Food magic : easy ideas for pretty dishes

Carol Pastor offers a combination of eye-catching recipes and food presentation ideas, ranging from the simple to the more ambitious.

She provides hints on acquiring stylish china and table accessories, and includes recipes for fish, meat and vegetables with an emphasis on visual appeal.

Chef's tricks show how to clarify aspic and create intricate patterns with slivers of olive, walnut and onion tops; how to make arrangements of herbs and berries as garnishes; and how to produce a bowl made of ice with mint leaves and flowers suspended inside its walls for an unusual sorbet presentation.