The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has combined food styling, gourmet dining and social media to create the #foodart Experience, which it offers for parties, team-building events or corporate retreats.
For the program, Executive Chef Brian Frakes pre-plates blood-orange carpaccio on oversized plates. When guests arrive, he demonstrates how he cut the oranges into long rectangles to create a unique base for the plates. The group gathers around a table lined with mixing bowls containing salad ingredients such as roasted beets, local cheeses, various types of protein, micro greens and healthy grains.
Frakes then demonstrates plating techniques using the ingredients and provides food-styling tips, then sends guests down the line to prepare their own plate of food art.
Once guests complete their plates, they move to a special table where a professional photographer takes photos of their dish. While the guests eat their own salad, their pictures are emailed to them so they can post on social media.