1. The French Classical Menu:
France and to some extent Switzerland took the lead in standardizing and globalising the art of
food presentation and food service. The earliest form of banqueting and formal food service
goes back to monarchs who used to serve up huge meals consisting of 50-80 dishes in the honor
of visiting heads of state in the early 15th century.
The menu slowly underwent modifications wherein the French classical menus
evolved. This classical menu had some 17 distinct courses which slowly got reduced to 14,then
went on to become 11.This classical menu has many regional varieties but dining in the
Continent, Europe, is even today as per the sequence of courses of the classical menu.
Today, very rarely are all these courses served together .We select a few,
3-5,courses from the classical menu to compile smaller, attractive and balanced menu for
today’s guests.
9.2 Sequence Of Courses For The French Classical Menu:
Before attempting to discuss the details of the courses of the French classical
menu, one should be thorough with the sequence and a basic comprehension of the courses,
which make up the classical menu. The following is the sequence of the 11 courses of the
classical menu:
Sl.no:
Course
English equivalent
1
Hors-d’oeuvre
Starters
2
Potage
Soup
3
Poisson
2. Fish
4
Entrée
Entry of meat
5
Relev’e
Relieve or butcher joints of meat
6
Sorbet
The rest course
7
Roti
Roasts
8
Legumes
Vegetables
9
Entremets
Kitchen sweets
10
Savoureux
Savory
11
Dessert
Fresh fruits and nuts.
3. Fig 9.1
9.3 Cover For Each Course:
Each course of the continental menu has a distinct cover. The exceptions in
cover set up are also well documented. Any aspiring food and beverage service professional has
to be sure of the table set up, cover and the accompaniments which are served with every
course so as to compliment the chef’s efforts with the food service.
The credit to standardization of cover set up may be attributed to the
celebrated maitre d’hotel Oscar of the Valdorf, who when working with the waldorf Astoria
came up with a multivolume illustration in his culinary work of 1904.He has given distinct table
settings and mentioned the style of service for each course of the continental menu.
The following chart is a broad guideline for students of the catering trade
which should help them set correct covers for the distinct courses of the French classical menu.
Fig 9.2
Course
Set up
Exception
Hors-d oeuvre
Fish knife +fish fork
Fish plate
Or
Small knife +small fork half plate
For starters served in a coupe or bowl, coupe on a doilley covered quarter plate with a tea
spoon passed
Potage
Soup bowl on a soup saucer on a quarter plate with soup spoon or soup plate on a large plate
with a soup spoon
4. For consommé, consommé cup on a saucer on quarter plate with dessert spoon
Poisson
Fish knife, fish fork with a fish plate
-------
Entrée
Large knife large fork with a large plate
When entrée is followed by releve’ or roti entree’ gets small knife, small fork and half plate.
Releve’
Large knife, large fork with a large plate
-----------------
Sorbet
Sorbet glass on quarter plate covered with a doilley.tea spoon passed.
-------------
Roti
Large knife, large fork with a large plate
--------------
Legumes
Small knife, small fork with a half plate.
For a vegetarian meal large knife, large fork and a large plate
Entremets
Dessert spoon, dessert fork, dessert plate
For entremets served in glass coupe’, coupe’ on a doilley covered quarter plate with a tea spoon
passed
Savoureux
Small knife, small fork, half plate
--------------
5. Dessert
Fruit knife, fruit fork, dessert plate
Nut cracker, grape scissor; spare quarter plate, two finger bowls one with warm water and
lemon wedge, another with cold water and a rose petal both on a quarter plate are passed
when whole fruits and nuts in shells are presented.
9.4 Examples From Each Course:
9.4.1 Hors-D’oeuvre:
These are spicy tit-bits of tangy food, which can be usually eaten in one or two bites. They
enhance the appetite for the courses to follow. Horse-d’oeuvre can be classified into:
· Classical hors-d’oeuvre:
I. Caviar: roe of sturgeon fish served on
blinis,a buck wheat flour pancake
II. Oysters
III. Smoked salmon
IV. Goose liver paste
V. Snails: served with garlic butter.
VI. Potted shrimps
· Hors-d’oeuvre varies:
I. Tuna canapé
II. Salmon canapé
III. Chicken canapé
IV. Egg canapé
V. Cheese/cucumber/tomato canapé
VI. Russian salad
VII. Beetroot salad
VIII. Potato favorite
6. IX. Tomato juice
X. Mixed fruit cocktail
XI. Grape fruit cocktail
XII. Melon cocktail
XIII. Asparagus
XIV. Corn on the cob
XV. Globe artichoke
9.4.2 Potage: Soups
Soups are liquid food served at the beginning of a meal. In smaller contemporary menu soup is
usually served as a choice for starters. Originally in France “soups” meant a slice of bread into
which was poured the contents of the pot which most often contained unstrained slices of
meat, vegetables or fish, pasta, rice etc. Hence came the word potage.
