People LOVE to eat with their eyes. It is no mystery that people can look at a meal and instantly decide if they want to eat it or not. There are several ways to make a meal presentation beautiful, whether it’s the way the meal is plated, sauced, accompanied, or garnished. One of the most appealing ways, in our opinion, to make a jaw dropping meal is to accent the dish with a POP of color, and this is done by adding edible flowers.
There are several different types of edible flowers in the world of different colors, so the options are endless when it comes to creating the perfect meal for any type of guest. You may not realize the amount of flowers that are used as spices or flavors in teas, candle scents, spices, and traditional toppings. The most common flowers used in any type of food include clovers, daisies, dandelions, hibiscus, lilacs, pansies, sunflowers, and citrus blossoms. “Edible flowers are abundant and easy to cook with, but are often overlooked as being intimidating or too fancy” (Flours, 2014). Here at Creative Hands Cuisine, we take pride in making all of our dishes beautiful with accented flowers for guests to enjoy with their eyes – and their taste!
Any flower on a cuisine dish is required to be edible. “There are many flowers that are not just inedible, but are in fact highly poisonous, including some very popular bouquet cuts like delphinium, tulip, narcissus, sweet pea, and foxglove, just to name a few” says Victoria Jabot, owner of Ley Leek Farm (Gollin, 2023). Caterers and restaurants (and even home bakers) have to do their proper research to know which flowers and plants can be included in a cuisine before creating a recipe.
Why do Catering companies and restaurants put edible flowers in their cuisines as a garnish? Edible flowers give off a beautiful fragrance and appearance to jazz up the colors of amazing cuisine to make a lasting impression with guests. Whether you are planning a buffet line, cuisine stations, or a plated meal, edible flowers can spice up any dish to create an appealing visual to pull guests in for a delicious meal worthy of any photo!
Here are some photos of past Creative Hands Cuisine events where edible flowers have been incorporated!
First up are some gorgeous blue and purple Orchids displayed in the center of our tray featuring our Blue Corn Cupcakes with a Prickly Pear Frosting! These flowers are not incorporated into the cuisine itself, but rather as a beautiful centerpiece to add color to the wood board.
We often dice up those same blue and purple orchids to add color to our braised short beef profiterole. Due to the profiterole ingredients lacking in natural color, from the gluten free cheese bread filled with a goat cheese blend and topped with braised short beef, adding color to the monochrome brown dish allows it to become an eyecatcher for all!
We can incorporate colors like these gorgeous spring themed Hibiscus flowers into a sea of romaine lettuce to add a pop of color. We aim to enhance the visual appeal of our stationary displays with the addition of vibrant colors, thereby captivating our guests’ attention.
No plated meal is left behind, either! Creative Hands Cuisine brings our ever popular Orchid back to accompany our beautifully displayed mashed potato and rib skewers to add a pop of purple. When our 5-Star waitstaff places the dinner plates in front of awed clients, it is always amazing to hear gasps and photos being taken due to the gorgeous display.
Finally, we welcome our newest Hors d’oeuvres and edible flowers to our menu. Our culinary team created a new Sweet and Savory treat: a macaron shell filled with goat cheese and a sweet habanero chili jam topped with a flower known as the Bachelors Button!
Flours, Fancy. “Cooking with Flowers.” Fancy Flours: Where Bakers Bloom, 18 Mar. 2014, blog.fancyflours.com/2014/03/18/cooking-with-flowers/.
Gollin, Randi. “A Visual Guide to Edible Flowers-and How to Use Them.” Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart, 12 June 2023, www.marthastewart.com/edible-flower-varieties-guide-7510570.
