Creating an appealing fruit display does not have to difficult! Break it down into elements – shape, size, colour and texture. Which fruit looks appealing? Which fruit contrasts well? How do the sizes and colours play together? Most important is that it should look aesthetically pleasing as well as potentially tasty to the guest while providing a sense of luxury to the cabin.
Firstly, make sure you have an interesting dish or fruit bowl to serve the fruit in; a standard straw fruit basket just doesn’t do the job. You may need to line the bowl with a linen napkin, depending on the style of bowl. Choose something interesting – metallic and modern looks good, but be careful not to scratch the credenza! Choose your base fruit (which will probably depend on what country you are in and seasonal availability) and use that as your starting point. You could use a theme, such as a traditional fruit basket with oranges, apples, bananas, grapes and pears or use tropical fruits such as pineapple, papaya, mango, baby bananas and limes to accent the base fruit. An Asian fruit basket could use star fruit, lotus, mandarins, dragon fruit and lychees as an addition. But, never a durian!
It is often better to choose mini versions of fruit, as they are more visually appealing, easier for the guests to help themselves to or for children to feast on during the flight. Mini apples, bananas and mandarins look good in the basket and are practical. Make sure that everything in the bowl is actually edible! For example, I have included lime in one description above – you probably wouldn’t want to bite directly into a lime. I would actually use the lime juice to dress the papaya and bananas. So, think a little outside the box!
Play around with the fruit in the bowl and see what looks good, what colours make it pop and which sizes and shapes present well, lower in the basket or higher up. Don’t compromise by using less than good fruit, as that one bad or bruised apple will stand out a mile on your beautiful display. Remember that people eat with their eyes first! Also, think about what flavours go together, would you eat these fruit flavours together? If they will taste great together, it is an excellent direction to a perfect display.
Berries tend to lend better to their own separate bowls. I like to make a mix of berries (blackberry, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry) and serve them in small dishes with a napkin underneath to capture any extra juice that may fall on a guest’s clothing and a toothpick for them to use to pick up the berries. Bigger strawberries may be sturdy enough to survive the fruit display, but try not to use anything too soft or juicy, or it will be messy to clean up later.
Know your fruit, and make sure you know how to prepare it before placing it on display. Also, think about practicality: can you prepare and dissect a pineapple in a 30-minute cruise? Be aware that if it is on display, someone may want to eat it and may well ask you to prepare it for them!
Questions?
If you have any questions about this article, contact Tricia Green at triciagreen16@hotmail.com.
| This is an article by guest author Tricia Green, Head of Cabin Services and industry expert based in Cyprus. Any thoughts expressed in this article are entirely Tricia’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Air Culinaire Worldwide. |
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