My friend’s father celebrated his 80th birthday and booked several birthday banquets at a hotel. The local consumption was considered to be average. I also attended the banquet that day. Walking into the elegantly decorated restaurant, you can see one main plate and eight side dishes placed on each table. It can be seen that the hotel's chef has indeed spent a certain amount of time and energy. When I got closer and took a closer look, I saw an unknown bird on the main plate, and some scattered rocks on the edge of the plate. No matter how I thought about it, it had nothing to do with the theme of the banquet. When asked about the waiter next to him, the waiter glanced at the cold dishes, pursed his lips and replied with a smile: "I don't know either." A feeling of pity suddenly emerged. Just because the design of the main plate by the hotel chef did not achieve the purpose of the banquet, it did not highlight the theme of the banquet, and it did not grasp the feature of the artistic platter that can best highlight the theme of the banquet. It was well conceived. Although it took effort, time and cost, it still failed. However, it was far from the chef's ultimate wish and the effect of highlighting the theme of the banquet, and it ended up being "thankless".

The layout of the colorful platter is different from ordinary cold cuts. Generally, cold dishes are just some simple geometric forms or simple pictograms, which do not represent any meaning, and people will not make associations based on this. The colorful platter pays more attention to the concept, which is the chef's creative intention. The works he creates have a profound meaning, and its meaning is exactly the theme to be highlighted at the banquet. People will develop rich associations on the highlighted theme content of the colorful platter and the symbolic meaning metaphorized by the image, thus inducing people to The aesthetic taste of food exaggerates the atmosphere of the banquet, so how to conceive it, whether it is conceived properly, and whether it can capture the theme are very important elements in the design of the colorful platter.

First of all, the idea should be based on the content of the banquet. This is the key to the idea of ??the colorful platter. Different banquets have different banquet themes, such as magpies climbing plum blossoms, mandarin ducks playing in the water, beautiful flowers and full moon, and dragons and phoenixes showing auspiciousness are the theme songs of wedding banquets; Dapeng spreading wings, golden dragons taking flight, the sun rising, and inscriptions on the gold list are the themes of celebrations and blessing banquets. The song "Three Friends of Suihan, Plum, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum" is a beautiful portrayal of the gathering of close relatives and friends, etc. The colorful platter should be based on different banquet themes and choose appropriate themes. The idea that the creator wants to express through the colorful platter is the theme of the banquet. The theme is the core of the idea. All aspects of the idea must be centered around the theme. After the theme is determined, appropriate themes are selected for creation based on the content to be expressed by the theme. Only in this way can the creative content be consistent with the theme.

Secondly, the art platter should be conceived according to the characteristics of the banquet guests. Different countries, ethnic groups, different regions and dietary customs have formed people's different dietary preferences and taboos. For example, Japanese guests like cherry blossoms, turtles and cranes, but do not like lotus or green; while Chinese people respect lotus. , out of mud but not stained, like green, think green is hope, a symbol of life; British people do not like peacock patterns; Italians taboo chrysanthemums; Americans taboo bat patterns, etc. Guests of different ages and different social levels have different themes. For example, the elderly like calm and peaceful ones; young people like enthusiastic and unrestrained ones; children like childish and innocent ones. Family banquets, business banquets, official banquets and state banquets hosted by common people, businessmen, and government officials all have different guests and dining purposes. Therefore, the design of the colorful platter should be based on the identity of the diner and the purpose of dining. To conceive properly and accurately.

Thirdly, the design of the colorful platter should be based on the standards and costs of the banquet. During the creation process of the color platter, the grade of the materials used, the difficulty of the craftsmanship, the degree of sophistication of the production, etc., the entire concept must be carried out within the stipulated standard fee. The higher the grade, the higher the requirements in terms of material selection, processing, and modeling. On the contrary, the requirements should be lowered accordingly. We cannot only pursue the beauty of form without considering economic benefits, or only focus on the form of expression without achieving value for money. Give consumers the feeling of being deceived.

At the same time, the design process of the colorful platter must be based on manpower and time. The reason why the colorful platter can be favored and praised by people is not only because of its distinctive theme, but more importantly, its ability to express It has many characteristics that are different from ordinary cold dishes: lifelike shape, harmonious color matching, skillful and precise knife skills, reasonable structural layout, and skillful assembly techniques. These not only require the chef to have solid basic skills and superb practical operation capabilities, but also have certain artistic accomplishment and elegant aesthetic taste. Because many factors must be taken into consideration, it takes a long time to put together the colorful platter. When conceiving a colorful platter, you should proceed from reality and make it based on your own and the kitchen's technical strength and time. If you have ample time and strong technical strength, you can design and conceive some more complex ones. On the contrary, you should keep it simple and do not make some ideas that are beyond your ability to avoid affecting the effect of the finished product.

The design of the colorful platter should also consider the types of tableware and the attributes of the raw materials. First of all, consider the types of tableware in the kitchen, including shape, size, color, etc., and whether they are suitable for the combination of the cold dishes you are thinking of. For example, the platter of Songhe Yannian and Peace Dove should use black or dark-colored utensils to highlight the whiteness of the cranes and doves. If you choose a white plate, the effect will not be ideal; for flower baskets, it is not advisable to use lace utensils, otherwise it will give people a messy feeling; for fan-shaped color platters, rectangular plates or fan-shaped plates should be used; assorted cold dishes should be used on round plates.

Only by choosing appropriate utensils can the art platter be the icing on the cake and complement each other. Secondly, consider the preparation situation of the kitchen and the properties of the raw materials. For example, dark brown raw materials should be used for swallows and eagles; brightly colored raw materials should be used for mandarin ducks and phoenixes; flowers should be colorful; rocks should be gray-brown; grass and leaves should be green. It is necessary to carefully consider whether the color and texture of the raw materials for the cold dishes to be conceived can meet specific requirements. The concept must be based on the properties of the raw materials, especially the taste of the raw materials, so as to achieve both edible and appreciative properties. Only in this way can the color, shape, quality, and quality be achieved. The ideal effect of perfect taste and utensils.

To sum up, only by understanding and mastering the many factors in the conception of a colorful platter can we create an artistic platter that has a realistic image, a distinct theme, a relevant and far-reaching meaning, which is refreshing to watch and enjoyable to eat.