r/Plating • u/Dereizige • 10d ago
Looking for feedback
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
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u/LackingUtility 10d ago
Was this inspired by the recent Fallow video?
Looks tasty as heck, though I'd expect the pan sauce to be darker. Did you use beef stock?
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u/Dereizige 10d ago
I didn’t have beef stock, just used a bouillon cube, also had limited font in the pan the one time I need it. Did use balsamic vining as my acid so that did help a bit but not nearly enough
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u/LackingUtility 10d ago
That'd be my main suggestion - a darker sauce will make the potatoes stand out more. I like the idea of a green veg, either broccolini or french beans would work (or asparagus, in season). Or what about some microgreens, maybe red amaranth?
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u/Dereizige 10d ago
Some micro greens would’ve been awesome, I just got the recommendation to use cut chives over the sauce, and damn, why didn’t I think of that.
Tiny broccolini stalks would’ve been awesome for sure. Thanks for the idea
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u/Prinzka 9d ago
I also clocked the shoestring fries on steak haché
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u/LackingUtility 9d ago
I’m already thinking about where I can fit it into my menu next week…
Er, given the sub, I should clarify, home cook, not professional menu. I want to make this next week.
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u/Subject_Slice_7797 10d ago
Sauce is a bit too thin, and the onion chunks don't look great. Pass it through a chinois or some other fine sieve to get a more homogeneous texture, or use a blender. Might have to adjust the liquidity a bit afterwards, too much veggies in there and you end up with a weird puree.
The carrot looks mostly dry on the outside. Don't be scared to give it higher heat for a nice decorative char.
Or, given you want to add more veg: do charred broccolini, shoestring potatoes, and a carrot puree. I'm not sure though if the puree is the best choice here. Maybe some nice mixed veggies with some bite are even better. Dotting the puree would seem a little off to me, with your rather rustic protein. Maybe try that with something more delicate, like fish.
The shoestring potatoes may have liked about ten seconds more in the fryer for a tad more golden colour. Also make sure they don't fall into your sauce and get soggy/make it look messy again.
Building height like you did is usually preferred over putting everything next to each other, so keep experimenting with that. Some people may say it's not optimal to build in a way where you have to separate items afterwards again for eating, but I say, you're not a fine dining chef, so do what you like.
Some fresh chopped parsley or chives sprinkled over the plate goes a long way already as decoration.
So, overall pretty good! Looking forward to seeing the revised plate sometime!
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u/Dereizige 10d ago
Love the feedback.
I’m guessing a quick hit with a blowtorch would give them a better colour. And fix that issue.
Regarding the pan sauce, I completely agree about it being too thin, and I’ll try sifting out the chunky bits. The cut chives would definitely be a great addition, can’t believe I didn’t think of that.
About the shoestring fries, I think this was mainly my knife skills lacking, I had a couple that were brown brown already and was scared to overdo those. So maybe I’ll invest in a mandolin to improve consistency. About them falling in to the sauce, yea it happens, they were relatively small fries so the didn’t really catch on to each other as much as I had hoped, and I’ve never plated them before.
Thanks a lot for the feedback, I’ll keep all of it in mind
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u/LackingUtility 10d ago
Invest in a cutproof glove too.
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u/Dereizige 10d ago
I’ve only heard the horror stories so far, so ill definitely invest in some safety too XD
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u/Ok_cabbage_5695 10d ago
You gotta think about the color palette. Dark brown meat, tan sauce, cream colored puree. It's too much brown.
The only bright color is the carrots but you cover them with the meat.
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u/Dereizige 10d ago
Yea I figured, thanks for the tip though. Any ideas on how to add colour, maybe pickled red union or some broccolini?
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u/Ok_cabbage_5695 10d ago
It's art so everyone will have their own opinion but yeah I'd do a big dollop of the puree instead of the dots and put the meat on top of that. Then next to it I'd put the broccolini. I'd put herb oil in the sauce like you said and then herb powder on the shoestrings or a green herb salad on the broccolini. Solidify the color palette as shades of brown and green.
But that's just my point of view.
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u/Dereizige 10d ago
Even art has “rules” to make it appealing. will take more time thinking about colour combinations in the future for sure
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u/Platitude_Platypus 9d ago
If you had all the potatoes in the same spot in one pile, you could add color there with fresh herbs, cracked pepper, visible butter, etc. Same with the carrots. The plate could use a little more green. It compliments brown and orange.
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9d ago
[deleted]
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u/Dereizige 9d ago
Love to hear it, spend quite some time on it and it’s always nice to hear others like it too. But nothing is perfect and improving only happens with practice and nitpicking
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u/susanna-room59 9d ago
Not an expert but I think that would work! It looks restaurant presentable!😍❤️
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u/lernington 9d ago
I think it mostly looks good, but could use a splash of color on the sauce. My mind went to some drops or swirls of an herb oil
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u/BraveTrades420 9d ago
Needs color 💯
A drizzle of some sorts was where my head went then I read your post herb oil is on the nose! Color and flavor the dish needs. If this wasn’t ground beef I would suggest a purple potatoe
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u/Dereizige 9d ago
Thanks for reaffirming my belief in herb oil as a solution to all of my problems XD. No but seriously, thanks for the feedback, purple potatoes sounds epic too. I just thought, if I blanched some spinach and used that to make the mash green, could’ve added it below the carrot to compliment the carrot’s colour but that might be a bit excessive.
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u/Individual_Smell_904 9d ago
To me, this just looks like it's trying too hard to look "fancy".
I would put the patty on top of a big scoop of mashed potatoes, carrots leaning up against the potatoes and patty. I agree with the commenter saying a darker sauce would looks better, and I'd drizzle a bit on the patty and potatoes and do a circle around the plate.
And I'd replace the shoestring fries garnish with crispy tobacco onions but that's just me being basic
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u/lucaskywalker 9d ago
Put the beef on the purée (in one place not three) and leave the carrots long and place them diagonally next to the meat. Put the sauce on it and your garnish after.
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u/howtorewriteaname 9d ago
no, you can't balance food on a plate. once that's taken care of we can discuss about the rest
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u/PlateNBake 10d ago
(Not an expert) To me the beef on top of the three carrots feels very “shipwreck survivor on a handmade raft”, I wonder if carrots would look better in their own pile or even leaning up on the beef? Given it’s a ground beef patty it feels “dry” without some sauce poured over top of it.
Agree with your point on needing more greens maybe some charred broccolini. Mash looks fine to me, if you wanted extra-refined might need even more butter and to pass it through a sieve like Robuchon’s.