Food Presentation Secrets: Styling Techniques of Professionals

I'm a Chef and culinary mentor in NYC, so I bought this book to help with showing students different kinds of plating, I have to admit for the price I expected more, and to be honest, if I saw this book in the store I would have never bought it. Why? Because it feels strongly dated, at an age where everything is wow factor, art work plating, this is more of the first step techniques book.... With that said, I first hated this book but then I realized that it was beyond perfect for what I needed it for, for helping students whom I am mentoring learn the basic steps for learning these steps. So in the end, it helped me more than I expected, and it gave me amazing flashbacks of when I first started learning the basics of the steps of plating. This book breaks down many steps of plating, from plating with fruit, to veggies, it teaches you many things that you will love to learn. So if you are first starting out with plating or looking for a book where you not only can learn but also teach these steps, you found it here... However, if you are an expert at plating and looking for a book to enhance your perfection, this isn't the book for you, this book is for beginners or for those after the beginning stage.

I really enjoy this book because it teaches how to think more critically about plating, and gives ideas that can be applied across a wide spectrum instead of being specific to one dish. This book doesn't just tell you how to make a Parmesan basket or a candied lemon peel, it helps you think critically about why you should add them to your meal, what kind of compliment/contrast they provide to dish, how to create your the table setting, plate, and lighting choices, and so much more. My favorite thing overall though is an illustrated "table of contents" section towards the beginning so you can thumb through designs and then flip to the page you want once you find something you like. You don't have to read the book cover to cover; jump around to what suits you. There's a nifty time and difficulty identification at the top of each one so you know exactly what you're getting into. Overall, if you want to step your food game up, I highly recommend this book.

I'm an amateur "chef"...meaning that I'm not trained but I definitely take cooking seriously. I picked this up with the idea that it'd do what it says it'll do: give amateurs creative ideas for plating. And well, it does just that. The step-by-step directions are a cinch to follow, and the photography of the procedures is excellent. I also have the impression that the ingredients being shown are not the ONLY ingredients that would work well with the detailed techniques. They state this is the case, and I believe them. The only reason I'm not giving this book a 5-star review is because it doesn't blow me away. It's great for what it is, but I don't believe it's the only book I'll ever need on plating.

A very good book with lots of information in it for someone new to food presentation. The book is very concise and at no time does it feel like the author is talking down. I would highly recommend this book to anyone knew and wants to take their presentation game up a notch.

Great book,

There's nothing really wrong with this book except that the author spends too many pages at the beginning of the book writing about table settings, dinnerware selection, color coordination of the dining area and so on. It's really boring if you've been cooking and entertaining for a long time. Then there's a tedious section of all the thousands of tools you need. Finally when the techniques come around the book does a nice job presenting and explaining them. I find I'm using other books a lot more for presentation development than this one, but I haven't given up hope on this one. I just needed the information more quickly, with far less preamble. I almost feel as if the editors or the author felt that without adding some front-end fluff the page count would not be sufficient to justify its price. Too bad, as there are many useful ideas and techniques here.

This is a great book for those who are new to food presentation techniques. I saw some complaints about the pictures being too small. I have poor eye sight but found the pictures to be fine with my reading glasses. The book is a wealth of basic information without all that personal fanfare you get in some DIY books. It is also a great reference into other cook books. For example it references for four "mother sauces" of French cooking: bechamel, espagnole, veloute and allemande - recipes for these can be found elsewhere.

This book has helped me make better looking dishes and plates with my food design. I learned a lot and it's a good book worth every penny for new cooks.

Fantastic book, bought for my nephew as his Xmas present, to help his cheffing skills and he's very happy with it. As an ex chef myself is a very good book, well presented and written, with pictures and clear explanations and tips. Covers a range of methods and uses of ingredientes, along with many other useful information. Highly recommend for chefs and those at home wishing to up their presentation skills, and learn new types and ingredients to create that extra touch to your food.

Arrived amazingly quickly!! Looove this book!! It was much more detailed & much better than expected!! As I am new to learning to plate, this is going to be a much used reference!! Arrived today and already full of earmarks that I'm excited to embark on!! Beautiful photo step by step & simplified easy reading instructions making what look like very complicated finishing touches for plating way less daunting to a beginner!! Highly recommend this for those new to the mechanisms to creating beautiful works of art on a plate!! Even more excited to embark on this journey after just looking through this beautiful book!! Thank you!!! 😊

Good illustrative techniques, easy to implement. Wish someone would write such a thing for Indian dishes! Had a wonderful time learning!

Well laid out. Good clear photos. Easy to follow.

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