Her's is on the right, head chef's is on the left. Which one works better?
My sister is having a disagreement on presentation with her head chef
POTM - Apr 2024This comment nailed it for me. I’m picturing it on one of those paper dessert cup things under a sneeze guard.
My head went to Little Debbie’s for the right.
I have never seen the internet so (nearly) unanimous on something.
Sis must be stubborn as hell. Arguing with Chef over something plain as day lol 😬
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1mo
Yep, the right looks like something I’d make with my kids
User deleted comment
1mo
the left one screams "head chef with no interest in pastry program, but knows a few tricks"
Could you both explain what you see as issues here for us muggles? :)
(I'm apparently in a major minority here...)
But the left overly complicated to me. You have to work through all that extra to get a proper bite.
The pointy parts aren't going to nicely break apart and you'll have raspberries falling everywhere. You shouldn't have to work for your bite because a chef wants to architecturaly jerk themselves off. I don't trust restaurants that need to pretty up their plates to compensate for lack of skill.
I've worked hospitality for years and I despise overly complicated food for the sake of aesthetics
Edit: I should add that Im also looking at this through a little bit of a "dinner for two" lense. I think the sentiment is still there for a solo desert...
But trying to split that up with two people creates more work. The right one you can slice in half, and each person has 2 bites to top with the (I assume) white chocolate triangle and a berry. Stab a berry, stab the cake, the chocolate will stick to icing. You got a bite.
The process really isn't any different between the two, I just don't necessarily like the performative doll-ing up of dishes. Presentation is important, but food should speak for it's self.
I actually think the left is less complicated in terms of eating it, though. It LOOKS more complicated but is easier to eat.
On the left? One swoop with my spoon and I have a perfect bite with everything on top.
On the right, I have to fiddle around and make sure I can get everything I want in one bite after scooping up some cheesecake. Using a spoon would be annoying to pick up the berries if i want a big bite of cheesecake at the same time.
For sure. Left is clearly best.
Just like the coasts
Plates wrong, I'm out
This. Right should be on a square plate.
Agreed. And a deep blue or black instead of white so the food pops.
And smaller plates.
Definitely, the food is overwhelmed by those big plates.
Those sure are some ugly plates. White plates with white food, garnished with white flakes.
Geez... Why don't you just come out and say how you really feel about my people...
WE DON'T DO WELL IN THE SUN OK?!
Reddit tends to… lean left 🥁
I disagree
And we're back
Everyone getting along was making me uncomfortable
Yeah same, by the way screw you!
Yeah, well I hope you have a really good day!
Well... I hope that next time you're running late all your lights are green.
Same - the one on the left is so crowded and busy right on top of the dessert and nothing else going on around it. It also looks way more annoying to eat. I'm just going to have to knock all that stuff off to get a bite. The one on the right looks more aesthetically balanced and much more inviting to eat, to me. I can dig right in and pick up some extra garnish from the side with each bite.
Haven’t read the comments yet but I’m not a chef or chef adjacent and my lay person instinct is the left one. Both are “pretty” but the left is pulling me in.
Lol, I decided I liked the one on the right better because every fancy dessert looks like the one on the left 😅
Same. Right one looks homemade, sure, but left one I've seen it a thousand times, it's dead boring.
I’ll never forget when Reddit argued whether the right way to wipe was sitting or standing. Ahhh the good old days
And the best bit is it doesn't even matter, the head chef is in charge of the kitchen, has final say on presentation, end of story.
without reading the description, my eye goes to the left. i like the height built up, it’s organic but still organized. i don’t like the square cut on the right nor do i like the little stuff sprinkled on top. i would recommend cutting it in a circle shape if you want to keep the right presentation. you have all these garnishes orbiting the center dessert…but it’s a square. maybe cutting it a circle will lend it’s self better to having garnish around versus on top. or vice versa; keep the square, but built horizontally with garnish.
Yeah dude you're spot on with the square. It's giving "birthday party sheet cake" instead of elevated despite it being clean. A circle is a happy medium.
Looks like a little Debbie cake.
Little Debbie was my exact thought
Exactly give valentines cosmic brownie
Same I thought I was gonna be original with my comment/roast
Welcome to the hive
Seasonal valentines edition
Most constructive feedback yet, sounds great
The other thing I like about the left is that the rectangular shape would be more conducive to sharing at a table for two or getting more bites out of vs the square imo
The more narrow width of the one on the left also means you can get a clean bit each time, rather than needing to take chunks out of the square one on the right.
I’d be happy paying more for the one on the left. The one on the right looks like hospital cafeteria food.
