How do you present food? Take the test and discover your personality

Food presentation is no longer an exclusive domain of caterings, hotels, chefs and food bloggers. Plating is not just a synonym of “getting served” or “putting food in a plate” but it has gained a broader meaning. It means to create a dining experience that temps all of our senses.  We found a very good definition of plating in the Treccani Italian dictionary:  ”preliminarily set up in the kitchen, with taste and choreographic and decorative intentions, the food, in each of the dishes to be served to the guests”.

Starting from this definition, and with the precious support of our food bloggers friends, we’ve created a sort of psychology test: tell me how do you present food and I will tell to you who you are.

We have noticed that the way we serve food (beginning with the way we cook it, how we choose the dish that best uplifts the food and the table, how we garnish the plate), can tell something about our personality.

So, are you ready to know which is your profile based on the way you present food? Answer to these simple questions and discover the results.

How do you cook and manage vegetables?

1. I cook my greens for a very short time and pass them quickly into water and ice, so that they stay crispy and keep their shining green color.
2. I cook my greens the right amount of time and season them well, either with lemon or with a scented Mediterranean dressing.
3. I cook my greens for a long time, until they slightly flake, enjoying the charm of a traditional cooking style.
4. I cook my greens based on the recipe and on my mood. Sometimes I even forget to check the time.
5. I cook my greens for the right amount of time and I take care of all the details for the best outcome: I either accurately cut, diagonally or into cubes, the greens, or, according to the aesthetic of the dish, I leave some of them whole, or pass them quickly on the grill.

Which dish do you prefer most to cook, serve or taking a photo of?

1. I am comfortable with all sorts of dishes; I am not scared even of ice-cream!
2. A healthy dish, as a soup or a salad made of vegetables and /or seasonal fruits.
3. A first course (rice, dry pasta or fresh one, gnocchi…).
4. A cake, a rustic pie.
5. A second course (meat, fish, and sauces), appetizers and cocktails.

Colors: what is your relationship with colors and ingredients in creating your dishes?

1. I am able to manage multiple colors, but also color contrasts (including total black dishes or total white ones).
2. I love colors and flavors, and even the contrasts that put them in evidence.
3. I like both lively colors and neutral ones. I am able to use both of them, even in a single dish, harmonizing contrasting colors.
4. I like the tone-on-tone, and the colors of nature in a dish. I don’t like to exceed with multiple colors and ingredients into a single dish.
5. I am able to manage different colors (and ingredients) into a single dish, combining them in a neat presentation.

What about quantities in a single dish?

1. It depends (on the dish, on the photo, on the target).
2. The right quantity, by heart.
3. Rich, so that food gets enhanced.
4. I follow my mood, the moment 😉
5. A little quantity, well defined, calibrated.

Lights or shades. If you take a picture of your dish, how would you take it?

1. Plenty light.
2. Soft shadows and muted tones.
3. Natural light and /or outdoor.
4. Natural light, with some soft dim-light.
5. Clear light, with a sharp focus.

Which is your favorite ingredient to garnish a dish?

1. Some of the same ingredients of the dish, put aside before serving.
2. Rose petals.
3. Dry fruits.
4. The surface of the dish (especially for cakes), its texture.
5. A sauce or a gravy, and /or fresh herbs.

Plating food: how do you compose the dish?

1. I like to layer foods to add height, adding the elements in such a way that you can admire the dish from different point of views.
2. I serve single portions, mixing accurately and adjusting the flavor, if necessary.
3. I bring the pan to the table.
4. I serve the food exactly as it looks when coming out from the pan, slightly smoking.
5. I carefully arrange the dish layout, paying attention to enhance every component, keeping them separate, with a dressing or sauce on a side.

Mood. Choose a material.

1. Metal.
2. Flowers.
3. Fabric.
4. Wood.
5. Ceramic.

Which is your favorite dish on DishesOnly?

1. PESCE Playful ceramic Dinner set: where you can serve a squid ink rice

2. IRIS Handmade Decorated Porcelain Bowl: where you can put a cold Persian soup of cucumbers and grasses

3. RICAMO Elegant Ceramic Dinner Plate: for a dish of gnocchi with ricotta and squash blossoms

4. TRAME Handmade Textured Porcelain Plates: perfect to serve a piece of chocolate cake with a cup of black, smoking tea .

5. NUVOLA Milky white Ceramic Dinner Set: with a fabulous roasted partridge for the holidays.

This was the last question. And now it’s time to discover your profile!

Profiles:

If the majority of your answers is 1, your profile is: Resoluted. The kitchen is your reign, the world where you feel confident and with no anxieties. You know how to face a complicated dish and at the same time you can set up a creative and wonderful dinner in a few time. Cooking for you is a way of measuring and exploring different situations, and you do it with confidence. Like Barbara Torresan, Chez Babs .

If the majority of your answers is 2, your profile is: Exotic. You consider cooking a special way of listening to others and to yourself.  The colors and flavors of food bring you faraway and make you feel good.  Your dining table is friendly, intimate, informal and full of “home”.  Like Saghar Setareh, Lab Noon.

If the majority of your answers is 3,your profile is: Traditionalist.  Cooking is an heritage. It consists of your grand mother and your mother gestures; it is a tradition, a memory of places where you grew up and where you have been living. The dining table is a place where to stay, share, give and receive and it must therefore be full of colors, flavors and fragrances.  Like Giulia Scarpaleggia, Jul’s Kitchen.

If the majority of your answers is 4, your profile is: Romantic. Cooking is a way to let yourself be carried away by thoughts and scents. You cook what you like, based on the moments and on your mood. You love simple dishes and rustic flavors, and you love to enjoy them for long relaxing moments. Like Rossella Venezia, Vaniglia Storie di cucina.

If the majority of your answers is 5, your profile is: Sophisticated. You are classy! You don’t leave anything to chance and you like to cook and serve in a simple yet accurate way. You are able to deal with and to calibrate colors, shapes and flavors, and to adapt them in whichever situation with a lot of  elegance. Like Barbara Toselli, Pane e Burro.