17 Course of French Classical Menu

Here in this article we will discuss detailed 17 Course of French Classical Menu and their servings.

01. HORS D’ OEUVRE

The first course of French Classical Menu to be served at a meal This course is usually composed of dishes of salty, tangy taste and light texture to stimulated die appetite. The term hors d’ oeuvre usually apply to the variety of dishes offered such as cold salad, chicken salad. anchovies (a fish belonging to the family of herring), potato salad, sardine, smoked salmon. The presentation of a hors’ d oeuvre is very important. It should always look decorated. Thcre are two main types of hors’d oeuvres :- Cold and hot. Cold hors’d oeuvre includes the following: – Fish or sea food which can be either marinated. smoked in oil or in vinegar ‘Vegetables a la grecque ; various types of charcutiere ; fish roes ; various raw vegetables stuffed or jellied eggs, mixed salad; stuffed grape fruit, prawn cock tail etc. Hors’d oeuvre dishes are small and usually oblong or rectangle.

Cold preparation like salamis and ham are also served. A single item or more can be served from the above list before service of the next course. Beside the same, fruit juice, fruit cocktails certain var ieties of seafood like oysters, snails are also served. Hot hors’d oeuvres includes vols- ou-venh croquettes, rissoles, kromeskies. fritters, fritots.

• The silverware used for hors d: oeuvre is fish knife and fish fork.
• This course is a starter which is basically tasty and tangy and stimulates our hunger and increases our appetite.
• They are of two types-
• Classical- all Pre plated and cover is item specific
• General- most of them platter to plate and cover is fish knife and fish fork

CLASSICAL HORS D’OEUVRES

Pample mousse ( Grapefruit)- This is a citrus fruit served

Cover- Grape fruit cup, doily, under plate, grapefruit spoon/tea spoon. Accompaniment- caster sugar in sugar dredger

Jus (Juice)

Fruit juices like orange juice, pineapple juices, apple juices etc.

Cover- Pony tumbler, doily, teaspoon and under plate

Accompaniment- Sweet – Caster sugar

Cocktail de fruits de mer (Sea Food Cocktail)

– shellfish like shrimps, lobster etc dressed with cocktail sauce

Cocktail sauce- mayonnaise + tomato ketchup

• Cocktail de crevettes- indicates prawn
• Cocktail d’homard- indicates lobster garnished with parsley
• Cover- Sea food cocktail glass, doily, under plate and teaspoon.

Huitre ( oyster) –Bivalve molluscs served raw in clusters of dozen

Cover- in a deep plate on a bed of crushed ice, above a cloth napkin on a large plate, one oyster fork or fish fork at an angel of 45° to the cover from the edge of the table on the right hand side.

Melon

– there are 4 common varieties

• Canteloupe
• Honey Dew
• Charentaise
• Water melon

Cover- Boat shaped cut (melon cup), half plate, doily, fruit fork, fruit knife.

If over ripe- serve with dessert spoon to the right of the cover

If not very ripe and scooped out- serve with the tea spoon accompanied with   caster sugar

 Caviare (caviar)

– These are roe of sturgeon

Roe- processed fish eggs

Sturgeon- Particular species of fish found in Caspian Sea or black sea

Types-

• Grainy Caviar
• Pressed Caviar

Grainy caviar can be further classified into-

Beluga- white in colour

Sevruga- dark in colour

Ossetra- black in colour

It is sold in weight basis. Almas is the costliest among all the caviars which costs 23000 dollar per kg.