Lol the right one looks like a little Debbie strawberry shortcake type dessert with some berries from the fridge tossed on it
Left. Right looks like a little Debby cake
Reminds me of buffet cheesecake; always used to come in little squares just like that.
Yeah buffet dessert presentation or a cafeteria. Even a kid’s birthday party.
I was thinking hospital cheesecake.
100% this. maybe if you didn't grow up on those, you wouldn't know. But since it looks like a little debbie cake, my brain told me it's the cheaper, less elegant option.
Should I have said this is UK? I've never heard of a debbie cake
https://images.app.goo.gl/vQHueve5qHC42vmK7
That is what is being referenced. Basically a stodgy, premade "cake" that is sold mostly in convinient stores and gas stations. It will unfortunately be an automatic association for anyone from the US.
And EVERY grocery store...
Oh shit that's on point
They are both delicious and taste like a root canal. Just pure sugar masquerading as a snack sized cake lol.
As a kid, I rarely got them, so I thought they were AWESOME! As a young adult, they tasted like plastic chemical sugar garbage. Terrible.
Around the Philly area we have Tastykake. Their fruit pies are decent.
Nobody bakes a cake as tasty as a TastyKake!
The problem with your sister’s plating is that the fruit is two thirds hidden from the diner, either by the chocolate shards or the cake itself. I get that she’s trying to make the cake the focus of the dish, but by putting these finishing touches beside it, they seem less like an integral part of the dish and more like an afterthought.
Good point!
Also, OP, take a look at this part of the Singapore Airlines food presentation training video. Notice how the dish arranged vertically (high in the centre of the plate) gives an impression of a bigger portion, compared to the same dish arranged horizontally (across the plate.)
The fruit isn’t a big deal to me. For me the problem is the shards just look like an afterthought on her plate while on Chef’s it looks skillfully balanced.
Right looks like something you would get at a cheap wedding.
Or a school lunch tray
bruh where did you go to school? harvard primary? :D (or were you referring to the little debbie cake LOL)
Left is fine dining, right is local nice cafe
You have to put the “Little” in there. It’s a Little Debbie cake. A debbie cake is not a thing.
Ok you are now cleared to come to the US
US Customs move aside!
LOL, it really is kind of like that, I can't think of anywhere in the US that somebody wouldn't know what a Little Debbie is. Kind of like Ho-Hos, basically like a cousin to Little Debbie.
They're cheap cakes that come wrapped in cellophane. Hard icing covering sponge with something colorful sprinkled on it.
Not gonna lie, I want to eat an elevated Little Debbie cake.
Not gonna lie I want to eat a regular little Debbie cake
forreal i love little debbie cakes
Elevated Debbie cakes are just petit fours.
Little Debbie is a brand of snack cakes that are sold in US Grocery stores. Generally cheap with lots of preservatives, but they taste good
To be fair that is the result but the way it looks is very much because marketing proves it sells best. At a convenience store. So even though it's not good for culinary there is a symmetry and balance that has appeal just not for the restaurant scene.
I honestly thought this would be a tough choice, but one's body automatically chooses left - it just says it better.
The left suggests, "Discover me."
The right announces, "Here I am."
Damn if that ain't the most poetic critique of two cakes I've ever seen in my life.
The one on the left insists upon itself.
Left looks fancier and prettier. brain says rectangle bad and square will taste better.
Your two sentences are contradictory, I think you got confused somewhere. Or your brain and the looks/your eyes disagree?
My thoughts exactly
I mean this with the utmost respect for your sister. The left is better and this is a good showcase of the difference in professional and home cooks. The chefs presentation gives the impression of higher skill and standards. Not saying your sis lacks just saying small details like this matter more to professionals. Her plating isn’t bad it’s just more cozy and casual. However, chef has a right to want their standards a certain way. Without being an asshole of course.
Tall food is almost always better than wide food.
EDIT: I actually misspoke. It was aspect ratio I was referring to. And I wasn’t suggesting a pancake standing on edge would taste better or, more importantly, have better eye appeal.
except burgers, tall burgers can fuck right off
A thousand times this, burgers are meant to be eaten face first so if you hand me a stacked monster I need a knife and fork to tackle I’m never coming back.
Also the burgers where they put a 3 inch tall onion ring as a whole layer make me want to set a fire
Are you sure it wasn't a whole deep fried onion?
Nah just thick rings. They sometimes put things in the onion ring void though. When I was in an airport a few months back they put buffalo chicken bites in there, which was an experience and completely unexpected as I didn’t look at the menu in depth.
I am using this to describe everything I eat like this from now on. Hotdogs? Tacos? Corn on the cob? Eat them all face first.
