The title of this article points towards a usual activity that takes place in the kitchen, particularly, in a commercial kitchen. 

The Activity

The Ingredients to make a dish are gathered together. Those that require their skin to be removed by peeling are done. The ones that require washing have to be washed. Those that require slicing have to be sliced.

The ones that require to be diced or chopped on a cutting board, have to be done. The ones that require braising, boiling, steaming, etc., have to be done. There’ll be one that requires grilling, frying, sautéing, etc., which has to be done. Particles of food ingredients have to be crushed or blended in a food processor. 

Other ingredients might be in liquid form, placed in a bowl, and whisked. One has to be poached. An ingredient has to be filtered, sieved, or passed through a strainer. Some ingredients are put into a pot, water is added and allowed to boil so a stock or broth will be made from it.

Seasonings or spices are added to the cooking. The texture of the item cooking is being checked. Some are checked for consistency. This activity is usually the cooking or process of cooking that takes place in the kitchen. 

The Concept Of A Dish 

The conception of an idea in the mind can’t be a reality. Even when that notion is made known to another party, it can only get attention if it’s tangible. No matter the number of years that concept remains in the mind, it will never be a reality until that notion materializes. 

As something is done over time, it’ll be an avenue for improvement and perfection. Being in a practice for years, something meaningful should come out of it, and it’s so in culinary work. “Poaching an egg is a concept developed, and dishes have been created with poached eggs”. The emergence of dish ideas is a result of time spent in the kitchen.

There’ll be no timeline or time frame for new dishes to emerge, meaning that the creation of new dishes is timeless. All that is required is passion for the profession then creativity will flow. Creativity is built with time spent in culinary work. Dish ideas crop up while carrying out culinary activities. This is how “signature dishes” are born.  

The vast food commodities available for cooking have made it possible for chefs to develop dishes. Working with food ingredients on a daily basis in the kitchen is a means to be creative and display culinary arts. The basics of cooking still remain the foundation or starting point to create a dish or a great dish. “The knowledge of basic sauce is the platform or base to create other sauces”.

More sauces are being created from meat and vegetable stocks. Creativity knows no boundaries. “Tomato Ketchup” is a sauce that can now be spotted at worldwide locations or globally. “The foundations of food are the starting point of dish creativity”. From whole potatoes, we get “chips potatoes”. Salads emanated from the combinations of cut or sliced vegetables.

Combinations of cut fruits make it fruit salad. Meat items are prepared in different shapes and sizes, cooked, and accompanied with other food ingredients to form a dish. As a chef, having the knowledge of a fish dish is the starting point for creating other fish dishes.

Take up a carrot, look at it. There is a dish you can make with that carrot. You can combine that carrot with another ingredient and double flavors. Culinary passion begets culinary arts. So, sauces, cooked meats, cooked vegetables, etc., when combined together form the impression of a plated dish.

Food Presentation 

All this gathering of ingredients. Cleaning, and washing them for usage. Dicing, cutting, for whatever dish it’ll be used for. Frying, and grilling, for a specific dish. Cooking of all sorts. All this labor in the kitchen: moving from one point to another, going from one end to another. Boiling of water takes some time. Steaming potatoes takes some time. Cooking items in the oven takes time.

In all these activities in the kitchen, the end is for food to be on the plate. A plated dish is lovely to behold! The looks of a dish photo in a magazine or web page are beautiful to behold. “Eating starts from the sight of food”. The juice emanating from that steak will stimulate your appetite. You’ll want to lay your fingers on those strings of chips on the plate. How about that ketchup sauce that accompanies the dish?

A plated grilled “steak” and “chips” with ketchup sauce is an example. When you have a “signature dish” like this (grilled steak and chips with ketchup sauce) on a restaurant menu. A guest sits in the restaurant, orders it — the dish is quickly prepared, and eventually ends up on the plate (being plated),  and presented to the guest.

The looks of the plated dish will be so impressive. You never can tell the number of this dish that is sold in a day in a restaurant that features it in their menu. In a restaurant, In a day, the selling of steak and chips could be in the 10’s, 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s or more. Multiply it by weeks or months… This dish is a  bestseller or one of the best-selling dishes of all time

Furthermore:

The thing I love about chefs is their passion for creativity in new dishes. They always have customers at heart. From time to time, they’ll endeavor or ensure something new (dish) is on the menu. 

How do dish ideas emerge?

If you work in the kitchen, if you cook in the kitchen, if you’re a chef, that’s the platform where dish ideas emerge.

What’s the timeframe to develop a dish?

For as long as you are in the kitchen, that’s the time frame.

What techniques are used to set a dish on a plate? 

Culinary skills are built in the kitchen, come join us!

How do the impressions feel?

The customer had a good time eating the meal and was satisfied. The chef feels fulfilled preparing a dish the guest is happy with.