Cover- Caviar Knife/ Fish Knife on the right side of the cover, caviar pot on a bed of crushed ice in a caviar plate

Accompaniment- Blinis/Toast (blinis is a savoury Russian pan cake), sieved egg yolk, chopped egg white, chopped shallots and segments of lemon

GENERAL HORS D’OEUVRE      

Cover- Fish knife, Fish Fork and Half Plate

1. Salads- dressed or tossed
2. Oeuf Mayonnaise
3. Fish- Anchovies, tuna, prawns, pickled fish, smoked fish etc
4. Meat- Cold cuts
5. Canapés- one bite sized snacks with a base of bread, toppings and garnish

Pate de foie gras- paste of goose liver

Corn on the cob (Mais naturel)

Avocado (Avacado vinaigratte)

Asparagus (Ausparegs au beurre fondue)

02. POTAGE (SOUP)

served as 2^nd course of French Classical Menu

Liquid extract of solid ingredients, classified as food Of two types-

• Thick
• Thin – of two types
• With garnish
• Without garnish
• Thick Soup-

1. Cream soup:- Crème de Tomate, Cream of Germaine(Pea), Cream of mushroom soup, Cream of argenteuil(asparagus)
2. Puree:- Puree of lentils,Pea Soup,tomato soup Conde(Puree of red kidney beans)
3. Bisque:- Bisque d’homard, Crayfish Bisque, Lobter Bisque
4. Chowder:- Clam Chowder, Seafood Chowder, Oyester Chowder

Cover- Soup Bowl/ Soup Plate, under plate, soup spoon, doily/ paper napkin

• Thin Soup-

1. With Garnish-Consommé brunoise, consommé julienne etc.

Cover-Soup Bowl, doily, under plate, soup spoon

1. Without garnish- Consommé clair, consommé en tasse etc.

Cover- Double handled consommé cup, under plate, doily and dessert spoon.

International Soups EXAMPLES

• Petit Marmite
• Onion Soup (Soup a’ l’oignon), French Onion Soup
• Potage St German ( Green Pea Soup)
• Crème de tomate ( Cream of Tomato ), spinach (épinard), Potato (Pomme de terre) , Green Peas (Petit Pois), broccoli, Chicken, Asparagus.
• Purée de (Champignon (Mushroom),
• Consomme (Célestine, Julienne, a royal, dubbary, jardinier)
• Consomme en gelee
• Bortsch
• Bouillabaisse
• Scotch Broth , Minestroni
• Gazpacho ( Cold Soup) , Consomme en Gellé (Cold Soup) , Vichyssoise ( Cold Soup), Melon Soup ( Cold Soup)
• Manhattan Clam Chowder, Corn Chowder
• Cock-a-leekie (Leek and potato soup made with chicken stock, from Scotland)
• Gumbo ( An American Soup made with Okhra)
• Mulligatawny (Indian soup with meat, vegetables and spices)

03. Oeuf (EGG)

Consists of various egg preparations. served as 3^RD course of French Classical Menu

• Oeuf sur le plate en bercy:- cooked in its own dish finish in the oven garnished with a chipolata sausage and spread of tomato sauce.
• Omelettes Espagnole:- Flat omelettes with onion, pepper and tomato
• Omelettes aux-champignonc:- Mushroom omelets.
• Oeuf poche’ florenline: – Poached egg on bed of spinach coated with cheese and gratinated.
• Oeuf bromlle au lard :- Scrambled egg with bacon (obtained from belly of pig)

04. PASTA and RICE DISHES

 The dishes are rich in starch (carbohydrates) served as 4^TH course of French Classical Menu Eg.

• Spaghetti Neapolitan: – Spaghetti in tomato and garlic flavored sauce
• Spaghetti Bolognaise: – With minced lean beef in rich brown sauce.
• Ravioli: – This is noodle type pasta filled with varieties of stuffing such as chicken, beef and spinach
• Gnocchi Romaine: – Semolina based
• Cannelloni – Roll of ravioli pasta filled with stuffing as for Pastas A dough made from durum wheat semolina. water and often egg. Pasta is shaped in various ways and sometimes flavored. It is solid, dried or fresh. Ready to cook in boiling salt water (to serve with a sauce, for gamisliing soup or for gran as) or it may be sold ready stuffed and cooked, simply requiring heating.

Durum wheat which is grown in Italy, Mediterranean, the Middle East Prussia, North and South America. It is hard wheat high in gluten, which is ground into semolina

Varieties of Pasta: – Most Pastas come from Italy and can be divided into four broad groups.

