As any good cook will tell you, creating a great meal is just as dependent on visual appeal as it is on taste. There's a reason why we love fancy restaurant dishes: they're not only delicious, but they're masterfully plated with each item on the menu given its own unique look. Bringing this professional flair to your own cooking is easy and fun. Read on for tips on creating your own at-home meal masterpieces.

Invest in a Few Cooking Rings for a Professional Touch

Simple, stainless steel cooking rings give chef's the power to produce gorgeous, layered looks most commonly associated with nouveau cuisine. These rings can be purchased from restaurant supply stores or kitchen shops, but large cookie cutters make an inexpensive alternative. Place the ring in the middle of a large plate and layer on your food items to produce a neat, uniform presentation. To finish the look, drizzle your accompanying sauce around the dish.

A Simple Squeeze Bottle Could Become Your Greatest Asset in Decorating Desserts

You can fill it with sauces and syrups and then literally draw with them onto a plate. Try striping, zigzags or simple dots on a plate and then placing the dessert in the centre. A really smart-looking presentation is almost ridiculously easy to do: use your squeeze bottle to make small dots in a sauce in a contrasting colour. Then use the tip of a knife or skewer and draw it through each dot. You're left with a pretty, abstract pattern.

Quick and Easy Presentation: Dusting

Placing coca powder or icing sugar into a sieve and lightly tapping it over your dish gives it a sweet, little touch. Place a fork and knife on your plate and then dust over it with your powder or sugar, remove the utensils and you're left with a charming stencilled look on the plate.

A Mandoline: Turn Even Mundane Veggies into Stunning Showstoppers

You can find mandolines in high-end kitchen stores (or you might also luck out in finding a few in Chinatown). Mandolines allow you to slice vegetables paper thin for lovely presentation. You can also produce julienne-style and waffle-style cuts with this tool. However, be very cautious when using a mandoline; you can even buy special gloves to protect your hands.

Garnish is a Good Way to Add Colour to any Meal

It's a good general rule of thumb to garnish meals using items already found in the dish. For example, if you've used tomatoes in your casserole, try slicing a small tomato into quarters and fanning them along the top. Perhaps the most overused garnish is parsley. To make a parsley chiffonade (fancy speak for thin shreds), take a bunch of parsley on your cutting board, roll tightly into a log and then make thin slices. Another classic garnish overachiever is citrus, especially the dynamic lemon. Slicing a few thin rounds of lemon is a great way to add a colourful visual pop to a meal. You can also take a slightly thicker slice, lay it flat on your board and make a slice halfway from the middle. Gently twist each end in opposite directions and sit on the top of the dish.

Platters and Dishes

Today, the trend has leaned towards a square, Asian-inspired dish for presenting meals, but don't be afraid to venture into other shapes. Mix and match your dinnerware and styles-square or triangular dishes can add a lot more visual interest to your table.