All you know is Bonjour.....Speaking French can be a real pain
in the baguette! DuVine helps you to parle your way
through the French countryside.
Let's go to the restaurant and say before starting the meal ...
Bon appetit! Boh(n) apaytee
Great, let's ask for the bill at the restaurant,..
L'addition s'il vous plait! Lahdeesyoh(n), seel voo
pleh
Is the service included? Remember, service is always included
in France.
Est-ce que le service est compris? Ehskuh luh sehrvees
eh koh(m)pree?
Here are some useful terms and expressions to make your life
easier while en France:
| HOW
TO READ A MENU |
|
Although several major and chain restaurants propose a menu
en anglais, you may be out of luck in smaller establishments.
These English definitions of culinary terms and classic
dishes may shine some light on the matter. |
| A |
|
| abats |
organ meats |
| affiné(e) |
aged, such as cheese |
| agneau |
lamb |
| aiglefin |
small, fresh haddock |
| aigre |
sour |
| aiguillette |
long, fine slice of fish, poultry or
meat |
| ai |
garlic |
| aile |
wing of game or poultry |
| aïoli |
garlic mayonnaise |
| airelle |
wild cranberry |
| aligot |
dish from Auvergne made with potatoes,
garlic and Cantal cheese |
| allemande sauce |
velouté sauce and chicken consommé
thickened with cream and egg yolks |
| alsacienne, à l’ |
garnished with sauerkraut, foie gras
or sausage |
| amande |
almond |
| amande de mer |
type of clam with a characteristic nutty flavor |
| amandine |
almond-based pastry |
| américaine / amoricaine |
sauce made with white wine, Cognac, tomatoes and butter |
| amuse-bouche |
appetizer, usually a small dish offered by the chef |
| amuse-gueule |
appetizer |
| ananas |
pineapple |
| anchoïade |
paste made from olive oil, anchovies and garlic |
| ancienne, à l’ |
made in the traditional way |
| amer / amère |
bitter |
| andouille |
smoked chitterling sausage, sliced thin and served cold |
| andouillette |
grilled chitterling sausage, served hot |
| anguille |
eel |
| aneth |
dill |
| anis |
aniseed |
| Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée
(AOC) |
definition regulating the production and characteristics
of foods and wines |
| araignée de mer |
"spider" crab |
| arête |
fish bone |
| artichaut |
artichoke |
| asperge |
asparagus |
| assorti(e) |
assorted |
| aubergine |
eggplant |
| B |
|
baba au rhum |
sponge cake steeped in rum syrup |
baeckeoffe |
beef, lamb, pork, potatoes and onions stewed in red wine |
ballotine de volaille |
rolled, stuffed, boneless breast of poultry |
baguette |
long, thin loaf of crusty bread |
baie |
berry |
bar |
bass |
basilic |
basil |
bavaroise |
molded, chilled custard dessert |
bavette |
skirt steak |
baveux / baveuse |
lightly underdone, such as an omelet |
béarnaise, sauce |
egg yolks, butter, vinegar, shallots, white wine and tarragon |
| béchamel, sauce |
butter, flour, milk, onion, bay leaf, pepper and nutmeg |
beignet |
fruit, vegetable or meat dipped in batter and deep-fried;
also, a doughnut |
| belon |
flat-shelled Brittany oyster |
betterave |
beet |
| beurre |
butter |
beurre blanc |
reduction made with white wine, vinegar, shallots and butter |
| beurre demi-sel |
lightly salted butter |
beurre maître d’hôtel |
butter sauce with chopped parsley and lemon juice |
| beurre noir |
browned butter sauce with lemon juice, vinegar and parsley |
bien cuit(e) |
medium to well-done (burgers, steaks etc.) |
| bifteck |
steak |
bigarade |
orange sauce |
| bigorneau |
periwinkle |
biologique |
organic |
| bisque |
cream soup |
blanc de volaille |
boned breast of poultry, generally chicken |
| blanquette de veau |
veal stew in a cream sauce |
blette |
Swiss chard |
| bleu(e) |
lightly browned so that the interior remains raw (burgers,
steaks etc.) |
bœuf |
beef |
| bœuf bourguignon |
