DINING FABLES
EXPLORING THE VISUAL SIDE OF FOOD TO BRING BEAUTY TO EVERY DISH
Dining Fables is a YouTube channel focused on food aesthetics and plate design, helping chefs and home cooks make their food look as good as it tastes.
Plating shouldn’t be seen as the finishing touch of a dish, it’s the first impression!
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Plateist
(noun)
A person who approaches food plating as an intentional art form, using design principles to create visually compelling, story-driven dishes that are as beautiful as they are delicious.
An individual who sees plating not as a final flourish, but as the first impression and visual language of a dish.
What is a plateist
A Plateist is someone who sees plating not as the final flourish but as the visual language of your food. It’s about using design principles like colour, balance, composition to create plates that tell a story and make your food look as good as it tastes.
From Chaos to Clarity on the Plate
Too many chefs and home cooks leave plating until the last moment, unsure why their dishes don’t look like the vision in their head. Becoming a Plateist helps you move past guesswork and frustration, giving you the frameworks and confidence to plate with intention every time.
become a plateist
Dining Fables isn’t just a YouTube channel—it’s a community of Plateists, chefs, home cooks and food lovers pushing each other to grow, experiment, and improve. By joining us, you get access to practical resources, feedback, and inspiration that will transform the way you see plating and help you bring your creative ideas to life on the plate.
Come and join us in The Plating Gym
Graphic Design for the Plate
the plating gym
The Plating Gym isn’t about teaching you how to cook, in fact, there is no absolutley information about how to make a rich jus or shape the perfect quenelle. It’s about mastering the plate’s design- where to place, why place it there, what to remove, and how to balance a plate visually, not just in taste.
You’ll learn how to use colour to make your dishes pop, why certain shapes work well together, understand symmetry versus asymmetry, and discover why negative space and restraint are your secret weapons for creating plates that feel intentional, striking, and modern. This is plating design theory that you won’t find at catering school—real, practical help on what to leave off the plate, how to use contrast, and how “less can be more.”
Through YouTube videos, plating critiques, and a supportive community of chefs and home cooks, The Plating Gym gives you the reps and feedback you need to improve. Get inspired by how top chefs think about presentation and develop the confidence to transform your own dishes, one beautiful plate at a time. I also wrote a book on the subject that recently got backed on kickstarter within 3 days, you can buy a hardcopy or digital version here: