How To Plate Your Pasta Like A Pro

Whenever we try to recreate a restaurant-worthy bowl of spaghetti or linguini at home, it comes out looking more like a Pinterest fail than a beautiful, delicious pile of noodles. So how do all those chefs and food stylists make their pasta look so pretty?

The trick: a meat fork.

The handy utensil's two prongs make twirling, lifting and arranging slippery, long noodles neatly on a plate or in a bowl a cinch. If you don't have a meat fork, you can sub in a large serving fork. Another key: Twirl the pasta in the pot or pan before transferring it to a dish—that way, it keeps its form and doesn't spread out too much or drip sauce all over the place.