Everything about Menu totally explained
In a
restaurant, a
menu is a printed brochure or public display that shows the list of options for a diner to select. A menu may be
a la carte or
table d'hôte.
"Menu" can also be used in a more general sense, as synonymous with
diet, the selection of foods available generally to a particular location or culture.
History
The word
menu, like much of the terminology of
cuisine, is
French in origin. It ultimately derives from
Latin minutus, something made small; in French it came to be applied to a detailed list or
résumé of any kind. The original menus that offered consumers choices were prepared on a small
chalkboard, in French a
carte; so foods chosen from a bill of fare are described as
à la carte, "according to the board."
The original restaurants had no menus in the modern sense; these
table d'hôte establishments served dishes that were chosen by the
chef or the proprietors, and those who arrived ate what the house was serving that day, as in contemporary
banquets. The contemporary menu first appeared in the second half of the eighteenth century. Here, instead of eating what was being served from a common table, restaurants allowed diners to choose from a list of unseen dishes, which were produced to order by the customer's selection. A
table d'hôte establishment charged its customers a fixed price; the menu allowed customers to spend as much or as little money as they chose.
Menu prose
As a form of
advertising, the prose found on printed menus is famous for the degree of its
puffery. They frequently emphasize the processes used to prepare foods, call attention to exotic ingredients, and add French or other foreign language expressions to make the dishes appear sophisticated and exotic. Part of the function of menu prose is to impress customers with the notion that the dishes served at the restaurant require such skill, equipment, and exotic ingredients that the diners couldn't prepare similar foods at home.
Specific types of menus
Further Information
Get more info on 'Menu'.
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