A meal is an instance of eating, usually

taking place at a specific time, typically

several times a day, and including
specific types of prepared food. Snacks,
There are several goals unlike meals, are foods eaten in smaller
to good meal planning: amounts at unscheduled times.
Fulfill the nutritional needs of all dining
participants
Plan for the maximum use of the money
available for food
Aid in the proper purchase, preparation and
service of food
Economize on time, labor, and fuel
Plan for variety in the diet to increase
appeal and palatability
Plan for individual food preferences
Plan to utilize leftovers from previous meals
Plan mealtime as a social opportunity, with
communication and bonding
 The Food Pyramid and
suggested dietary guidelines will
provide direction when planning
for nutritional needs

1 ½ cups daily

24 oz. daily

6 oz. daily

6 oz. daily 1 ½ cups daily

 COLOR
(a good plate resembles
a painter’s palette; garnishes
help with this)
TEXTURE
(rough, smooth, creamy,
soft, hard, raw, cooked,
crunchy)
FORM

(round,
oval, random sized, square,
abstract, rectangle, spears,
etc.)

While nutrition is the underlying TEMPERATURE

reason for eating a meal, it is
variety that gives food it’s tabletop (hot
appeal. In each meal, plan for a and cold)
variety of colors, textures, forms,
temperatures, and flavors. FLAVOR
 Breakfast is a meal eaten in the
morning. The name derives from the
concept that you have not eaten
while sleeping, i.e., you are fasting
during that time, and “break that
Lunch is a meal that is taken at noon fast” with a meal.
or in the early afternoon. The term is
short for "luncheon“. Lunches are
often a light meal consisting of soups,
salads, and/or sandwiches. One-dish-
meals such as casseroles are also
popular.

Brunch is a combination breakfast

and lunch; usually served in late
morning and a replacement for
both meals.
 The largest meal of the day is
always called “dinner”. It is
usually served in the evening, but
on midwest farms it might be
served at noon.

If the “dinner” is served at noon, a lighter

meal is served in the evening and called
supper. Supper menu items are similar to
luncheon items…soups, salads, sandwiches,
and one-dish-meals such as casseroles.
Supper can also be a late night meal, served
after dinner in the evening…such as a
‘midnight supper’.
 A banquet is a large, often formal, and
elaborate meal with many guests and
dishes.

A picnic is an outdoor meal.

The nature of some people’s jobs or schedules

require them to carry a lunch with them in
some sort of container…perhaps a brown bag.
This type of lunch is called a “sack lunch”.
 A tea party is a social gathering… a time for cozy
ambience, dress-up, quiet conversation, and
etiquette. Tea time is usually scheduled from mid
to late afternoon Use linens, china teacups and
saucers, tea spoons, and a tea service. Serve
several types of finger foods such as small, dainty
cookies, scones, or finger sandwiches.

Etiquette: To stir your tea, swish the tea back and forth, never hitting the sides of
the cup. Never leave the spoon in the cup, but gently rest the spoon on the
saucer, behind the cup on the right side under the cup handle. Drink your tea by
lifting the saucer and cup together, with the saucer in one hand, and cup in the
other.
 Whether all food selections are
on the table at one time, such
as in the blue plate meal
COURSES TO CHOOSE FROM: service, or the courses are
served sequentially, you
Cocktail
should be familiar with the
Appetizer/Hor d’oeuvres types of foods in each course.
Soup
Pasta or
Rice Course
Fish Course
Sorbet (to cleanse the palate)
Poultry Course

Meat Course (entrée)

