TheDecorativeArtofJapaneseFoodCarving:ElegantGarnishesforAllOccasions

Japanesecuisineisrenownedforthebeautyofitspresentation.Amongthekeyelementsinthispresentationstylearemukimono--thedecorativegarnishesandcarvingsthataddthefinalflourishtoadish.Itmightbeacarrotroundintheshapeofaplumblossom.Orascatteringofcherryblossomspluckedfromaradish.Perhapsaswallow，abutterfly，aginkgoleaforaclusterofpineneedles.Whateverthemotif，itwillhavebeencreatedtodelighttheeyeandthepalatewithitsshape，color，andtaste.InTheDecorativeArtofJapaneseFoodCarving，internationallyacclaimedchefHiroshiNagashimaoffers60ediblegarnishesandfoodcarvingsforhome，partyorprofessionaluse.Somearedesignedtobesetontopofthefood.Othersarefashionedtoholdthefood--andsometimes，theysimplyarethefood.Eachisintroducedinfullcolor，witheasy-to-follow，step-by-stepinstructions，samplefoodarrangements，furtherideasandsecret，insidertipsforsuccessfulpresentation.Mostaresimpleenoughfortheamateurcheftomaster，althoughafewarequitechallengingandrequiremuchpractice.Nagashima'sinstructionsrelyonhouseholdutensilsfoundinatypicalAmericankitchen--fromknivestopeelerstocookiecutters--andusefamiliar，easilyattainableingredients.TheDecorativeArtofJapaneseFoodCarvingismorethanapracticalhandbook，however.Itisalsoaninspirationbook，filledwithcreativesuggestionsandinventiveideastoenhanceandtransformthewaywecook.