Modern consumers are savvier and more demanding than their predecessors. They are very aware of their buying power and their right to enjoy personalised products and services, as well as their ability to post negative reviews online! This can make food presentation more important than ever for caterers and hospitality venues.

According to Deloitte's report on the growing power of consumers, “There is a growing gap between consumer expectations of products and services and the ability of companies to meet them.”

If you’re not keeping up, your sales figures will suffer. This article looks into food presentation as a way caterers and hospitality companies can build their competitive advantage and keep customers happy!

Is food presentation what’s on the plate?

In this context, good food presentation means more than deciding the components of each dish and placing each element carefully on the plate, though this is a central pillar of good practice in the food industry. Having the right kitchen equipment and taking the time to arrange and decorate plates and bowls of food are essential, as is menu planning to make sure every dish is visually pleasing while providing taste and aroma qualities.

However, not all consumers are impressed with overly fancy food arrangements and most are looking beyond their plate for signs that your business is enhancing their whole dining experience.

For instance, do you ‘cater’ to your customer’s other senses beyond taste, with such things as candles and tealights to cast soothing light effects, subtle incense aromas in your restrooms or foyer, and relevant mood music wafting through the air?

Does what your customers see matter more than what they taste?

Here’s some important statistics for you. 90% of the information we use to make decisions is visual. We can look at something and process a response in just 13 milliseconds.

The taste of your food matters a great deal, but are your customers pre-disposed to enjoy it, thanks to the ‘visual feast’ they enjoy before even picking up a fork?

Staff uniforms, table linens and serving processes and procedures ‘speak’ to customers. Plus, central to good food presentation is crockery, cutlery and tableware that matches your interior design, genre and overall theming.

Mismatched items can look funky and fun in some contemporary establishments, but really don’t give the right impression for everywhere else!

Creating a positive customer experience

Food presentation is often what customers remember most. Especially if your menu and food quality is replicated by competitors. There is nothing quite like good food presentation to make people feel a sense of occasion.

The simple touches can also imply a great deal, including your attention to detail. If your hospitality venue or catering service has taken the time and trouble to make everything look appealing, it can make your customers feel more confident in your food prep.

Managing the aesthetics and ambience of your food service makes every occasion special, even if it's just a couple who can’t be bothered to cook tonight or lunch in a staff canteen!

Food presentation to boost sales

The wonderful thing about good food presentation is that it doesn’t need to be expensive. It starts with plating food up with care, but also includes many affordable ways to dress tables and deliver dishes with style. In fact, some of the pre-planning involved can make dishes seem more luxurious and higher in value, possibly enabling you to increase sales, without increasing the quality or quantity of food you serve.

A great example of this is afternoon tea, which has enjoyed a huge surge in popularity over the last few years. The core food elements are small finger sandwiches, colourful tiny cakes and the essential scone, jam and clotted cream. The basic food presentation system is a tiered display system to make this look appealing.

It is possible to source novel or unusual cake stands to lift an afternoon tea to a whole new level of sales potential!

Another illustration is putting milk and condiments in the creative items that customers delight in, or serving warm bread rolls in a funky contemporary basket. These are easy ways to match if not exceed consumer expectations!

Playing to social media

There is one final advantage to investing in good food presentation on the plate and beyond. Meal photos are one of the most popular things to share on social media. The more photogenic your food is, the morechance of it appearing in a tagged post for excellent free publicity!

To find more cost-effective ways to modify and update your food presentation, browse our website or email us at info@cooksmill.co.uk.

Here at Cooksmill, we have an exciting range of unique food service products plus exciting accessories that will make you stand out from the crowd. To learn more then simply visit our website today to shop online or visit our Manchester store. Delivery is free on orders over £50 ex vat with thousands of items available for fast courier delivery when you shop online.