The presentation of everything which you serve is so important. Of course, all catering professionals will realise this, but in freelance catering and catering for outside events, it can be incredibly difficult to have the control over presentation which you would like. Here are some top tips to help ensure that the food and drinks which you prepare stay as beautiful as you want them to:

• Provide your own plates and crockery. Whilst this might not be the most practical thing to do if you’re transporting large amounts of food, it will ensure that you can present your food as you’d like to upon arrival. Everything will look tidy, consistent and professional.
• Don’t forget about the garnish. If you have to cater for large groups of people, large plates of food can end up looking bland and bare. Dressing the food up a little can help prevent this.
• Think outside the box. You food doesn’t always have to be displayed on plates. Presentation boards and buckets are very fashionable in restaurants and can look great on a larger scale too. Think about what you’re serving your drinks in as well – might you want to serve cocktails in jam jars or tea cups for a vintage touch?
• Don’t over-complicate the presentation, though. Some intricate ways of serving foods in restaurants just won’t work on a large scale. When people are helping themselves, food has to be accessible.
• Create a centrepiece. This is a service which you can charge extra money for and it will ensure that your food has a befitting table design to go with it.
• Above all, enjoy presenting your food well! The aesthetic aspect of catering can be highly satisfying when you get it just right. Work to your brief, but allow yourself to be creative with it.