Should I be flattered or insulted?

[Serendipite]

My MIL is staying over, and she mentioned her friend said they always just buy food from outside. She told her friend that "my daughter in law is an excellent cook, but she does not do fancy plating but who needs that?"

The only thing that matters is that she said you were an excellent cook, that's a massive compliment and she's right, fancy plating doesn't make bad food taste any better.

Bless her, she's boasting a bit about you :)

enjoy the praise.

I think it's definitely a compliment - 'my DIL is an excellent cook - of course if you buy from outside they give you the silver tureen and drizzle of balsamic, but who needs that when the food is so delicious?'
Totally loving the koala and the curry bear though - going to pinch those for the Grandkids @Spiderlight - thank you for sharing!

What does 'buy food from outside' mean??

pmsl

Please do the polar bear meal!! PLEASE!

Fancy playing on home cooked food is pretentious.

If you've spent time cooking the meal then why not make the plate look nice? I do!

It is second nature to me though as I'm a trained chef :)

Food from outside - takeaways

ah got ya-yeah take it for what it is not a bad compliment

I'm in the middle.

My mum is someone who can take a beautiful cake and somehow serve it onto plates looking as though the cat, the dog and the toddler have all smushed their way through it. That's the opposite of fancy plating.

I don't spend a lot of time on the presentation, but I will try to serve the food in a way that avoids that "dog's dinner" look, and if we have guests then I will take a little longer and do stuff like wipe any sauce drops off the edge of the plate.

From a MIL? Compliment for sure. She also dismissed the need for it, as she obviously thinks your cooking outweighs it.

I would be flattered and take it as a compliment :)

Well I don't serve it like it's been ran over by dogs. I just put each dish in its own plate and then you get what you want.

She eats your cooking and she compliments you.

If she didn't like it then she'd be getting food from elsewhere, restaurants or wherever her friend buys her food in from.
She has a choice and she chooses your cooking.

I think she may be boasting that she has no need for food to be bought in because she has a family who care for her and cook for her.

I love this.

I just put each dish in its own plate and then you get what you want.

Isn't that what she means by not doing "fancy plating" then? You don't "plate it up," and leave it all in the dishes to serve yourselves?

Isn't that what she means by not doing "fancy plating" then?

That was a reply to @lockedoutofMN.

But should I really do "fancy plating"?

She told us though about growing up with fancy plated (?) dinners.

No don’t change anything, she complimented you. You’re overthinking it.

Some people get embarrassed by giving compliments and feel the need to temper them with (in this case) a very light dig.

Balloon slayer has it. You don’t actually serve anyone, you put the supermarket meals into plates and everyone has to serve themselves.

spiderlight I want a Koala dinner!

I would be pleased.

But then I detest " fancy plating" at any time.

It has overhangs of the 1970s and from the Nouvelle Cuisine fashion and the minimalist plating of the 1990s.

It looks sterile, has a laboratory look about it.

I avoid any restaurants that go for fancy plating.

And it especially should never be done at home.

I love to cook, but I like eating styles that are casual a little rustic, stuff we share.

Fancy plating = pretentious