I Hate Cleaning

Presentation, presentation… I cannot say this enough when styling an event or planning a dinner, brunch or any festivity you have in mind! Love really is in every detail.  Here I will give a stress free guide on how to display your food like a chef without any of the huge costs you may dread! Let us start with a beautiful anti-pasta board this can be made ever more enticing with some layering using simple items such as truss tomatoes, green herbs which I like to decant straight from the tubs and place on a wooden board. Another option is to use figs, pears or even grapes set on top of your cheese selection. Scour around hot dollars stores or even op shops are fantastic for funky jars, terracotta pots or my favourites must haves are these little silver buckets a great IKEA find. Filled with dips and garnish they can be used multiple times for serving crispy wedges or even ice creams sprinkled with nuts or drizzled with melted chocolate. My second top tip for food styling is always try to create varying heights in when displaying food this always makes for an interesting visual display. Cue the ‘riser…whether this is a cube , crate or box…. dig around your home and you can find these trinkets anywhere from a stack of old books to some vases turned upside down. Or opt for using different dishes mix and match but above all have fun with it! Thirdly, Go green!

The humble herb is my favourite friend in food styling….I always have hand a container of snap peas they simply make all savouries look like it\s jumped out of a food magazine! Throw the snaps over baguettes with salmon, slithered onions and capers and voila! A perfect topping to create a visual delight! Herbs can add a pop of colour. Pick from your garden or purchase from your local!

Desserts…..The Chocolate Board! Last but most definitely best! if you are anything like me there is always room for something sweet! I am a massive fan of the chocolate board! Most folks seem to prefer nibbles to full fashioned stodgy desserts! Fill a beautiful platter or wooden board with a montage of choccy treats which you can source from your local bakery. Here I have used some caramel slices, mini mud cakes, chocolate mousse cups (easy to make) and some decadent chocolate shards…. simply melt chocolate on wax paper and sprinkle whatever you have in your cupboard. I dotted this board with some lavender which grows in my garden. If you have any spare blooms simply pick some petals off and throw over the board or pile to the side! A perfect ending!

Image Source: Décor by Yael

food decoration, food styling