Imagine booking the dream holiday at a destination you’ve been wanting to visit for many years. You reach the hotel, quickly check in, grab your assigned key, rush into your room…and Oh Surprise! when you open the door, you realise that the bed has not been done yet, there are tissues from the previous guests lying on the floor, the bathroom bench is dirty and the trash can is full of beer bottles. Shocked and angry, you close the door, go back into the main lobby and tell the reception staff (hopefully in a calm tone) about your room’s situation. They immediately realise that there has been a mistake, apologise and assign you in a different room (with a little discount from their side) …even though the new room is spick and span, the damage has been done, your mood is not the same, that first impression changed it all.
Same applies to buffets and food presentation: first impressions do count (maybe even more than you might think). Visual appeal is an extremely important experience when judging food, we “eat” in more ways than one, so before food even touches our mouths, we have already tasted it. Remember when you were a kid and you would only eat your chicken if it was cut into dinosaur shapes? Well, things haven’t changed much since then. Food presentation is a promise to dinners, it plays a vital storyteller role evoking new emotions and sensations. It showcases the chef’s personality, demonstrating how experienced the kitchen staff is, the quality of the ingredients used, and the hygiene standards in the restaurant.