Pasta for Soup: –

5. Vermicelli, Linguine (small grains )
6. Pennette (small grills)
7. Stelline (little stars)
8. Risoni (rice grains)
9. Conchigliette (little shells)
10. Aneliini ( little rings)

Pasta for Boiling: –

Tagiatelle, Trenette (flat)

Spaghetti, Spagfrettini, Fideline (cylindrical)

Macaroni, Rigatoni, Penne (hollow)

Pappardele (nests)

Farfalle (butterflies)

Eliche (spirals)

Pasta for Baking: –

1. Lasagne (smooth and wavy edges)

Filled Pasta

Cannelloni and ravioli are the commonest form but the other types of filled pasta include tortellini and tortellioni.

Examples:

• Spaghetti Carbonara
• Spaghetti Bolognaise
• Lasagne Napolitaine
• Macaroni au gratin
• Gnocchi romaine
• Riz pilaf
• Riz a la creole
• Risitto a la milannaise
• Penne Arabiata
• Spinach Tortellini

05. Poisson( Fish)

 Fish being a lighter item prepare the palate for other dishes. Served as 5^th course of French Classical Menu

Cover- Fish Knife, fish fork and half plate

Examples:

• Poisson frit à l’ orly (Batter) – tomato ketchup
• Poisson grille- lemon butter sauce
• Sole meunnier Shallow fried in butter.
• Sole CobbertFillet of sole in white wine sauce garnished with white grapes
• Bonne Femme Fillet of sole with white sauce garnished with mushroom
• Dame d’ saumon grille’ Grilled salmon cutlet with egg and butter based sauce flavoured with chopped tarragon and chervil.
• Hareng grille
• Poisson poache hollandaise
• Scampi frit
• Saumon poche
• Moules mariniere ( Shell fish)
• Poisson a l’orly
• Sole mornay
• Truite au bleu
• Homard thermidor

06. ENTREE

In a grand dinner entree is either served in a hot dish or a cold dish. Mixed entrees are composite dishes such as croustades, timbales and small pale’s. Today they include, fish, shellfish ,caviar, foie gras, fish terrine pasta dishes (such as gnocchi, macaroni, spaghetti and ravioli) knenelles, savoury pastries, egg dishes and even vegetables dishes.

Dish following the fish course is called entree which in English is entrance. This is usually the first meat dish and it is generally complete in itself served from the kitchen with appropriate garnish and accompaniment Cutlery used is small knife, small fork and a half plate eg. lamb chops, cutlets. Its Served as 6^th course of French Classical Menu

EXAMPLE

• Poulet saute’ Chasseur: Sauted chicken in rich brown sauce flavoured with tomato and mushroom.
• Supreme de Volaille Sous Cloche: Breast and wings of chicken cooked under a cover in oven.
• Foie deVeau au Lard :- Calf liver with bacon
• Steak Diane: Shallow fry minute steak with a rich sauce
• Chopped ‘ agneau Lamb chop (chop = ribs)
• Chateaubriand
• Shepherd’s pie
• Veal Chops Provencale, Lamb chops,
• Coq Au Vin
• Cotes of Veal
• Poulet a la Kiev
• Poulet a la king
• Pork chops Grille

07. SORBET

It is a mid course of meal. It is the time for the guest to relax. Classically it is a glass of very chilled water flavoured with a few drops of champagne, which is served for the guest to sip it casually.A types of water ice that is softer and more granular than ice cream as it does not contain fat or egg yolk The basic ingredients of a sorbet are fruit juice or puree, wine or sprit or liqueur or an ‘ infusion (tea or mint) a sugar syrup sometimes with addition glucose or one or two invert sugar is added. The mixture should be beaten during freezing. Historically sorbet was the first iced desserts. Ice cream did not appear until 18 century. The word sorbet is a gallicization of the Italian “sorbetto” derived from Turkish “chorbet” and Arab “sharabs” which simply meant drink. Sorbet were originally made from fruit, honey, aromatic substances and snow. Sorbet is served in sundae glasses or tall glasses. They are sometimes sprinkled with a liqueur or alcohol to match A types of water ice that is sofer and more granular than ice cream as it does not contain fat or egg yolk The basic ingredients of a sorbet are fruit juice or puree, wine or sprit or liqueur or an ‘ infusion (tea or mint) a sugar syrup sometimes with addition glucose or one or two invert sugar is added. The mixture should be beaten during freezing. Historically sorbet was the first iced desserts. Ice cream did not appear until 18 century. The word sorbet is a gallicization of the

