Hi guys, it’s Dani, and welcome to day 26 of the food styling challenge. Today we are talking all about how to style brown foods like gravy. So let’s go ahead and jump in with all the tips and tricks.
Tip number one is don’t smother your foods. Now this might seem kind of counterintuitive if you’re working with something like gravy, which you’re supposed to smother things with, right? But, the key to doing this for food styling is that we don’t want to completely drape the food with the gravy or the sauce. This is really important because your viewer can’t really see what’s underneath there. It just kind of looks like a lump, so you want to use your gravy strategically. So make sure that you’re still showing part of the biscuit or part of the steak or anything underneath there. And you’re just giving them the idea that there’s gravy in there.
Tip number two is add interest. If your gravy is just a straight brown gravy, try adding black pepper to it. Try adding a few other ingredients into the gravy to make it more interesting. You can add sausage into it, that’s another really great one. If you can add bacon to it, if you can add you know maybe some grilled peppers to it. Those are are really great options to help bring a little bit more interest right on there. The other thing is to consider your recipe. Could you add maybe a runny egg to the side? Or add some other element into it to bring a little bit more interest to it. Tip number three is add pops of color. Now there are some dishes where you just can’t get away from the fact they’re just brown, and they’re just boring but sure are delicious. So in that case, use garnishes of color throughout. Add pops of color in your napkin. Add extra things on the plate. Add maybe you know some charred tomatoes on there with it. Add some different colors in the background of your propping.
And then the biggest one is make sure that you’re garnishing with a green garnish, usually going to be parsley in a situation of gravies. Because that is just such a huge component of really adding that interest in there. The other thing you want to make sure is that you do a nice dusting of coarse black pepper on there. That’s really going to bring a lot more texture there, and add a lot more interest. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It is a simple comfort food dish, but make sure you add a little bit of interest throughout there.
Now, you’re working with things like gravy over mashed potatoes, that can also be a great option because you can really add a lot of interest there in terms of adding swirls to your potatoes, and really getting in a lot of texture added in there. So, find the interest in the story, if its texture, then go with texture. If it’s more color, add more pops of color throughout, and always think about as you’re developing your recipe, “what is it that’s really going to make this look delicious to the viewer?”
Thanks for watching guys, I hope this was helpful to you. If it was, leave me a comment below and let me know. Also, be sure that you subscribe, like our Facebook page, and make sure that you click on the messenger link below in the comment area so that you can get hooked into our instant alerts, and get one of our best freebies. I’ll see you next time, bye!