It does com naturally to some people, but design skills can be learned. You may never be the most creative with it, if it feels that foreign, but you can learn rules for making it look good. There are tradeoffs,however, and trends, just like in clothing. Rather than learning to copy what's trendy, first figure out what's important to you, and what looks you like. And remember that food stylists do stuff to the food to make it look better in photos that you'd never do for eating, like put all the condiments and veg on the edge of a sandwich so they'll show, but it's much better eating if they're evenly distributed.

Think about color, contrast (light to dark), texture, heights, how nicely it goes with the dish, etc. Also, whether a component will run, roll, or otherwise misbehave. Keep your plating in mind when you plan the dish. Also, besides presentation, keep in mind how the diner will eat it. I dislike greatly when everything is in a pile and you have to rearrange your plate to be able to cut your meat. I also don't like plates with turned up edges like curbs--to bang your knuckles on.

for me, however, it's a busman's holiday. I go for attractive and appetizing looking, but rarely go farther than that, though I know how.

For sure, I'd be chopped for time. I'm pretty good at putting random ingredients together so they'll taste good, but I don't cook that fast, especially on the veg prep, and I will never, ever, run in a kitchen. It's downright dangerous! (Whereas chopping fast is a learnable skill).

I'd probably get 'chopped' for my chopping skills :-) They ain't great and arthritis in my hands makes it unlikely that they will improve much. Although not fast at all, I do manage to get the job done, however.

Presentation. Mainly because I don't like to eat food piled up in a tower, or dumped on top of anything pureed. I also like my mashed potatoes with some chunks (texture), instead of the baby food that seems to be the "correct" way.

chopping for me, too. I hate knife work and use my Cuisinart whenever possible. I can make dishes attractive, despite my lack of finesse using a knife.

The culinary aspects. But I’d come up with a good tear-jerker that would win over some viewers’ hearts.

WOW, foodonastump, that was exactly my sentiment when I was watching the show last weekend. I got so sick of all the tragic stories to get the sympathy from judges and to "show the world" what a martyr they are and they deserve to win.

Like others have mentioned, I would get chopped for my lack of knife skills. I use my little electric chopper or the blender whenever I can.

Speed (or lack thereof).

Ted Allen sets the timer, and suddenly I'm Lucy at the candy factory.

Sol

I always "mute" when the tearjerker story starts.

I consider myself an adequate cook, but those 9-10 year olds totally out do me!

I’m told I’m a good cook, but I’m wayyyyyy too slow

There are a few things we can all agree on regarding proper presentation of food.

1. Dogs and cats do not respond to food presentation. On the other hand, humans 100% do. It is instinctual. Well presented food is a lot more appetizing to humans.

2. It costs nothing more to present food properly.

I believe that if you have the ability to judge which dish looks better, you already have the ability to plate food well yourself. I believe that the key is practice and practice, until it becomes second nature.

I will keep on playing with my food until I am better.

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Back on topic. I have never watched "Chopped", so I have no idea what the show is about.

One of my weakness is reproduction of authentic recipes, because of the lack of time to follow instructions and to source all the required seasonings and ingredients. Maybe one day.

dcarch

"1. Dogs and cats do not respond to food presentation. On the other hand, humans 100% do. It is instinctual."

Instinctual? I'm not buying that! It may be 'instinctual' to go out and club some animal and roast it over the fire but that's where the instinct stops. A large portion of the world's population eats out of communal dishes........the only "presentation" involved is the appearance of the bowl of food to begin with!!

Food presentation is a thoroughly contemporary concept.....and one that is often taken to extremes. There are just too many one dish meals that require minimal (if any) presentation that are still very popular across the board for food presentation to be an instinctual response.

I'd probably get chopped for time or for missing an ingredient or being sloppy in my final plating as I'd run out of time. I'm constantly misjudging how long it will take to do something.

I would forget something, and be forced to serve it either incinerated or raw. Keeping track of multiple dishes in varying stages of preparation is hard!

not enough SALT and perhaps presentation ...

Time management. I'm a slow and methodical cook. As for the show, I fast-forward through all the personality related stuff. I don't care who the chefs are and I don't want to know what they've overcome. Just show me some interesting cooking.

My dessert would be too sweet. Because the judges all seem to hate sweet desserts, and I think desserts should be sweet,and if you dont want a sweet dessert, order some cheese and move on. So yeah, i would be chopped for using sugar in my dessert.

ETA: I hate the sob stories too. What does breaking your leg when you were 4 have to do with what your food tastes like???? There is also the ones where they say that they have a baby on the way, they are planning a wedding, or need money to buy a ring for their girlfriend. Who. Cares???? I wish they would cut all of that out and STOP asking what they would do with the money. Oh, and how many of those people who say they are going to donate it do you think REALLY do it when the check comes in?

