An entrée to chef-speak

You'll struggle to believe some of these words exist

The world of fine dining is a peculiar one. Some revered restaurants will keep the same dishes for decades; others will change their menu nightly. But where there are niche flavours, there is sure to be niche vocabulary.

So here is a selection of our favourite food-adjacent words and phrases. Some you may know, others you will struggle to believe exist.
 

Salmanazar – A nine-litre bottle of wine.

Nappe – Describes consistency: when a sauce is thick enough to coat and stick to the back of a spoon. 

Oomancy – Telling the future by cracking an egg and interpreting its characteristics.

Groak – To stare at someone eating, in the hope that they’ll offer you some.

Dredging – Using a dry ingredient to coat a moist food to ensure it cooks evenly. 

Coddle – To cook something gently in water just below boiling point. 

Ort – A morsel of food left on the plate after a meal.

Muddler – An implement to crush herbs for cocktails.

Vandyke – To cut a zig-zag pattern around the circumference of a lemon to create decorative garnishes for food presentation.

Chiffonade – The slicing of leaves into fine strips.

Maurice – A rubber spatula used to scrape the remaining sauce out of a bowl or pan.

Weep – Moisture that comes out of meringue.

Sous vide – Otherwise known as boil-in-the-bag.