The chicken in white broth, about the picture

After giving thought about the picture I used (and presently being reminded of it) and how it was served, I realized a few important things not mentioned...

This was an experiment to see how it would look/work if served on whole and yes, I do believe I would serve the chicken whole to the head table if it came out as nice,  (More on this later) but it would be plain and parts carved by the carver to specification of the diner... then prunes placed and sauce laid over.

Though it does look somewhat pretty, it is impractical to carve in such condition, but I had a need to test this just the same... we never really know until we try.

As for service in general, and how birds tend to boil, it does make the absolute most sense to pre-carve it and sit it in a platter then to place the prunes about it before pouring over the sauce. This is also ascetically pleasing and I found on having it sit this way a little while, the flavours blend very favourably.