Dining With Duncan

by Duncan Teater

The Fetish Issue - October 21, 1998

I have a fetish! I cannot control myself when it comes to this issue. It may appear unreasonable, or rash, or even crazy, but it is my fetish nonetheless.

I have a fetish for good-looking food.

Yes of course, the food tastes the same even if it is ugly, but that's not how I feel. There is great merit to the Far Eastern wisdom which tells us, "If food is appealing to the eyes, it is appealing to the taste."

Now I'm not saying that bad food can be made good with a little parsley, but I am saying that dull food can be made special with some visual spectacle. Dinner can rise from a meal to an occasion if you think about the presentation of your food. After all, how many times have you looked at your meal and, without having tasted it, thought that it would be disappointing? You don't have to put up with that!

Here are some lovely garnishing tips that can be used right in our dining hall:

1. Fresh spinach from the salad bar makes any entree beautiful. Try putting your pasta on a bed of spinach, or sprinkling shredded spinach on top of a creamy soup. What about placing spinach next to your vegetable burger, or just placing this leafy green vegetable around your main dish? The sky is the limit for this healthful green leaf chocked full of calcium.

2. Other salad bar items, like cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes, can add color to your plate. Use with creativity and flair.

3. Spices can make the simplest dishes look, as well as taste, exotic. What about livening up your milk with a little cinnamon or nutmeg sprinkled on the top? Or how about some chili powder on those mashed potatoes? Color and spice make eating things nice.

4. Chocolate sauce can be drizzled on a dessert plate to create that upscale restaurant feel.

Do you see what this all indicates? You have a wealth of materials in the dining hall, and you can do any number of things to make food more than food. It can be an experience, an art, and a celebration.

Passion! Love! Art! Food!

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