Bold New Beginnings by Susan Campbell Gone are the days when the typical first-course offerings would consist of shrimp cocktail, French onion soup, and escargots. Today’s savvy chefs are blazing new trails with amazing appetizers, and showcasing their culinary flair and prowess in the kitchen.
Classification confusion
The tradition of offering small delicacies designed to whet the appetite and prepare the palate for further culinary exploration dates back to Ancient Rome. Though many other cultures also share the tradition, it is really the French that made the practice a part of everyday dining by establishing a set order of courses. Over the years, however, there has been collective confusion as to what officially constitutes an “appetizer”, especially in North America where the term entrée became associated with a main course rather than a first course as originally established by the French. Then appetizers became entangled with the term hors d’oeuvres since these little bits and bites were typically offered before a meal. Hors d’oeuvres, however, were not designed to whet 8
the appetite as appetizers do; rather these foods served at French banquets were meant to encourage digestion between courses and were served at any time during the dining. Literally translated, hors d’oeuvre means “outside of the work”, but over time they became better known as snacks that go with cocktails, much like Spanish-style tapas. As if to confuse things further, nouvelle cuisine then introduced amuse-bouches (meaning “to please the mouth”), and folks wondered if these little bites should be classified as appetizers. They should not. The purpose of an amuse-bouche is to show off the chef ’s culinary creativity in a small, bite-sized dish. It is usually offered as a complimentary extra whenever the chef feels like it, and you generally cannot order an amuse-bouche off the menu. E Photos by Veer
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