I shouldn't have to unhinged my jaw like a python to eat your burger
Also shakes with the chocolate syrup on the outside of the glass.
I prefer to not have a huge mess when all I wanted was to enjoy my shake.
Chocolate syrup on the OUTSIDE?? Where there hell did you get an abomination like that?
Oh I did not, but seen it many times on the r slash stupidfood (idk if linking subs is allowed).
All I know is, I would be very upset if I ever received similar.
Everyone's underestimating how big my mouth is.
And nachos. Give me two big wide layers, not a 20 layer tower
The first time I ordered what are now my favorite nachos, I was pissed Like, what the fuck is this? 6 chips?! Did I accidentally order the hamster sized nachos?
But man, those 6 chips were carefully loaded with so many goodies that I had to enlist my husband's help in finishing them.
Each chip had the perfect distribution of toppings. I apologized to the empty plate afterwards.
And now I want nachos, dammit.
*Edit The nachos are from Top Golf of all places! For being typical American sports bar food (nachos, burgers, wings) their food is pretty damn good. They're not winning any Michelin stars or anything, but it's better than you'd expect.
Do you have a pic of the 6 chip nachos? Now I'm curious
Not my pic but that's just what mine looked like.
They're from Top Golf, and for "sports bar" type food, it's all pretty damn good honestly.
Nice that does look delish. My company takes us out to Top Golf every year around Christmas time I will remember to try this heh
20 layer tower is like 3 crisp nachos and a pile of sog
What about tall pizza?
tall food is almost always better than wide food if eaten with utensils
if it goes in your hand it should get wider rather than taller, nothing worse than a four-story burger or a pizza overloaded with toppings
Paella enters the chat
Elevation is presentation
All of the components on the left make sense in how they are arranged together; the body of the dessert provides a foundation for the stuff on top and it makes the stuff on top look yummy and interesting to eat; exciting to cut down through to grab a bite and experience it in my mouth all together. It is also aesthetically dynamic at the same time, like a sculpture. The plating on the right lacks the same sense of intentionality and logic; the bites aren’t composed, and I am confused as to how I am meant to experience the flavors together. All the bits and bobs come across as garnish rather than an important part of the eating experience. Just take ‘em off the plate, they’re getting in the way.
Taste is subjective, but I would personally be a little disappointed if I payed for a fancy desert and got the plate on the right, and I saw someone else eating the dessert on the left.
Why is the fruit scattered around? Am I supposed to scrape it up and then try to stab some cake or eat it separately?
It’s sort of like a choose-your-own-adventure dessert. If you try a bite of cake with a berry, turn to page 2. If you try the cake on its own, turn to page 5.
Disagree about the bite composition. I can just picture how cutting off a bite will go: all the garnish falls off, and you awkwardly gather things back onto the fork to get a representative bite.
With the presentation on the right, it's essentially the same, except you skip the awkward initial phase where things are toppling off. You slice off a corner and survey the garnishes, thinking "Which bits will I include in this bite?"
I agree the left presentation is more striking and a better fit for a fine dining environment. I wouldn't be disappointed in the right one outside of a Michellin-rated place though.
Agreed. The one on the left looks professional; the one on the right looks like student work.
Both look tasty, but the left one looks more "professional."
That’s because the left one is the harder work. You have to be more patient and more accurate to put all that stuff on top.
And it looks more architectural. The different pieces stand out. With the one on the right it looks like the berries were thrown on at the last minute kind of haphazardly, which they probably were. I'm sure the one of the right is less work, hence the sister wanting to make them that way.
Edit: Struck out unnecessary words ("for lack of a better word" which was a comment on the word "architectural.")
The center block dominates everything else on the right one
If it was a circle it'd probably work out better for the right. However, in terms of what they have actually presented left is much better put together.
Round would make it much better
Yeah but rounds tend to produce more waste. More efficient to trim a few edges than doing cut outs. Probably why they're keeping the straight edges regardless.
The right is less elegant looking because it's a big old chunky square in the middle. The top of the cheesecake is also rather boring looking with random sprinkles. It's not just about the effort. It is also (and I would say mainly) about the design choices.
I disagree, honestly. Flaking individual bits of raspberry for the one on the right would be a huge bitch during prep
those things bleed into food, thats getting done to order.
I thought they were cake crumbles.
Right looks like a 12 year old put it together
It reminds me of those Little Debbie brownies they release around Valentine's Day.
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1mo
And easier to get all the elements on a single forkfull.
The left looks better hands down. Looks like a lot more care when it to the presentation and assembly.
Left looks better, shows off the ingredients better, and takes less time and precision to plate. That’s an easy W for left. And it’s not particularly close either.
