Okuzeka
Culinary Arts & Cooking vocabulary · Service & Plating

Plate

Meaning in culinary arts & cooking, with examples

/pleɪt/verbCore term

In culinary arts & cooking, plate means: To arrange cooked food on a plate so that it is ready to be served and looks attractive. The noun plating means the way a dish is arranged.

In Turkish: tabaklamak, tabağa almak, tabak düzenlemek

How it is used

Used during service and in menu development. Chefs say plate up (UK) or plate the dish, and they discuss plating style. Every plate should match the chef's photo or spec sheet.

Example sentences

  1. Plate the lamb when I call it, not before.

  2. Her plating is clean and simple; the food speaks for itself.

Common collocations

  • plate up
  • plate the dish
  • plating style
  • plated dessert
  • ready to plate
  • garnishA small item of food, such as herbs, a slice of lemon or a sauce dot, added to a dish to make it look and taste better. As a verb, to garnish means to add this.
  • passThe counter between the kitchen and the dining room where finished plates are checked, often under heat lamps, before servers take them out.
  • portionThe amount of a food served to one person. As a verb, to portion means to divide food into equal amounts for serving.
  • serviceThe period when a restaurant is open and the kitchen is cooking and sending out orders, such as lunch service or dinner service.

More terms: Service & Plating

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: