- When you chop things use a sharp knife to help you cut the food into more regular sized pieces. Don’t chop things too large, as they will look ugly, or too small, as the food will end up looking like mush.
- When you are cooking the food, be gently with it. If you stir things too roughly it can end up looking mushy and not very appetising. It’s ok if you are a budding Jamie Oliver tossing things around in the pan, but most of us make things a bit messy that way.
- Make sure there is some colour in the food. Serving with green veg will help if the main dish looks a bit dull. Adding pilau rice seasoning to the rice will make it a nice, bright yellow.
- If a dish should be browned on the top, leave it in the oven long enough to actually get brown. Things look a lot more appetising if they don’t look bland.
- Garnish food with herbs. Keeping a pot of basil on the kitchen shelf is a great start. You only need a few chopped leaves to sprinkle on top of the food.
- Try to get some attractive serving dishes. If you are hard up, then have a look around the second hand shops, they usually come up well after a good scrub or a blast in the dishwasher. I have found a few treasures in the charity shops.
- If you use pastry, work out how to crimp the edges and always brush with some beaten egg to make the pastry brown on top.
- Present things well. If you serve out on individual plates then you can put things on top of each other, which can look good. Take tips from the pictures in your recipe books.
- Sit together at the table to eat. This not only promotes communication within the family but gives a better environment to make things look appealing. Some attractive, durable table mats will only need a wipe after the meal. Tablecloths and napkins can be a bit heavy duty but good for special days. You probably have things around the house that you could use to make the table more attractive.
- Sometimes a recipe lends itself to being served on a large sharing platter. It may be a challenge to get some members of the family to only take their fair share, but it’s still good fun and makes the food attractive.
Joy’s Tuesday Tips: 10 ways to make your food look better.
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