Welcome to a new class. I am Niharika and it's not a french lesson that I'm gonna teach
you today. Definitely an English lesson, however we are gonna talk about French loan words
that are now a part of English language. Well, yes there are several french words originated
from the language from the french language. But now they are a part of English language.
Now specifically we are gonna look at some food vocabulary. So not like all the words,
but specifically words related to food only. So let's get started.
The first word that I have for you here is, Ala- Carte. So I'm sure you have come across
this word especially if you do go to a fancy restaurant to dine. So when you go to a nice
fine dining restaurant. You have two options, The waiter would come and ask you, Sir would
you prefer Buffet or would you like to order Ala- Carte. So Ala- carte meal is actually
when you order individual dish. It's not a part of a set meal, It's not a part of buffet
but you order for food individually. So like if you go for a buffet then it's gonna be
Soup, Salads, Appetizers and the Main course and the Desserts. It's like a set meal, however
an Ala-Carte meal is when you order separately. Like if you wanna eat some salad. You will
order for some Caesar salad and then if you wanna eat some appetizers, you will order
appetizers looking at the menu card. Now in french the word Carte means menu card and
that's where this whole word comes from that is Ala-Carte. It means to order food separately.
The other term that we have which is french word, but now a part of English dictionary
is Aperitif. Now aperitif is an alcoholic beverage, It's an alcoholic drink. So it's
an alcoholic drink to stimulate appetite. If you are a foodie and you love eating then
do order for some aperitifs. Because aperitif is an alcoholic drink and it stimulates your
appetite, so you can eat more and more. Wow! that's nice. Right? So you can use this drink
or you can have this beverage in order to stimulate your appetite. But yes it's a french
original word, but now a part of English language. Let's have a look at another word or another
term which is Bon appetit. Now you take a flight and a beautiful air hostess gets you
your meal and there will be a small card on it which says, Bon appetit. So what exactly
it means? Well, It's a salutation before eating your meal. Like how you have a salutation
before drinking, we have a glass of wine or glass of beer and there you go cheers!! So
cheers is a salutation before drinking, however Bon appetit is salutation before eating, so
use it like if you are in a restaurant with big family and before you start your meal
you say, Bon appetit, so it means enjoy your food. It's a salutation before eating.
Let's have a look at another one, which is Cuisine. Now cuisine is a french word, but
the actual meaning of this word is Kitchen. However in English the way we use this word
is to describe the manner or the style of food. Like we say, I prefer Indian cuisine
or I love Italian cuisine, so it means that I am describing the style of food, like I
prefer Indian food or I prefer Italian food . So like Indian food would be Indian cuisine,
Italian cuisine. So it is to describe the style of food, but the original word cuisine
the french word, the meaning is ordinary kitchen. But yes this word is definitely a part of
English language now, so use it. Let's have a look at another term, which is Saute. Now
when you look at videos or you read recipes, I am sure you'll have come across this word,
Saute your veggies. So what does saute really mean? Well, saute the original term the french
term, the meaning is to jump over. But we use the word saute especially while cooking.
So It's like you are tossing over your veggies, your'e frying it in very little oil in a pan.
So you like saute your veggies by tossing it over and over again. So if you think that
the word saute actually belongs to the English language. Well, yes it does but the origin
is french, so tossing and frying vegetables, it means that your'e sauteing your vegetables.
Let' s have a look at another term, which is Sommelier. So sommelier, who is a sommelier?
A wine waiter or a wine steward. Wow! there are specific waiters to serve specific kind
of food or drink. Well, yes we do have sommelier's who are specifically people who serve your
wine for you on the table. So they are wine waiters or wine stewards, so especially when
you go to Europe, It is a culture to drink wine before your meals, so they have specific
waiters out there, who serve the wine for you. Yes it has a different style to serve
your wine and that's what they are for and the term that is used for wine waiters is,
Sommelier. So it is a french original word, however now a part of English language. Now
let's have a look at another one, Omelette. Well, yes this is my daily breakfast that's
where I get my strength from, so omelette is a dish traditionally prepared from beaten
eggs, so you beat your eggs and then you fry it in a pan. So It's, you can add chopped
vegetables or some chopped meat or some cheese to your omelette and then you fry it and then
fold it over and then serve it for breakfast. So that's an omelette for you, well yes it
is a french origin word, but now definitely an English word. There is another spelling
to it, especially the American spelling, which is Omelet. But the french or British spelling
is Omelette.
Let's have a look at another term, which is Gourmet. Who is gourmet? A judge of fine food.
But then we also have gourmet meals or you might have also heard about this term, Gourmet
kitchen, so when you end up using just the word gourmet that person is a judge of fine
food. However when you talk about gourmet meals, It means you are talking about these
exotic fancy meals. And when you talk about gourmet kitchen then it means that you know
a kitchen, which is very, very well equipped to prepare these exotic dishes. So those are
gourmet kitchen and gourmet meal is when you talk about fancy exotic meal.
I am starving. I'm hungry. Well anyway let's move on to the other term which is, Margarine.
Now margarine is a substitute of butter, so if you are very health conscious then you
can opt for margarine. So margarine is a substitute of butter, like we all say that butter is
extremely unhealthy then go for margarine. Margarine is a substitute of butter, but it
looks like butter, but it's actually made of vegetable oils. So go ahead, go to the
grocery store and buy some margarine. And then the last term, which is a french origin
that is, Picnic. So the actual meaning of the word picnic is an outdoor meal, so rather
then just sitting at home and having the daily boring meal you go out for picnic, which are
outdoor meals. So yes now most of us use this word, but probably we didn't know where did
the word come from? So, yes it is a french origin word and use it whenever required and
actual meaning of it is an outdoor meal.
So these are the ten words probably you have been using them, but had no clue that they
are or they belong to the french. But yes they are simple and they are nice, so use
it in your daily conversation. And I'll be back with a new lesson soon till then you take care..