Want to make your food look more exciting? Try these top tips for restaurant-style presentation, plus some more quirky ideas, that will make your meals shine.

Bacon and egg – a marriage of food from the heavens. Instead of serving them side by side, why not blend them together in a beautiful bite-sized combo? All you need to do is wrap a slice of bacon into a muffin tray hole to create a wall, then crack an egg into the centre and bake in the oven. Easy and speedy!

Adding eye-catching fruit to your smoothie bowl can make it much more exciting, and healthy too. In this frozen raspberry and mango smoothie bowl the white dragon fruit paired with the raspberry mirror glaze energy hearts – a raspberry mousse covered in a sweet, glossy pink glaze – finishes the bowl off perfectly.

Sometimes even the most simplistic garnishes can be stunning. The pale blue turquoise of this smoothie is the perfect backdrop for blueberries and an edible flower.

They say less is more, but sometimes more is better! This porridge features oats, berries, banana, granola and pomegranate. You can add all kinds of toppings to your oats, but we think the red raspberries and pomegranate seeds make it pop.

To create this photo-ready plate, you’ll need a meat fork. Yes, that’s right, it’s not just for carving. While the spaghetti is still in the pan, twirl it with the meat fork until the portion is just right. Next, use a large spoon to help transfer it to the plate, and gently pull the meat fork from the centre of the bundle using the large spoon for ease if necessary. Then finish off with a little garnish and voilà… your perfect spaghetti bundle.

According to Rick Bayless, chef and owner of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago: “The odder the better. Things in even numbers look strange on a plate. So, whether you're putting scallops or dollops of sauce [on the plate], put three or five, not two or four.” Here we have a trio of scallops wrapped in bacon. Dinner anyone?

Why have a regular salad bowl when you can see your fresh salad in all its glory in a glass jar? The different layers of colours make it look so much more appetising. From top to bottom here we have: purple cabbage, baked sweet potato, edamame beans, red bell pepper, corn kernels, blanched kale, mint, celery greens and dragon fruit. This is the kind of salad to tuck in to.

Nothing says I love you more that heart-shaped food! You can buy specially designed bread cutters in baking stores, grocery stores and online from Amazon, eBay and more.

Adding height can make a plate look more interesting, and by stacking or layering ingredients you give the dish more depth. Think of the plate as the picture frame, and the dish as the main attraction.

Here’s an example of stacking with one type of food, in this case chips, which are arranged in a Jenga-like tower. To make the chips deliciously crisp you’ll need to boil sliced potatoes in a pot of salted water, then drain and dry them before baking in the oven. Once the chips are good and crispy, you can stack them on the plate ready to serve. It’s a meal and game in one.

Who said food couldn’t be art? To make your own at home, first you’ll need a gelato spade or spatula as this allows you to slice through ice cream to create a neat square that can be shaped into a petal. Start by filling the cone with ice cream to around an inch above the base, rounding into a bud shape using a circular motion.

Then take your spade and cut straight through the ice cream and pull it back towards you quickly. This technique will create petals and give them soft rounded edges. You can mould the petals around the bud of the rose, spinning the cone in the opposite direction as you do so. And from there you can add as many layers and flavours as you like. It’s tricky to start with, but practice makes perfect!

For the sunny days when you want to feel like you’re actually floating on Cloud 9, pick up this dessert! Milk Train in London launched this treat in 2016 and it’s become hugely popular. To make your own at home you’ll need to combine sugar, corn syrup, water and salt over medium heat until the sugar melts. Next, pour the molten liquid into a shallow heatproof container and add the colouring you want to use and stir well.

Next, dip your decapitated whisk into the sugar syrup. Once the excess sugar drips back into the container, hold the whisk a foot (30cm) above some parchment paper and sink the whisk back and forth so thin strands of sugar fall on the paper. Repeat this a few more times until there’s a nice nest of spun sugar in front of you. Finally, make a hole in the centre of the candyfloss and attach it to your ice cream cone. Enjoy!

We think this might be a trend that you either love or hate. Remember the unicorn trend? Well this is the latest addition to the world – Mermaid toast. To create this colourful spread, there’s a mixture of blue and green algae powders and liquids, mixed with almond milk cream cheese.

You can pick up moulds in all kinds of shapes, and they’re a sure-fire way of enticing your kids into eating a little more protein. Because who can say no to a bear-shaped egg?

Or maybe your children might like a fish- or car-shaped egg. Aren’t they adorable? You can pick up the moulds in lots of different stores, but you’re guaranteed to pick up some quirky designs on eBay and Amazon too!

By using a selection of different fruit and vegetables with varying colours, your appetiser will look a lot more appealing. A top tip is to always use in-season vegetables that are at their peak to create a unique platter packed with vitamins.

Now, there are dos and don’ts when it comes to this trick. We aren’t saying serve up your food on a spade or in a boot as the hipsters do, but mixing up your plateware choices can make the meal a little more interesting. A slab of slate will contrast many, if not all, dishes you might serve and will make the presentation so much neater.

By using a scallop shell, you can add all kinds of ingredients from chilli, garlic and pesto (pictured) to a cheese sauce. It adds a little intrigue to the meal, and it could save on washing the dishes too!

An interesting way to jazz up your plate, albeit one that’s a little tricky, is carving shapes into your ingredients. One of the most popular ingredients are carrots, which are usually carved into beautiful orange roses (pictured).

We’ve come a long way from simply having butter on our toast, the possibilities are endless! Here we have coconut yogurt, raspberries, sprinkles and caramel chocolate chunks (top left), and the other slice (top right) is covered in hazelnut and cocoa spread, blueberries, rose petals and banana coins.

If you want to get really creative, you could always decorate your toast in the likeness of your favourite characters (Betty Boop pictured)! The star ingredients are blueberries which are used in a bundle to create her hair, eyes and peel to make her eyebrows. With a red gummy bear for her luscious red lips and two banana coins for her irises. Isn’t she a beaut?

By adding a sprinkle of edible flowers as a garnish, you’ll add a touch of floral beauty that can pimp up any plate. This Coconut Amazebowl is an acai bowl with fresh fruit and edible flowers. It’s as good to eat as it is to look at.

Sugarcraft flowers are featured on cakes from birthdays to weddings, and we think they’re stunning. Although flower designs are usually created by the steady hands of keen bakers, you can buy silicone moulds to help you with decorating cakes. Check out any baking or craft shops near you, or you can also check our eBay and Amazon too!

We know this might look like it’ll be tricky, but practice makes perfect! Start off by coating your bowl of choice with a thin layer of oil. Next, fill the cup with your boiled rice and flatten it with the back of your spoon – really push it down! Place your plate upside down over the bowl, then flip the plate (and bowl) over carefully. Finally, gently and slowly lift the bowl and you should have a beautiful rice dome. Because you oiled it first, it should work out fine. Well, hopefully…

A breakfast treat? Party food? A fancy dinner side dish? The possibilities are endless with potato stacks. They’re creamy, cheesy and ridiculously irresistible. To make these savoury treats you’ll need to peel then thinly slice the potatoes, add seasoning and place the slices into muffin tin holes halfway up. Repeat with each muffin tray hole – with a drizzle of cream, cheese and butter – and place in the oven until the potatoes are beautifully crisp and golden.