When you work in the hospitality industry, it is important to know about commonly used food products and terms. This is so you can:
describe ingredients, dishes and preparation methods to customers when required
present products correctly
use terms in the correct way so kitchen and serving staff, and customers understand what you mean.
Dishes of the day
Jack is part of the front-of-house team for the Wren Street Restaurant. The restaurant’s dinner menu is shown below.
At the start of the evening shift, the chef explains the dishes of the day to the team. He tells them:
the fish used for the battered goujons and chips is gurnard
the risotto of the day is porcini and button mushroom, finished with truffle oil and parmesan
the seasonal vegetables are steamed green beans with preserved lemon
the seasonal fruit flan is strawberry
the soufflé of the day is chocolate.
Jack is familiar with all the products the chef mentions and the terms he uses and is confident he can explain the menu items to customers.
Jack’s knowledge of the menu helps customers choose the type of dishes they like and enjoy their experience at the restaurant. It also helps to maintain the restaurant’s good reputation.
Do you know as much as Jack?
Study the menu in the example above.
Could you confidently describe to a customer:
what a croûton is
what gruyère is and how it tastes
what carpaccio is
what a terrine is
the difference between fillet and sirloin steak
what Béarnaise sauce is
what jus is
what braising means
the key ingredients in aïoli
what compôte means
what a soufflé is
what a flan is
the texture of gurnard
the shape of capellini
the colour and flavour of saffron
the flavour of truffle oil?
Don’t worry if you answered ‘no’ to any of the questions. We will come back to this menu in later activities. By the end of this Learning Material you should be able to confidently describe each menu item to a customer.