Operational Responsibilities

The Plating Coordinator must:

• Control the plating line (Coordinate multiple plates simultaneously)
• Call plates during service (I.e times)
• Coordinate timing & communicate with hot and cold kitchen
• Check final quality before dispatch
• Ensure plating diagrams are followed
• Maintain precision under pressure

Fundamental Plating Principles

1. Attention to Detail

* The candidate must demonstrate exceptional precision.

This includes:

• Correct portion size on every plate
• Clean plate rims (no smudges or drips)
• Perfect garnish placement
• Consistent spacing between components
• Accurate plating according to specification

2. Precision Plating Tools

The candidate must be comfortable working with professional plating tools.

Required tool skills include:

• Squeeze bottles for sauces, oils, and purées
• Offset plating spoons for quenelles and controlled placement
• Fine plating tweezers for herbs and micro-garnishes
• Ring moulds for structured plating
• Palette knives for smooth spreads or purées
• Small ladles and pipettes for controlled sauce application

3. Sauce Control & Application

A plating coordinator must understand how sauces affect presentation.

Skills include:

• Controlled sauce placement
• Even distribution
• No excessive pooling
• Correct viscosity for plating
• Consistent patterns when using squeeze bottles

4. Visual Balance & Composition

This includes:

• Balanced placement of protein, starch, and garnish
• Maintaining negative space
• Consistent height and structure
• Avoiding overcrowding

o   Creating visual flow across the plate

5. Consistency Across Multiple Plates

 The coordinator must ensure:

• Every plate looks identical
• Portion size remains consistent
• Garnish placement is standardised
• Sauce patterns remain uniform

6. Cleanliness & Plate Discipline

Five-star level plating requires strict cleanliness.

The chef must:

• wipe rims before service
• remove spills immediately
• ensure no fingerprints on plates
• maintain clean plating surfaces

General

• Any other reasonable task that may be required by Top Management

Qualifications 

• Grade 12.
• Certificate in Patisserie & Food Prep.
• Computer Literacy.

Experience Requirements

• 2 Years experience
• Fine dining restaurants
• Tasting menu kitchens
• High end dining restaurant -five star environments
• Airline catering or luxury hospitality

Key Traits

Strong candidates will show:

• extreme attention to detail
• calmness under pressure
• visual creativity with discipline
• excellent organisation
• strong communication with kitchen teams