beef stewed in red wine with onions, bacon and mushrooms |
bolet |
small, wild boletus mushroom |
| bordelaise, sauce |
red wine, shallots and bone marrow |
bouchée à la reine |
puff-pastry shell filled with meat, sweetbreads or seafood,
and often mushrooms |
| boudin blanc |
sausage made from veal, pork or poultry |
boudin noir |
blood sausage |
| bouillabaisse |
assorted fish and shellfish stewed in a broth of tomatoes,
onions, garlic, saffron, parsley and olive oil |
bouilli |
boiled |
| bouillon |
broth, stock |
bouquet garni |
aromatic herbs tied in a bundle; usually parsley, thyme,
and bay leaves |
| bouquet de légumes |
aromatic vegetables |
bourguignonne, à la |
cooked in red wine, typically with onions, mushrooms and
fat bacon |
| brandade de morue |
puree of salt cod, olive oil and milk , often made with
potato puree |
brebis |
sheep's milk cheese |
| brie |
mild, creamy cheese made from unpasteurized cow’s
milk and covered by a delicate, white rind |
brioche |
light, buttery roll or bread, usually served at breakfast |
| broche, à la |
spit-roasted |
brochet |
freshwater pike |
| brochette |
skewer of meat or vegetables |
brugnon |
nectarine |
| brûlé(e) |
caramelized |
| brunoise |
finely diced vegetables |
| bulot |
whelk |
| C |
|
cabécou |
small disk of goat's milk cheese from Southwestern France,
also known as rocamadour |
cabillaud |
cod |
cacahuète |
roasted or dry-roasted peanut |
caille |
quail |
cajou, noix de |
cashew nut |
calamar |
small squid |
camembert |
creamy, pungent cheese made from cow’s milk and named
after the Normandy village |
canard |
duck |
canette |
young female duck |
cannelle |
cinnamon |
cantal |
sharp, firm Auvergne cheese made from pressed cow’s
milk curds |
câpre |
caper |
carré |
rack or ribs, especially lamb, pork or veal |
cassis |
black currants or black current liqueur |
cassoulet |
white bean casserole with goose, duck,
pork or lamb and often with sausages; specialty from Southwest
France |
cèpe |
large, wild boletus mushroom with a very meaty flesh |
| cerfeuil |
chervil |
cerise |
cherry |
| cervelles |
calf or lamb brains |
champignons de Paris |
button mushrooms |
| chanterelle |
wild, pale yellow mushrooms, also known as girolle |
charbonnade |
charbroiled meat |
| charcuterie |
cooked or cured meats, sausages and pâtés |
charlotte |
custard dessert made in a deep, round mold lined with ladyfingers |
| chaud(e) |
hot or warm |
chaud-froid |
dish or dessert prepared hot, then served cool or chilled |
| chausson aux pommes |
apple turnover |
chèvre |
goat’s milk cheese |
| chevreuil |
venison |
chicorée frisée |
curly endive; also called frisée or salade frisée |
| chipolata |
small sausage |
chorizo |
hot Spanish sausage |
| chou |
cabbage |
choux, pâte à |
cream pastry dough |
| choucroute |
sauerkraut |
ciboulet |
spring onion |
| ciboulette |
chive |
citron |
lemon |
| civet |
game stew prepared with red wine and thickened with the
animal's blood |
clafoutis |
custard tart, generally prepared with tart cherries |
| clémentine |
seedless variety of mandarin orange |
cochonaille |
pork charcuterie: ham, sausage, pâté, etc. |
| coing |
quince |
compote |
preparation of fresh or dried fruit in sugar syrup |
| compoter |
to cook gently until all ingredients are reduced to a compote |
confit |
preserved fruit or vegetables; also, goose, duck or pork
cooked and preserved in its own fat |
| confiture |
fruit preserves |
consommé |
clear broth served hot or cold |
| contre-filet |
cut of sirloin |
coq au vin |
chicken stewed in red wine with mushrooms, bacon, onions
and herbs |
| coque |
cockle |
coquelet |
young male chicken |
| coquillage |
shellfish |
coquille St-Jacques |
sea scallop |
| cornichon |
tiny cucumber pickle |
côte de bœuf |
prime rib |
| côte de veau |
