# plate rim garnishing?



## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

i'm sure somebody out there knows this how-to garnish...i have seen thhe rims only of large bowls and plates that have an almost 'carpet' of parsley coating on them..how does one do that..my guess is that you have to moisten it with something first...oil?, water? dip in very, very finely chopped parsley and then shake off the excess?.any help would be great..thanks all, hope your day is going well...
joey


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Please don't do it. What function does it serve?


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## goose (Feb 12, 2007)

I was told that placing garnish on the rim of a plate was a bad idea...tacky if you will. Another bad example popularized by Emril...just like putting your towel on your shoulder.

Not very professional.


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## blueicus (Mar 16, 2005)

Well, it was surely a popular trend back in the 80's and 70's, perhaps it'll make a comeback one day? 

However, I think durangojo is talking about more than just sprinkling parsley around the edge of the plates, I think she's talking about covering the edge of the plate with parsley like you run a glass with sugar or salt or something for a mixed drink.


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## shamrock chef (Nov 20, 2001)

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
please don't put any thing on the rim of a late.
Nothing gets me going faster!


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

Garnishing the rim of a plate was a trend in the 80's and early 90's. As you can see, by the responses above, it has fallen out of favor in recent years. It's something I would stay away from unless you are going for that 80's retro kind of feel.


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## risque cakes (Apr 20, 2007)

First of all I agree, what purpose does it serve? NO one but NO ONE eats the parsley anyway, unless it's something totally edible, skip it, lose it, don't use it..lol

and WHY would you put ANYTHING on the rim of a plate, bowl, or ANYTHING. That's where most servers hold the plates..lol

and my own personal opinion...it's ugly, makes the plate look dirty and it pisses me off.

Makes me think the Chef is being pretentious and has to window dress the plate because the food won't stand up.

Just my own personal opinion....I won't even shake cocoa powder or powdered sugar on my plates...or make all those silly squiggles with fruit glazes.

I like my plates clean, when I eat or serve. 

I will use a bit of a stencil though because that may make a design that's important to the overall design of the plate.

When I was in school, ( just being silly now) I used the glazes, melted chocolate, and all those garnishes to WRITE the Instructor messages as to how much I hated doing that..lol

Well, I guess he did have a sense of humor, I didn't get an A but I did pass with a B..lol


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## anneke (Jan 5, 2001)

The method is quite simple really. You can cut out a ring of astro-turf and paste it on to your plate with a mixture of flour and water. The garnish is dishwasher safe and can be reused for the next customer. All the fine dining establishments are doing it now. Seriously guys, your in the biz, you should know about this.


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

ok, ok, i get it!..don't know why it's not ok, but i'll take your words for it...thanks all for your gregarious opinions..so, what is 'in' nowadays? i know i live in the boonies, and we don't have alot of fancy pants restaurants out west here so may not be up on the newest trends..what do you do? again, thanks all..and yes it was about rimming the plate similar to rimming a cocktail glass ...anneke, funny stuff though, maybe i'll try it as a joke!..good day all
joey


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## blueicus (Mar 16, 2005)

well, if astroturf plating is good enough for Paul Bocuse, it's good enough for me.


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## risque cakes (Apr 20, 2007)

well you can always sprinkle additional ingredients OVER the food! lol, just don't put any mint leaves or make little circles of sauces or pooled chocolate, that's out too!

Like Heidi says: " One day you're in, the next you're out!" :crazy:


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## gtull1 (Jan 15, 2008)

Sorry to disagree with everyone else here, but plate garneshings are very common in Louisiana. I personally love them.

Now flame me.

lol


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## risque cakes (Apr 20, 2007)

nah, no one is going to , we are just ribbing in good natured fun at some outdated trends, but if it works for you and your clientel well then it works for you..


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## harpua (May 4, 2005)

One of the basic garnishing techniques I learned in school was to leave garnish off the rims. I don't think it's something that a school should teach, but I agree. It looks better without, and there is less of a chance of the server's thumb touching your food.


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## ras1187 (Oct 3, 2006)

When we stopped garnishing with chopped parsley, the food simply looked more natural, the beauty of the food itself really stood out on the solid white plates. You could see the food, it wasn't hidden behind specs of green.


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## anneke (Jan 5, 2001)

Precisely. 

Hey Durango Joe, just having a little fun with you. It's directed at Emeril really, not you. Rims, we are taught, right up to an inch within the rim, should be clean and free of food or garnishes. It just makes for a timeless clean classic presentation that is always tasteful and fashionable. Like a a pictureframe with a nice mat. It's a more cohesive presentation, and no risk of fingerprints as Harpua mentioned. Lately I've had to do plating with rimmless plates. It's amazing how much I miss that 'frame of cleanliness'; it just doesn't look as good....


