DIVAS
DIVAS are all about bringing the bling. They shout, they flounce, they make an impact. No-one can miss them and every kitchen should have them.
Diva Foods are an assortment of decorations, garnishes, toppings and embellishments to create the final finishing touches.
Some are known for their high notes, and tend to take to the stage with sweet desserts and dishes. Others are all about the low notes and prefer savoury entrees and mains.
Many foods in your kitchen can turn Diva-like in a moment – crispy croutons floating on top of a creamy veg soup, or crumbled digestives scattered atop a layer of amaretto-soaked baked peaches. These are the Diva Combos.
Divas are found in all sorts of places – sweet shops, supermarkets, and farm shops. For the most glittery divas, there are plenty of internet sites to choose from.
What these little beauties give you in the kitchen are lots of toppings and garnishes to adore, bedeck, gild and jazz up those wonderful dishes you have created. They have an immediate, visual effect which never fails to impress:
Fresh divas include nuts, fresh flowers, herbs and fruits (the more exotic especially, like cape gooseberries (golden lanterns).
Dried divas include spices, dried fruit (raisins, apricots), seeds, wafers, mini-Melba toasts and baked-to-a-crisp meats and cheese (lardons, parmesan).
Confectioned divas include nuts, candied fruits, sweet biscuits, pralines, honeycombs, Flakes (chocolate), dragées, sprinkles, Persian fairy floss and leaves of gold and silver.
What you need for variety are a few divas that add colour, texture and shape to decorate both savoury and sweet dishes.
To be clear, divas are not the ultimately naff garnishes and toppings you used to see back in the day - spiralised radishes, rose-formed carrots, quartered cherry tomatoes, maraschino cherries dumped on top of a banana split sundae. Instead, think of the culinary equivalent of an Aladdin’s Cave - a treasure trove of jewels just waiting to be adorn and bedeck your opus magnum, your great work of art.
DIVAS Payoffs
Creating a real ‘wow’ factor using harmonious or contrasting foods, herbs, flowers, colours and confectionaries for visual effect.
Reflecting the seasons through your choice of toppings: spring gremolata with lamb; summer microgreens with cold pasta salads; autumn crispy, pan-fried lardons atop a squash-based risotto.