French Food

As a result of popular request, I have produced a page on French food. Ever seen a menu and wondered what it says? Some people take a French - English dictionary, but most are not dedicated to food - so here goes. Any corrections / additions will be gratefully accepted.

Menus
Le menu and la formule are a fixed price menu. They can be two or more courses (with limited choice). Normally good value.
Service compris - Service included
Boissons en supplement - Drinks extra

Some easy ones
Le hors d'œuvre or l'entrée - appetizer
la soupe or le potage - soup
le plat principal - main course
la salade - salad
le dessert - dessert

Steaks

When ordering steaks, they are normally less cooked than in the UK. Below are the translations.

• Rare = Bleu - very hot grill for 1 minute on each side
• Medium rare = saignant - very rare, but cooked slightly longer on the second side than a bleu steak
• Medium = à point or rosé - rare by english standards but cooked longer than a saignant one
• Medium well = cuit
• Well done = bien cuit - ‘well cooked’. This level will still often have some pinkness in the middle of the meat. A ‘bien cuit steak’ is cooked until the juices run brown on the surface of the steak.
• Very well done = Très bien cuit - should get you a steak that is totally cooked through but could be a bit burnt

At the end of the meal - l'addition s'il vous plait - the bill