You’re having people over, and you want everything to be perfect. No. Not perfect. Better than perfect. This isn’t keeping up with the Jones’s--this is setting the standard. And that standard is about to reach a whole new level. Here's how to raise the bar with Chefanie's 5 favorite plating tricks:

1. Use a ring mold. It makes anything and everything look restaurant ready.

2. Always place the protein at six o’clock.

3. Food should never touch the rim of the plate. Under any circumstances.

4. You don’t need to fill all the space on the plate. Negative space or, as Taylor Swift would say, blank space, is good; it allows the main attraction--the food--to shine.

5. Garnishing in general takes a dish from plain to insane. (Be sure to check out our 5 Ways to Garnish a Soup.)

If you follow these tricks, your guests will be ooh-ing and ahh-ing at your beautiful creations. We guarantee it.