Don't Like - Plating Your Food At Home

Guest Post by McCullough Kelly-Willis

Most of my meals consist of various leftovers and prepped ingredients fished out of a variety of deli containers. Nothing quite makes it to a plate. I eat from the plastic pint, out of the pan, or pile everything into a bowl. But once in a while, I buy a piece of meat or fish or ball out at the farmers market, and I decide to put in some effort. I’ve been cooking for myself and others for a long time, so when I put my mind to it I can sauté, sear, and simmer several things at once in service of a proper meal. This part is satisfying - adjusting the flame of each burner, listening to the various sounds of bubbling and hissing, watching things as they wilt, caramelize, or reduce, senses heightened, feeling focused. But then it comes time to eat. Plating can play an important role - done right, it helps you get more perfect bites, where textures and flavors are balanced. In restaurants, it’s a translation of the cook’s craft to the diner. Good plating should excite the appetite and welcome you into the dish. It’s a form of communication, a gesture of hospitality. Maybe that’s why doing it at home for yourself sometimes feels empty, even absurd. But it’s impossible not to “plate.” Decisions must be made - will you put the pork chop on the polenta, or next to it? How much pan sauce, and will you smother or swoosh? Is there some parsley dying in the crisper or approximately five capers left in a jar on the fridge door…should you garnish? Every time I cook a proper meal at home and realize I now have to plate it for myself, I become very aware that I am alone with my cats, about to consume a likely too-decadent meal. Social media’s bottomless appetite for food content bears down, making me feel briefly anxious and annoyed at the (self-inflicted) pressure to make this meal look good and document it before I consume it - communicating my solitary experience to the hungry void. Happily, there is still warm food to be eaten that probably tastes pretty good, even if most of my home meals end up looking like they’ve been plated on those divided plates made for children.

(p.s. If you’re in Chicago and love meat, check out The Chicago Meat Collective!)