This document provides a French classical menu layout consisting of multiple courses from starters to desserts. The menu includes hors d'oeuvres or starters, soup, fish, entrees consisting of meat or poultry dishes, releves being larger meat joints, sorbets as a palate cleanser between courses, roasted meats or poultry, vegetables, entremets being sweet or savory courses, and concluding with desserts of fresh fruits and nuts. Each course lists common French dishes that may be served as part of that section of the multi-course meal.

1. FRENCH CLASSICAL MENU

2. FRENCH CLASSICAL MENU
F R E N C H
• Hors-d œuvre
• Potage
• Poisson
• Entrée
• Relevé
• Sorbet
E N G L I S H
• Starter
• Soup
• Fish
• First meat course
• Main course
• Rest Between
course

3. FRENCH CLASSICAL MENU
F R E N C H
• Roti
• Légumes
• Entremet
• Savoureux
• Dessert
E N G L I S H
• Roasted Items
• Vegetable course
• Sweet course
• Savoury Items
• Dry fruits/ dates

4. HORS-D OEUVRE
They are of spicy in nature in order to stimulate the appetite, the term is
accepted as a meaning of variety of pickled or well seasoned food stuffs . They are
either served from a rotating trolley or a tray a small amount of each variety being
placed on the plate to make up a portion.
Examples Of Hors d oeuvres are : -
Beet root
Potato Salad
Tomato Salad
Fish Mayonnaise
Russian Salad
Caviar

5. POTAGE
• Soup may also act as an appetizer for the courses to come. Two soups are generally
provided on the menu one being the clear soup(consommé) and the other a thick
soup (crème, volute, puree). Although it must be noted that the clear soup is
always placed first on the menu.
• Examples : -
• Tortue Claire : - clear turtle soup
• Consommé julienne : - clear soup garnished with strips of root vegetables
• Consommé celestine : - clear soup garnished with strips of savoury pancakes.
• Bisque d homard :- thick lobster- flavoured soup
• Crème de tomates : - cream of tomato
• Soup a l oignon : - clear onion soup

6. POISSONS
• The method of cooking and type of fish used may vary to some extent, but will be
normally be as follows: -
• Poached : - Salmon, Trout, Turbout (each with its appropriate garnish and
accompanying sauce).
• Fried : - Whitebait, sole(sometimes)
• Hot Shellfish : - Lobster, crayfish, Dublin bay prawns.
• Fish is soft-fibred and tender meat which is easily digested and helps to
prepare the appetite for the heavier courses to come.

7. EXAMPLES OF FISH DISHES ARE: -
• Sole meuniere : - Sole shallow fried in butter.
• Sole colbert : - Sole, flour, egg and bread crumbed and deep fried. (fillets).
• Sole cubat : - fillet of sole poached, dressed on a mushrooms puree and coated with a
cheese sauce.
• Darne de saumon grille, sauce béarnaise – salmon cutlet grilled with an egg- and
butter based sauce flavoured with tarragon.
• Homard Newburg : - Lobster served with thickened sauce of fish stock and cream
flavoured with brandy and finished with butter.

8. ENTREE
• Entrées are generally small, well garnished dishes which come from the kitchen ready
for service. They are always accompanied by very rich gravy or sauce when releve
follow entrée then potatoes and vegetables are not served with the latter; if,
however a releve does not follow the entrée they would be served with the dish
• Examples of this type of dish are : -
• Poulet saute chasseur : - saute chicken in a rich brown sauce flavoured with tomatoes
and mushroom.
• Supreme de volaille sur cloche – breast and wing of chicken cooked under a cover in
oven.
• Kebab orientale: - savoury items cooked on a skewer.
• Steak Daine : - minute steak shallow fried and flavoured with onions and mushrooms
finished with red wine or cream.
• Chateaubriand : - double fillet steak grilled.

9. RELEVES
• Releves are normally larger than entrees and take the form of butcher’s joints which
have to be carved. These joints are normally roasted. A sauce or a roast gravy with
potatoes and green vegetables are always served with this course.
• The main dish will consist any of the following: -
• Saddle of mutton, baron of beef, boned sirloin, braised ham.
• Contrefilet de boeuf roti a l anglaise : - boned and roasted sirloin of beef.
• Carre d agneau roti : - roast best end of lamb
• 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

10. SORBETS
• Because of the length of the French classical menu, this course is considered to be
the rest between courses
• The sorbet must therefore be able to counteract the richness of dishes already
served and build up the appetite of the dishes to follow.
• The sorbet is a water ice plus Italian Meringue flavoured with champagne or a
liqueur. It should be piped in to a champagne glass which should then be served on
an under plate with a teaspoon.
• At this stage of the meal cigarettes were passed, traditionally these were Russian
cigarettes and sometimes the first speech was given

11. ROTI
Roast always contain roast game or poultry: - chicken, turkey, duck, pheasant,
quail. Each dish is accompanied by its own particular sauce and gravy, with a green
salad served separately on a crescent shaped dish. The latter is placed at the top
left hand corner of the cover

12. LEGUMES
At this stage the balance of the courses is gradually returning
from heavy to light. We now have a vegetable dish served only
with its accompanying sauce. Such vegetables are artichokes,
asparagus & corn on the cob, with hollandaise sauce( an egg and
butter based sauce) or beurre fondue( melted butter) offered
separately, in classic functions these legumes may be served on
their own as a separate vegetable course.

13. LEGUMES TO ACCOMPANY MAIN COURSE MIGHT BE
• Puree de pommes (de terre) : - creamed potatoes
• Pommes sautés: - potatoes boiled in skins peeled sliced and shallow fried.
• Pommes Frites : - Deep fried potatoes.
• Pommes au four: - baked jacket potato
• Champignons grilles : - grilled mushrooms
• Choufleur mornay: - cauliflower with a cheese sauce.
• Haricots verts au beurre: - French beans tossed in butter

14. ENTREMETS
• The sweet may be hot or cold.
• Soufflés, crepes(pancakes), coupes(ice cream dishes)
• Other examples:-
• Crepe suzette : - pancakes in a rich fresh orange juice and flamed with brandy.
• Ananas Flambés au kirsch: - Pineapple flamed with cherry flavoured liquor.
• Peche Melba: - Vanilla Ice cream topped with a peach coated with a raspberry jam
sauce and decorated with cream.
• Bombes : - various Ice cream sweets.

15. SAVOUREUX
• Savouries may take the form of savoury items served hot on toast or as a savoury
soufflé.
• Welsh rarebit: - Cheese sauce Flavoured with ale on toast gratinated.
• Canapé Daine :- Chicken livers rolled in bacon and grilled, placed on a warm toast.
• Champignons surd croute: - mushrooms on toast.

16. DESSERTS
• All forms of Fresh Fruits and nuts may be served accompanied by castor sugar and
salt