Adding a dollop of whipped cream is about as fancy as it gets when I serve dessert, but I am still inspired by Gilt Taste's look inside the mind of pastry chef Michael Laiskonis, which details his thought process while creating the dessert pictured above. Though I'll likely never create anything as lovely (or time-consuming!) as Laiskonis's dish, I still picked up a few tips for making my plates more beautiful.
The above dessert is Greek yogurt panna cotta, basil cake, basil seeds, candied celery, strawberries and strawberry film. If you look at a description like that and wonder How did the pastry chef come up with that?, then this article is a must-read. Laiskonis lays out the reasoning behind his choices, including the shape and placement of each component, with step-by-step photos.
For example, about the cubes of basil cake arrayed around the panna cotta, he says:
I'm also using the cake to kind of define the field of the plate, giving a lot of white space on the outside. In 8th grade, I was on the yearbook staff. The one lesson I took away from that was not to give too much white space in the center, because your eyes go directly to it.
Read More: The Art of Plating: Designing a Dessert at Gilt Taste
Related: Eating With Our Eyes: 3 Tips for Better Food Plating
(Images: Gilt Taste)
Catch Up With Friends: Menu for a Casual Dinner Party with Fresh Comfort Food
Recipe: Spring Fruit and Nut Tabouli
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Monterey Pitcher fr...
Jessica's Crafted Space
Ana Creates a Community at Home
That's not a dessert. That's an empty plate ;-)
Exactly what I was thinking -- that is not a stunning plate, it's a friggin' EMPTY plate!
@oscaruzzo
I agree, that is "cheffyness" over common sense.
Am I the only person chagrined that so much effort went into a desert that will be consumed in a single bite? Maybe two, if I'm trying to make it last?
I"m OK with a lot of effort going into two bites but I think the photo was a poor example of a stunning plate.
it IS stunning- conceptual and esoteric too. each element is so involved [draping the film, candying the celery, icing the leaves] that I snorted a little when he said he doesn't like to overthink things!
That "dessert" would make a child cry tears of rage.
Oh look, cake crumbs. No thanks.
Very cool article that inspires new plating ideas...although I don't think I will be taking that amount of time and care anytime soon.
The comments about this not being a full dessert or beautiful really saddens me because I fear it is a commentary on how the public as a whole views food. Dessert does not need to be a bowl of ice cream or a fruit or a cake of some sort. Sometimes we can take the time and care to be craftsmen and not simply cooks. All you cry foul because it doesn't fit into your busy lives and isn't "sensible". That's not the point. The point is to create something unexpected and different and to look at food and plating as something other than solely nourishment. I'm sorry you'll have to go hungry for dessert tonight eating this.
I think the center of the plate is visually stunning, but that putting it on such a large plate was a poor choice. It makes the person viewing the dessert think of the lack of quantity instead of focusing on the beauty of the actual food.
The first function of food is to nourish the body, and perception is powerful.
I thought this was a really cool post, and there are several other videos showing the plating of his desserts. I think the use of the larger plate is simple - it's drawing your attention to nothing but the dessert itself, utilizing the field of white/empty space around it to draw your focus. Much like an art gallery will utilize a large space to highlight a sculpture as a focal point, this tiny piece of perfection and beauty, a tiny burst of color in a field of hard, cold, white porcelain, grabs your attention and holds it.
I think the small amount is also the idea as well. It's not meant to send you into an insulin coma after consumption. You are to taste the ingredients without exhausting your taste buds or satiation. You have to pay attention to what you are eating, and be mindful. f you're still hungry after this, there are some fast food restaurants up the road, I'm sure. Why must people have slabs of chocolate cake, mountains of ice cream and pounds of sugar drizzled with syrups and stuffed with cream in order for it to be considered sufficient?
I agree with EELIE and DANCEDANCEKJ. If you want a diner slice of pie, eat at a diner.
Besides, this kind of dining, you've had several small courses. I've had tasting courses before and you are sated, not stuffed like you need to be taken out with a wheelbarrow, which, sadly, is what Americans want-almost demand.
Instead, it's about the quality of the bite, not shoving sugar down your throat. You must focus on tastes and textures, temperatures, colors, space.
The plating above is not a lack of quality, instead the chef is not trying to distract you with sugary sauces and garnishes. He is taking a chance that each bite is going to be a very good if not perfect bite, showcasing not only his talent, but the quality of the products that he has chosen for the diner.
If I need a magnifying glass to see what is on the plate, the portion is too small. ELLIE is right, the empty plate in the photograph sure is stunning. I would be stunned too if I paid more than a dollar for an ounce of gelatinous milk and a sprinkling of crumbs. That plate better be the size of a trash can lid, otherwise that dessert isn't very much to look forward to. Hope you weren't planning on sharing that with anyone...