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Plate garnish can only be done when the meal is full-service. For self-service, the decoration is on the table and on the serving platters. Magazine pictures will give you ideas, but most decoration in such photos looks artificial, commercial, and cold.

If you prefer something a little more casual, which looks as though a real person created it, then add your own personal touch. I like to use a variety of fruits and vegetables in different shapes, colors, and sizes scattered around the table, encircling the serving platters.

A few unusual, eye-catching items are fine, but don’t overdo it. A good supermarket produce department or your local farmers’ market will have all kinds of interesting items, but you need keen eyes to find them. Look for things such as an elephant garlic with its long stem topped with a flower. Or use more common items such as a fresh, shiny Japanese eggplant, or bright red and green chilis.

Another simple decoration is fresh carrots with the green tops left on. Place them on the table in a loose, wreathlike fashion or create a bouquet in a vase. A bouquet of combined vegetables is simple and effective, not overpowering, and reusable. The next event’s guests will see the vegetables in a different form — on their plates.

A cream pitcher filled with cherry tomatoes, wine goblets with oil-cured olives, a glass vase with a bouquet of two-foot long vermicelli — all are good examples of attractive focal points on the serving table.