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

I'm a little amused by much of this discussion. 

Let's see: We used to do it that way. But that way is now out. So we vehemently attack the practice in favor of what's currently in. 

Reminds me of the time Lynn Rosetta Casper spent a half hour lauding the death of novelle cuisine, and analyzing all that had been wrong with it. This from the same mouth that had spent the previous three+ years as one of it's biggest promoters.

It would be interesting to see what happens if next year colored and patterned service becomes the in thing. How many of the "pure white" proponents, I wonder, would then be telling us why polychrome is virtuous and pure white sinful?

When asked to explain the on-going popularity of her little black dress, Coco Channel responded, "Fashion changes. Taste doesn't." A message that seems to have been just as lost to the culinary world as that of high couteure.


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## indianwells (Jan 2, 2007)

It wouldn't surprise me if you could buy plates with a "Sprinkled Parsley" pattern on the rim. That way the servers don't get their thumb on your food and you get the desired effect!
Mmmm, I think I may patent that!:crazy:


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Not me. My sin is using whole herbs, which I've done, and which I still don't mind seeing as long it's very neat and the stuff on the plate is done correctly.


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

so is tricolor pepper confetti out as well?...i love the way it looks on the plate.i tend to do very simple garnishes that compliment the food, whole basil sprigs,rosemary sprigs, parmesan curls,wasabi peas, sesame seeds,japanese rice snack, sometimes even confectionary sprinkles...also, for a caesar salad in a large pasta type bowl, i sprinkle parmeggiano all over the bowl, rim included, as i like that kind of rustic look..i like garnish, i don't chop my parsley or other herbs very fine as i like it a bit chunky and again, rustic..so, what do you use?


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Seriously, find another way.  Look in the photo gallery.


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

a novice cook I am, however, I think my dishes look like poop when I don't do a little something for garnish. 

Lot's more to learn I guess...better I get the less garnish I'll use....promise!


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## blueicus (Mar 16, 2005)

I personally think the charm of the whole thing is that if you give ten cooks a bunch of ingredients they'll all cook and present it differently. I find that anything can be presented beautifully if you think about how the food goes together and tighten everything up (i.e. move things close together).

If you're just making cooking for family it only needs to taste good . However, I'm curious as to what you want to make prettier; what elements of the dish do you have? A steak? sauce? Mashed? Fried rice, sweet and sour pork, and stir fried broccoli?


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

Heirloomer, I have never been a fan of garnishing the rim, even when I had to do it in the 90's, though I can accept that sometimes it works. Generally, I find it made the plates look cluttered plus there is always the mess that it can create at the table with people accidentally brushing their sleeves through it getting them messy and making the table look like a pig trough.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Pete, could you expand a bit on "had to do it?" 

I think you're actually proving my point; to wit, that the industry runs on what is fashionable, that those who follow the trends come up, when necessary, with all sorts of justifications for them (sort of like interior decorators in that regard), and when the fad passes those same people are quick to bad mouth the previous trend. 

No need to reach back to rim-garnishing to demonstrate the truth of this. More recently: How many out there have bad-mouthed towers? And how many of you who have knocked them were busily piling food as high as they could just a year or two back?

No, I don't expect honest answers---we all have selective memory about these things. Go try and find anybody who voted for Nixon, for instance. But two facts remain: Everybody is poo-pooing towers, today. And everybody was constructing them just a short while back.


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## blueicus (Mar 16, 2005)

Well, if the chef tells you to sprinkle parsley all over the plate, you going to go "No, I think it looks tacky and stupid and clutters the plate"?


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Of course you're going to follow orders, Blueicus. But the basic question is: Why did the chef tell you to sprinkle parsley in the first place? 

My contention is he did so because it was fasionable at the time. And, furthermore, as soon as it goes out of fashion he will not only stop giving that order, he will explain, at length, why sprinkling parsley looks tacky and stupid and clutters the plate. 

This concept of the fashionable culinarian applies to more than just garnishes. It permeates every facet of the industry. I notice, for instance, that celeraic is suddenly "in" with gourmet chefs. Nothing wrong with that. But how come these same people weren't using it two years ago? 

I know somebody who captitalizes on this concept. He grows heirlooms for the trade, and, every year, pushes an offbeat vegetable to his restaurant customers. He knows that as soon as one upscale chef in his region puts it on the menu every chef around will do the same. And he's there to supply the market. 

Understand, please, that I am not putting a value judgement on either the basic concept or on that farmer's marketing strategy. I'm just observing what goes on in the industry. It's neither right nor wrong, far as I'm concerned. It just is.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

The desire to be fashionable permeates every facet of human existence.