Remember, shows like chopped are most popular among people who don't actually cook. They want to know the backstories of the contestants. I agree that it's too much like Queen For A Day now, but they're also getting in a lot more people who aren't pros, probably because they're running out of pros. It's much better when they say they want the money to buy a new ice maker or take their staff on a food tour, but whatever.

Gardengal, I don't disagree with most of what you've said, but presentation has been a thing for millennia, even in many peasant food cultures. I would guess they would have to have sufficient plenty that there is some choice as to what and how a dish is served, rather than be glad there's anything to eat, but arranging seeds in a pattern or choosing different colors of vegetables to put together in a bowl to make the food visual attractive counts. It's cultural, rather than "instinctual", and therefore learned (as is the idea that cooking improves food), but Dcarch is right to an extent in that the human brain does like beauty, symmetry, organization and rich colors. These arguably started as survival and reproductive advantages, so in that was might even be called instinct, but that's getting down to parsing the words, rather than a real distinction.

Well, I like to cook and I like Chopped, but I detest the sob stories. I also don't listen to the introductions of the chefs. The only thing I care about is what is in the basket and what they do with the ingredients.

Also, as far as "plating" or "presentation". I never do this. The two of us serve ourselves from the pots on the stove. If we have company over, the meal is put in serving dishes and placed on the table for everyone to help themselves to as much or little as they would like. The only people I ever "plate" for are too young to serve themselves and even then they told me what they wanted.

I am also rather slow and methodical, and so I start earlier. I hate being under the gun to finish something I'm cooking, and so we generally eat at 7:30 or 8:00 pm. My sister eats at 6:00 pm, but she takes every short-cut ever invented, often with disastrous (to me) results. For her, speed is a priority - for me, quality is more important.

I have very good knife skills, but that's because I have very good knives. However, I do not chop as fast as Yan Can Cook. I've watched Chopped a few times but generally found it uninspiring (and often somewhat stupid), and so I stopped watching it.

Lars, they play it straight, but Chopped is actually a pretty goofy show. I end up with it on as inoffensive background chatter. It's meant to be entertainment rather than a how to cook show. I've heard them admit--I'm pretty sure it was on Chopped--that the diner guys have an easier time than the high end cooks because those are the ones used to cooking all kinds of different things, and rushing.

Presentation! Much like Tigereye, I typically serve off the stove or counter with everyone taking what they want. Rarely I will plate a meal, but don't really go to great effort to make the plates "picture perfect," altho' they do look nice.

Remember, even Bobby Flay runs short on time and doesn't plate well. ;-) (Beat Bobby Flay is one of my Grandson's favorite shows.)

On Chopped the goods in the basket are sometimes quite ridiculous and I can't imagine that what the cooks make-up is really very good tasting. How can a dessert NOT be super-sweet when the basket has Gummy Worms, Cotton Candy and Cookies with which to create a dessert. (But then, I suppose the Sauerkraut that was also there would have some effect.)

I like "Beat Bobby Flay" also! I think the Chopped baskets years ago were better. They have always had a weird twist, but not as crazy as some are now. I tend to watch a few of each, mostly in the winter, when the weather is bad.

As far as plating goes, we have very dear friends who like to serve you a meal that they have plated for us. It’s very well intended, but my appetite is about a quarter of theirs and I find it embarrassing to not be able eat most of it. It’s not that’s not good, I just have a small appetite

Louise, that is exactly why I don't plate. I prefer everyone to get what they really want. (There is always plenty, I tend to over cook.)

Amylou... my desserts would probably not be sweet enough. Sugar is over-rated...

Also, I'd probably not use "enough " salt to please them. Another over-rated seasoning.

I'm also not fast with chopping, that and the fact that I'd probably take close to 10 minutes to decide what on earth to do with the mandatory, often wacky, ingredients given me... would mean time would run out before I'd be done.

Lars... I'm generally in bed by 7:30, or moving in that direction... I hope never to eat dinner that late! I guess I just get started earlier.

Late to this... but I'd say first I'd just stare like a rabbit in headlights at the awful ingredients. Chopped. Then it'd take me far to long to come up with a plan (yes, I too hate to be rushed when I don't have a plan!). Chopped. I prefer to look at recipes, and alter from there. So any food prepared might be iffy. Chopped. Presentation. Chopped. I'd do my best to burst into uncontrollable sobs, muttering indecipherable excuses when presenting my plate of 'Yuck'. Pass to the next round!