French Classic Dishes Menu

Menu, a menu is a representation of food, beverages, and other items offered by a restaurant. A menu card is where the menu is printed on a card. Two types of menus are available in any restaurant: a-la-carte and table-de-hote.

The French Classical Menu in some areas consists of 17 courses and 12 in most of the restaurants.

THE 17 COURSE CLASSICAL  MENU:

1. Hors-d-oeuvre (Appetizer)

2. Potage (Soup)

3. Oeufs (Egg)

4. Farinaceous / Farineaux (Pasta or Rice)

5. Poisson (Fish)

6. Entree (First meat course)

7. Releve (Main meat course or joints of meat)

8. Sorbet (Rest course)

9. Roti (Roast)

10. Legumes (Vegetables)

11. Salades (Salad)

12. Buffet Froid (Cold Buffet)

13. Entremets (sweets)

14. Savourex (savory)

15. Fromage (Cheese)

16. Dessert (Fruits)

17. Cafe (coffee)

Let's look at all these items in detail

(i) Hors-d-oeuvre (Appetizer)

The very first course of the French Classical Menu consists of dishes with tangy, salty nature. The course is served in a rotating Trolley or a tray with a small proportion of variety placed on its service point of view there are two types:

  (i) General Hors-d-oeuvre: All cold preparation like salad, cold meat preparation is served.

  Ex- Fish mayonnaise, Russian Salad, etc.

(ii) Classical Hors-d-oeuvre:

This includes Fruit juices/soft drinks, grapefruit, melon, Oysters, shellfish cocktails, caviar, etc.

(ii) Potage (Soup)

The second course in the Classical French Menu is soup. It also served as an appetizer in the absence of it. All the types of soups come in this category. It is served in a soup bowl or plate, the soup bowl in on an underplate over doily paper.

Soup is served before the main course as it stimulates the appetite. The soup is served after asking the preference of customers whether they want it thin or thick.

Examples:- Consommé Celestine: Clear soup garnished with strips of savory pancakes, Creme de tomato: Cream of tomato soup.

(iii) Oeufs (Egg)

The third course includes Egg preparation. Except for plain boiled eggs, every kind of eggs is served. They are usually included used in the set dinner menu as eggs are quite heavy for dinner.

Examples– En cocotte:  A French way of baking eggs in a water bath in the oven, Omelette Espagnole: flat omelet with onions, pepper, tomato.

(iv) Farinaceous / Farineaux (Pasta or Rice)

The fourth course in this spectacular menu is a great contribution of Italy that includes different kinds of pasta and rice.

There are around 200 types of pasta based on their size, shape, ingredients colors some pasta dishes are spaghetti, Gnocchi, and Lasagne.

Examples:- Spaghetti bolognaise: Spaghetti blended with minced lean beef with rich brown sauce., Cannelloni ricotta e spinaci.

(v) Poisson (Fish)

The fifth course Includes fish that get easily digested and prepares the appetite for upcoming heavy courses.

Types of fish preparation:

(i) Poached fish preparation

(ii) Fried, grilled, or baked fish

Examples:- Sole cubit: Filled with sole poached, dressed on a mushroom puree, and coated with cheese sauce, Sole meuniere: Sole shallow fried in butter.

(vi) Entree (First meat course)

The sixth course is an entree that is generally well-garnished small dishes which is said to be an entry to the meat course. The dishes are always accompanied by gravy or sauce. Potatoes and vegetables are not served with entree when Releve follows entree, but are served when releve don't follow entree.

Examples:- Foie de veau au lard: Liver with bacon, Poulet saute chasseur: saute chicken in a rich brown sauce flavored with tomato and mushroom.

(vii) Releve (Main meat course or joints of meat)

The seventh and main course, Releve is normally larger than entrees. Joints of meats like Beef, mutton, veal, lamb, etc are cooked using various cooking methods. This is the heaviest course in the whole 17 courses on the menu.

Relive is served on a large plate along a large knife is arranged on the cover.

Examples:- Cuissot de porc roti puree de pommes: roast leg of pork with apple sauce, Gigot d agneau roti sauce Menthe: roast leg of lamb with mint sauce

(viii) Sorbet (Rest course)

This course is named as rest course as ice flavored water is served in a tall glass with a teaspoon or sundae spoon with champagne/liquor/wine/essences.

It helps in stimulation of appetite for the rest course while Russian cigars, cigarettes are also passed around during this course.

Examples:- Champagne sorbet, pineapple sorbet, lemon sorbet

(ix) Roti (Roast)

This course includes roasted poultry and game birds served along with a salad. This is the second heaviest course on the menu where poultry or game birds should only be roasted. Salad is served with this course on half moon plate while the dish is served on a large plate by served as a garnished pre-plated dish with a large knife and a fork.

Examples:-Poulet roti (Roasted chicken) accompanied with bread sauce and roasted gravy, Canton roti (Roasted duck) accompanied by apple sauce and roasted gravy.

(x) Legumes (Vegetables)

This course includes all types of vegetables such as broccoli, mushrooms, carrots which can be served with relief, entree, or roast course. They can also be served on their own along with the sauces such as hollandaise sauce or beurre fondue.

Examples:- Pommes au four: Baked jacket potato., Petits pois au beurre: peas tossed in butter, Epinards en branches: Leaf spinach

(xi) Salades (Salad)

In this course, different types of salads are served.

Examples:- Coleslaw, Tossed salad, Andalouse

(xii) Buffet Froid (Cold Buffet)

Cold meat and fish are included with Salad leaves and dressing in this course.

Examples:- Smoked SalmanHerb-Stuffed Pork Loin, Poached salmon with herby mayonnaise

(xiii) Entremets (sweets

Entremets brings the sweets to the 17-course menu. All kind of sweets is Included in this course. This is generally if two types:

(i) General entremets: includes puddings, cakes, pastries.

(ii) Ice cream: includes different flavors of ice creams. Subdivided into

(a) plain ice cream and (b) Parfait ice cream

(xiv) Savourex (savory)

To remove the sweet taste from the mouth tangy tit-bits are served in this course. They are of three types:

(a)Meat Savory: ex-The angle on horseback

(b)Fish Savory: ex-Anchovies on toast

(c) Cheese Savory

(xv) Fromage (Cheese)

This course is an alternative to the Savory course which can be served before or after the above-mentioned course.

Cheese of all types with the right accompaniments is served.

Examples:- Cheddar cheese, Gouda cheese, Ricotta cheese

(xvi) Dessert (Fruits)

In this course, all kinds of fruits and nuts are served, accompanied by salt and castor sugar.

Fruits served in a desert can be hard, soft, citrus-containing, Or dry fruit.

(xvii) Cafe (coffee)

This is the end of the meal where different types of tea and coffee with or without milk are served.

Examples:- Turkish coffee, cafe au latte, Espresso, Cappuccino