Capturing Taste

04.12.18

Restaurant food presentation is an advertising tool that matters

Baylee DeMuth / For The Post

For Gabe Fisher, presentation has always been a big part of food.

“If you can look at something and know what it’s going to taste like from the popping ingredients and colors, then it’ll be more pleasing to want to eat,” Fisher said.

The way food looks on a plate is what tempts people’s eyes and makes them want to taste it. People eat with their eyes before anything else, Fisher, chef at Purple Chopstix, said.

To some restaurants, visual appeal is just as important as the tasting experience. When customers post photos of their food, they are in turn giving those restaurants free advertising, and many food establishments use the posts to their advantage in getting more publicity for their business.

“(Purple Chopstix) only advertises by word-of-mouth,” Fisher said. “So when people take pictures of our food and post it to their social media for friends and family members to see, we hope they think our food looks good enough that they would want to try it.”

Blake Nissen | PHOTO EDITOR

Jessica Kopelwitz laughs while talking to a customer in Fluff Bakery on April 10.

Seeing the food on social media that Fisher plated, garnished and cooked by himself makes him feel appreciative that people would advertise his food like that.

Sarah Horne, a freshman studying journalism, believes taking food photos and giving restaurants free advertising is the biggest compliment she can give to any business.

“It’s just a way of helping out a restaurant that you love and enjoy,” Horne said. “To know that your customers loved the way your food looked so much that they had to share it means the restaurant has to be doing something right.”

How food looks matters because it adds a whole new element to what people are eating, Horne said. Knowing the chef was careful and able to plate a clean presentation is something worth taking a picture of.

“When you have such good products that people want to share on their social media, that’s such authentic content,” Horne said.

Horne shares food photos, specifically dessert photos, because it’s pleasing to her eyes, and she wants others to experience the bliss of good-looking food as well.

“I am a huge chocolate lover, so any cake, brownie or ice cream I’ve probably taken a photo of it,” Horne said.

“So much is based on what people think about your establishment and what people interpret. It’s all about that one good food picture that’s able to effectively spread the word.” Jessica Kopelwitz, owner of Fluff Bakery

Horne sees taking food photos as a relaxing thing to do during her busy life because there is no pressure looking at pictures of food.

“Some dishes I find while scrolling through Instagram are just so unique, and it’s nice seeing something pretty like that in my feed once in a while,” Horne said.

Jessica Kopelwitz, owner of Fluff Bakery, is always searching for new and fun foods to add to her menu.

“Fluff is known for its total unique comfort foods and the fact that we have such a variety of products,” Kopelwitz said. “I don’t want typical foods or foods that taste like nothing in my business.”

Food presentation plays a big part in people wanting to buy the dish, Kopelwitz said. There is a lot of inspiration out there when it comes to how foods are plated. They can look nice but not taste good.

“I want the foods I eat to look good, and I want them to taste way more delicious than I expect them to be,” Kopelwitz said.

Kopelwitz uses Instagram on a regular basis for advertising and loves it because people are so visual nowadays.

“So much is based on what people think about your establishment and what people interpret,” Kopelwitz said. “It’s all about that one good food picture that’s able to effectively spread the word.”

Putting that extra creativity, effort and time into food presentation does not go unnoticed, and the proof is in all the food photos out there.

“It really makes you feel good knowing that you’re putting a quality product out there for people to eat and enjoy so much that they want to share it with everyone they know,” Fisher said.



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