Do you take pains to make a dish look beautiful?

LOL--well as the saying goes, presentation is everything! I live alone now so there's really no need to fuss HOW food looks, but having been a good cook for over 30 years, I still have that need to arrange my food on my plate to look as appealing as possible

I usually try to make the plate look nice unless I am in a hurry. Just being me eating here most of the time it has gotten so I use a lot of microwave stuff.

I'm not worried about it being beautiful. I'm only worried about if the whole family will eat it, sometimes they are so picky. Though there is some artistry with making food look beautiful or unique... look @ Cake Boss... the whole show is not just about his family but making beautiful things to eat.

It really depends on who I'm serving it to. I'm not the best cook out there and I usually just cook for myself and occasionally my girlfriend, and in that case aesthetics don't really matter. However, on the rare occasion that I have to cook for guests (I rarely ever do this alone because my cooking is pretty basic), I'll try to fancy it up and make it look nice. You know, some little garnishes on top and some seasonings around the edges of the plate. Something to make it look pretty.

I don't take the time to do the presentation of a dish for our everyday meal that I prepare at home but whenever we have guest comin over then I do take extra time for presentation as it makes the food look more appetizing and special...

i go for taste. i often wonder why do people go crazy making the already tasty food beautiful. i can not resist myself if the food is ready and smells nice.

Me too, every time I cook or every time my mom lets me serve dishes even if it's just snacks, I still want to decorate it. I want to make it look beautiful and appetizing. My mom actually compliments me about it. And even though I'm not really rooting for the compliments, I still feel good for my beautiful food accomplishment. By the way, mmm yummy paella you got there.

Looks so inviting! As I said on your picture, guicha...my EYES have an appetite...too! And they, too...need to be satiated! Yes, dearheart, working in the business...presentation is a huge percentage of the perception of good taste, and a reflection of good taste (usually)! A person that takes care of the presentation, has more than likely taken the same care in the flavour department! Oh yes, beautiful food! HUGZ!

i dont cook, i just help around. my wife is the one that cooks. and she does extra effort for cooking for me and my son. i am what she calls picky eater and she tries to hide the veggies i can not eat and i end up eating it without knowing it har har har. it is nice to hear that even you will just make sandwich for yourself you want it with beauty and style. that means you not only do that for your friends but you love doing in even with everyday food. thats so cool!

I'd say that beauty is part of what I hope to achieve when preparing a dish, however I think taste comes first, then nutrition and beauty follows closely. When I eat alone beauty is the last concern.

Hi marguicha, I like to eat tasty food. But I can't prepare. My wife like to make delicious food for guests and she takes no pain to do this. I'm thinking to learn the art of cooking. Generally women feel pleasure to make delicious dish. But it is interesting that most of the famous chefs are male.

You have missed your calling! Did you know the best expensive restaurants will sometimes hire "platers". All they do is prepare the presentation. First you eat with your nose, then your eyes, before tasteing

I did all that when my kids were little just to get them to eat the right foods LOL My husband never notices anything he just shovels it in his mouth. So I have gotten lax on making food look nice. I guess when family is grown and its just the two left things change. Glad you are still enjoying your meals that way. I think illnesses can keep you from doing some things like that anymore.

To be honest, I do not pay much attention to how my food looks, just the taste cause we are busy people always on the go and we have to take care of a lot of things especially with our business. It is different when we eat out, then everybody becomes or seem to notice beauty, garnishings and all that stuff. Wow paella, it's another one of those dishes we share in common which we got from the Spaniards, here we eat it served in a "bilao" or winnowing basket and sometimes as stuffing to native "lechon"( whole roasted pig)but only by special order, your creation is a masterpiece friend

I was going to say that I don't, but in all honesty I do for one particular dish. When I make tortilla soup I like it to look nice in the bowl, now I only do this for myself. I don't do it anyone else's bowls if I spoon out theres. It's an oddity but I like the chips to be around the bowl and the cheese and sour cream to be in the middle.

I like for my food to look nice too. It really does contribute to the enjoyment of eating to me. I take more pains with the beauty of food when I am having guests but I do like my food to look nice too.

For me, it is the taste of the food that is more important to me than the way that the food looks. I think that the reason that is the way that I roll is because my mother never made a big presentation out of the foods that she cooked while we were growing up. One night this week, my friend is going to be cooking her stir fry for dinner and I'm really looking forward to it. Now, she will tell you that it looks like pig slop, but it is still one of the most delicious things that you will ever eat.

I would love to do so but I am not that creative and lack of skill to deco the foods so they will look lovely and good to see. Most of the time I just let serve them like that without any decoration. Anyway it just for my family...guests are seldom to get here and I am not good in taking a photo of my dish. The photo results always not like what I want it to be~(^^)

hi, of course yes,its nice when your output cooked food is very nice in appearance because through appearance you can cope the interest of a person to taste that food,because the beauty and nice looks of foods will reflect to the taste too.

well if the one who cooks it not me. of course I would like to have ones with beautiful and tempting look. but if it is me who cooks it, I think, if it tastes good ones should have been grateful already. hahaha. yet I wouldn't make it so messy, disgusting-to-puke looking LOL. usually I dont decorate it. but instead I will choose beautiful plate to serve it. :)