Italian “sorbetto” derived from Turkish “chorbef” and Arab “sharabs” which simply meant drink. Sorbet were originally made from fruit, honey, aromatic substances and snow. Sorbet is served in sundae glasses or tall glasses. They are sometimes sprinkled with a liqueur or alcohol to match

their flavor (vodka or lime, dear spirit on appropriate tin it) other ingredients such as raisin pine nuts etc can be incorporated into the mixer before freezing. In case of 12 courses classical* menu it is served after releves but in case of 17 course French menu it is served before releve. This is actually a rest between the courses and it counter acts the effect the dishes already consumed. In this course flavored ice and snow is served in a goblet or tumbler on an undcr plate with a tea spoon. Cigarettes are smoked at this stage preferably Turkish Russian, and Egyptian. Its Served as 7^th course of French Classical Menu

Examples

• Sorbet aux fruits
• Sorbet a la peche (Peach)
• Sorbet a la poire (Pear)
• Sorbet a la framboise (Raspberry)
• Sorbet aux calvados (Apple)
• Sorbet a la abricote (Apricot)
• Sorbet aux Champaigne
• Sorbet au cacao et aux raisin
• Sorbet a la fraise (Strawberry)
• Cigars : Bolívar, Don Diego , Jose Carlos , La Paz , Romeo y Julieta

Cover- champagne saucer/ pony tumbler, under plate, teaspoon

08. RELEUE

Also known as joints, saddle of mutton, leg of lamb, ribs of beef braised, boiled etc and served with potato and at least two other vegetables as an accompaniment. This is actually die main source of die menu, hi Indian style meat curry, korma kadai makhni are served with rice, chapaties, naan, pulao, kulcha, dal, pap ad. raita. achar, as an accompaniment. The silver used are large knife and large lork with a large plate. When rice is on menu a dessert spoon and finger bowl is provided. Served as 8^th course of French Classical Menu

Example

• Gigot d’ agneau roti avec sauce menth:- Roast leg of lamb with mint sauce
• Contrefillet de Boeuf roti a langalise:- Boiled and roasted sirloin of beef
• Boeuf roti(roasted beef)- sauce raifort (horseradish sauce)
• Cuissot de porc roti (roasted hind pork) – sauce des pommes (apple sauce)
• Yorkshire pudding, steaks etc can also be served as an accompaniment
• Gigot d’agneau roti avec sauce menth
• Stuff top loin aux veal
• Gigot de mouton roti avec sauce oignon
• Gigot de porc roti avec puree de pomme
• Gigot de boeuf roti avec jus
• Carre d agneau roti
• Contrefilet de Boeuf a la anglaise
• Roast rib of Beef a la boquetiere
• Roast shoulder of lamb en ballottine
• Irish Stew

Cover- Large knife, large fork and large plate

09. ROTI- ROAST

It is the main course, usually roasted and grilled games, bird, poultry like turkey, chicken, goose, wild rabbit, deer, wild boar etc.

Roti is a French word for a piece of meat or fish cooked directly in front of the fire. In theory roti was applied only to meat where as rot would mean any of die dishes served in the great houses after entree, which might or might not contain meat. This course signifies poultry or game, chiken. patridge. turkey, duck, pheasant, goose etc which are roasted, braised and accompanied by a suitable sauce. In Indian cuisine tandoor can be served. A nicely dressed salad, which can also be served as an accompaniment. Served as 9^th course of French Classical Menu

Silver used are large knife. large fork and large plate.

