Eating with your eyes first – is presentation everything?



My dear friend, Jennifer (who created this blog for me – thanks, Jen!), invited us over for sushi the other night.  She and her husband are actually former sushi chefs, so this was an amazing treat!  They taught us how to prep all of the ingredients, how to properly make the rice, and how to build California rolls and spicy tuna rolls, just like at the sushi bar.  We even created sushi out of steak and mushrooms, and she showed me how to create a rose out of pieces of tuna!  It was a wonderful evening – so relaxing and fun – and we were so full when we left!  (Check out pictures of our sushi under the "Fun in the Kitchen and Finished Treats" page.)

Jennifer mentioned to me when we were making the sushi (well, she was making the sushi, and I was gazing in admiration at her handiwork) that in Japan, presentation is very important.  There are specific techniques that must be mastered and garnishes that add flair and flavor to each dish, all of which indicate the quality of the food even before you take the first bite.  However, she and her husband are Korean, and in that culture, food is more about the mixture of flavors than the elaborate design.  She said that in Korea, their version of sushi involves a bowl of rice with the components (lettuce, fish, etc.) all mixed up together.      

I can understand both sides of this dichotomy.  As a cake decorator, I have seen people drop piles of money on elaborately decorated cakes, with no guarantee of anything worth eating under all that frosting.  I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by a “rock star” cake masquerading as some kind of “average joe” bake sale cake.  I’ve spent many hours learning to create beautiful flowers and decorations out of buttercream, gum paste, and fondant, but equally as importantly, I’ve spent a great deal of time perfecting recipes with the ideal taste and texture. 

To me, the taste is far more important than the decoration.  By my very nature, I’m more of a cake person than an icing person.  In fact, I usually just scrape off most of the frosting on a piece of cake.  But I know that if something doesn’t look appealing, many people won’t even give it a try.  I mean, think about sushi – if it didn’t look so awesome, how many otherwise squeamish Americans would have really jumped on the raw fish bandwagon? 

So I ask you, can you judge a cake by its icing?  Is presentation really more important than content?  Is food a metaphor for life in this context?  (Whoa, it just got deep in here.  I promise tomorrow I’ll just talk about conversation hearts or something.)  Let me know what you think!