Plating (Mm-kay?)

Today's class was held by Chef A, who was filling in for just one day before our Mod 3 chef is introduced. Chef A had a very brusque voice for a woman, and ended almost every sentence with a hearty, "mmm-kay?". Those without got an, "awwwl-right!" She spent ten minutes reviewing the basics of plating and presentation.

There are five general factors of plate design:

• Balance: a variety with contrasts that please; the factor that applies to the 4 other factors.
• Color: Two or three colors on a plate are more interesting than one. A plate of three all-white foods are not necessarily appetizing.
• Shape: A variety of shapes give interest. Meatballs, brussels sprouts and new potatoes on a plate are great colors, but shape-wise are a bit like a bin of golf-balls.
• Texture: Crispy matched to a puree, a firm meat to a soft veg.
• Flavor: Avoid conflicting or jarring flavors. A full understanding of flavor design comes from experience.

Chef A spoke of a variety of presentations, from classic (main item in front at bottom of plate with bone, if any, facing away from customer, vegetables and starches to the rear) to options involving piling things in the center, with concentric rings of sauces and garnishes. Looking through the class notes, they list 9 ways of plating, including "asymmetrical or random-looking", which notes, "These often create the impression that no thought was given to design. Of course, to be effective these arrangements must be carefully thought out in advance." The gastronomical equivalent of the "Bed Head" hairstyle, huh?

Certain rules, some of which we've picked up from Chefs M and C, apply: keep food off the rim of the plate -- garnishing the rim with chopped parsley is very '80s and now quite cheesy, proclaimed Chef A. Arrangements should suit the convenience of the customer. Leave space between items. Garnish should have meaning, doing a little more than just decorating; it should also help with the contrasts, the flavors, the balance, etc. Hot plates for hot food, cold plates for cold food. And finally, keep it simple -- if it's so cute, contrived and/or complicated that the customer is afraid to eat it, you're either a failing student or Wylie Dufresnie.

Simple our recipes today were not. Today's menu was an appetizer of tuna carpaccio with horseradish mayonnaise, micro-greens and fried capers, an entree of sauteed sea scallops with parsnip sauce, braised cabbage chiffonade and pommes maxime, and another entrée of sautéed halibut with warm vinaigrette. Each plate consisted of multiple recipes, some with more ingredients than we've seen yet. Chef A let us gravitate into three groups, and the Wonder Team came forth: Dirties Kim and Dave, the Long Island Lolita and a fourth with whom I've not had a chance to work yet, Stalker Kowalski (named because his management teacher made a crack about him looking like a stalker on the first day of class -- he's actually a very nice fellow).

DK and SK took the tuna carpaccio and presented it two ways, one way on plate in thin pounded slices with the recipe's mayo, and as a chopped up tartare, marinated with soy, brown sugar, orange zest, and garnished with a stick of deep-fried and breaded anchovy and served in a wine glass. LIL took on the halibut, which was a simple sautée, but whose warm vinaigrette involved a million ingredients, including white and green asparagi and artichoke hearts.

DD and I took on the scallop dish. DD took over the braised cabbage, while I assembled and cooked the parsnip sauce. How-to: Sweat-shop parsnips, onions and garlic in butter, deglaze with vinegar and white wine, simmer in chicken stock for 30 minutes. Purée to smooth, finish with whole butter and bacon fat (left from the cabbage recipe) just lightly pulsed in. I added extra butter and bacon fat to give a nice rounder taste, and salted to taste.

Pommes Maxim: Start with cutting a potato into a tube shape by slicing it thin on a mandolin, coating in melted clarified butter and salt, arranging in a tight overlapping round on a silicone mat, then roasting until crisp (flipping once). To change it up, I added minced garlic and garnished with chopped dill -- a plate with white/browned scallops, white/browned potatoes, and white/brown (from the bacon lardons) cabbage? Not the most interesting color combos; the dill was desperately needed.

DD and I sautéeed the scallops together, and they came out beautifully. Chef A was explicit in that everyone were to present all the dishes at once at 11am. We had our plates on the table at 10:58. The other teams got to table at 11:05, one not till 10 after. Unlike our previous instructors, Chef A called out which ones were the best -- DK's tuna tartare was top-rated, as was my parsnip sauce.

Tomorrow, we meet our new Chef, and venture further into plate design with even fussier recipes.

ADDENDA:
We were in a different kitchen today due to another class taking over ours for an all-day cookathon that leads up to their graduation grand-buffet. Outside of our classroom was a soda-machine. I could not resist the grape soda, except for when I was drinking it -- Welch's, all acidy and fake. I need to make good grape soda at home.

Made fresh mint-dark chocolate chip ice cream at home today. Oh my. I remember buying mint chip Hagen Daazs for B when we were dating. If I brought this to her when we were dating, she probably would of married me a year earlier! So good makes ya wanna smack yo momma.

BREAKFAST: 6:45am, smoothie, 1 bowl, hunger 3/5
Good yogurt, good milk, organic banana, grapes, cherries, blueberries, freshly ground flaxseed.

AM TASTINGS: 11am, Sauteed scallops, halibut, tuna tartar, braised cabbage, pommes maxim, grape soda, 1.5 bowls, hunger 4/5

PM WATERING: 12:30pm, quart of seltzer

PM SNACK: 2pm, a few spoonfuls of fresh mint-dark chocolate ice cream, .25 bowls, hunger 4/5
I should be eating salad, I know.

PM SNACK: 7:15pm, popcorn, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 9:30pm, hotdog, fries, beer, 1.5 bowls, hunger 4/5
A rare boy's night out for me. We hadda eat boy-food! We hadda!