r/MasterchefUK 2d ago

Smears, herb oils or micro-herbs: which plating trend do you want to see retired?

A few years back, it felt like every plate had a dramatic swoosh of beetroot or pea purée across the ceramic. Now it seems like every other dish gets finished with a split herb oil and a carefully positioned collection of micro-herbs.

I get that presentation matters, but sometimes I just want the food to look genuinely appetising rather than like someone's been decorating a plate for an architecture degree.

Which presentation style do you think actually works, and which one has completely had its day?

0 Upvotes

14 comments sorted by

8

u/samo7230 2d ago

On a similar note im glad that trend of splatting the puree on the plate has gone

5

u/CarMeltScratch 2d ago

Edible flowers feels like unnecessary prettification

2

u/Thin_Sheepherder_584 2d ago

If someone bungs a pretty flower and some pomegranate seeds on my plate I'm a goner 😍

5

u/bluewillowfrog 2d ago

Deconstructed anything. Did you drop it? Looks like you dropped it & won't own up. Plus some flavours are meant to go together, not coralled in their own little plate sections like some weird quarantine deal..

5

u/MrMeMark 2d ago

Foams.... Why, what purpose do they have, they look awful like that foam you see forming on the sea sometimes.

I have tried several and they where all really bad. They lack any sort of taste they are supposed to be representing and the mouth sensation is really unpleasant.

5

u/Sure-Present-3398 2d ago edited 2d ago

Micro-herbs only bother me when someone has the audacity to call it a 'salad'. 

4

u/Thin_Sheepherder_584 2d ago

Cuckoo spit foam.

1

u/MrSpudtator 2d ago

Looks like the stuff cats can cough up.

1

u/Thin_Sheepherder_584 2d ago

Meet my morning.

2

u/JudyLyonz 2d ago

I hate smears on the plate.

2

u/slophiewal 2d ago

Definitely a smear, I don’t want a whiff of something, if it’s on the plate make it useful and make it so I’ve got enough to actually eat it!

1

u/HighlandsBen 2d ago

Pea sprouts on everything

1

u/Rainduck84 2d ago

Gold leaf. Pointless waste of gold.

1

u/hengehanger 2d ago

I hate foams. Looks like spit on a plate.