Salad
Fresh Fruit/ Cheese
Course Dessert
Not all courses are offered
Coffeeinand
all meals.
SweetsA 3-course meal (salad, entrée, dessert)
or 4-course meal (appetizer, salad or soup, entrée, dessert) are most common.
Select the courses you want, but there should be little change in the order they
are presented, from what is listed here. The more courses you serve, the more
time is needed for dining and the smaller each portion should be.
 A cocktail is defined as a beverage, alcoholic or made
of fruit or vegetable juices, served as appetizer before
meal; also a cup of chopped fruit, or of seafood
dressed in a tart sauce, served before a meal.
Amuses-bouche (ah muse
boosh) are tiny bite-sized
morsels served before the
This
hors d’ouervres. The
shrimp
term, translated from
cocktail
French, means “mouth
would be
amuser”. These would be
served with
served with a beverage-
a tiny
type cocktail. Examples
seafood
might be crackers,
fork.
pretzels, olives, tiny
melon balls, or heated
potato chips.
If the cocktail is an alcoholic beverage, it is called an apéritif,
meaning to “open”. Tomato, orange, lemon, and cranberry
juices are common non-alcoholic beverages served as
cocktails. The juice should be bright in appearance and
tangy to the taste for the purpose of perking up the taste
buds. They should be served well-chilled.
 Appetizers are used primarily to whet the
appetite and to stimulate the flow of the
gastric juice, not to satisfy hunger. They
should be attractively prepared, temptingly
flavored, and properly served hot or cold.
They may be served on a plate with eating
utensils or eaten as finger foods.

Hors d'oeuvres are appetizers that are always

eaten with the fingers. They are small portions of
highly seasoned foods, which may be secured on
cocktail picks for easy handling. Varieties of meats,
seafoods, and cheese, vegetables and pickled
vegetables, stuffed vegetables such as celery,
olives, and mushrooms are used frequently.

Canapés are appetizers made from thin pieces of bread or toast spread or
topped with cheese, anchovies, or other appetizing foods. They are usually
cut into various, small shapes and are highly decorated to make them eye
appealing. Crackers are sometimes used as a base, although toasted bread
may be more desirable because it does not absorb the moisture of the spread
too quickly. Several different kinds of bread should be used to give a variety
of taste and color.

A large serving dish for
soup is called a tureen.
Soups are eaten with a
larger-bowl spoon.
Soup is usually a savory liquid food that is
made by combining ingredients, such as meat,
vegetables, and/or beans in stock or hot water,
until the flavor is extracted. Oyster or soda
crackers, croutons or bread accompany soups.
Broth, Stock, or Bouillon: strained liquid
from cooking meats, vegetables, or other
foodstuffs in water
Consommé: clarified meat or fish broth
Potage: thicker broth
Bisque: a heavy cream soup made with a
puree of vegetables, fruits, or fish/shellfish

Cream soups: tomato, broccoli,

mushroom, chicken, celery, or potato soup
made with a thin white sauce
Coulis (koo-lee): a fruit or vegetable soup
thickened with starch
Chowder: a thick soup, usually containing
seafood, potatoes, milk, and cream

Borscht: (Slavic) beet soup; can
be prepared hot or cold
Minestrone: (Italian) vegetable soup
Stew: a soup with large chunks of meat
or vegetables left in the liquid
Miso: (Japanese) fish stock soup with
seasonal vegetables
Cold soups: Vichyssoise (French) is a
creamy potato and leek soup, served
cold; Gazpacho (Spanish) is a pureed
tomato and vegetable soup, served cold
Dessert soups: tapioca, coconut milk,
and fruit are common ingredients
Bouillabaisse: (French) fish soup
 Pasta is the generic term for any of a
variety of flour based noodles. It
comes in many different shapes and
The neutral-flavored pasta is the sizes. There are simple string-shaped
perfect vehicle for a variety of pasta like spaghetti and vermicelli,
sauces: ribbon-shaped ones like fettuccine
and linguine, short tubes like elbow
Alfredo sauce: parmesan, asiago, or macaroni and penne, decorative fancy
romano cheese with butter and heavy shapes like farfalle (bowtie), rotini
cream (spirals) and rotelle (wagon wheels),
large sheets like lasagna, and hollow
Bolognese sauce (ragu): a meat-based
pasta stuffed with filling, like ravioli,
sauce
manicotti, and tortellini.
Pesto sauce: crushed herbs and
garlic, olive oil (basil is good for
intestinal problems)
Carbonara sauce: cream, eggs,
parmesan or romano cheese, and
pancetta (bacon)
Tomato sauce (marinara): tomatoes,
stock, onion, garlic, oregano, basil,
salt, pepper, parsley If bread is not already on the table, bring it out now
to accompany the pasta and all subsequent courses.
 Bread should be available during
fish courses. Since many fish and
shellfish are common allergens,
Roe: the fully ripe egg masses of make sure your guests know what
fish and certain marine animals, is being served.
such as sea urchins, shrimp, and
scallop. As a seafood it is used
both as a cooked ingredient in
many dishes and as a raw
ingredient. Caviar is a name for
the sturgeon roe consumed as a
delicacy.

Mollusks: clams, mussels, oysters, scallops, snails,

octopus, and squid (calamari) Lemon, clarified
Crustaceans: Shrimp, prawn, lobster, crayfish, and butter, and tangy
crab sauces accompany
fish and seafood.
Echinoderms: sea cucumber and sea urchins
Fish: Anchovy, bass, bluefish, catfish, cod, eel, flounder, grouper, haddock,
halibut, herring, lamprey, mackerel, mahi mahi (dolphin fish, not the mammal) ,
orange roughy, pike, pollock, pompano, sardine, salmon, shark, snapper, sole,
swordfish, tilapia, trout, tuna, turbot, whitefish
Eating one food item all at once, or eating many
different distinctly-flavored foods can
overwhelm and saturate the taste buds.
Invigorate your taste buds for new flavors by
“cleaning your mouth”. There are several foods
and beverages that are good for this.

Fruit can be used to cleanse the palate between

courses. Chunks of fruits on toothpicks or
skewers, such as pineapples, oranges,
tangerines, and melons work well. They could
be garnished with a sprig of mint.
The correct wine,
unflavored bread, or salad
greens work to cleanse the Sorbet is a frozen or iced fruit
palate. That’s why these puree and other ingredients.
items are served Sorbet is a form of gelato that
throughout the meal or contains no milk. A sherbet is
change place in the order a sorbet made with milk and
of the courses. eggs. It is a flavor preferred by
some, but is not as refreshing.
 Poultry is the class of
domesticated fowl (birds) used
for food or for their eggs. This
includes chicken and turkey, as
well as the waterfowl…ducks
and geese. It may also refer to
wild game birds such as
pigeons, doves, quail, or
pheasants.

Bones in chicken pose

difficulty or even a choking
hazard while eating. You may
want to consider removing
them when serving many
courses.

Bones in chicken pose difficulty or even a choking hazard while eating.

You may want to consider removing them when serving many courses.
The skin of the chicken has the highest fat content. If the chicken is served
“skin on”, you should follow this course with a food to cleanse the palate.
 Meat, in its broadest definition, is
animal tissue used as food. Most
often it refers to skeletal muscle and
The meat course is often considered associated fat, but it may also refer
the main course, and in America the to non-muscle organs, including
main course is also called the entrée. lungs, livers, skin, brains, bone
The main course is usually the marrow, and kidneys.
heaviest, heartiest, and most complex
or substantive dish on a menu. Beef,
pork, mutton or lamb, and venison are
meats that may be served here.

A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order or simply a side, is a

food item that accompanies the entrée at a meal. The side dish is most
often a vegetable or a starch such as bread, potatoes, rice, or pasta.
 A salad may be tossed or arranged
vegetables and other ingredients, or
even a well-presented cooked
Bases for salad dressings:
vegetable. Salad greens cleanse the
Crème fraîche: French for "fresh palate, and for that reason may change
cream") is a heavy cream slightly places in the order of courses.
soured with bacterial culture, but not
as sour or as thick as sour cream.
Vinaigrette: A mixture of vinegar (or
sometimes lemon juice) and
vegetable oil, often flavored with
herbs, spices, and other ingredients
Mayonnaise: a thick sauce based on
vegetable oil and egg yolks.
Caesar dressing: Parmesan cheese,
lemon juice, olive oil, egg, black
pepper, and worcestershire sauce Salad greens: Arugula, bok choy,
brussels sprouts, cabbage, chard,
Oil: virgin or extra-virgin olive oil has dandelion greens, endive, horseradish,
a good balance of flavor and iceberg lettuce, kale, kohlrabi, mint,
unsaturated fat; also vegetable oil, mustard greens, oregano, romaine, sage,
walnut oil, sesame oil, peanut oil, etc. spinach, turnip greens, watercress
 SELECT THE RIGHT SALAD FOR THE COURSE
Appetizer Salads
These are served to whet the appetite of your guest while they await their
main course. They should not be so large as to ruin their appetite for the rest
of the meal. They must be flavorful, crisp and zesty to stimulate the palate and
of course, attractively garnished to also arouse visual appeal.
Accompaniment Salads
These are to be served along with the main course. They must be light,
balance the dish and not be too rich. Attention must be paid to insure that no
duplication of the other items in the main entree has occurred (e.g. potato
salad served on the side with fries or mashed potato).
Main-course Salads
More commonly known as “cold plates”, these must be large enough to
constitute a full meal. They need to have a good balance of protein and
vegetables to be nutritionally complete. Egg, ham, chicken, and tuna salads
are served as main-course salads.
Intermediate Salads
A lot of finer restaurants use a small salad after the rich, main course to
cleanse the palate and provide a break before dessert. This is also common
practice in formal banquet service. Simple greens with vinaigrette or fruit
salads are normally used for this purpose.
Dessert Salads
Dessert salads are very sweet and contain items such as fruit, nuts, cream or
gelatin. These are normally found in a buffet or party menu.
 The classic French cheese course
usually offers a minimum of three
cheeses, each representing a
different type of milk (cow, goat or
sheep's milk) or a different family of
cheese. Each cheese can be placed
around the platter in the best order
to taste it, from the mildest to the
strongest. create a cheese plate with
textural, flavor, and visual variety.
Serve at room temperature. A
cheese course is presented near the
end of the meal, usually just before
Cheese: the purest way to savor and dessert, because dairy products
celebrate milk's gifts to the table. tend to coat the palate.

A cheese course is sometimes served with simply dressed salad greens, but
fresh fruit is a popular alternative. Grapes, slices of apples or pears help
cleanse your palate between cheeses and complement most of them, while
figs, apricots, red currants, and blueberries may be favored.
Other possible companions include subtly sweet jams, honey, vegetable
confits (preserved in sugar), dried fruits and nuts, as well as various herbs and
spices. Serve with a neutral-tasting bread or crackers (unsalted).
Dessert is a course that typically comes at
the end of a meal, usually consisting of a
sweet food but sometimes of a strongly-
flavored one, such as some cheeses. The
word comes from the Old French
desservir, "to clear the table." Many
people, regardless of the meal service,
would expect the table to be cleared of
nearly all dishes before the dessert is
presented. Some common desserts are
cakes, cookies, fruits, and candies. Other
terms for dessert are “sweets”,
“pudding”, and “afters”.

Common desserts:
Trifle - sponge cake soaked in fruit juice
or sherry, layered with fruit salad and
custard. Trifle may be decorated with
whipped cream, glace cherries or nuts.
Flan – tin is lined with sweet short pastry,
which is filled with fruit and topped with
a fruit glaze.
Basic meringue - a light foamy mixture of whipped
egg white and caster sugar, which is baked in the
oven and served cold.
Fruit based - fruit is the main ingredient
Jellies - gelatin is used to set these fruit flavored
desserts or as a glaze on fruit tarts.
Molded creams - a cold custard cream is mixed with
other flavors to form the basis of a molded dessert.
Egg custard - milk is thickened with egg yolks to
form firm custard when baked.
Pancakes and crepes - a basic batter mixture, which
when pan-fried, can be served with a sauce or filling.
Sponge based - desserts which have a sponge base
can be steamed or baked and can be flavored with a
variety of ingredients including chocolate, jam,
honey, lemon, orange, cheese, fruit pulp, or a syrup.
Pies and tarts - pastry cases filled with fruit or nuts.
Egg based - these desserts use an egg or egg
custard base, e.g. puddings, bread pudding.
Soufflés - these desserts are based on a firm
meringue base and may incorporate chocolate, fruit
or cheese; further flavored with alcohol or vanilla.
Flour based – baked goods such as cookies or cakes
 Espresso (expresso in some American
dictionaries) is a concentrated coffee
beverage brewed by forcing very hot, but not
boiling, water under high pressure through
coffee that has been ground to an extremely
fine consistency. It has an intense and high
concentration of ingredients , so lends itself
to mixing into other coffee based drinks,
such as lattes (espresso and hot milk), Coffee can be served with
cappuccino (espresso, hot milk, and milk dessert (North American style) or
foam), macchiati (espresso and milk foam) after dessert (European style).
and mochas (latte with chocolate added), The latter allows you to add
without being diluted in the resulting drink. chocolates, wafers and
confectionery as palate
cleansers. Although, by this
stage, many people will ask for
no more.

