest management.
The Slate Plate
With a modern slate plate, you can create a unique and natural presentation in no time. The salvation of chefs without inspiration, because even a satay skewer looks artistic when served on slate. The fact that slate is absolutely terrible to eat from and has by now acquired a distinctly Blokker-esque quality still isn’t enough reason for many restaurants to consider looking for new plates. What a shame.
The Sushi Boat
Forty pieces of sushi presented on a large wooden boat: for many an Instagrammer (30,000 photos with the hashtag #sushiboat), it’s a highly photogenic dish. Yes, it’s true that fish are caught with a boat, but referring to that in this kitschy way simply goes too far. The advice from restaurant De Japanner in Amsterdam: keep it simple, even understated, so the sushi can truly shine.
The Blue Glass Plate
Any dish that lands on a blue glass plate immediately acquires a maritime touch. Sometimes there are even air bubbles in the glass that evoke the churning waters of the Mediterranean Sea. For the moment, we conveniently forget that attention is diverted from the food to the special plate. Or was that precisely the intention? Our advice: less is more.
Read also:
- The oldest restaurants in the Netherlands
- Hotspot: cooking over an open fire at Restaurant Wils
- Go to a Michelin-starred restaurant sometime
