Chapter 3 · Tools and equipment
3.2 Plating tools
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- Decorating brushes: among the most important tools a chef owns. Use them to paint a sauce in fine detail or wide sweeps, or to lay a puree or coulis under meat or vegetables.
- Garnishing kits: one set with the basics for garnishing: plating wedges, tongs, squeeze bottles and brushes.
- Molds: they cut or press food to one set shape and size, which looks good and keeps the plate tidy. A ring mold helps you stack ingredients to give a dish height and structure.
- Precision tongs: tongs for placing a garnish or a small, delicate piece of food exactly where it belongs. Many have tiny serrations (micro-serrations) on the tips so they grip firmly.
- Plating wedges: pre-cut with a flat, round or pointed edge. Drag one through a sauce or another soft food to smear it into a design.
- Shavers: for shaving or grating chocolate, hard cheese or soft vegetables over a finished dish.
- Spoons: keep several kinds. A saucier spoon pulls a smear of sauce across the plate. A spoon with a tapered bowl drizzles and pours. A slotted spoon lifts solids out of liquid.
- Squeeze bottles: they put sauce or aioli on the plate in controlled amounts. Many have adjustable precision tips.
Sources
This chapter is written from these open textbooks:
- Introduction to Baking and Pastries — Rink & Thibodeaux, Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, Nicholls StateCC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- Culinary Foundations — Cheramie & Thibodeaux, Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, Nicholls StateCC BY-NC-SA 4.0