The document provides details on the courses that make up a traditional French classical menu, including: 1) Hors d'oeuvres which are appetizers served before the meal, including seafood cocktails, grapes, melon, and caviar. 2) Soups which can be thick or thin, and are served with bread. 3) Eggs dishes like omelettes. 4) Pasta and rice dishes like spaghetti and risotto. 5) Fish courses featuring dishes like salmon and sole. 6) Entrees which are smaller meat dishes served before the main course. 7) Sorbet which provides palate cleansing between courses. 8) Main

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FRENCH CLASSICAL
MENU
Thirteen course

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I- 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.
They are of two types-
Classical- all Preplated and cover is item specific
General- most of them platter to plate and cover is fish
knife and fish fork

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CLASSICAL HORS D’OEUVRES-
 Pamplemousse ( Grapefruit)- This is a citrus fruit
Cover- Grape fruit cup, doily, under liner, grapefruit spoon/tea
spoon. If Grapefruit cup is not present make a lotus fold with a
serviette and serve it in it.
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 liner (quarter plate)
Accompaniment-
Sweet- Caster sugar
Tomato juice- Salt n Pepper, Worcestershire sauce, Powdered
ginger.

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GRAPE FRUIT, GRAPE FRUIT COCKTAIL AND
SPOON

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 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 liner (quarter plate) and
teaspoon. In the absence of sea food cocktail glass any short
tumbler, like pony tumbler, champagne saucer etc can be used.
 Huitres( 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.
Accompaniments- half a lemon and Oyster cruet set of condiments
 Caynne pepper-
 Pepper mill
 Chilli vinegar
 Tobasco sauce
 Brown bread and butter

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SEAFOOD COCKTAIL AND HUITRES

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Escargots ( snails)-
 Cover- snail tong on the left side, snail pick on the right side
and snails are placed on the snail dish on a bed of crushed
ice in a deep plate, above a cloth napkin on a large plate.
Melon- there are 4 common varieties
 Cantaloupe
 Honey Dew
 Charentais
 Water melon (pasteque)
Cover- Boat shape 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.

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SNAIL, CANTALOUPE, HONEY
DEW, CHARENTAIS

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 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
made of buckwheat flour), sieved egg yolk, chopped egg white,
chopped shallots and segments of lemon

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CAVIAR COVER WITH ACCOMPANIMENTS

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GENERAL HORS D’OEUVRE:
 Cover- Fish knife, Fish Fork and Half Plate
 Salads- dressed or tossed
 Oeuf Mayonnaise
 Fish- Anchovies, tuna, prawns, pickled fish, smoked
fish etc
 Meat- Cold cuts, kebab
 Canapés- one bite sized snacks with a base of
bread, toppings and garnish
 Barquettes/ Tartlets
 Pate de foie gras- paste of goose liver
 Pate Maison- chef decides the ingredients

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 Examples Of Hors d oeuvres are : -
Beet root
Potato Salad
Tomato Salad
Fish Mayonnaise
Russian Salad
The term hors d oeuvre also covers any items which are
served before the soup usually known as hors d oeuvres
substitutes. 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- flavored soup
 Crème de tomates : - cream of tomato
 Soup a l oignon : - clear onion soup

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OLIVIER OR RUSSIAN SALAD: A SALAD
COMPOSED OF DICED POTATOES, VEGETABLES
AND MEATS BOUND IN MAYONNAISE

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II- POTAGE (SOUP)
Of two types-
 Thick/ Crème
 Thin/ Clear/ Consommé- of two types
o With garnish
o Without garnish
Thick Soup-
 Cream soup
 Puree
 Bisque
 Chowder
Cover- Soup Bowl/ Soup Plate, under liner (quarter plate), soup
spoon, doily/ paper napkin
 Examples- Crème de Tomate, Bisque d’homard, Puree of lentils

15. THIN SOUP
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 With Garnish- consommé brunoise, consommé julienne, consommé
Celestine, consommé Florentine, consommé royal, consommé
dubarry. Always named after the garnish.
 Cover-Double handled consommé cup/ soup bowl, doily, under liner
(quarter plate), soup spoon

 Without garnish- Consommé clair, consommé en tasse, consommé
en geleeˊ
 Cover- Double handled consommé cup/ soup bowl, under liner
(quarter plate), doily and dessert spoon.
 Exception is Petit Marmite- it is a beef and chicken consommé
garnished with pieces of beef and chicken.
 Cover- The earthen pot in which it is cooked, under liner and soup
spoon
 Accompaniment- bread is a natural accompaniment to all continental
soup. Other accompaniments are Toast, cheese sticks, bread
sticks, garlic rolls etc. Bread is always served before the soup in a
bread basket or on the side plate.

