#TBT: Serving Food Attractively by Florence Brobeck
We have a thing for old-school hostess books, and right now we’re having a moment with The Amy Vanderbilt Success Program for Women. Sure, a lot of the advice in these books is frankly offensive. Sure they use ingredients and terms we’ve never heard of. But usually there’s at least one good point. In Serving Food Attractively, Florence Brobeck argues that food should look like it belongs at a party. And then she goes on to list legitimately dozens of garnishes to help you achieve that.
Basically, Flo-Flo’s thesis can be summed up by the title of her first section: “It Must Look Good and Taste Good.” This might not be earth-shattering news, but it is a good thing to think about.
Here’s what old Flo has to say:
“The table may delight the eye with the color of the cloth or the place mats and the way you have arranged the fresh flowers on it. Perhaps it you want it to seem restful and serene with a traditional white cloth and china of unobtrusive design and familiar shapes. Or you may want the atmosphere to sparkle with gaiety and you might use a dramatic printed linen, a pair of amusing tin figures from Mexico, bold pink ceramic plates from the same south-of-the-border designers, and a menu of unconventional style. Whatever you decide to do with your table, the harmony of its color scheme, the care with which it is set, the obvious cleanliness, order, and good arrangement of the dining room is a subtle announcement that the menu also has been prepared with care.”
Let’s be real: a lot of Flo’s garnish suggestions, which she mentions after warning the reader not to serve her guests poisonous flowers, are way not our style: hot dogs, aspic, bananas. But some we were happy to be reminded of, and will likely be using real soon to pump up our party platters.
But why stop at garnishing? There are lots of ways you can make your food prettier. We’ll share the ones that work for us, because we’re nice like that. Scroll under the pretty pics for our tips.
From the Fete-a-Tete Kitchen
- Negative Space: Leaving some room on the plate lets your food shine, and doesn’t allow for sloppiness. There’s nothing less appetizing than a brown meat sauce mixing with a side dish or food overflowing on the side of a plate.
- Contrasting Bright Colors: There’s a reason that some foods are way more instagrammable than others – it’s usually contrasting colors – the bright green of a frisee salad against the deep brown of candied walnuts or purple beets, for example – that’s just pretty! Choose ingredients that are palatable and will pop off the plate and each other, when planning a menu.
- Add in Green: Even if the dish doesn’t call for herbs or other greens, using a sprinkle on top or as a green-y base (think placing chicken on top of a bed of iceberg lettuce), will give a kick of color to any old dish.
- There’s Such a Thing as a Beautiful Mess: When serving an appetizer or mezze platter (which is one of the easiest ways to serve snacks for a party), creating a mixed, colorful “mess” of selections on top of a large wooden or marble board will create a big, brightly colored mess that is is perfectly imperfect. This will also make your life easier when rushing to finish up right before guests arrive.
- Fresh and Fuss Free is Sometimes Fanciest: Using fresh vegetables, citrus, and fruits that are raw and maintain their color and texture makes for beautiful dishes. This also usually means the dish is easier to make and assemble, allowing more time for bubbly.