Service à la russe
Encyclopedia
Service à la russe is a manner of dining that involves courses being brought to the table sequentially.
It contrasts with service à la française
("service in the French style"), in which all the food is brought out at once in an impressive, but often impractical, display. The Russian Ambassador Alexander Kurakin
is credited with bringing service à la russe to France
in the early 19th century, and it later caught on in England
. This is now the style in which most modern Western restaurant
s serve food (with some significant modifications).
The place setting (called a cover) for each guest includes a service plate, all the necessary cutlery
except those required for dessert, and stemmed glasses for water, wine
s and champagne. Atop the service plate is a rolled napkin, and atop that is the place card
. Above the plate is a saltcellar, nut dish, and a menu
.
The cutlery to the right of the service plate are, from the outside in, the oyster fork resting in the bowl of the soup spoon
, the fish knife, the meat knife and the salad knife (or fruit knife). On the left, from the outside in, are the fish fork, the meat fork and a salad fork (or fruit fork). (If both a salad and a fruit course are served, the necessary extra flatware must be brought out on a platter, as it is bad form to have more than three knives or forks on the table at once, the oyster fork excepted.)
Guests are seated according to their place cards and immediately remove their napkins and place them in their laps. Another view maintains that the napkin is only removed after the host/hostess has removed his or hers. In the same manner, the host/hostess is first to begin eating, and guests follow. Then the oyster plate is placed atop the service plate. Once that is cleared the soup plate replaces it. After the soup course is finished, both the soup plate and service plate are removed from the table, and a heated plate is put in their place. (The rule is as such: a filled plate is always replaced with an empty one, and no place goes without a plate until just before the dessert course.)
The fish and meat courses are always served from platter
s, because in correct service a filled plate is never placed before a guest, as this would indirectly dictate how much food the guest is to eat.
Directly before dessert everything is removed from the place settings but the wine and water glasses. Crumbs are cleared now. The dessert plate is then brought out with a doily
on top of it, a finger bowl
on top of that, and a fork and spoon, the former balanced on the left side of the plate and the latter on the right. Guests remove the doily and finger bowls, move them to the left of the plate and place the fork to the left side of the plate and the spoon to its right. Guests are not actually to use the finger bowl, since they have not used their fingers to eat with.
It contrasts with service à la française
Service à la française
Service à la française is the practice of serving all the dishes of a meal at the same moment.This style prevailed in the courts of French royalty, as it made the greatest impression for all the delicacies of the kitchen to emerge simultaneously...
("service in the French style"), in which all the food is brought out at once in an impressive, but often impractical, display. The Russian Ambassador Alexander Kurakin
Alexander Kurakin
Prince Alexander Borisovich Kurakin, sometimes spelled Kourakine was a Russian statesman and diplomat, a member of the State Council , ranked Actual Privy Counsellor 1st Class ....
is credited with bringing service à la russe to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the early 19th century, and it later caught on in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. This is now the style in which most modern Western restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s serve food (with some significant modifications).
Place setting and service order
For the most correct service à la russe, the following must be observed:The place setting (called a cover) for each guest includes a service plate, all the necessary cutlery
Cutlery
Cutlery refers to any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in the Western world. It is more usually known as silverware or flatware in the United States, where cutlery can have the more specific meaning of knives and other cutting instruments. This is probably the...
except those required for dessert, and stemmed glasses for water, wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
s and champagne. Atop the service plate is a rolled napkin, and atop that is the place card
Place card
A place card is a piece of paper indicating what table a guest at an event, such as a wedding or banquet, is assigned to sit. Place cards generally have the guest's name and table number, and frequently have some design as well to add style....
. Above the plate is a saltcellar, nut dish, and a menu
Menu
In a restaurant, a menu is a presentation of food and beverage offerings. A menu may be a la carte – which guests use to choose from a list of options – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is served....
.
