[PDF] Entrées

What does entrée mean on a restaurant menu?

In France, the modern meaning of "entrée" on a restaurant menu is the small course that precedes the main course in a three-course meal, [g] i.e., the course which in British usage is often called the "starter" and in American usage the "appetizer".

Where did entrée come from?

In the United States and parts of Canada, the term entrée instead refers to the main dish or the only dish of a meal. [a] The word entrée as a culinary term first appears in print around 1536, in the Petit traicté auquel verrez la maniere de faire cuisine, [b] in a collection of menus [c] at the end of the book.

What is a large entrée called?

Large, whole joints of meat (usually beef or veal) and very large fowl (turkey and geese) were categorized as grandes or grosses entrées. When roasted, those whole joints and fowl were called "spit-roasted entrées" ( entrées de broche ); they were always served with a sauce to distinguish them from true roasts.