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Question Of The Day #11

borgech

Hello!

My name is Chris, and I have volunteered to help out with generating QOTDs for ChefSteps Community! I will be posting questions every Tuesday. So without further ado:

Inspired by the recent 'round table' posted by ChefSteps to the community on plating, Grant mentioned that he didn't like inedible objects on plates. This got me thinking about the use of non-traditional items used as 'plates' (really, food delivery vehicles). How do you feel about the use of logs, wood, stone, shells, etc as food delivery vehicles? Does it enhance a dish? Do you have a favorite or least favorite?

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Comments

seijoed

Nah, they are just seriously past their trendy stage

brodieblake07

I think it's a great idea! I'm not sure what the restaurant is called but in northern Ontario somewhere there's a chef who makes his own plates put of wood from logs, and tree stumps. Pretty cool! I like the rock idea, which some old Asian plating is done on rocks; or I think at least.

Lennard__34626

I hate receiving a dish with a spring of rosemary in it

Matt_67991

I'm kind of over the trend.

digitcon_11666

I generally agree with the sentiments here. I think that 95% of inedible items are a no go for me, but that other 5% moves things to a new level.

Now if we could just get 99% of the people who use them to stop, or at least reign it in a little, show some restraint, I think that people would appreciate that a lot. Every restaurant out there can't be WD50 or Alinea, and throwing a log under your mushrooms and veggies does not somehow magically transform it into an eating experience.

robert.c.brown15

I've been waiting weeks for that book to come back in stock. At this point I may just wait for xmas.

borgech

Bad experience with mason jars?

seijoed

Stones if they serve a cooking purpose, yes cool, scallop shell I can live with, getting a bouquet of crap I can't eat or something that looks like a passive aggressive Michael's Crafteware (not Natkin) I can't stand, oh I really, really hate mason jars.

Seth_Ratner_91225

I've used a scallop shell (the type that looks exactly like a child's drawing of a shell) to serve risotto and a scallop. It was, however, on a plate, though mostly because the other food needed one.

I thought it was clever, at the very least.

matthew.snyder77

While I certainly see your point, I think that's parsing the term a bit too finely. Perhaps in refining the point of view, it should be meant that inedible items that are extraneous and add only a visual element should be on the ban list? I say it this way because I'm recalling a recent meal at Hinoki & The Bird where they serve their signature dish (miso black cod) under a tented piece of hinoki wood that has been scorched and is actually still smoldering when presented tableside. The smoke from the burning wood really caught and amped the roasty notes in the fish. But I certainly didn't eat the wood.

Maybe this isn't as cut-and-dried as I initially thought......

michaelnatkin

I think you've hit the nail on the head, if it really contributes to the appreciation of the dish, it isn't just a visual gee-gaw, it makes more sense.

michaelnatkin

Thanks so much, Chris, for volunteering to be our Tuesday QOTD lead, and great first question. I've seen examples of plating on non-traditional dishes that I've thought were amazing and examples that were horrifying. We just got the book Alexandre Gauthier - Chef, La Grenouillere and he does a lot of plating on broken shards of pottery and the effect is absolutely striking. I think it is difficult to give a hard-and-fast rule about when this works and when it is tacky.

borgech

This is a really interesting thought, and has caused me to think of some related questions. Technically a femur bone is a "plate" for bone marrow. It is generally too hot to use the bone as a plate, so this is an example of a "plate" on a plate. I wonder if we could ever serve the bone without another plate? Could we use a different bone (say a scapula) to serve the marrow as it is large and flat? Does marrow need to be served in the bone? I think all of these questions circle around the expectation of the diner, and how 'messing' with expectations can greatly enhance (or possibly diminish) a dining experience.

merridith

I have enjoyed meals at several modernist restaurants, including Alinea, Tru, Wd-50, Agape Substance (Paris) and most recently at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal. At places like this, clearly a big part of the meal is the entertainment of it all. This often includes strange food delivery vehicles (love that description) and in this context, I am just fine with it. The reason for the choice has always been apparent and appropriate, even if fanciful. But I think that the random use of bizarre objects as serving/plating dishes should definitely be used with circumspection. Why are you choosing a particular dish, what does it have to do with the contents, does it enhance the sensory experience, etc.? Recently, I was served a dish on a piece of slate which required the use of a serrated knife - it was terrible because the feel of the knife against the slate was creepy. Serving things in shells…that has been going on for a long time (take the humble snail, for instance). For my own use, I much prefer plain white dinnerware of complementary shapes. My favorite for most dishes with sauce is a wide rimmed, large bowl in which the main ingredient (say risotto or pasta) can sit, with the sauce surrounding and the protein at the top: simple and not uncommon but elegant and sensible. For multiple element service (say fish, potatoes, veg) I like a large flat square where the jus does not run leaving the veg alone. I like it pretty simple…I want the food to be the display.

timdebnyc

There is a very fine line here. If I serve a head on fish/shellfish or bivalve in the shell I have put an inedible object on the plate. Same if I serve a bone in hunk of meat. Should I not do this? If it is ok because it is part of the animal? How does this differ if I put an inedible object on the plate that enhances the dish either visually or via aroma but does not come from the animal?

borgech

To answer my own question:

I agree with what has been said already, in that there is no place for plating something on a log, for example, unless it enhances a dish. That said, I do love seeing non-traditional plates.

I think a dish built using foraged ingredients from the forrest can be greatly enhanced if plated on a log. For example, if someone foraged mushrooms and hunted a deer, a dish incorporating both elements would enhance the dining experience plated on a log over a plain white plate. I think that this works because it further reminds the diner that this food was taken from the woods, not purveyed from a supplier.

I think that these non-traditional plates are in endless supply and limited only by our imagination. Sure, we can go to Crate&Barrel and buy them for $$$, but we can also use scrap trees and branches that we harvest from our land (and process appropriately).

FrankM_3301

I would say that these items have the potential to enhance the dish. If it is gimmicky, than it is a turn-off for me. It's like anything else in a creative endeavor, there has to be a purpose.

matthew.snyder77

I suppose the one most of us are most familiar with would be a slate cheese board used to present a plated dish. Personally, I tend to agree with Grant that what's on the plate should be edible. But I don't have any issue with using unfamiliar delivery vehicles.

A favorite from personal experience was at Arzak a few months ago. A collection of local crustaceans and shellfish was presented on a clear glass rectangular plate that was placed over a digital picture frame that was showing a video loop of waves crashing on rocks. As you ate the dish, more of the seascape became visible. That was cool, and would have been gimmicky if it hadn't worked to heighten the experience.

tshewman

I enjoy the additional element(s) of the alternative vehicles of delivery/plating. However, the perceived challenge for the home cook may be not only obtaining them at a reasonable rate, but storing them. As a home cook, we might be forced to decide between the more traditional plates, or the food delivery vehicles. Sort of like the "special" plates that are only used 2-3 times per year at the most.