french terms

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FOOD AND
BEVERAGE SERVICE
R. Singaravelavan

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PART II
8. French and Culinary
Terms

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Chapter 8
French and Culinary Terms
This chapter will help you
• understand the culinary terms often used
• write French names of the ingredients and identify their gender
• write the menu in French

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French and Culinary Terms
• Catering professionals and students must have a sound
knowledge of the culinary and French terms that are very often
found on menu cards and culinary books.
• Catering professionals should be able to understand the French
terms so as to explain the dishes to guests effectively.
• A working knowledge of French grammar and menu terms also
facilitates in compiling the menu.
• The following are some culinary and French terms. Refer to
page no.143 and 144 for more terms

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French and Culinary Terms
À la : In the style of. For example, à la française,which
means dishes prepared in French style and à l’anglaise,
which means dishes prepared in English style
À la broche : Roasted on a spit
À la diable : Highly seasoned dish
Aiguillette : Long thin slice of cooked meat cut from the
breast
Au bleu : Method of preparing fresh water fish, especially
trout in a court bouillon which gives a blue tinge
Ballotine : Boned and stuffed leg of poultry

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French and Culinary Terms
The accents used in French are
´ = acute accent
` = grave accent
ˆ = circumflex accent
¸ = cedilla (çédille). It is placed under the letter ‘c’ when
followed by a, o, and u to get the sound of ‘s’.
• ¨ = diaeresis (accent tréma).
• French nouns are either masculine or feminine and there
is no neutral gender in French. One
• should be able to differentiate between masculine and
feminine nouns, which is most essential for
• writing without any mistake.

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French and Culinary Terms
French nouns are either masculine or feminine and there is no
neutral gender in French. One should the gender of nouns,
which is essential for writing without any mistake.
Indefinite article
• Un
• Une = a, an
• ‘Un’ is placed before masculine singular and ‘une’ is placed
before feminine singular .
• For example, un crab = a crab, une sole = a sole.
• The plural of un and une is des, For example,des crabs =
crabs, des soles = soles.

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French and Culinary Terms
Definite article
Le
La The
L’
Le = before masculine singular: le melon = the melon.
La = before feminine singular: la pêche = the peach.
L’ = before masculine and feminine singular nouns starting with
vowel or ‘h’ mute. For example, l’ avocat
• The plural for le, la, and l’ is les. For example, les melons, les
pêches, les avocats, les oranges, les huiles.

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French and Culinary Terms

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French and Culinary Terms

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French and Culinary Terms
The following are the some of the terms found on the
menu, which refer to a specific food item.
• Dubarry – Cauliflower
• Clamart – Peas
• Doria – Cucumber
• Lyonnaise – Onion
• Washington – Maize
• Singapore – Pineapple
• Normandy – Apple

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French and Culinary Terms

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Points to Remember
• Food and beverage professionals should have a
working knowledge of French to understand and
write the menu without error.