A simple comment from a diner made me rethink my plating

I was working a tasting menu in Austin, and a guest pointed out that my intricate, stacked presentation made the food hard to eat. They said they felt like they had to 'deconstruct' it with their fork before taking a bite. How do you balance artistic plating with making sure the dish is actually functional for the guest?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryanprice1mo ago

Honestly, that's everywhere now. I see it with fancy packaging you need a knife to open, or apps with menus hidden behind three taps. It's like people get so focused on making something look clever that they forget the whole point is for someone to actually use it.

jade2711mo ago

My new phone actually got simpler with the last update.

jessicaw541mo ago

Nodded along to this one because I had to wrestle with a bottle of dishwasher tablets last night that was sealed in some kind of plastic armor. Took me longer to open it than it did to start the dishwasher. Think designers have gotten so caught up in making things look "clean" or "minimal" that they forget the user is supposed to actually get inside the thing. Next thing you know we'll need a degree in packaging engineering just to eat a granola bar.