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How to translate 'assiette dégustation'?


NormanH

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This should really be in a section on English Language, since I know exactly what an assiette dégustation is, but just can't find a similar neat phrase in English for it.

It is a platter of several different example of main courses such as quiches, salads, hams etc, rather like the selection of little puddings that make up the now very fashionable café gourmande, but as a replacement for a single main course.

The lady at one of my regular cafés has it written as 'Tasting dish' which simply sounds wrong to me, but I can see how that was arrived at, by derivation from wine  tasting dégustation and dish , an assiette.

If any of you go to restaurants in the UK who have something similar can you tell me what it is called?

I am out of touch [:(]

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Many UK high-end restaurants have a "tasting menu", Norman. I can see no reason why you can't have a "tasting dish"....however I wonder whether "tasting plate" may not be a better translation. To me, a "tasting dish" sounds like an actual "dish" IYSWIM. A quick squint around the internet seems to suggest that "plate" is in more common use for this type of thing.

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Unfortunately up-to-date so often sounds as if English has adopted the submissive posture to American, in throwing prepositions to the wind for example (a pet hatred of mine is two nouns banged together into a compound rather than using a phrase Justice Minister instead of Minister of Justice). But I wander....

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[quote user="You can call me Betty"]I'm surprised to learn that compound nouns are American. They seem to be quite common as "British English" definitions in the OED.
[/quote]

Absolutely, Betty!

How else would you say "chicken salad"?

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[quote user="sweet 17"] "chicken salad"[/quote]Oxymoronic, surely?  A salad is that bit of green stuff you leave on the side of your plate.  Chicken is dead animal and therefore edible.  Chicken with salad makes more sense to me.

Sample platter?

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[quote user="cooperlola"]

[quote user="sweet 17"] "chicken salad"[/quote]Oxymoronic, surely?  A salad is that bit of green stuff you leave on the side of your plate.  Chicken is dead animal and therefore edible.  Chicken with salad makes more sense to me.

Sample platter?

[/quote]

Oh so true![:)]

Back to the translation, how about "taster plate"

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Hmm....."What are you having for lunch?"

A) "I'm having a chicken salad"

B)" I'm having chicken with lettuce, tomatoes and other fresh (delete as applicable) fruit/vegetables"

I wonder which one we most commonly use?

It's like saying "I'm having a salad of Tuna, olives, lettuce and ......." as opposed to "Salade Niçoise"

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I would call it a tasting platter or tasting plate. I cannot see why I would want to say anything else about it.

 I have been to restaurants in France and the UK, where they have given more or less a drum roll with their descriptions of such platefuls and got my taste buds going in anticpation and what have I had, mediocre fad food.

 

Keep the description simple. The look and especially taste of the food, especially if it is good, does not need 'words'.

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[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]

[quote user="NormanH"]...... tomatoes and other fresh vegetables, for example.
 
[/quote]

Aren't tomatoes (and cucumbers and peppers etc) fruits rather than vegetables? [geek]

[/quote]Technically yes but I wouldn't put them in a fruit salad[:D]
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