Food presentation...

[blackthidot]

So basically this will ruin someones life or desire to eat at a restaurant if the food is not presented properly? I keep reading things about people saying their meal was ruined over it and what not.

I understand there MAY be an expectation at a certain place or whatever...but my god your meal was ruined?

I am sorry but if you need your plate to be fancy to enjoy your meal...you have bigger problems in your life than your food presentation being sloppy.

Son, at California Grill they could have slapped me in the face with the filet and then tossed it on my plate. STILL would have been the best meal I ever had in Disney.

 

[wdwmagic]

When you are paying $45 for an entree it needs to be very well presented. There are obviously far more important things in life, but when discussing food at high priced restaurants, presentation is a big deal for many.

 

[blackthidot]

When you are paying $45 for an entree it needs to be very well presented. There are obviously far more important things in life, but when discussing food at high priced restaurants, presentation is a big deal for many.

I mean I get that. Especially at nicer places...

I can even see being turned off by it. But it should not ruin your meal. If something is amazing it is amazing.

Someone was upset at the presentation of the food dishes from Food and Wine Fest on my food page. Come on really?

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

It's said, *You eat with your eyes first*, and how many times have we heard "well, it didn't look very appetizing". Upscale restaurants and Chefs pride themselves on presentation. Whereas, everyday cooks, go by smell. Some of the foods at Food and Wine that looked not-so-good (like the beef and mashed potato) from France, was actually good! LOL I can't see me ever saying "the look of my meal ruined it for me", nope, never happened, never will. I happen to think the *looks like a dog's breakfast* (like SOS for example) are some of the tastiest foods around

 

[Texas84]

Agree. I don't want my food to be art. Substance over style.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Would it also be okay with you if your server at Cali Grill wore a t-shirt and cut-off shorts?

Presentation is very important at a nice restaurant. If your line cook is sloppy with presentation, where else is the slob cutting corners?

It's all about taking pride in your work. Obviously, taste and texture are more important, but that doesn't mean presentation doesn't matter. Hell, if you went to McDonalds, would you be okay with ordering a Big Mac and finding your bag filled with two halves of a roll, two meat patties, cheese, lettuce, special sauce and onion all mixed up? Or do you prefer your sandwich properly structured?

You also specify "higher end" at WDW. What exactly isn't "high end" at Disney? They charge $40 for a buffet. Any meal at a high end resort at high end prices, to me, should be high end. Many are prone to over-dramatization, of course, but at the end of the day, it is not unreasonable to expect to get what you pay for.

The bigger question is, if you don't care about presentation, what are you doing having a food blog? That would be like me having a fly fishing blog.

 

[blackthidot]

The bigger question is, if you don't care about presentation, what are you doing having a food blog? That would be like me having a fly fishing blog.

It's actually not a food blog.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Personally, I like my food looking nicely put together. Wouldn't it ruin my meal if it didn't look appealing? No. But if the meal is put together nicely it lets me know they took time in preparing my meal. I don't expect fancy schmancy art decorations on the plates or anything like that or words written in chocolate on my dessert plate. Personally I think that's a waste. It may look cool but it's not necessary. As long as the meal looks like some time and effort went into it, I'm happy. Especially at places like Cali Grill, Citrico's, Narcoossee's, Le Cellier, etc.. Signature dining should definitely look the best.

 

[horizons82]

If a restaurant is going to charge fine dining prices and have a high-end decor and top-notch service, then presentation of the food is also one of those components one should rightly be able to expect at that caliber of a restaurant. The presentation of the food is just one part that further enhances the overall dining experience.

I personally can enjoy everything from fast food to fine dining, but I also have certain expectations for whichever of these 'levels' of dining I am experiencing at that moment and that expectation should be figured into the cost of the meal.

Now, if we're talking about food during the F & W--food being served outdoors on a small plastic plate, my concern there is about taste and not presentation. I wouldn't expect much in terms of presentation when we're talking about food being served outdoors on a plastic plate. But if I'm at California Grill, I would have a certain expectation in presentation--not just of the plating but of the decor, service, etc. as all of those components come together to make for a complete dining experience.

I wouldn't say that a higher-end meal would be completely ruined by poor presentation, but it definitely is an element that would perhaps be a factor in whether I'd return when I was wanting that level of a dining experience.

