How to Prepare Restaurant-Quality Food

There is something delightful about going to a restaurant and enjoying a meal. It is not just the fact that you get waiter service, you don’t need to wash any dishes or that there is an extensive menu to choose from. It is the food itself! You can copy the recipe and make the dish at home, but it is never the same. That is the magic of a restaurant. Yet, the chefs in the restaurant are simply people doing a job. You can prepare restaurant-quality food at home. All you need is to understand the following critical points.

(Photo: Christini’s)

Preparation is essential

If you have ever been in a commercial kitchen, you know that stainless steel surfaces rule and there is an abundance of machinery and utensils. This is actually one of the biggest secrets, the right equipment makes a big difference to the final result. If you want restaurant-quality food, then you need to start looking at restaurant-quality food processing equipment.

The right equipment is easy to clean, preventing flavor contamination. It also does a lot of the work for you, making it simpler to get that perfect dish.

Don’t forget, you may order a meal and get it in 15 minutes, but there will have been hours of prep work involved beforehand. Getting the right equipment will allow you to do the prep properly without spending all day in the kitchen.

Presentation is everything

Part of the appeal and even the taste of restaurant-quality food is in the presentation. Food is never simply put on the plate, it is placed. Colors are designed to accentuate each other, the plate is clean and the food separate, yet gently mingling.

Consider your plate as the canvas and the food the art. When you can present it as a masterpiece, you are halfway to creating that masterpiece. Presentation really is everything.

Ingredients

Of course, to really get restaurant-quality food you need the very best ingredients. There is no room for making do with a replacement spice. You need the right ingredients, and you need the best quality versions of those ingredients. That is the trick. The best ingredients cost more, but restaurants include that cost in the price of the dish. If you want to replicate this at home, you are going to need to dig slightly deeper into your pockets.

The best place to source ingredients is your local market. You will find an abundance of fresh produce, probably locally grown. The fresher the produce, the better the dish will taste. Ideally, purchase the ingredients the day you need them to make a dish. This will help them to stay fresh and give you restaurant-quality food.

Food For thought

It is worth taking a moment to consider whether you want restaurant-quality food every day. It is more time-consuming and expensive than regular preparation and, it can detract from the experience of visiting a restaurant.
Perhaps getting the best possible equipment will provide a happy balance between restaurant quality, preparation time and the finished taste.

Article written by Jesse Hughes