Many chefs have gotten away from the traditional food presentation. Here's a brief synopsis of this culinary trend.
Remember the traditional plate of food? Almost like the face of a clock you had the starch at 10 o'clock the vegetable at 2 and the entree' straddling 4 to 8. Chances are there was a veggie and starch of the day that went with all entrees. Well now this would be considered old hat or at least retro in that many establishments are reverting back to the old steakhouse or supper club themes as people have become a little nostalgic with the new millennium, and to be sure this type of presentation is not wrong.
A few years back things began to change, though. With talented young chefs coming on the scene, like David Burke, Roy Yamaguchi, and others, flavors began to be fused and presentations began to change. Food started to be stacked instead of laid out, vegetables and starches became part of the composition of intertwined presentations that made up a dish, a harmonious piece of work that was thought out instead of every item getting the same vegetable and starch.
So instead of ordering roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables, or a grilled steak with the same now there was variety that fit the dish, like a Tandoori Chicken Breast on Cardamom scented Basmati Rice with Curried Vegetables, or the same menu might offer a Seared Hanger Steak on a pan crisped Potato Galette with Bacon Braised Winter Greens. And the presentation would take on a depth and visual motion that you might consider art as opposed to a plate of food. Meat items began to be stacked on their starch bases with the vegetable strewn around and then drizzled with flavorful sauces or jus, or perhaps just a flavored oil with a splattering of balsamic reduction. Yes, squeeze bottles galore began taking the place of ladles as plates were 'painted' instead of just being dished up with food.
At times this type of thing can get out of hand though, a diner might prefer the old layout, especially if he got a plate of food that was stacked so high that any movement toward disassembling the structure for the purpose of consuming it would cause a major collapse and a major dry cleaning bill. So boiling it down the chef would have to look at the presentation and say, "If I were going to eat this, would I have a tough time trying to do so?" If the honest answer is yes, then reconfigure, and as can be seen from the return to nostalgia well prepared food can be successfully served up 'center of the plate' or served up simple, 10 o'clock, 2 o'clock, 4 to 8.