Soups can be classified into:
· Thick soups
· Thin soups
Thick soups: can be classified on the basis of their thickening agents into
a. Puree soup: thickened by starch content of vegetables cooked in the soup.
b. Cream soup: thickened by adding roux or béchamel sauce in the stock.
c. Veloute soup: thickened by adding egg yolk, butter and cream
d. Bisque: made from pureed shellfish, cream and rice as thickening agent.
Examples of thick soup:
Puree soup
i. Puree of celery soup
ii. Puree of leek soup
iii. Puree of asparagus soup
iv. Puree of carrot soup
v. Puree of potato soup
7. Cream soup
i. Cream of tomato soup
ii. Cream of spinach soup
iii. Cream of asparagus soup
iv. Cream of chicken soup
v. Cream of mushroom soup
Veloute soup: (i) Artichoke veloute soup
(ii) Asparagus veloute soup
(iii) Chicken veloute soup
Bisque : (i) Lobster bisque
(ii) Mix seafood bisque
(iii) Chicago bisque
Thin Soups: These are usually listed before thick soups and are commonly flavored stock with
pieces of vegetables or meat added as garnish. Thin soups can be of the following types
( i ) Consommé and consommé derivatives : They are well flavored stock which are clarified
before being passed through a double muslin. Consommés are named on the garnish added to
them.
(ii) Broth: These are thin soups, passed but not clarified. They have a distinct flavor of aromatic
herbs.
Examples of thin soups are
Consommé
I. Consommé célestine - A consommé garnished with slices of thin pancakes.
II. Consommé Royale - A consommé garnished with savory egg custard.
III. Consommé Colbert - A consommé garnished with poached eggs.
IV. Consommé Julienne - A consommé garnished with long thin slices of vegetables
like carrot, pimento and cabbage.
V. Consommé Brunoise - A consommé with small cubes of vegetables like carrot, turnip
and pimento.
8. Consommé Derivatives
I. Borsch -A duck flavored consommé
II. Clear turtle soup - A consommé flavored with turtle herbs
III. French onion soup - A consommé covered with slices of French bread, fried onions,
cheese and gratinated.
IV. Petite marmite - A beef consommé with small pieces of chicken, carrot, leek
and celery.
Broth
I. Scotch broth
II. Fennel scented vegetable broth.
Soup can also be classified as cold soups and international soup.
Cold soup are soups served chilled or with ice-cubes.
International soups are the national soups of different countries.
Examples of cold soup
I. Gazpacho: A blend of raw cucumber, pimento and tomato with crushed garlic and
bread, seasoned with cumin and served with bread croutons and chopped onion.
II. Vichyssoise: A stew of leek with onion and butter with a swirl of whipped cream and
a sprinkling of chopped chives.
III.
INTERNATIONAL SOUPS:
SOUP
COUNTRY
MINESTRONE
11. II. Flat Fish e.g. pomfret, sole, brill
III. Shell fish e.g. lobster, prawn, crabs etc
Fish can be cooked in a variety of methods poached, baked, grilled or shallow and deep-fried.
Richer fish preparation like grills, baked or deep-fried are popular for dinner whereas poached,
shallow fried etc are more often featured on the lunch menu.
Examples of fish dishes will include:
1. Fillet of sole Colbert: Fillet of sole fish, dipped in egg white, rolled in bread crumbs, deep
fried and served with Colbert butter
2. Fillet of pomfret Orly: Fillet of pomfret egg washed, bread crumbed, dipped in frying batter
and deep fried, served with tomato sauce.
3. Fillet of sole meuniere: Fillet of sole rolled in flour, shallow fried in hot butter served with a
slice of lemon, with nut butter poured on top. Chopped parsley sprinkled on top
4. Fillet of pomfret Bonne Femme: Fillet of pomfret cooked in white wine and fish stock with
chopped shallots, parsley and diced button mushrooms, reduced in oven with butter cream.
5. Grilled white bait: Grilled white bait served with cubes of maitre d ‘hotel butter.
6. Lobster Americaine: dices of lobster cooked with tomatoes, butter, crushed garlic, shallots,
white wine and finished with brandy.
7. Fried fillet of pomfret: deep fried fillet of pomfret served with tartare sauce
9.4.4 Entrée: Entry Of Meat:
This is the first meat course of the classical menu. With the contemporary menu becoming more
and more compact, entrée today is probably the most favored main course. Entrée comprises of
small pieces of meat served with sauce or gravy.
By itself an entrée is a main course. However if an entrée were followed by relevé or rôti, it
would be considered a side dish in a menu.
