When Frenchified Terms Bid Adieu

An 1878, gilded age dinner menu written in French, from the famous Delmonico’s restaurant in New York. 

No Longer Must a Tired Hotel Guest Struggle With the Menu; 

French Lingo Will Be Tabooed

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 22. – Guests of hotels and restaurants of the United States will no longer be obliged to adjust their tongues to the unusual French menu terms in order to be high toned but can use the common English terms without violating any rules of bon ton, if proposals are adopted that have been prepared for adoption at the annual convention of the International Stewards Association in session here.

“No longer will the hungry guest be compelled to call for the ‘menu’ and ask the ‘garçon’ to serve him beef ‘au jus,’”said one of the 3001 delegates registered for the convention, “or to bring him ‘cafe noir en demi tasse,’ but can simply say, ‘Waiter, please bring me some beef and gravy, and black coffee in a small cup,’ without giving rise to the suspicion that he is not well versed on good manners and rules of society.” Some of the French phraseology, however, will remain in vogue, as for instance, ‘Pate de Foie’ gras or ‘Filet mignon,’ because of their wealth of meaning.

For various reasons other dishes that derive their names from famous chefs or from their place of origin will continue to be known by their original terms. The principal purpose of proposing the changes on the bill of fare is the desire to eliminate the chance of a plain American citizen is confronted with when he seats himself at a table in an American restaurant seeking some nourishing food.

Enactment of a law providing that all vegetables be sold by weight, a proposal to establish a national training school for hotel cooks will be among some of the most important matters to be brought up for discussion. – By The Associated Press, 1922

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