Social Media-Worthy Meal Presentation

There are dishes you simply serve and then there are dishes that you post. The food post has become a ubiquitous tenant of the social media accounts of foodies across the world. A quick scroll through any Facebook, Twitter or Instagram feed will quickly produce a shot of somebody’s food, either home cooked or served in a restaurant. Sometimes the food looks great, sometimes it looks like it would be best left unposted.

But it really does not take a wealth of food knowledge to produce a meal worthy of social media sharing. The right oven-to-table piece can do most of the work and elevate a basic potato dish to one that looks primed for Facebook.

Le Creuset is, of course, no stranger to beautiful meal presentation. A quick search for #lecreuset on Instagram results in over 100,000 images. A simple picture of an espresso cup packed with scoops of vanilla ice cream on a saucer posted by a reality television star earned 320 likes. Even recipes in the midst of cooking or about to go in the oven look tempting when combined with all the many colors of Le Creuset.

The recent re-introduction of Le Creuset’s blue Marseille color just begs to be shared on social media. The bold and vibrant color is inspired by the port city of Marseille in southern France and brings to mind the sea and sky. Pieces from all categories throughout Le Creuset can be found in this new color, including cast iron, stoneware, tools and accessories, stockpots and teakettles. The new shade of matte amethyst is another nice option for instantly sprucing up a mealtime photo.

Emile Henry introduced oven-to-table pieces this year that also do most of the work towards making a splash on the dinner table and on social media. The new Emile Henry Chicken Baker raises the bar on the aesthetic of presentation and, combined with the cooking performance of the baker, makes leaving a memorable impression a snap. The baker has a 3.2-quart capacity and features a domed lid that is shaped to fit close to the food so as to diffuse heat and eliminate the need for basting because it causes the steam to circulate around the ingredients. The baker can also be used for any type of meat and has ridges on the bottom to prevent the meat from soaking in its juices. The Chicken Baker is dishwasher, microwave, oven, and freezer safe and is available in burgundy or charcoal colors.

The Emile Henry Potato Pot is designed for cooking vegetables and potatoes at low temperature on the stovetop or in the oven. The two-piece design of this unique pot enables a style of traditional French cooking with no water or oil. Simply stack the potatoes or vegetables in the pot along with seasonings, put on the top, and place it on the stove or in the oven to cook. When used on the stove, the pot should be flipped every 15 minutes so that the heat diffuses evenly through the vegetables. The two pieces of the Potato Pot are identical, so that either side can go directly on the burner. Since there is no need to use water or oil, the result is a more flavorful potato that cooks in 30 to 40 minutes. The Potato Pot is available in burgundy or charcoal colors.

Also new from Emile Henry this year, Modern Classics is the French brand’s range of cookware and bakeware designed from the ground up to attract the American consumer while preserving the design elements and the performance properties of Emile Henry. The shapes, capacities, and dimensions were developed with an eye toward American foods, style and recipes. There are five new colors and eight original shapes to start. The colors are spirited and vivacious tones of primary yellow, green, blue, red, and white that would make for a fabulous share on any social media platform.

Mauviel, beautiful in its copper simplicity, is always a sure way to make a lasting impression, in person or online. Any of Mauviel’s paella pans would make for a delightful presentation, like the M’elite Stainless Steel Paella Pan pictured here. The hand polished and hammered exterior makes just as much of a visual impact in stainless steel as do any of Mauviel’s copper cookware. Grand pieces, like the M’tradition Copper Fondue Set, and understated pieces, like the M’cook Mini Rectangular Roasting Pan, are imbued with the Mauviel spirit alike and are equally impactful. A search for #mauviel on Twitter and Instagram brings up as many images of food being cooked as it does images of the cookware proudly displayed in kitchens, hanging from pot racks or neatly stacked on shelves, proving that having the right cookware is half the battle for “Likes.”

Staub posts come in second after Le Creuset on Instagram, with a search for #staub producing over 46,000 images from people as eager to share their meals as they are to share the Staub mark stamped on the handles of their cookware. A basic chili still on the stove looks mouthwatering in a green Oval Cocotte from Staub. Instagrammers are careful to include the lids too if they are so lucky to have the cocottes topped with a silver knob resembling a chicken, fish, pig, or snail.

The Cast Iron 3-quart Tomato Cocotte is new from Staub this year and is striking enough to cause a social media stir. The cocotte is cherry red and molded after a brandywine tomato with a silver stem branching out from the lid’s center to act as a knob. The Tomato Cocotte was introduced after the success of the Pumpkin Cocotte and is designed to be complementary for the Staub collector. Because the lid completes the look of the tomato, anything served in it is sure to be a Facebook post slam dunk – you don’t even have to show the meal concealed underneath!

This story was originally published in the June 2015 issue of Kitchenware News, a publication of Oser Communications Group.