The cutlery to the right of the service plate are, from the outside in, the oyster fork resting in the bowl of the soup spoon
Soup spoon
A soup spoon is a type of spoon with a large or rounded bowl, used for eating soup. The term either can either refer to the Western soup spoon or the Chinese spoon.-Chinese:...
, the fish knife, the meat knife and the salad knife (or fruit knife). On the left, from the outside in, are the fish fork, the meat fork and a salad fork (or fruit fork). (If both a salad and a fruit course are served, the necessary extra flatware must be brought out on a platter, as it is bad form to have more than three knives or forks on the table at once, the oyster fork excepted.)
Guests are seated according to their place cards and immediately remove their napkins and place them in their laps. Another view maintains that the napkin is only removed after the host/hostess has removed his or hers. In the same manner, the host/hostess is first to begin eating, and guests follow. Then the oyster plate is placed atop the service plate. Once that is cleared the soup plate replaces it. After the soup course is finished, both the soup plate and service plate are removed from the table, and a heated plate is put in their place. (The rule is as such: a filled plate is always replaced with an empty one, and no place goes without a plate until just before the dessert course.)
The fish and meat courses are always served from platter
Platter (dishware)
A platter is a large type of dishware used for serving food. It is a tray on which food is displayed and served to people. It can have oval, round, rectangular, or square shape. It can be made of metal, ceramic, or plastic. Plain and ornate platters suitable for more formal settings or occasions...
s, because in correct service a filled plate is never placed before a guest, as this would indirectly dictate how much food the guest is to eat.
Directly before dessert everything is removed from the place settings but the wine and water glasses. Crumbs are cleared now. The dessert plate is then brought out with a doily
Doily
A doily is an ornamental mat, originally the name of a fabric made by Doiley, a 17th-century London draper. Doily earlier meant "genteel, affordable woolens", evidently from the same source....
on top of it, a finger bowl
Finger bowl
A finger bowl is a bowl of water, usually with lemon or flower petals, which is used for rinsing one's fingers in between courses in a multiple course meal. It is typically served before the dessert course, on a doily on top of the dessert plate....
on top of that, and a fork and spoon, the former balanced on the left side of the plate and the latter on the right. Guests remove the doily and finger bowls, move them to the left of the plate and place the fork to the left side of the plate and the spoon to its right. Guests are not actually to use the finger bowl, since they have not used their fingers to eat with.
Menu
A typical 14-course menu for a formal French dinner in service à la russe style is as follows:- OysterOysterThe word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
s or clamClamThe word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...
s on a half shell. Alternatively, fruit or caviarCaviarCaviar, sometimes called black caviar, is a luxury delicacy, consisting of processed, salted, non-fertilized sturgeon roe. The roe can be "fresh" or pasteurized, the latter having much less culinary and economic value....
may be served - Soup (each guest may choose between clear or thick)
- Radishes, celery, olives and almonds
- Fish, with potatoes and cucumbers with oil & vinegar
- Sweetbreads (or mushrooms)
- Artichokes, asparagus or spinach inside a shell of pastry
- A roast with a green vegetable
- Frozen Roman punch (an alcoholic fruit punch thickened with egg whites)
- Game with salad
- Creamed sweet (e.g. a heavy pudding)
- Frozen sweet (e.g. a sorbet or ice creamIce creamIce cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
) - Cheeses with biscuits and butter
- Crystallized and stuffed dried fruits served with bonbonBonbonThe name bonbon refers to any of several types of sweets, especially small candies enrobed in chocolate.The first reports of bonbons come from the 17th century, when they were made at the French royal court. Their name arose from infantile reduplication of the word bon, meaning 'good'...
s - CoffeeCoffeeCoffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, liqueurLiqueurA liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
s, cognacCognac (drink)Cognac , named after the town of Cognac in France, is a variety of brandy. It is produced in the wine-growing region surrounding the town from which it takes its name, in the French Departements of Charente and Charente-Maritime....
, and sparkling water (at this time cigars may be smoked)