Fine dining restaurants offer diners an upscale meal experience often comprising several courses. Full course meals have a rich, diverse history from many regions that is a result of evolving food trends over time.
In the Western world, the full course meal might bring to mind lavish dinner parties or long meals at a fancy restaurant. Below is basic information about full course meals and typical meal course sequences.
What Is a Full Course Meal?
A full course dinner is a meal featuring multiple courses. The basic full course meal consists of three or four courses. Most full course meals normally begin with precursors to a main dish, such as a salad or soup, followed by the main courses, and then finished off with sweets, coffee, and tea. In both upscale restaurants and casual eateries, guests can opt for a full course meal by ordering multiple dishes to come out at separate times.
How many types of meal courses served in fine dining restaurants?
3-Course Meal
A 3 course dinner menu includes an appetizer, main course, and dessert.
4-Course Meal
A 4 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, appetizer, main course, and dessert.
5-Course Meal
A 5 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, appetizer, salad, main course, and dessert.
6-Course Meal
A 6 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, soup, appetizer, salad, main course, and dessert.
7-Course Meal
A 7 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, soup, appetizer, salad, main course, dessert, and mignardise (pronounced min-yar-DEEZ). (A bite-sized dessert sometimes served at the end of a meal.)
8-Course Meal
An 8 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, soup, appetizer, salad, main course, palate cleanser, dessert, and mignardise. Some widely used palate cleansers are sorbet, bread, apple slices, banana, biko and pickles.
9-Course Meal
A 9 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, soup, appetizer, salad, fish, main course, palate cleanser, dessert, and mignardise.
10-Course Meal
A 10 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, soup, appetizer, salad, fish, main course, palate cleanser, second main course, dessert, and mignardise.
12-Course Meal
A 12 course dinner menu includes an hors d’oeuvre, amuse-bouche (pronounced “am-use boosh.”) , soup, appetizer, salad, fish, first main course, palate cleanser, second main course, cheese course, dessert, and mignardise. An amuse-bouche is a single, bite-sized cocktail snack.
There you have it! All the different course levels and their components. Bon appetit!