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III- OEUFS
Omelette espagnole-flat omelette with onions, peppers and tomato.
Omelette aux tomares- tomato omelette
Omelette aux champignons- mushroom omelette
Omelette fines herbs- savoury omelette
Oeuf en cocotte a la crème- egg cooked in its own dish in a bain-
marie and garnished with cream
Oeuf sur le plat bercy- egg cooked in its own dish on top of the stove
then finished in the oven; garnished with a chipolata sausage and
a thread of tomato sauce
Oeuf poche florentine- poached egg on a bed of spinach, coated
with a cheese sauce and gratinated
Oeuf bouille au lard- scrambled egg with bacon

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IV- FARINEAUS(PASTA AND RICE DISHES)
 Spaghetti napolitaine- spaghetti in tomato
and garlic flavoured sauce
 Spaghetti bolognaise- spaghetti blended with
minced lean beef in a rich brown sauce
 Ravioli- noodle type pasta filled with a variety
of stuffing, such as chicken, beef and
spinach
 Gnocchi romaine- semolina base
 Cannelloni- rolls of ravioli paste filled with
stuffing as for ravioli

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V- 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.
 Cover- Fish Knife, fish fork and half plate

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 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 grillee, sauce bearnaise –
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.

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anchovy Cod fish
Crab fish herrings

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VI- ENTRÉE
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-
Cover- small fork, small knife and half plate
Popular dishes-
 Rognon SauteˊBercy- kidney with brown sauce
 Cotelletes de porc- pork chops
 Vol au vent au rognon
 Poulet saute chasseur
 Kebab oriental
 Oeuf(egg), riz(rice), farineaux (flour products like pasta) are also
included in this course.
 Exception is spaghetti- cover is half plate, small fork( right side) and
dessert spoon (left side)

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 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.

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VII- SORBETS
 Because of the length of the French classical menu, this course is considered to
be the rest between courses
 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. Often strong cigarettes and cigar were
also served. It is supposed to rinse out taste buds.
 Cover- champagne saucer/ pony tumbler, under liner (quarter plate), teaspoon
 Now a days, rum, brandy, slush, fruit juice are also served for flavouring.
 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 flavored with champagne or a
liqueur. It should be piped in to a champagne glass which should then be served
on an underplate with a teaspoon.
 At this stage of the meal cigarettes were passed, traditionally these were
Russian cigarettes and sometimes the first speech was given

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VIII- 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.
 Cover- Large knife, large fork and large plate
 Accompaniments- sauce, bread, vegetables (devoid of
potato), potato preparations etc
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 legg of pork
with apple sauce.
 Gigot d agneau roti sauce menthe : - roast leg of lamb with
mint sauce

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IX- 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 cresent shaped dish. The latter is placed at
the top left hand corner of the cover
 Cover- large knife, large fork and large plate
 Accompaniments-
sauce, bread, rice, vegetables
preparations, potato preparations. If rice is
served a dessert spoon is kept on top of the
cover

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X- 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. 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.
Cover- small knife, small fork and half plat
Legumes to accompany main course might be
 Puree de pommes (de terre) : - creamed potatoes
 Pommes sautees: - potaoes 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

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Haricotvert
celery
artichaut

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XI- ENTREMETS
The sweet may be hot or cold.
Two types-
1. General-
 All continental sweet preparation excepting ice-cream
 Cover- Dessert plate, dessert fork and dessert spoon
 Examples- custard, puddings, gateaux etc
2. Ice Cream-
 Plain- chocolate, strawberry, vanilla,etc
Cover- Ice cream cup, under liner (quarter plate), doily and ice cream spoon
 Parfait- truity fruity, chocolate fudge etc
Cover- parfait glass, parfait spoon, under liner(quarter plate), doily
 Souffles, crepes(pancakes), coupes(ice cream dishes)
Other examples:-
 Crepe suzette : - pancakes in a rich fresh orange juice and flamed with brandy.
 Ananas Flambes 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.

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XII- SAVOUREAUX / FROMAGE
 Savouries may take the form of savoury items served hot on toast or as a savoury souffle.
This course is inducted in order to change the taste of the sugar palate

Meat Savoureux
 Preparation of kidney, liver of mutton or chicken served
 Cover- small fork, small knife and half plate

 Examples- Angels aux Cheval (oyster rolled in bacon and grilled), Diables aux cheval (
prunes rolled in bacon and grilled), canapés diane

Fish Savoureux
 Fish preparation like Tuna sur Croute ( tuna served on toast), IvanHoc ( creamed haddock
on toast)
 Cover- Fish knife, fish fork and half plate
 Welsh rarebit: - Cheese sauce Flavoured with ale on toast gratinated.
 Canape Daine :- Chicken livers rolled in bacon and grilled, placed on a warm toast.
 Champignons sur croute: - mushrooms on toast.

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FROMAGES
All type of cheese may be offered together with
appropriate accompaniments, the ideal cheese
board will combine hard, semi-hard, soft or
cream, blue and fresh cheese.
Cheddar hard England
Edam hard Holland
Brie soft France
Demi-sel soft France
Caerphilly semi-hard Wales
Ricotta Fresh Italy

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XIII- DESSERTS
All forms of Fresh Fruits and nuts may be served
accompanied by castor sugar and salt
Fruit basket or stand is provided
 Cover- Half plate, fruit/small knife, fruit/ small
fork
 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.

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BEVERAGES
 Coffee: - Cona, Cafetiere, Iced, Filter, Speciality,
Decaffeinated.
 Tea: - Indian, Ceylon, Earl Grey, Darjeeling,
Orange Pekoe
 Always remember that while compiling menus
beverages are not counted as a course.
 CHASING- An alternative sip of coffee and
alcoholic beverage is taken
 LACING- Coffee is laced with alcoholic
beverage and sipped

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THANKS FOR READING
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