ChefSteps is a team of chefs, writers, and food lovers who develop recipes, techniques, and guides to help people cook better at home.

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We’ve all made that dish. The one that starts with lofty intentions but ends up just a pile of food on a plate. The purée browns, the ice cream sags into a puddle on its way to the table, and what was supposed to be an artful drizzle of sauce looks more like something dreamed up by a B movie special effects crew. It happens all too easily when we forget to plan ahead: We end up sweating our way through cooking without cleaning as we go, swearing loudly because the sauce is burning on the stove and there are no clean spoons to stir it with. As we rush to serve our increasingly impatient guests, plating becomes an afterthought—if we even think about it at all.This is the last thing you want to happen when you’re debuting <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/guides-tools/developing-a-dish">an awesome dish</a> you’ve worked hard to master. And luckily, it can be avoided, provided you’re ready to exercise some discipline and care. Learn a few quick tips and tricks, from the art of mise en place to using temperature-controlled dishes, and you’ll be plating like a pro in no time. Below, we’ve used some of our favorite recipes from the ChefSteps development kitchen to illustrate the key concepts of plating. Read on for everything you need to know to create a dish that looks as good as it tastes.