Speaking

• Why do most business hotels offer buffet lunches?

• How do fast food restaurants keep their costs low?

• What principles do you have to respect when choosing a menu for a group?

Lesson 3. Menu

P re-reading

Work in pairs. Tell your partner about the restaurant you have recently visited (its location, service, menu).

Reading

Menu making is business making. The menu must be well thought out and must fulfill the culinary and dietary requirements of guests, both local and international. It must attract the customer's interest; it must sell. Main courses and specialties should be written with an appetizing description. Such description should suggest that only the finest ingredients have been used to prepare a unique dish. The length of a description varies according to the type of menu and the category of the dining room. For example: a coffee shop menu may list "Welsh Rarebit with bacon and mushrooms on toast points"; and the same item may appear on a superb club menu as "Coach House Welsh Rarebit - melted snappy aged cheese blended with ale, our special seasonings, hickory smoked bacon and fresh mushrooms, piping hot in a casserole".

The duty of a headwaiter taking an order is to direct the guests in such a way that they will be satisfied with their selection. He must be able to describe not only the dish itself, but also its way of preparation and serving. Here are at least some expressions used to describe dishes: appetizing, baby, chilled, cool, colourful, creamy, crispy, crunchy, crusty, delicate, delicious, exotic, fine, imperial, frozen, iced, irresistible, light, royal, sharp, sparkling, still, thick, thin baked, browned, diced, glazed, grated, freshly fried, ground, grilled, jellied, melted, minced, poached, steamed, stuffed, etc. Rolls can be freshly baked, juice freshly squeezed, potatoes boiled, salmon smoked, etc. Meat dishes are grilled to order and so a guest can request his steak blue, i.e. slightly grilled and red inside, rare, medium or well done.

A master menu in a luxury restaurant may look as follows:

APPETIZERS (or Starters, Hors'd oevres)

King Prawn succulent jumbo shrimp grilled on a skewer and served on a bed of lettuce

SOUPS

French Onion Soup an old favourite

MAIN COURSE

Tournedos of Scottish Beef, Medley of Lentils served with Market Vegetables

Game

Larded Leg of Deer with Cream Sauce and variation of dumplings

Poultry

Old Bohemian Duck served with a zesty cabbage salad and farmer’s potatoes

Fish

Grilled Trout with champignons de Paris, served with cream potatoes

SIDE DISHES

Wild Rice

Cream Potatoes

DESSERTS

Apple Tartlet French baked Bohemian Apples in a light pastry shell, topped with whipped cream

Fruit Sherbet a refreshing bowl of homemade fruit sherbet, flavour of the day

BEVERAGES

Aperitifs	Sparkling Wines
Martini Bianco, Rosso, Dry	Bohemia Regia Brut
Spirits	Draught Beer
Gin Beefeater	Staropramen 12% light
White Wines	Soft Drinks
House Wines	Fruit Juice
Red Wines	Hot Drinks
VAT included