Why Is It Called A Menu? How To Read A Menu: Course By Course

How did we get here to have three to four courses at restaurants? What has history shown us about having a multi-course menu? Wikipedia reveals “ 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.”
 
Why Is It Called a Menu
It also shows that the first recorded menus date back to the Song dynasty in China and that King Louis XV of France provided the surviving menus of meals at the Château de Choisy in 1751. With the establishment of hotels from the late 18th to early 19th century, notable characters such as César Ritz, an early hotel chain founder known as "King of Hoteliers and Hotelier to Kings", and Georges Escoffier a French chef, restaurateur revolutionised the hotel's menu - table d'hôte where they charged guests a fixed price for food and beverages.
 
Maura Graber states from the world's only etiquette website, Etiquipedia: "Splitting courses into different categories allowed chefs and kitchen staff to serve things more efficiently. Having little breaks in between different foods allowed them to work in smaller kitchens. Not everyone had the staff or the vast cooking areas in Hampton Court.”
 
She goes on to say, “One of the reasons that historians think sorbets or ices were served in between the entree and main courses originally was because most businesses in the late 18th century and early 19th century did not have enough forks for a second course which required a knife and a fork. So, the waiters would remove the plates with the utensils, serve something which only required a spoon, and then they went back to clean the knives and forks to bring back out with the next course.”
 
Here is what to expect on a menu:

• Entrée Course - The first dish served is an entrée, appetizer, or starter course. It could be a soup or other small dish served with bread and butter.
• Main Course - You can choose a larger meal that features all types of meat, including fish and vegetables, with accompanied sauce or gravy.
• Selection of Sides - Offers optional accompaniments to your main course, like vegetables, allowing you to customise your plate for a complete meal.
• Dessert Course - Desserts or pudding are sweet treats, like cake or ice cream, for some this ends a meal.
• Cheese Course - Cheeses are served on a plate where a fork and knife are used, accompanied by bread, never crackers in France. For those everywhere else, if table-water crackers are preferred to bread by guests, have those on hand.
• Drinks or Beverages - The beverages you choose carefully, enhance your meal with alcoholic or non-alcoholic choices available, from classic sodas and juices to aperitifs, wines, and digestifs.

Restaurant Terminology
Here are some common terms used in restaurants referring to the menu:

• Menu Degustation - This multicourse menu has been carefully nurtured and created by the chef. It showcases food that is not on the restaurant’s regular menu.
• A La Carte - This means the food is prepared and cooked after your order has been taken rather than early that evening.
• A.Q or M.P. - This means market price and food pricing, such as fish, will vary depending on the season and availability.

 
As I have found, the evolution of multi-course meals in restaurants reflects a blend of historical influences, from the menu's origins in ancient China and refinement in France to practical innovations in serving efficiency and resource management during the 18th and 19th centuries. This progression was shaped by the need for detailed meal planning, efficient kitchen operations, and the creative solutions of pioneering hoteliers and chefs, ultimately leading to the structured dining experiences we enjoy today.