A nutritionists guide to the perfect Platter

Whoop Whoop!!!

It’s the festive season world wide and if there’s one thing I love more than get togethers themselves, it’s making platters for them. Whether you’re on the beach, in the bush or just hanging out at home, I’m sure by now, ya’ll are out and about planning your festive feasts. Platter porn is on the rise and I’d love to share with you my top tips to make a healthy and fun jaw-dropping grazing board. 

Don’t Skimp on Quality. This is a biggie for me, there’s nothing I love more than seeing the excitement on peoples faces when they’re eating a well constructed, quality meal or in this case ‘grazing platter’. Opt for good quality cured meats, house-made {or good quality store brought}  dips, relishes and pates and a decent selection of antipasto products. Get your fresh produce from the local markets or farms. When you source your  goodies from more bespoke places and support small business you will always find that ‘something extra spesh’ - Trust me when I say this will be talking point when you deliver something spectacular as everyone will want to know where all of this awesomeness has come from. 

Keep it Fresh and Clean. I always try and get as many ‘fresh’ ingredients onto my boards as possible. I’ll cut up celery, carrot, cucumber and capsicum as ‘dippers’ and also always add some fruit, Figs, berries, grapes what ever is in season and adds a burst of colour. 

Create a Rainbow, literally. One thing that I’ve learnt in my many years of feeding folks is that people eat with their eyes. You need to ‘wow’ them the minute they lay their eyes on your feast. The double bonus of this is that by colour jacking your food you’re also nutrient jacking your platter. #winwin. 

Choose the healthy alternative where ever you can. Forget the old boring and mostly unhealthy stigma of what a party platter used to be and get on the ‘funky-health’ bandwagon.  What used to be salsa and corn chips is now rice crackers and veggie sticks. French onion dip gets kicked to the curb for home made hummus and pesto. Slabs of white bread ? Get out of the way – we have some rustic sourdough with extra virgin olive oil and dukkha dipping pots. Cheese cubes, blah! We have some aged blue cheese that’ll make you weak at the knees.

Accessorise. Yep, platter fashion really matters. Start by choosing something quirky and different to pop your assortments on. I personally LOVE timber boards, I think they look amazing. I also make sure I add fresh herbs and /or flowers as I’m decorating my platter or in and around the area that I’m setting it up, they really jazz up the visual side of things up and add an extra aromatic experience. Kombucha it up – little stemless wine glasses filled with kombucha and citrus slices really show that you’re willing to go the extra mile to impress.

So there you have it, my top 5 ways to make platter porn - Enjoy x