i second the orange capsules tip about having a simple background. food that looks good enough to photograph shouldn't have to compete with a cluttered background. also since these are usually close up shots, it would be good if you had a tripod, even a small one, to reduce hand shake. another thing, use depth of field wisely. shallow dof is usually good for food, especially if the background isn't so attractive, but if your taking a photo of a buffet, deeper dof could be better. if the image doesn't pop, post editing in photoshop can make it more vibrant so consider that too
