Something I’ve always been fascinated by is old photos in vintage cookbooks that show beautifully plated & presented foods that look completely not delicious to eat. Ambrosia salads, mayonnaise salad globs on leaves of iceberg lettuce, meatloaves shaped like snowmen with mashed potato snow & olive slices for eyes….that kind of thing. The food looks so bright, almost plasticine, and is sculpturally perfect, yet is incredibly unappetizing. I love the dichotomy! Also, I love the color choices, bright red punch sits on a pea-green countertop with curly orange rinds for garnish, or a blobby pink ham salad nestles in a sun-yellow bowl on a red-checked tablecloth. So bright! So pretty! So gross!
A few samples for you: