Practicing Creativity

What does a French gourmet meal really look like?

Last weekend my husband and I celebrated my father-in-law's birthday with lunch at La Renaissance, a cuisine gastronomique restaurant in Rive de Gier, France. I thought you might enjoy seeing what a true French gourmet meal is like. Here are each of the courses in the menu I took:


#1 the amuse-bouche—a tiny starter dish (this was maybe three bites) that's just a little something to tease your taste buds. Pretty isn't it? The three little dots remind me of my cards.


#2 the entrée—aka appetizer. Just an aside here, but why do Americans use entrée for the main dish when entrée means the entrance into something? Just to confuse everyone I suppose. Anyway, here's mine. This was a brochette of curried scallops with a carrot mousse.


#3 the main dish—fish—Dorade Royale braised with olive oil, served with a light sauce and a few veggies.


#4 the cheese cart—served right before the dessert.


#5 what I chose—goat and sheep cheeses with a bit of jam and you get a glimpse of the wine, a good Bordeaux.


#6 dessert—is this a work of art or what?! It was apple on a cake like bottom with chocolate sides and a little scoop of sorbet on top.


#7 mignardises—these little cakes and sweets come after dessert with your coffee. My husband and father-in-law attacked them—no sense of aesthetics these guys—before I had a chance to take the picture, originally they were arranged in rows, all nice and pretty, with three of each thing (one for each of us).

There you go, a true French gourmet meal!

7 comments

  1. Whaou!! C'est très beau y j'imagine très bon aussi! Les restaurants gastronomiques sont vrai régal!

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  2. Oooh la laaa...how beautiful!! What was the first dish? It looks like layers of pate with some sort of filling, maybe cheese? And I suppose Americans call the main dish "entree" because it leads up to the all-important course, which is dessert of course. Haha! I'll certainly never see that word (entree) again without thinking of this delightful blog post! LOVED the pictures, you did a great job taking them and giving a "taste" of life in your world. Thank you so much for sharing!

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  3. Ditto what Shea said! I dont understand why Americans say entree for main course either. Thank you for teaching us! What beautiful pics and yummy looking lunch!

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  4. oh my word. I am on my way!!!!

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  5. think i would skip right to the deserts!!! :)

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  6. Yummy! The dessert is definitely a work of art.

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  7. I always used to get confused in France when the entrée wasn't my main! LOL

    This looks like an amazing meal beautifully presented.

    bisous
    Suzanne

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