INGLORIOUS PERFECTIONS

As the final act of creation and the first element to leave an impression, the plating of a dish plays a crucial role in any dining experience. But what exactly does good plating look like today?

- Gavin Yeung

It begins simply, with a circular base of light pink and white cubes of kombucured hamachi and pickled jicama, daikon and green apple against a pure white plate. Then, a diaphanous apple cider gelée cut to the exact same diameter of the base is gently laid atop, flecks of dill, marigold petals and fennel pollen suspended within it glistening in the light. Then there are more layers, as a quenelle of golden smoked pike roe is laid alongside emerald-hued nasturtium leaves atop the gelée. Finally, the entire affair is crowned by a brilliant red nasturtium blossom, while a deep green sauce of nasturtium and lemon verbena whey surrounds the assemblage.

The dish a seasonal addition to the tasting menu at Central finecasual restaurant Cultivate-is a stunner with its bold swathes of red, yellow and green; yet for chefpatron Leonard Cheung, plating comes only a distant third among his priorities while designing a dish.

"If you think too much about the plating, it'll look like a clusterf**k. It'll be too much stuff to the point where it doesn't look delicious anymore." Indeed, plating is an oft-cited point of contention in the world of modern fine dining-one that came under the microscope as diners moved away from delicately arranged morsels to more homey comfort food over the course of the pandemic.

Longstanding institutions of haute cuisine have also been crumbling all around us, with news of the impending 2024 closure of one such institution, legendary Copenhagen restaurant Noma, sending shockwaves through the global food culture. In the wake of the announcement, observers began to dissect the unremitting back-of-house culture at the lauded restaurant required to produce such sublime beauty on the plate, leading many to ask if the culture of fine dining hadn't gone a bit too far in its pursuit of perfection at the expense of the well-being of the kitchen's rank and file.