Takes less precision to plate? All garnishes neatly on top vs placing them in a circle says otherwise
Left. Height wins.
Height definitely has more eye appeal. If you don't sweat while watching your servers carry it, is it really art?
As a server I hate that you're right.
I tell my cooks to make it “pretty and high, like me”
I thought size doesn’t matter? :(
make it a ribbon
Where ganache???
It’s under the crushed pistachio dummy
Meta
Long brown ribbon, vertically.
Left. Looks cleaner, more effort into the construction.
Also tastes better. You get all those ingredient in one bite rather than having to pick at the stuff on the side separately
Lol not OPer trying to defend their sister and being crushed by Reddit instead
I tried, don't think she'll be making me anything any time soon
Good brother for trying
To add insight more than “left” and “height” I personally dislike it when edible garnish is put just on the plate. Think about how a guest is going to approach this, on the left, they are going to take a smooth scoop and get a taste of the plate how the chef intended. On the right, in order to use the garnish as intended you would have to play with your food quite a bit.
Yes! It's not only the look, on the left the guest is going to get all the different textures and flavours at the same time in its mouth. Experience will be much better.
This is what I wanted to say! Left looks like it is meant to be eaten together like one whole dessert. The one on the right looks deconstructed and gives the impression that it should be eaten one by one.
Exactly, my friend! I couldn’t have said it any better. It is an entire experience we curate, on these plates.
Eh if I had to choose it would be left. With that being said , there’s really not anything wrong with the right one either, just if you put them up against each other one has to win.
The right one looks too much like a little Debbie cake imo
Edit: I see others have said the same thing lol
Yeah and if I’m getting served a Little Debbie, it best be the Swiss Cake Rolls dammit lol
Looks like the plating on the right is trying to do "circle of sauce with garnishes on it." However, the picture angle makes the left plate look better.
Someone else wrote to cut the cake into a circle if they want to keep that plate style on the right, and what you said emphasized that. same shapes on the plate look better.
Left
Left looks like you could charge more
Left
Theres a reason he’s the head chef you know.
Left
The one on the left looks better. And unless your sister is also head chef, it doesn’t matter.
They’re both very nice but going to have to with chef on this one
Left.
Left definitely. The one on the right looks like a little plastic-wrapped cake I could buy at the bodega for $0.99
The one on the left is better, the one on the right looks like one of those little Debbie snack cakes put on a plate
Right looks dated imo.
Top comment said "Little Debbie" and now that's all I can see. It looks like a snackcake
Right one looks like I could eat it without shit falling off left right and centre. Left looks like something Gordon Ramsey would explain to me why it is shit after I've seen the guy come in and thought that's kind of shit.
Gawdamn we're just mutilating a dead body at this point.
Also the answer is left.
left. right looks like an ad for the cranberry bliss bar from starbucks.
sorry, didnt realize you specified which was which. I didnt mean that in a derogatory way. Just that it looks more 'premade' then decorated. Both look positively delicious.
Left
Came here to say the one on the left is better <<< can't really articulate why but its just my honest first impression.
What kind of place is this? Casual mom and pop place might do better with the right, but in an upscale environment left is better
Right is somewhat more “inviting” and homey feeling. Left has the height, less busy looking, more visually appealing imo and draws your eyes into the cake itself
Exactly what I was going to say. Depending on the venue, the left could come across as too pretentious, even though it is more visually appealing.
They're both attractive, but I think the one on the left is easier to get nice forkfuls from. Just straight down a line with a bit of everything in each bite. The one on the right you've got to sort of attack at the corners & work a bit more to get nice even bites with bits of each ingredient in every bite. Not that big a deal, but if we're nitpicking...
Left looks loads better than the one of the right. The one on the right is what I'd expect from a buffet style restaurant, where platting isn't a priority.
Left
Left
I really like right, but i think left looks more elegant
Left all day but id be happy with either.
Presentation of the left is prettier but I would rather eat the one on the right, vertical stuff is hard to properly get a fork full, but I'm no chef.
Throwing it out there, left is very dated, I prefer right
Ultimately the chef's name is attached to the food, not your sister's, so it's their call. Left does, in fact, look much better.
The one on the left looks better. It looks more elegant.
Left is fancy
Right is rural
Left. And I like the sorrel, never thought of using it for dessert! 🙄
Lemon Balm also works
Left, not only does it look nicer but you can get a good combination of flavours in one spoon/forkful with the left one, whereas they’re all round the side on the right.
Left looks better.
Your sister's cake looks like those frozen squares of cheesecake you order in from the food supplier. Very popular for large catered gatherings and buffet lines. I'm sure it's delicious, just looks a bit manufactured.