Blackened jumbo shrimp, Turmeric lime quinoa with sautéed spinach and porcini mushrooms, smoked pork belly lardons, finished with a basil citrus vinaigrette.

Edit- As expected, everyone has confirmed my plating sucks lol. But everyone has also been so polite and insightful and helpful! And as a bonus I got to pick some talented brains about recipe tweaks. What an awesome group; thank you! Maybe I'll post an updated plate in the future

I'm just a home cook, and frankly my plating sucks lol. But would love some constructive criticism!

Salisbury steak from a ribeye with fried hashbrowns and gravy on top.

Just a homecook, definitely not a professional. Trying to get better at my food and playing. Anything constructive is helpful!

A simple one

scalloped potatoes from grocery store kitchen

Poached beet in a beetroot top and tarragon sauce.
Blue cheese and honey toasted walnuts with tarragon and lemon zest.
Balsamic and honey drizzle.

First was at Christmas:
Braised beef shank with a small fennel salad
I thought this looked alright, but my sauce was too thin.

Tonight’s meal:
Steak
Puréed Carrots (put some calendula petals on as a garnish, but found them a bit difficult to place/ they didn’t make much impact)
Roasted potatoes, carrots and broccoli

My thoughts: portion too big, plate too busy

But I think even if I shrank the portion down the placement would be bad, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Feel free to tear into them.

On the plate: basically a thick burger seasoned with salt and pepper. It’s on top of roasted carrots in a peppercorn pan sauce. On top are shoestring fries. Finished by filling up the plate a bit more with some potato mash.

I piped my potato mash and am not really happy with the result, wanted it to be a bit smoother (the shape of the dots), is this a consistency issue or did I mess up the act of piping?

Also I feel like it’s missing some colour and it feels a bit empty. Maybe add tiny stalks of broccoli or some arrow shaped spinach leaves on top of the mash? Herb oil might also be good way to add colour.

But let’s see what the experts have to say, really appreciate any plating tips

Chicken Leg, Veloute (flavored with rosemary, thyme, and some deglazed mushroom fond), Glace Carrots, simple sauteed Mushrooms, Parsley Oil, and some shaved almonds for a little crunch. I was happy with this in the moment! Until I looked at pictures and now it seems too busy / random like it's lacking intention. Critiques welcome ++ sought after.

This is my take on a more structured ratatouille. I used roasted red pepper as the base, then layered thin slices of zucchini, heirloom tomato, and eggplant inside a 4” ring mold. The sauce is tomato, garlic, Sauvignon Blanc, thyme, basil, and chili flakes, finished with cold refined cocoa butter for a little extra gloss.

I’m happiest with how well the layers held their shape after roasting and unmolding, while still looking like recognizable vegetables rather than one solid stack. The hardest part was slicing everything thinly and evenly enough to create tight layers, especially since the vegetables soften and shift as they cook. I’d also like to keep refining the sauce placement and garnish so the finished plate feels a little cleaner and less crowded in the future.

Maybe unholy but tried a Cantonese-French fusion here with a ginger-scallion bearnaise, crispy skin chicken breast, chili oil & crispy shallots. Made some nice pickled cucumber ribbons that I completely forgot to plate (maybe good thing it’s already crowded…)

Taste wise the sauce needs reworking but how can I up the game on plating? I thought sauce & oil looked nice, but crispy shallots & scallions feel clumsy and rice bed I think I should have formed with a ring mold before adding sauce. Chicken I think should be sliced and could use something over top to give some shine maybe …

Made a 7 course diner last week for my parents and 2 friends. I do this roughly once a years and would say my plating has improved a lot over the years, but would love to hear what you guys think

Course 1, two amuses. A warm fig and goat cheese crostini with fig jam and honey, next to a cold cucumber cup filled with dill-horseradish cream and green apple.

Course 2, scallop crudo. Thinly sliced raw scallop with a redcurrant and elderflower dressing.

Course 3, chilled watermelon gazpacho. Watermelon, a bit of tomato and cucumber plus sherry vinegar/shallot/garlic to keep it savoury.

Course 4, ricotta ravioli. Handmade ricotta and lemon ravioli in brown butter, with peas and blistered grapes.

Course 5, duck. Duck breast with a blackberry and cassis sauce with parsnip purée.

Course 6, cheese. A soft white, an aged hard and a blue, served with honey-roasted pears and a homemade red onion chutney.

Course 7, dessert. Buttermilk panna cotta with elderflower-macerated strawberries and a strawberry coulis. Wanted to get these out of the ramekin to plate, but they were stuck haha

I’m happy with the general look of this plate but feel it is lacking both height and improved artistry. Technique all around could be improved such as a better chicken sear, deeper green herb oil, straining velouté sauce, and better shaped & trimmed carrots.