The
Japanese have had a great influence on American food and taste. Sushi
is obvious but the Japanese version of 'presentation' has been an even
greater influence. Eat in any of the top restaurants in America in the
past twenty years and even the second ranking restaurants and you'll
find that the presentation is 75% of what you are paying for and 100%
borrowed from Japan.
The Japanese have even taken foreign food ideas and applied the same presentation value to the foreign food.
The Japanese 'presentation' model is best seen in their elaborate ten-twelve course meals called 'kaiseki.' Kaiseki is probably derived from the Japanese Tea Ceremony which emphasizes simple elegance and avoids ostentation. Each dish in a kaiseki meal is intended as an aesthetic masterpiece in all dimensions including seasonality.
The Japanese have now borrowed the Scandinavian smorgasbord idea and translated it into a kaiseki meal. The two photos on this page show part of the appetizer selection and a very small part of the dessert selection at the Imperial Hotel 'Viking' luncheon. The price is appropriate, $55, no tip. The kaiseki-smorgasbord idea is now in use in many large Japanese hotels.