The winters are here, ringing in the festive celebrations and giving you a reason to glam your wardrobe. This season ditch the mundane for feisty metallic, lovely prints, elegant knits and breathtaking accordion pleats. Narendra Kumar, Creative Director at Amazon Fashion shows you how to keep warm in style for the day and rock the glitter glam by the night.… Read more →
By Arjun Kanungo Not your regular geek boy I’ve always been a sort of a geek. I was 12 when my mum got me the first Intel Pentium computer which I remember had 16 MB ram. Pentium MMX technology. I was so excited that I don’t think I left the desk for a couple of days. And then I got… Read more →
By Lionel Bellina For a stylish look in the summers, it is important that you take care of your hair. The right hair color and cuts make a face expressive and make your whole look more dynamic. There’s lots of inspiration from the runway, all ready to be copied, so let’s take a look at designer trends. We can see… Read more →
Do you ever wonder what goes on in a bride and groom’s mind on the day of their wedding? Apart from the usual jitters and cold feet, there’s a very important thing that modern couples really care about – a perfect wedding album – for their social and personal memories, of course! We always wanted to understand how some brides… Read more →
In August this year I was introduced to a premium beauty and cosmetic brand from Spain called Skeyndor; and, by the end of 2016, i can safely say I was living under the rock till I started using their products. Skeyndor, which means ‘golden skin’ in Spanish, was founded in 1966 in Terrassa town near Barcelona, Spain. The brand recently… Read more →
By Nicholas Lim Whether you’re longing for peace and quiet after frantic Christmas festivities, or ready to party like it’s 1995 – a destination escape over New Year’s is always a good idea. We have a great selection of European holidays that will set you up for a New Year’s you’ll never forget! Here are our top three destinations to… Read more →
By Nicholas Lim Although set in New York, the newest prequel to Harry Potter, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them‘ was actually filmed in Liverpool and at the Warner Bros. Studio London. The movie is about to be released this month, and the excitement among Potter fans is at its peak. With 70 years crafting amazing holidays, Trafalgar shares… Read more →
A lot of you would agree that the invention of wine was the best thing that happened to mankind, after all in vino lies the truth! Although, wine is currently the trendiest drink in social circles, it can also get pretty intimidating if you can’t get the basics right. We spoke to Ajoy Shaw, chief wine maker at… Read more →
When it comes to morning stimulants, most of us don’t experiment much with our favourite cuppa tea or coffee. We asked two very experienced coffee craftsmen and certified coffee lovers to tell us about how the new flavoured capsules of tea and coffee will be the next life-changing inventions of our times. By Kunal Bhagat and Tuhin Jain Gone are… Read more →
We live in crazy times, don’t we? In today’s world every bite, before it touches the palate, is carefully captured under HD lenses, filtered layer by layer and glorified on social sites – how can we eat without clicking isn’t it? So we asked a very stylish chef to give us his take on how a plain Jane dish can be made into a sizzling haute serving that comes with an insatiable #foodgasm! Read on to find out how fashion and food can be fused on a platter without much fuss.
By Chef Pradeep Bhandari
I have always considered my food presentation as an art and a medium that I use to explain my food to people. If you ask me what exactly is food presentation? I would say it’s a practice to arrange your food on the plate that tempts all your five senses in some or the other way – from catching your eye balls to intoxicating your olfactory senses with tempting aromas and smooth textures, food presentation is a combination of all that adds an extra zing to food. It takes some practice and personal experience to be an expert, however I am sharing a few basic tricks that will rev up you platter in a jiffy.
1. Thumb rule for any good presentation is a clean base — no matter how delicious and tasty the dish is, if it is served on a dirty plate it will kill the joy a savoring meal. So make sure your plate is sparkling clean before you lay down the food. A preferred colour is white as it lifts the hues and shades of the dish that is being served.
Express yourself like an artist who enjoys creating things out of box. Forget about forms, structure, height and width of the dish, let your food on plate look natural or create provocative appearance with various aids. Use a large white plate or pick up a wooded /stone serving tray with matching spoons to give a rustic touch to your food.
2. Don’t overload your plate, ensure there is right amount of ingredients and the plate compliments the dish (not too big and not too small). Make sure you have five components to a dish i.e. protein, carbohydrates, vegetables, sauce and garnish to create a naturally balanced meal. If you overload the plate with larger portion it will look unnatural and spoil the artistic effect.
3. The main food is often placed in the middle of the plate while the rest of it remains empty or is discreetly decorated with side dishes, sauces, spices or garnish to make it look like a signature on the artwork. The idea is to keep the eyes focused on the food. Don’t hesitate to leave a regular blank space between your composition and the edge of the plate.
4. While playing with colourful ingredients, think like an artist and use a paintbrush or squeeze bottles to distribute sauces and show off your creativity. You can also make and use different kind of colorful foams to make your dish look different and enjoyable. Foams and frostings make food more versatile and fun to taste.
5. Decoration of dishes is very important; it gives personality to a specific meal and a final touch to your delicious story. It can be done by in ways but I would recommend that use edible food and garnish that will improve taste and act as a supplement with main course.
(The writer is an IHM Dehradoon graduate and has worked with Metropolitan Hotel, Taj Hotel and Resorts and J W Marriott. He has gained an expertise in Western and European cuisine, with a special flare in Italian fine dining. Currently he is based in Dubai and working on a fusion cuisine with a globally renowned chain of hotels.)
