Plating Inspiration from Mauritius

I thought I would share some plating ideas with you from Mauritius. My wonderful friend and walking partner, Mary, sent me these food photos while she was in Mauritius this summer. I love food photos, as there could be something that you can learn from and recreate at home. These are my takeaway ideas from the Mauritian food they enjoyed:

Starter Ideas

A samoosa or filo pie plating idea

This is a wonderful way to serve samoosas as a starter, and the same principle would work for individual filo pies. The bamboo skewer is a good idea if the food has to be carried a great distance. For those of us plating food at home, one pie will balance against the other perfectly. I also liked the idea of a little salad underneath the pies, which makes the plate look more contemporary. I would set the pies on the plate just before serving, though, so the pastry doesn’t get soggy.

Main Course

Seared tuna topped with vegetables and served with a side salad looks elegant and is easy to make at home.

If you have any rectangular serving plates or wooden boards, you could make a wonderful starter plate with three slices of bread topped with all your favourite savoury fillings, which look elegant and are easy to make in advance. like the egg and cress filling or mushroom pate.

Edible flowers always elevate a dish. If you are wanting to do some spring planting, I would suggest you look to grow some dainty edible flowers. Look at how pretty the plate below looks with the tuna steaks.

Placing a platter with the three tuna steaks in front of your guests or on a buffet looks wonderful and is easy to serve.

Curry is delicious, perhaps one of my favourite meals. However, it is not the most aesthetic plate to serve. Presenting each person with their portion in a bowl, which they can serve themselves, looks wonderful, and they can mix and match what they top their rice with every scoop. As shown below:

Let’s talk about dessert.

This simple idea of placing two lines of sauce on the plate and topping your mousse with a square of chocolate is easy to do at home. You can either create the squares yourself or buy chocolate thins. The ice cream is topped with crushed meringue, which gives the dessert texture and crunch.

I hope you enjoyed your virtual trip to the Mauritian coast.