Example

• Poulet roti (chicken roast) sauce de pain (bread sauce)
• Porc roti
• Dindon roti (Turkey) sauce d’airelle (cranberry sauce)
• Agneau roti (Lamb)
• Canard roti (Duck)
• Caneton roti (Duckling) Sauce d’orange
• Roast Potato Roast chestnut, cauliflower, brinjal.
• Lapin Roti (roasted rabbit) – Jus Roti

10. Legume(vegetables)

In this course vegetables are served as a separate course in itself consisting mainly oi artichoke, asparagus, broccoli. cauliflower, tomato, french bean, mushroom, cucumber, etc are particularly dressed and served as 10^th course of French Classical Menu

Example

• Puree-de-pommes- Creamed potatoes
• Pommes Persilles- Boiled potato coated with melted butter ans sprinkled chopped parsley
• Champignon grilles
• Artichaut Grilles
• Veg au gratin
• Artichoke a la bretonne
• Sweet potato a l’imperiale
• Broccoli a la creme
• Sauted brussels
• Courgette flowers with truffles
• French beans a la mayonnaise
• Pumpkin au jus
• Celery a la milanaise
• Aubergine fritter
• Choux fleur Mornay,
• Asperges chaud- Beurre fondu,
• Legume au gratin
• Vichy Carrot
• Mashed potato, Hash Brown Potato

11. Salad

A cold dish of various mixtures of raw or cooked vegetables, usually seasoned with oil, vinegar, or other dressing and sometimes accompanied by meat, fish, or other ingredients. Served as 11^th course of French Classical Menu

Examples

• Carmen salad
• Russian salad
• Cesar salad
• Dandelion and bacon salad
• Salade gourmende
• Doria salad
• Avacado Salad
• Brimont Salad

12. Cold Buffet (Buffet Froid)

Cold items are served in this course. Served as 12^th course of French Classical Menu

Examples:-

• Galantine de vollale
• Mayonnaise de homard
• Saumon poche froid
• Escalope de saumon cru aux deux poivres
• Mayonnaise de saumon
• Wild rice risotto terrine
• Foie gras and ham hock terrine
• Pressed rabbit terrine wrapped in prosciutto
• Eggs in Aspic (Oeufs en Gelée)
• Pate de foie gras

13. Entremet de sûcre

Entrance of sugar or the sweet course Served as 13^th course of French Classical Menu

Examples:-

• Crepe Suzette
• Peach melba
• Baba au rhum
• Mousse au chocolat
• Creme brouille
• Banana souffle
• Crème caramel
• Albert Pudding
• Palm pudding
• Caramel Custard
• Black Forrest Gateaux

14. Fromage (Cheese)

Various types of cheese is served in this course Served as 14^th course of French Classical Menu

Example:

Adam, Gouda, Emmenthal, Cheddar, Brie, Camembert

Gorgonzola, Blue Danish, Mozzarella, Philadelphia

15. SAVOUREAUX – SAVOURY

Various hot tit bits in usual portions is served on toast, pastries etc.. This is basically bite size item. Served as 15^th course of French Classical Menu

Examples:

Meat Savoureaux

• Auges aux Cheval (oyster rolled in bacon and grilled),
• Diables aux cheval (prunes rolled in bacon and grilled),
• canapés diane
• Meat or chicken paste on roast, kidney on toast, liver on toast,
• Angel on horseback

Fish Savoureaux

• Tuna sur Croute (tuna served on toast),
• IvanHoe (creamed haddock on toast)

16. Deserts (Fruit and Nuts)

Fruits and nuts are served in fruit basket or stand. Served as 16^th course of French Classical Menu

Essential accompaniment- sugar dredger (caster sugar)

Exception- Raisins Frais (grapes) – half plate, Grape scissors, bowl of water to rinse the grapes, doily, under liner (quarter plate) for the bowl and scissor and finger bowl.

17. CAFE- COFFEE

This is the last course in which coffee is served in demi-tasse. The service portion is 94.7ml and Served as 17^th course of French Classical Menu

Accompaniment- Milk, sugar, cream, Petit four

Alcoholic accompaniment- Brandy, Tia Maria, Kahlua

CHASING- An alternative sip of coffee and alcoholic beverage is taken

LACING- Coffee is laced with alcoholic beverage and sipped