INTRODUCTION OF MENU CARD

Menus, as a list of prepared foods, have been discovered dating back to the Song Dynasty in China. In the larger populated cities of the time, merchants found a way to cater to busy customers who had little time or energy to prepare food during the evening. The variation in Chinese cuisine from different regions led caterers to create a list or menu for their patrons.

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. The original menus that offered consumers choices were prepared on a small chalkboard, in French a carte; so foods chosen from a bill of fare are described as "à la carte," "according to the board."

The contemporary menu first appeared in France during the second half of the eighteenth century, or The Romantic Age. Prior to this time eating establishments or table d'hôte served dishes that were chosen by the chef or proprietors. Customers ate what the house was serving that day, as in contemporary banquets or buffets and meals were served from a common table. The establishment of restaurants and restaurant menus allowed customers to choose from a list of unseen dishes, which were produced to order according to the customer's selection. A table d'hôte establishment charged its customers a fixed price; the menu allowed customers to spend as much or as little money as they chose.

TABLE D'HÔTE MENU CARD

Table d'hôte is a French loan phrase that literally means "the host's table". The term is used to denote a table set aside for residents of a guesthouse, who presumably sit at the same table as their host.

The meaning shifted to include any meal featuring a set menu at a fixed price. In the original sense, its use in English is attributed as early as 1617, while the later extended use, now more common, dates from the early nineteenth century. This meaning is not used in France.

À LA CARTE MENU CARD

À la carte is a French language loan phrase meaning "according to the menu", and used in reference to a menu of items priced and ordered separately. The usual operation of restaurants. This is in contrast to a table d'hôte, at which a menu with limited or no choice is served at a fixed price.

To order an item from the menu on its own, example a steak without the potatoes and vegetables is steak à la carte

To describe a retail pricing model in which goods or services traditionally bundled together are separated out, putatively giving the consumer greater choice at lower cost.

EXAMPLE OF TABLE D' HOTE MENU CARD

EXAMPLE  OF  À LA  CARTE  MENU  CARD