Popular examples of entrée are
1. Chicken Maryland: A segment of chicken given egg wash, coated with bread crumbs and
shallow fried. It is classically served with bacon rashes, corn cakes and banana fritters
2. Chicken Chasseur: sautéd chicken cooked in demiglaze with mushrooms, shallots, tomato
and white wine
12. 3. Chicken à la kiev: supreme of chicken stuffed with butter, coated with egg wash, crumbed
and deep fried and served with mashed potatoes
4. Chicken à la king: Diced chicken cooked in a cream sauce with red & green peppers served
in a ring of boiled rice.
5. Beef Strognoff: A preparation of thinly sliced beef, coated with cream sauce, garnished
with onions and mushroom, served on a bed of rice.
6. Moussaka: A dish from Greece, made from diced aubergine arranged in layers alternating
with mutton and onion with aubergine pulp on the top, add béchamel sauce and serve with
tomato fondue.
7. Irish stew: A stew of mutton & potatoes cooked with sliced onion, simmered on slow fire.
Served with pickled red cabbage and Worcestershire sauce.
8. Lamb Cutlets: Seasoned cutlets of lamb with pepper, salt, coat with beaten eggs, crumb
and sauté in clarified butter.
9. Grilled Pork chops: Season pork chops with salt and pepper, brush with butter and grill on a
barbeque. Garnish with watercress sprinkled with lemon. The classical accompaniment is Apple
sauce
10. Kebab Orientale: Savory chunks of meat and vegetables cooked on a skewer
9.4.5 Relevé:
Butcher joints of meat:
This course is the main course of the French menu. Relevé and rôti are both considered main
courses and unless all the 11 courses are being served in the same meal, which is a rarity today,
the two courses do not appear together in the same menu.
Relevé generally comprises of large joints of butcher’s meat that are roasted, grilled, braised or
poêléd and are served with vegetables and accompaniment sauces.
Relevé are carved at the table, sideboard or on a carving trolley just prior to service.
Some popular examples of relevé
Roast leg of lamb served with mint sauce
Roast leg of mutton served with onion sauce
Roast leg of pork served with apple sauce
Roast leg of beef served with horseradish sauce
13. 9.4.6 SORBET: The rest Course:
In the classical French menu, the sorbet is considered as the rest course between two main
courses relevé and rôti. The guest may be escorted to the nearby lounge away from the dining
table. As the table is reset for the subsequent courses, the guests are served chilled sorbet.
Cigars and cigarettes may also be passed at this stage though tobacco is not a part of the sorbet
course.
Sorbets are chilled drinks granular, do not contain fat or egg yolk
The basic ingredients are
1. A fruit juice or fruit puree
2. A wine, liqueur or an infusion of tea/coffee
3. Sugar syrup
4. Some meringue for volume
Examples of sorbet include
Peach Sorbet
Raspberry Sorbet
Lemon Sorbet
Champagne Sorbet
Calvados Sorbet
Apricot Sorbet
Sugarcane Sorbet
9.4.7 RÔTI: ROAST:
Considered the heaviest course in the French classical menu, this course comprises of roast
poultry, roast games birds and roast game animals.
Like relevé they are served with typical sauce, roast gravy, vegetables and potato
Large game animals include
Ø Deer , roebuck, wild boar
Small game animals include
14. Ø Hare , wild rabbit
Game birds include
Ø Pheasant , partridge, wild turkey, woodcock
Game are animals and birds that are hunted for their meat. Many countries have banned
hunting of many of the above animals.
Therefore Food and Beverage team should be aware of the local laws and not include any
banned meat in menu.
Poultry includes: Chicken, Duck, Goose, Turkey, Rabbit.
Roast game animals are generally served with red currant jelly or Cumberland sauce. Roast
game birds are usually served with bread sauce or cranberry sauce.
Some examples of rôti course include:
Roast chicken with bread sauce
Roast duck with apple sauce
Pot Roasted duck with orange sauce
Roast goose with apple sauce
Roast turkey with cranberry sauce
Roast deer with Cumberland sauce.
9.4.8 Légume: Vegetables:
This course indicates a stage of the classical menu where the dishes become lighter again. The
légume course adds fiber, minerals and vitamins to the diet. Vegetables served with relevé or
rôti are accompaniments and are not included in the legume course. The légume course consists
of such vegetables that are served with some accompaniment sauces. In a vegetarian menu this
course would become the main course, otherwise it is a side course.
When served as a side course it is served in a smaller portion on a half plate whereas when it
appears as main course it is served in a larger portion and is dished on a very large plate along
with its accompaniments
In this aspect it is similar to the entrée. Unless it is a vegan menu (food without eggs and meats)
some sauces used in legumes course could contain eggs.
