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Canadian chef Sean MacDonald was named the best young chef in the Canada during the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016 regional heat, and opened his first restaurant, ēst, in Toronto in 2020, aged 27.
Before he embarks on his next exciting culinary adventure in Los Angeles, we caught up with the aspiring chef to find out more about his plating tips and secrets.
From utilising negative space, to drawing on nature and perfect geometric shapes, MacDonald calls on his artistic background to create aesthtically stunning dishes.
Take a look at his creations below, and discover his top plating tips to apply at home:
Photo. Left - Sea bass, lime, coconut, fish garum. Right - lime and lavender creamsicle
Your plating is beautiful, where do you take your inspiration from when you begin to design your plating?
My mom is an artist, so growing up I spent a lot of time with her in the studio. I’ve always loved creating things. When I figured out that I could use food as my medium I ran with it. I draw alot of inspiration from other art and colours.
Photo: Left - Foie, rose and pear. Right - Foie, chestnut and pumpkin
Do you start to think about plating when you have a finished dish or do you try and work your ingredients around a preconceived plating idea?
It’s a healthy balance of both. Sometimes I have an idea of plating beforehand and work the dish towards it, or I come up with plating after. Depends on the dish or how I'm feeling.
Your designs are very neat, structured and geometric, which tools specifically help you achieve this look?
I use a lot of stencils and cutters. I like things to be very precise and perfect so I like to manipulate the ingredients as technically as I can.
Photo: Left - Duck breast, sweet potato and turnip. Right - textures of raspberry and hazelnut
Can you offer any tips to the home cook so they can elevate their plating?
Keep it simple and think of ways your eyes can be drawn to different sections of the dish. Use the vibrant colours of food to your advantage. Make sure your eye can flow easily to different parts of the dish without getting stuck.
What process could you suggest to the home cook to rethink the way they plate their dishes?
Try to recreate something you like in a piece of art or something you see in nature. Use nice garnishes like flowers and herbs to add something to the overall look.
Photo: Left - Prawn en croute with fennel and pernod. Right - aged duck, burnt onion and textures of corn
Do you have a secret that is simple to execute but delivers an impressive result for home cooks to try?
Find the best quality and freshest ingredients. The healthier they look, the better they will look on the plate. Make sure the cooking techniques you use are proper. A perfectly cooked vegetable or piece of meat always looks better than a poorly cooked one covered in garnish. Less is more on the plate, and utilise negative space.
Black forest , sour cherry, burnt vanilla bean, chocolate. Right - strawberry, currant and almond
You mention negative space, please can you explain how you identify this and how best to use it?
Negative space is the empty space around and between the the food on the plate. The negative space can add an artistic aspect to the dish.
Photo: Left - Tiger ice cream dessert with licorice and sea buckthorn. Right - sunflower seed and banana
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