We want plates

I like going to pubs, I like going to restaurants, I like nice food, good wholesome comfort food, but I’m not a fan of your fancy food, your nouveau cuisine and I am particularly not a fan of pubs and restaurants that don’t serve their food on plates. 

We’ve all been there - cheese on a slate, chips in a little metal basket, sandwiches on a bread board, macaroni cheese in a pint jug, soup in a tea pot, noodles in a stiletto. Just stop it, stop it now. The plate has been meticulously designed over eons to carry food, be completely cleanable and easily stacked. Anything else is just puerile and pretentious.

Why do they do it? Well I blame MasterChef and the other hundreds of cooking programmes. Apparently the food has to be presented now, not just cooked well and tasting good. Chefs seem to spend more time on the presentation than making sure it tastes good. And don’t they handle the food a lot - making sure the prawns are in neat little rows and standing to attention like Korean soldiers.

My theory is that maybe they know the food ain’t that good so attempt to tart it up. Mess with the senses - make it look weird and wonderful to mask the lack of, or poor, flavour.

Just serve up honest well-cooked food on a plate - preferably a plane white plate that fits on the table without you having to constantly rearrange your drinks and condiments.

And another thing don’t put the paper serviette under the food - it goes soggy and sticks to the plate. The serviette is for wiping your mouth not for cleaning the plate. If you really want to mimic a cheap burger joints then at least use grease proof paper not a paper serviette. 

Join me and We Want Plates in our campaign for promoting proper food on proper plates.