All just IMHO of course.

 

[blackthidot]

Personally, I like my food looking nicely put together. Wouldn't it ruin my meal if it didn't look appealing? No. But if the meal is put together nicely it lets me know they took time in preparing my meal. I don't expect fancy schmancy art decorations on the plates or anything like that or words written in chocolate on my dessert plate. Personally I think that's a waste. It may look cool but it's not necessary. As long as the meal looks like some time and effort went into it, I'm happy. Especially at places like Cali Grill, Citrico's, Narcoossee's, Le Cellier, etc.. Signature dining should definitely look the best.

Yeah and I agree with that. I mean obviously if they just throw your food down and push it out that kind of sucks but at the end of the day that will not determine if I like a meal or not.

 

[blackthidot]

If a restaurant is going to charge fine dining prices and have a high-end decor and top-notch service, then presentation of the food is also one of those components one should rightly be able to expect at that caliber of a restaurant. The presentation of the food is just one part that further enhances the overall dining experience.

I personally can enjoy everything from fast food to fine dining, but I also have certain expectations for whichever of these 'levels' of dining I am experiencing at that moment and that expectation should be figured into the cost of the meal.

Now, if we're talking about food during the F & W--food being served outdoors on a small plastic plate, my concern there is about taste and not presentation. I wouldn't expect much in terms of presentation when we're talking about food being served outdoors on a plastic plate. But if I'm at California Grill, I would have a certain expectation in presentation--not just of the plating but of the decor, service, etc. as all of those components come together to make for a complete dining experience.

I wouldn't say that a higher-end meal would be completely ruined by poor presentation, but it definitely is an element that would perhaps be a factor in whether I'd return when I was wanting that level of a dining experience.

All just IMHO of course.

And yeah it was directed more at the person complaining about F&W Dishes. But it just made me think about how important it was to me overall and it's not really important at all. While it is cool and nice looking I am not "looking" for that.

 

[disney4life2008]

When you are paying $45 for an entree it needs to be very well presented. There are obviously far more important things in life, but when discussing food at high priced restaurants, presentation is a big deal for many.

Well said. At any Disney TS - I expect my food presentation to be amazing. Everytime they show disney resturants on TV its always a discussion about the preparation of the food from start to guest. Even at CS - I expect my food to be presented well. If it looks thrown together - its going back.

 

[blackthidot]

Well said. At any Disney TS - I expect my food presentation to be amazing. Everytime they show disney resturants on TV its always a discussion about the preparation of the food from start to guest. Even at CS - I expect my food to be presented well. If it looks thrown together - its going back.

Good luck with no additives in your meal.

 

[disney4life2008]

Good luck with no additives in your meal.

I do not mind additives - we are talking about presentation. Now the next question is does it change my meal - likely not. It will not ruin my meal. What ruins my meal is not having an ice cold coke with it

 

[blackthidot]

I do not mind additives - we are talking about presentation. Now the next question is does it change my meal - likely not. It will not ruin my meal. What ruins my meal is not having an ice cold coke with it

...and that's my whole point. Is it going to ruin your day/meal, are you never going to go back to Disney again? All stuff people have said over some Food and Wine presentations...

 

[MrsWhiffo]

I'm pretty big on presentation, but again it depends on the place and context of the meal. I'm not gonna throw a wobbly if my egg roll is losing its filling. Actually writing this, I would happily take an egg roll without a filling...roll on september!!

 

[Disneydreamer23]

I enjoy the presentation at the higher end restaurants and there was one time @ Narcooses My filet did not look good and it was amazing. I don't care much about how it looks as long as it tastes amazing!

 

[blackthidot]

But what if the presentation looks absolutely amazing but the food sucks...Does their heads just explode?

 

[plaz10]

If it's a bad presentation but tastes amazing...I will look past it

 

[HouCuseChickie]

While presentation is certainly important and we do typically assess our meal with our eyes before ever taking a bite, it all means nothing if it doesn't taste good. Case in point, we've had some beautifully and some not so beautifully presented meals at Cali Grill. Some tasted every bit as good as the presentation or better while others left a lot to be desired. While they all made for nice food pictures, I remember the taste failures more than the presentations that could have been more artfully constructed. So, while I do expect nicely plated food, taste is still paramount.