Food Service and Restaurant Management Glossary

February 13, 2022

Food Service and Restaurant Management Glossary

Hello, my name is Viktoriia Yuksha, I'm 19 years old and this is my second year at Montmorency College in Laval. I'm studying Food Service and Restaurant Management. This program is taught at Montmorency College and then at ITHQ in Montreal. We study restaurant management, cooking, food service, and we learn many new terms. My topic is a restaurant, and I want to familiarize you with 20 restaurant terms. To find words for this glossary I use the Internet information and Antidote dictionary.

franchise: noun; The right given to a person or business to sell a particular company’s goods or services.; Example: We own this business as a franchise holder.; fr: la franchise
break-even point: noun; A break even point is the minimum amount of sales that a restaurant must achieve in order to cover all costs. The amount that is left would be considered the profit.; Example: This is the break-even point where total cost equals total revenue.; fr: seuil de rentabilité
company culture: noun; The environment, effecting the decisions made in your restaurant concerning how problems are dealt with and staff management.; Example: This company believes in a strong company culture, high work ethic and delivering high standard projects.; fr: culture d'entreprise
cost of goods: noun; The daily, weekly, monthly or yearly total dollar amount of all inventoried items that have been used in the restaurant.; Example: A good insurance policy will cover the cost of goods lost or damaged in transit.; fr: coût des biens
front of the house: noun; The front of the house, also called the FOH, refers to all actions and areas that a customer will be exposed to during their stay at a restaurant, such as the lobby and dining area. Your front of house space is the perfect place to use decor to set the theme of your restaurant.; Example: Every restaurant has a front of the house where kitchen workers weren't allowed to be.; fr: devant la maison
back of the house: noun; The back of the house, also known as the BOH, encompasses all the behind-the-scenes areas that customers will not see. This acts as the central command center in a restaurant because it’s where the food is prepared, cooked, and plated before making its way to the customer’s table.; Example: Every restaurant had a back of the house where customers weren't allowed to be.; fr: derrière la maison
chef de Partie: noun; Station chefs. In the brigade system, these are the line cook positions, such as saucier, grillardin, etc.; Example: He rapidly rose through the ranks to become chef de partie in a major London restaurant.; fr: chef de partie
commis: noun; An apprentice. A cook who works under the Chef de Partie to learn the station and responsibilities.; Example: The contest brings together 24 invited countries from around the world, challenging 24 chefs and their commis to be judged by the most senior chefs in the world.; fr: commis
kill it: verb; To make something very overcooked; see Cremate it.; Example: You killed that steak.; fr: tue le
al dente: adverb; Italian for to the tooth. To cook a food, such as pasta, until it is al dente, is to cook it until it is tender, but still firm and not soft.; Example: This pasta is al dente.; fr: al dente
emulsion: noun; The mixture of one liquid with another with which it cannot normally combine smoothly (such as oil and water). Emulsifying is done by slowly adding one ingredient to another while mixing rapidly. This disperses and suspends minute droplets of one liquid throughout another. Emulsified mixtures are usually thick and satiny in texture.; Example: Mayonnaise and vinaigrette are two classic emulsions.; fr: émulsion
flash point: noun; The temperature at which a compound gives off enough vapor to ignite in the air.; Example: What Is The Flash Point For Vegetable Oil.; fr: point de rupture
pass station: noun; The temperature at which a compound gives off enough vapor to ignite in the air.; Example: They left food at the pass station.; fr: gare de passage
dead plate: ajective, noun; A dead plate is a dish that can in no way be served to customers. This can be for a number of reasons but includes poor appearance, incorrect temperature, taking too long to serve the dish, or wrong ingredients.; Example: It looks like dead plate, we can't serve this.; fr: assiete morte
maitre d’hotel: noun; A Maitre d'Hotel is usually something exclusive to high end restaurants, and is someone that welcomes guests, assigns their tables, takes reservations, and just makes sure that the guest has a generally good time.; fr: maître d'hôtel
tourne: adjective; When a vegetable is cut in the shape of a small tapered cork.; Example: Tourne or Tourné cut, this method of shaping vegetables is most commonly used to prepare potatoes in order to enhance the appearance when they are placed on and served for as part of the main meal.; fr: tourné
demi-glace: noun; Rich brown sauce in French cuisine used by itself or as a base for other sauces. The term comes from the French word glace, which, when used in reference to a sauce, means "icing" or "glaze." It is traditionally made by combining one part Espagnole sauce and one part brown stock. The sauce is then reduced by half, strained of any left over impurities and finished with a sherry wine.; Example: Here it is browned on all sides, then braised in an old-fashioned French brown sauce called demi-glace.; fr: demi-glace
deglaze: verb; Adding a liquid such as water, wine, or broth to a skillet or pan that has been used to cook meat. After the meat has been removed, the liquid is poured into the pan to help loosen the browned bits and make a flavorful sauce.; Example: Quickly deglaze roasting pan with wine, scraping up the brown bits. Strain into sauce.; fr: déglacer
caramelize: verb; To melt sugar over medium heat in a skillet, stirring constantly, until it is a pale brown syrup.; Example: Can you caramelize onions for this recipe?; fr: caraméliser
brunoise: noun; Brunoise is a French cooking term meaning to cut a vegetable into small cubes of precise and uniform measurement. A regular brunoise gives you cubes 3 mm (1/8th inch) in size; a fine brunoise gives you cubes 1.5 mm (1/6th inch) in size.; Example: They're combined with a fine brunoise of shallots, onions and celery.; fr: brunoise