Had a sous chef tell me my plating was too safe and it stung

I was plating a duck breast dish for a special last Tuesday at our bistro in Portland, and my sous, this kid named Marcus who's been at it maybe 3 years, just flat out said 'that looks like something from a hotel breakfast buffet.' I was pissed at first because I've been doing this for 12 years, but then I watched him plate his version with a swoosh of sauce and a pickled cherry on top and it hit different. He wasn't being rude, he was saying my food looked good but didn't stand out. Has anyone else had a younger cook call them out and actually changed how you approach plating?

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1 Comment

noah_rivera5713d agoTop Commenter

Man, THAT stings for sure but honestly Marcus did you a favor. I've been running my own tree service for over a decade and I had a 22 year old kid tell me my rigging setup looked "old school" once. Same feeling. But here's the thing about plating and pretty much anything else in a trade - if you stop looking at new ideas you get stuck in a rut. That pickled cherry thing? It shows he's paying attention to detail and contrast. You don't have to copy his exact style but that kind of feedback from someone who's not jaded yet can wake you up. Next time before you plate, just stop and ask yourself what one small detail you could add to make it pop. A crack of pepper, a drizzle of something bright, a tiny herb garnish. Little tweaks keep your food from looking tired and that matters even for old timers like us.