veal cutlet |
côte d’agneau |
lamb chop |
| côte de porc |
pork chop |
coulis |
thin purée of fruit or vegetables |
| courgette |
zucchini |
court bouillon |
aromatic cooking stock |
| crème anglaise |
light custard cream served with desserts |
crème caramel |
caramel custard |
| crème chantilly |
whipped cream |
crêpe |
thin pancake |
| crêpe Suzette |
hot crêpe flamed with orange liqueur |
crépinette |
preparation of meat or poultry wrapped in a layer of caul
fat |
| crevette grise |
shrimp |
crevette rose |
prawn |
| cresson |
watercress |
croissant |
flaky, crescent-shaped roll usually served at breakfast |
| croquette |
seasoned ground meat, fish or poultry rolled in bread crumbs
and fried |
croque-monsieur |
toasted ham-and-cheese sandwich |
| croque-madame |
croque-monsieur topped with a fried egg |
croustillant(e) |
crisp |
| croustillant |
dish prepared in puff pastry |
croûte, en |
served in a pastry crust |
| croûton |
fried or toasted morsels of bread |
cru |
raw |
| crudité |
raw vegetable |
cuisse de grenouille |
frog’s leg |
| D |
|
darne |
thick fish steak |
| daurade |
sea bream |
décortiqué(e) |
shelled or peeled |
| demi |
half (demi-baguette, demi-portion, etc.) |
demi-glace |
rich brown sauce usually prepared with wine |
| dés, en |
diced |
diable, sauce à la |
spicy sauce prepared with white wine, herbs, vinegar and
cayenne pepper |
| dos |
back |
dinde |
turkey |
| diplomate |
chilled, molded custard dessert lined with ladyfinger biscuits |
doux / douce |
sweet |
| E |
|
eau |
water |
| échalote |
shallot |
écrasé(e) |
crushed |
| écrevisse |
crayfish |
émincé(e) |
boned and cut into strips (meat); also, cut into small,
fine pieces (vegetables) |
| endive |
Belgian endive |
entrecôte |
rib steak |
| entrée |
first course |
entremet |
dessert |
| épais(se) |
thick |
épaule |
shoulder (of pork, lamb or veal) |
| éperlan |
smelt |
épinard |
spinach |
| épicé(e) |
spicy |
escalope |
thin cut of meat |
| escargot |
snail |
escarole |
bitter salad green, sometimes called scarole |
| espadon |
swordfish |
estouffade |
meat and vegetables braised in a covered dish |
| estragon |
tarragon |
étouffé(e) / etuvé(e) |
slow-cooked in a covered dish with a minimum
of liquid |
| étrille |
tiny soft-shelled crab |
| F |
|
faisan |
pheasant |
| far |
Breton pudding dessert, generally made with prunes |
farci(e) |
stuffed |
| faux filet |
sirloin steak |
fenouil |
fennel |
| fermier / fermière |
farm-raised |
feu de bois, au |
cooked over a wood fire |
| feuille de chêne |
oak-leaf lettuce |
feuilleté |
garnished or filled puff pastry |
| feuilletée, pâte |
puff pastry |
fève |
fava bean |
| filet mignon |
small round of veal or pork fillet |
financier |
individual, rectangular almond cake |
| financière, sauce |
cream, Madeira wine, herbs, spices, mushrooms, truffles
and olives |
fine de clair |
oyster similar to bluepoint variety |
| fines herbes |
mixture of chervil, parsley, chives and tarragon |
flageolet |
pale green kidney bean |
| flambé(e) |
sprinkled with alcohol, usually brandy, and ignited |
flammekueche |
thin-crusted tart topped with cream, onions and bacon |
| florentine |
prepared with spinach |
flan |
sweet or savory tart |
| foie |
liver |
foie gras |
fattened goose or duck liver; also, a pâté
made from one of these |
| fondre |
to cook in a covered pan with no other liquid than the natural
juices |
fondue au fromage |
melted-cheese mixture served in a heated pot with an assortment
of meats, breads and vegetables |
| fondue bourguignonne |
bite-size pieces of meat dipped into heated oil at table
and eaten with a variety of sauces |
forestier / forestière |
prepared with mushrooms, especially wild varieties |
| fougasse |
chewy bread garnished with onions, olives, herbs or anchovies |
fourré(e) |
filled |