Demitasse is the name of the small

cup used for espresso drinks.
 A mint is a candy characterized
by the presence of mint
Chocolate comprises a number of raw and flavoring, whether it be
processed foods that originate from the seed peppermint oil, spearmint oil,
of the tropical cacao tree. There are dark, wintergreen, or another natural
milk, and white chocolate varieties. Part of or artificial source.
the pleasure of eating chocolate is due to the Hard mints, often called "breath
fact that its melting point is slightly below mints", are popular as breath
human body temperature: it melts in the fresheners since the taste and
mouth. Chocolate intake has been linked smell of mint oil and its active
with release of serotonin in the brain, which components are quite strong and
produces feelings of pleasure. feels clean and cool to the mouth
as well as soothing to the
stomach. Soft mints, such as
"dinner mints" and "butter
mints", are soft candies with a
higher butter content, that
dissolve more readily in ones
mouth.

A liqueur is a sweet alcoholic beverage, often flavored with fruits, herbs,

spices, flowers, seeds, roots, plants, barks, and sometimes cream. Cognac
and brandy are favorite after-dinner liqueurs.

The invitations for a formal dinner should go
out at least six weeks before the event. They
should reflect the mood and spirit of the
evening and entice your guests to attend.
Upon receipt of an invitation to a formal
dinner it is good etiquette to respond
immediately. This will allow the hosts to make
adjustments to the guest list and the meal
itself. Once accepted, only an illness or an
emergency is an acceptable reason to break
the engagement.
Place cards are usually about
two inches high. They are
placed to the left and above the
plate at the setting. Generally,
there is only one menu card
and it is placed in front of the
host.
Guests are usually seated in
order to alternate men and
women around the table. The
“host” sits at the head of the
table; the “hostess” at the foot.
 Make sure everyone has a filled
glass; stand but do not tap on a
glass; face the person you are
1. To Health:
toasting; when finished tip your
"May you live as long as you like,
glass toward the recipient or
And have all you like as long as you live."
clink their glass or raise your
2. To Friendship:
glass; take a sip; sit down
"There are good ships,
and bad ships…all ships that sail the sea.
But the best ships, are friendships,
And may they always be."
3. To Love:
"May we kiss whom we please,
And please whom we kiss."
4. To Happiness:
"May the saddest day of your future be no
worse than the happiest day of your past."
5. Good luck:
"May you have the hindsight to know
where you've been,
The foresight to know where you are
going,
And the insight to know when you have
gone too far."
 À la carte is a French expression meaning "from the menu", and it is used
in restaurant terminology in one of two ways:
It may refer to a menu of items priced and ordered separately OR it may
refer to any options you are offered in an otherwise predetermined menu.

Table d'hôte is a French

phrase which literally means
"host's table". It is used in
restaurant teminology to
indicate a menu where multi-
course meals with limited
choices are charged at a
fixed price. Such a menu may
also be called prix fixe ("fixed
price"). Because the menu is
set, the cutlery and flatware
on the table may also already
be set for all of the courses. A continental breakfast is a light breakfast
consisting usually of coffee or tea and a roll,
pastry, or other baked good.
 Cafeteria style:  This  is  the  type  of
service  that  is  used  aboard  some
 larger  ships  such  as carriers and
supply ships. The diner does not
normally serve him- or herself.  Rather,
 the  diner  selects   the desired
items and the foodservice attendant
places them on his or her plate.
However, salads, desserts, and some
side dishes may be apportioned in
 dishes  and  the  diner simply takes
them from the serving line. The main
course consists of vegetables,
starches, and meat. These items are Pièce de résistance: the biggest and
portioned onto a plate by the serving most spectacular dish at the feast
line attendants as the diner selects
them.

Haute cuisine (literally "high cooking" in French) or grande cuisine: refers

to the cooking of the grand restaurants and hotels of the western world. It is
characterized by elaborate preparations and presentations; large meals of
small, often quite rich courses; extensive wine cellars; and large,
hierarchical and efficiently run service staffs.