Examples of legume course:
15. Boiled Asparagus tips served hot in hollandaise sauce
Artichoke hearts served cold with mayonnaise sauce
Roasted corn cobs served with melted butter
Vegetable au gratin: vegetables in béchamel sauce, cheese sprinkled on top and gratinated in a
salamander.
Vegetable Cutlets: Mashed mixture of boiled vegetables like potato, carrots, bean, and peas
seasoned with salt and pepper, given an egg wash, crumbed and deep fried, served with potato
chips and boiled vegetables.
9.4.9: Entremet: The Sweet Course:
Entremet are kitchen, bakery and confectionery sweets served towards the end of the French
classical menu. The misnomer we need to understand is that entremet gets dessert spoon and
dessert fork on the cover, where as the dessert course is eaten with a fruit knife and fruit fork.
The dessert indicators, meant for the entremet, are placed on the top of the cover.
These sweets may be of two types
Cold Sweets
Hot Sweets
Examples of sweets served hot or warm:
Puddings like cabinet pudding, diplomat pudding, bread and butter pudding, caramel custard.
Fruit fritters like banana fritters, apple fritter, pineapple fritters etc.
Pancakes like : Crepe suzette, crepe au sucré
Soufflé like : Chocolate Soufflé , Coffee soufflé, Vanilla Soufflé
Cold sweets include:
Bavarois like: coffee bavarois, ribbon bavarois
Fruit salad: Served with cream or ice cream
Mousse: like coffee mousse, Chocolate mousse etc
Ice cream sweets: Peach Melba, Sundae, and different flavors of ice-cream.
9.4.10 Savoureux: The Savory Course:
16. In the French classical menu, guests who do not wish to have sweets at the end of the meal
choose savoury to close their meal. Savoury are small tit-bits of canapé or toast on which spicy
fillings are placed. Savouries and entremets are not served together in small meal. Infact most
contemporary meals are closed by any one of the three courses: entremet, savoury or dessert
Examples of savoury course:
Anchovies on toast
Sardines on toast
Mushrooms on toast
Cheese chilly toast
Angels on horseback: Poached oysters wrapped in bacon , grilled on skewers and served on
toast
Devils on horseback: Stoned , cooked prunes stuffed with spicy chutney , wrapped in bacon ,
grilled and served on toast.
9.4.11 Dessert: The Last Course:
The finale of the French classical menu, this course includes fresh fruits and nuts which are
presented in a basket or a fruit stand. As mentioned earlier the cover for dessert is a fruit knife
and fruit fork and a cold dessert plate. Nut crackers, Grape scissors and a spare quarter plate for
the shells is passed
The following fruits and nuts are usually served in the dessert course:
Fresh Apricots
Kiwi Fruit
Fresh Strawberry
Grape Fruit
Mangoes
Lychees
Grapes
Apples
Oranges
Nuts that may be offered
17. Cashew nuts
Almonds
Pistachio
Walnuts
Hazzlenuts
9.5 Accompaniment For Common Dishes in the Classical Menu
Fruit cocktails and juices: castor sugar .
Tomato juice : salt , pepper, Worcestershire sauce.
Oyster: Oyster cruet consisting of (cayenne pepper, pepper mill, chili vinegar, Tabasco sauce)and
brown bread & butter.
Snails : Hot garlic butter , brown bread.
Smoked salmon: Cayenne pepper, pepper mill, brown bread and butter, segment of
lemon,tabasco sauce.
Caviar: Blinis, Sieved hard boiled egg white and egg yolk, chopped parsley, chopped shallots,
brown bread and butter, cayenne pepper, pepper mill, ½ lemon tied in muslin cloth.
Melon: Ground ginger, castor sugar
Asparagus: When served hot: Hollandaise or melted butter
when served cold: Mayonnaise or vinaigrette.
Corn on the cob: Melted butter
Goose liver paste: Hot breakfast toast
Minestrone Soup: Grated parmesan cheese
Cream of Tomato Soup: Cream, Fried Croutons
Borsch: Sour cream, Beetroot juice and bouchees filled with duck paste
Muligatwany: Boiled Rice
Fillet of Pomfret: Tartare sauce
Fillet of Sole Orly: Tomato Sauce
Chicken Maryland: Corn cakes, Banana fritters, bacon rashes
18. Roast turkey: Cranberry Sauce, Chipolatas ,Roast gravy, game chips ,bread sauce
Roast chicken : Bread Sauce, Roast Gravy, Game Chips
Roast lamb: Mint Sauce, Roast Gravy , Roast potatoes
Roast mutton: Red currant jelly, Roast gravy. Onion Sauce
Roast Pork: Apple Sauce, Roast Gravy, Sage and onion stuffing.
Cheese Platter: Cream Cracker biscuits, Melted butter, Celery sticks, Salt & pepper, Mustard.