| frais / fraîche |
fresh or chilled |
fraise |
strawberry |
| framboise |
raspberry |
française, pois à la |
traditional preparations served with a thin demi-glace |
| française, pois à
la |
peas prepared with pearl onions |
friand |
savory pastry with a cheese or meat filling |
| fricassé(e) |
meat and vegetables braised in a butter or wine sauce with
cream |
frisée |
see chicorée frisée |
| frit(e) |
fried |
frites |
french fries |
| froid(e) |
cold |
fromage |
cheese |
| fromage blanc |
smooth, mild-flavored dairy product with a low fat content |
fruit confit |
candied fruit |
| fruits de mer |
seafood |
fumé(e) |
smoked |
| G |
|
galette |
flat, round pastry or cake |
gamba |
king prawn |
| garniture |
accompaniment |
gâteau |
cake, flan or tart |
| gaufre |
waffle |
gelée |
aspic |
| gésier |
gizzard |
gibier |
game |
| gigot d’agneau |
leg of lamb |
gingembre |
ginger |
| girofle |
clove |
girolle |
wild, pale yellow mushroom, also known as chanterelle |
| givré(e) |
frosted or chilled |
glace |
ice cream |
| glacé(e) |
glazed or iced |
graisse |
fat |
| Grand Veneur, sauce |
brown sauce served with game |
gratin dauphinois |
sliced potatoes au gratin with eggs, cream and cheese |
| grattons |
pork, goose or duck drippings preserved in their own fat
and served as a spread |
grillade |
grilled meat |
| gros sel |
rock salt |
guanaja |
type of chocolate |
| H |
|
hachis |
chopped meat or fish |
haricot |
bean |
haricot tarbais |
French bean variety |
herbes de Provence |
thyme, rosemary, savory and bay leaves |
| hollandaise, sauce |
butter, egg yolks and vinegar or lemon juice |
homard |
lobster |
| huile |
oil |
huître |
oyster |
| I |
|
le flottante |
meringue dessert in a vanilla custard sauce |
| J |
|
| jambon |
ham |
jambon de Bayonne |
salt-cured ham |
| jambon de Paris |
cooked ham |
jambon de pays |
country-style ham |
| jambon à l’os |
bone-in ham |
jambonette |
boned, stuffed ham or poultry knuckle |
| jardinière de légumes |
mixed vegetables |
jarret |
shank, shin |
| jeune |
young |
joue |
cheek |
| julienne |
slivered vegetables or meat |
jus |
juice or gravy |
| jus, au |
dish accompanied by its natural cooking juices |
| K |
|
kouigh-amann |
sweet and buttery Breton pastry |
| L |
|
lait |
milk |
laitue |
green, broad-leafed lettuce |
| lamproie |
lamprey |
landaise, à la |
prepared with goose fat, Bayonne ham and mushrooms |
| langouste |
clawless spiny lobster |
langoustine |
Dublin bay prawn |
| langue |
tongue |
lapereau |
young rabbit |
| lapin |
rabbit |
lard |
bacon |
| laurier |
bay leaf |
léger / légère |
light |
| légume |
vegetable |
lentille |
lentil |
| levain |
natural leavening agent |
levure |
commercial yeast |
| lièvre |
hare |
limande |
lemon sole |
| livarot |
small, round, pungent cheese made from cow's milk and named
after the Normandy village |
longe de veau |
loin of veal |
| lorraine, à la |
usually braised in red wine with red cabbage |
lotte |
monkfish |
| loup de mer |
sea bass |
lyonnaise, à la |
generally garnished with onions |
| sauce lyonnaise |
white wine, butter and onions |
| M |
|
macaron |
delicate, pastel-colored cookie made with almonds, egg whites
and sugar |
| macédoine |
diced, mixed vegetables |
mâche |
lamb's lettuce |
| madère |
Madeira wine |
magret de canard |
breast of duck |
| maigre |
lean |
maïs |
corn |
| maison, de la |
house specialty |
mange-tout |
snow pea |
| maquereau |
mackerel |
marbré(e) |
marbled |
| marbré |
kind of terrine |
marengo, à la |
sautéed in olive oil and cooked with white wine,
tomatoes, garlic, shallots and mushrooms |
| marenne |
light green, flat-shelled oyster |
mariné(e) |
marinated |
| marquise |
light, molded, diamond-shaped chocolate cake |
marron |
chestnut |
| médaillon |
small, round slice of meat or fish |
mélange |
