Pro tip: I stopped plating everything with tweezers after a spot in Portland changed my mind
I used to be the guy who put micro greens on everything with tweezers and charged $28 for it. Last week I ate at this tiny 14 seat spot in Portland and watched the chef just use a spoon and his hands the whole night. His plates looked rough but every bite was better than the fancy stuff I've been making, and the table next to me literally said "this tastes like someone's grandma is back there." He told me he stopped caring about the photo and started caring about the fork, meaning how it eats after the first bite, not the first look. I went back to my kitchen and did a simple seared halibut with just brown butter and lemon on a plain plate, and my regulars noticed the difference right away. Now I'm wondering if I killed my own food by chasing pretty plates for the last 6 years. Any of you had a plate that made you rethink how you build yours?