Dining Houses - How Chefs Write Menus: Reading The Language Of Menus
Terje Sollie
With various dining experiences, from tasting menus to gastronomic endeavors, deciphering the linguistics of menus and determining what to order can be daunting. Menu wording has significantly evolved over time to account for diverse dining options. Some menus, particularly those in different languages, may feature words or dishes you’re unfamiliar with, often reflecting local or cultural traditions. Others might just overcomplicate their dish names for grandeur. Understanding a menu matters– it allows for deeper cultural appreciation and makes for a better dining experience. If you’re new to the fine dining scene, we’ve got you covered. Here’s what’s on the menu.
Ingredients To Look For
The quality of the dish you look to order is, to some extent, dependent on the quality of the ingredients. Our first tip? Familiarize yourself with what ingredients are best in season. If you’re dining during the summer, look for fresh ingredients like tomatoes, peaches, or watermelon, which are at peak ripeness during the warm months. Indulge in a refreshing peach and goat cheese salad or a watermelon margarita. Surprisingly, shellfish should be avoided during the summer months. Oysters, mussels, and clams repopulate during warmer months. Thus, shellfish harvested during this time are generally unethically sourced or of lower quality. Asparagus and winter squash are similarly best consumed during the cooler months. Often, restaurants will feature specials that utilize in-season ingredients, which can be an easy shortcut to enjoying the best quality meal. To find what ingredients are in season, refer to a seasonal produce guide or ask what the kitchen recommends. In fine dining restaurants, the executive chef will typically decide which dishes land on the menu, often rotating them seasonally to deliver first-rate food.
Menu Storytelling
A menu isn’t just a guide; it’s a marketing strategy. Chefs curate a particular set of dishes and meticulously craft the descriptors in order to persuade diners to order the more expensive meals. For example, “tenderloin filet” sounds notably less exciting than “grass-fed center-cut filet mignon served with garlic confit and a red-wine demiglace”. The menu must also reflect the type of restaurant you’re dining in. A farm-to-table establishment might use more rustic language to describe its food, like emphasizing simple ingredients and traditional cooking methods. Look out for starred or highlighted menu items, as this usually indicates the chef’s choice or their most popular staples. You might want to stray away from these meals, however, and try something unique to that establishment. Some restaurants, you’ll notice, omit the dollar sign from their menu to influence guests to spend more. Guests are more likely to focus on the descriptions of dishes in this case, rather than psychologically shutting down their first choice with the hefty price tag. Take note of this, depending on whether you’re cost-conscious or want to get the most out of your dining experience.
Common Terminology
While some menus are coursed, offering “first-course”, “second course”, and “third course”, other menus rely on traditional meal descriptors. This may differ, however, depending on where you are. If you’re dining in the United States or Canada, “entrée” refers to the main course. Yet “entrée” is a culinary term deriving from the French language, and outside of the US and Canada, it almost always refers to the smaller dish served before the main course. “Hors d'oeuvres”, another French word, refers to smaller, snack-like meals and is synonymous with the term “appetizer”.
Meal presentation and portion size are dependent on what dining experience you’re approaching. Three-course menus will typically offer a smaller first course, a large main course, and a dessert. Tasting menus, however, can offer any number of dishes; however, the portions are bite-sized. Omakase experiences, which are derived from Japanese culture, offer small dishes for the guests that are determined by the chef. Omakase tasting menus usually feature anywhere from eight to twenty sushi dishes, with the choice of fish changing constantly. “Omakase” means “I’ll leave it up to you”, indicating that the sushi chef will choose what patrons will order. Restaurants featuring tasting menus or omakase typically have few seats available since more effort is required in assembling dishes. Prix fixe experiences have a multi-course, fixed-price menu. “Prix fixe” means “fixed price” in French, and all diners pay the same price for the same dishes. Substitutions are typically refused on prix fixe menus to ensure that the kitchen can operate efficiently, so picky eaters beware. Some restaurants will often offer prix fixe menus during holidays to account for high traffic and volume of diners, while other restaurants only offer prix fixe due to its prestige and association with luxury dining.
Ask The Experts
If you’re unsure about a menu item, don’t hesitate to ask. Servers and wait staff are trained to answer any question that a guest might have. Some restaurants and executive chefs even mandate menu quizzes for their staff. Ask for recommendations or clarification to see if a meal is right for you. If you’re dining in a country with a different language, try to pick up a few basic words like “chicken” or “beef” in the local language to avoid confusion. Our best advice? Push yourself to try something new or something unique to the area that you’re dining in. Embrace the cultural practices associated with dining, like only eating with your hands when in South Asia or the Middle East, or enjoying communal dishes. You’re likely to discover more about the world and more about food.
