Problem
How to translate a French menu?
Answers
1 Read the menu on the restaurant's website in advance and translate it.
2 List any dishes or ingredients you like, don't like or are allergic to and check the translations in
Google translate. Print off the list and put it in your bag.
3 Ask the restaurant if they have a menu with English translations. They often have one but forget to give it to you.
4 Arrive early and grab the menu from the store. Translate the words in Google translate.
5 Remember to ask about dish of the day which may be written on an overhead board in spidery writing. Check the price and decide if it is in your budget or your host's budget.
If you have only one menu in English between four of you, photograph it with your phone and share your screen with the person sitting next to you.
Find out if the restaurant has wifi and get their password (providing you trust them or don't worry about security on shared networks). Log onto google translate.
Easily Understood French - English
aperitif - alcoholic drinks before a meal to whet your appetite
blanc - white
digestif - alcoholic drink after the meal, to help you digest, supposedly
(le) menu - (the) menu
hors d'ouvres - starter(s) - literally outside of (the main) work(s)
entree - same as our word enter, so it could be starters - but sometimes main courses, depending how large the menu is, so if you have hors d'ouvres (outside dishes, first), or soup, entree is the next course, which we think of as the main course.
Wiki explains, or confuses!
FRANCE/FRENCH RESTAURANTS
An entrée (/ˈɒ̃treɪ/, US also /ɒnˈtreɪ/; French: [ɑ̃tʁe]) in modern French table service and that of much of the English-speaking world (apart from the United States and parts of Canada) is a dish served before the main course of a meal. (Outside North America,) it is generally synonymous with the terms hors d'oeuvre, appetizer or starter.
USA
It may be the first dish served, or it may follow a soup or other small dish or dishes. In the United States and parts of Canada, the term entrée refers to the main dish or the only dish of the meal.[a]
matinée - after lunch, mid afternoon
rouge - red
sud de France - south of France
vin - wine
The waiters may say: (in alphabetical order)
au revoir - goodbye / literally see (you) again
asseyez-vous - (please) sit down
bon jour - good day
de rien - not at all (response to thank you, equivalent of my pleasure)
Madame - madam (a polite term used liberally)
mademoiselle (miss)
merci - thank you (sometimes no thank you or thank you but no)
monsieur - sir
non - no
oui - yes
s'il v o u s plait - please (literally if it pleases you)
Pick some dishes which are your favourites, easy to pronounce, find on a menu, and ask for.
My favourite starter is French onion soup.
Wikipedia says
French onion soup (French: soupe à l’oignon [sup a lɔɲɔ̃]) is a type of soup usually based on meat stock and onions, and often served gratinéed with croutons and cheese on top of a large piece of bread. Although ancient in origin, the dish underwent a resurgence of popularity in the 1960s in the United States due to a greater interest in French cuisine. French onion soup is usually served as a starter.
Your first thought might be, obviously French onion soup is a starter. But the Chinese eat soup last, after the main meat dish.
Special Dishes
au gratin - with cheese (I think of grated cheese to remember)
Coq au vin - cock (male chicken) in wine
pot de chocolat - chocolate pot (ask about the consistency - usually thick and sticky)
escargot - snails
Fromage - cheese
Wines And Wine Names
If in doubt, look for a reasonably priced glass of Champagne. Champagne is a region.
Dessert Wines
France does not label grape variety but place name. So you have to know.
Alsace has semi sweet wines, such a Riesling or Pinot Gris or a blend which might include Muscat.
Could be a sweet Sauternes.Sauternes is a region. (From a blend of two grapes, semillon and a little sauvignon blanc.)
Sweet fortified wines from Roussillon and elsewhere such as Beame de Venise, both Muscat grapes..
vin de table - old name for table wine (names are now regulated) or house wine - cheap and cheerful - no longer an official name
Vin ordinaire - (again an old name for ordinary wine)
vin de France - wine of France - the new regulations say the basic wine which does not satisfy a regional name, for example because it is a blend, lowest level of name, but could be a new brilliant wine, but not yet regulated in a category
Wines are in hierarchy of styles and places
For example
top level of control would be from a specific chateau and vineyard
AC The appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC; "protected designation of origin")- controlled name (like a brand - has to be made by these people in this place).
For example:
Top Category
Pauillac (Pauillac is an area Lafitte - is a chateau)
premier grand cru classe
premier is first
classe is class or classification
cru literally means brew or tank for wine, it could be a varietal or one grape wine, but more often the general meaning is a blend of wine from different tanks over years or types of wine to get a consistent style, like a cake recipe.
Premier cru in each region may be different
Ask your sommelier
He or she will be glad to show off their knowledge and help you - that's their job. You are not being a nuisance by asking. On the contrary, your sommelier is a wine expert - nowadays sommeliers can get training and a qualification.
Margaux is a commune
Chateau Margaux (under French rules if it has the name and photo of a specific famous building, it has to come from there, not just an amusing name the maker or marketing man likes.)
Vin de Medoc - might satisfy some of the rules, such as spacing of vines, or which kind of grape, but not all of them, so can be named for the area
Vin de Bourgogne - could be from a bigger area, encompassing more growers and styles of wine
To make it easier to understand
Compared to chocolate
Cadbury's chocolate
English chocolate
British chocolate
chocolate
After that you get chocolate covered, chocolate flavoured and so on and maybe imitations or confusing similar names such as Cad's chocolate.
table d'hote - table of the host means set meal, no choice (the accent on the o reminds you of the missing letter s which is kept in English)
a la carte - from the card, in other words, your choice from the menu
pommes de terre (literally apples of the ground - potato (remember POmmes de terre POtato)
pomme - apple
Tarte Tatin - neatly alliterative name for a tart supposedly invented by the Tatin sisters, one of whom reputedly, forgetfully turned the apple pie upside down so the crust was underneath making an apple tart. Usually sliced apple in a neat circle with apricot colour glaze
Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_French_dishes
For free learning and brushing up your French
duolingo.com
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I teach English and French and other languages on request as a home tutor, and in workshops. I have also translated French and Spanish for websites and packaging.
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