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## risque cakes (Apr 20, 2007)

would never tower my food, have never towered my food..and would laugh out loud..a very bawdy laugh I may add if I were served a tower of food with plate sprinkled with inedible stuff all over the rim.

Actually I think I would just laugh so hard that I wouldn't be able to eat the food and would be asked to leave..lol

I have been and will always be a picky eater. I am a heathen. I LIKE my rice white and my eggs fried!! and my potatos Frenched. lol

I am NOT a gourmond and would keep my ever growing bottom out of pretentious restaurants like that.

now, invite me to your home and feed me great tasting food with fresh ingredients and I'm all over that!

Not into Fashionable food, just GOOD food! 

But that's just me, uneducated, poor and hungry!


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## blueicus (Mar 16, 2005)

I find this all somewhat silly. I agree with cheflayne, fashion and what's "in" or "out" permeates all of human existence from clothes to computers to interior decor to architecture to literature to hairstyle to food. Do you have the same hairstyle/colour as you did 10 years ago? Is your home decorated the same way as it was 10 years ago? Still wearing those 80's style shoulder pads?

There are a countless number of things human beings can eat in general and to be perfectly honest we're not going to know about all of them. Now, of course each farmer/guild/agricorp is trying to peddle their products for sale... we do that on a daily basis with the style of food we sell: Have a fancy wedding cake with rolled fondant instead of a dumpy plain fruitcake with cream cheese frosting, have this nice beef bourguignon instead of the douchey pad thai, etc. etc. On a very basic level, I believe the concept of style is tied very much to the human perception of change... the fact is things change. Give anybody posting here a bottle of real, authentic Roman garum or a drink of real Aztec chocolate and I doubt many of us will like it much on the first try. Just as we grow in and out of love and trends food is just the same.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Certain things though are like men's suits. Classic, basic, tasteful, and always delightful when done in the proper manner and in the proper setting.


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## risque cakes (Apr 20, 2007)

WOW, so beautifully said, I almost cried a little. :smiles:


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## blueicus (Mar 16, 2005)

Now we know why women have so much in terms of variety of clothes while men have so few .


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## anneke (Jan 5, 2001)

Funny, I was going to use the LBD analogy. (little black dress)


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

Chef said do it, so I had to do it.

As for bashing fads and trends that have faded. I only bash the ones I never liked and might sometimes laugh at a few things that I thought were cool once. Personally, I like to do the whole "tower" thing, in the right time and place.


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## free2saute (Jan 17, 2008)

its out-dated dont do it :lol:


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## nowiamone (Jan 23, 2005)

Outdated or not, I still do it with 3 dishes on our menu.

Our pasta dishes are a shallow bowl with huge white rims. There is always a small bit of splatter when I plate. And with our lighting in the dining room, it has to be meticuliously wiped or it will show streaks on the rim. Plus, I'm wiping the rim with a towel; does that make sense? A sprinkle of parsley, and it's out the door. The bonus is that the small dots of sauce that may have splashed grab the flakes, so they are camo'ed. I can keep pace and slamming plates out of the kitchen. Much more sanitary I think than wiping with a towel.


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

This is fascinating - will someone please let us know how the parsley thing is done? I for one am curious. Does one wet the rim down then sprinkle?

I really wanna know now.....rats, c'mon someone, give it up - or is it a trade secret that you've all vowed on the pain of death never to disclose it in case in comes into vogue again...hehehe


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## auspicious (Nov 25, 2007)

Just don't do it. In addition to the issues discussed earlier, it will end up on the silverware when the diner puts it down and then on fingers and makes the guest/customer/whatever feel unpleasant.


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

I'm strictly a home cook, so not a lot of the concerns are a concern for me. Was just thinking it might be fun to do it on a serving platter when we sit down to tea or at a bbq. Just as a visual, but on a dish where parsley/ fine herbs can get mixed into the food and compliment it.

Oh well....guess I shall die wondering...


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## nowiamone (Jan 23, 2005)

DC, 

I just reach a small container of chopped parsely and sprinkle around the edge of the dish, hard and fast. Just like a light sprinkle of fairy dust! There is enough moisture in it that most of it holds. 

If you want to build create a carpet, you'll have to talk to someone else.

But go ahead DC.............Just do it!


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## jeffaliscous (Nov 16, 2007)

the way it was orinally described in the first post, i would imagine you would do something like this...

take a moist towel and run it around the rim of the plate, and sprikle the parsely generously over the plate, then tip the plate to get off any of the parsely which didnt stick to the moist-ness. 

thats my best guess. sorry if i gave out any secrets


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Ahhh...now I can die happy - thank you both


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## beth austin757 (Nov 1, 2012)

Don't. Just don't. That goes for rosemary branches stuck down in the food as a garnish as well.


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