First you eat with your eyes - Building a fruit platter

I have been up since 6:30 preparing for the 85th birthday party I am catering today.
My client requested a lot of fruit.  When I was growing up we hired professional waitresses to serve at our larger parties.  I loved watching them and learning how to make fruit platters and how to garnish and present food so it looked as good as it tastes.  There used to be a cooking show with a wonderful woman named Biba.
I quote her in "First you eat with your eyes".
When you are entertaining and want to serve a fruit tray you want it to taste good as well as look good.
Make sure your fruit is ripe, buy melons ahead to insure they have time to ripen.  If strawberries don't smell like strawberries they won't taste like strawberries.
Don't be afraid to ask the people who work in the fruit department to help you.  "I need this for Sunday, which one do you recommend?"
Choose fruit that looks good, if possible what is in season and always what is on sale!
Taste grapes to make sure they are sweet.  If I can get them I will also use figs, persimmons, cherries and lichi.

Fruit Tray


Ingredients
1 Baby Watermelon
1 Pineapple (Twist the top and it will come off, then slice the bottom to make it flat so it will stand)
1 Cantaloupe
1 Honeydew
2 Mangoes
Red Grapes
Green Grapes
Raspberries
Strawberries
Blueberries

Instructions

Twist top off pineapple cut the bottom to make it flat and put on the middle of the tray.
Cut Watermelon in half and then into quarters.  Cut off rind and slice.  Place around the pineapplel   Cut pineapple in half and then in quarters.  Remove rind and core and slice, place each quarter on tray evenly spaced around the watermelon.                                                          
Cut melons in half, remove seeds.  Cut each half into quarters (and cut again into eighths if large)
Remove rind and cut into pieces.  Place on tray between the pineapple quarters.
Wash grapes and cut into palm sized bunches.
Place on tray between the watermelon and the other melons
Peel mango and slice around pit giving two "halfs".  Slice and place between melons.
Wash berries.  Place on tray as pictured.