It’s a common expression, ‘eat with your eyes’, thrown around kitchens during service, used by diners as they’re about to tuck into their food. Food presentation has become one of the key determining factors of a restaurant’s success, and with the rise of social media, this has only become more important. It’s no longer good enough for our food to taste nice, it has to look nice too, or be ‘instagrammable’.
The visual aesthetics of food is a huge part of the customer experience, from booking the restaurant, to selecting their meal, to eating it.
Food presentation matters: Here's why...
1 Perception
Perception is a key aspect of a successful dining experience. While taste is important, the first thing a customer does is look at their food; immediately they make a judgment about its appearance and this can impact their feelings throughout the meal.
2 Quality
Good presentation also makes people think of high quality. Customers will deem a dish ‘worth the money’ if the food presentation is good, as it means time and care has gone into the creation of the meal – this also translates to highly trained, expert chefs and good organisation.
3 Elevates the dish
When you think about how to plate your food, it often means you’ll think more about the elements going into the meal. You will be challenged to create textures, with different ingredients and cooking techniques, adding exciting layers to the dish, making it not only aesthetically pleasing but tastier too.
4 Entices customers to come to your restaurant
Most people don’t just stumble across a restaurant, they take the time to research where to go. This may start with a google search, followed by browsing the menu and reading customer reviews. After this, people are highly likely to check out your social media, so they can see what the food looks like. They may even look at your tagged photos, to determine what others thought of their experience.