Course (food)

A course is a specific set of food items served together during a meal, all at the same time. A course may include multiple dishes including side dishes or only one, and often includes items with some variety of flavors. For instance, a hamburger served with French fries would be considered a single course and might constitute the entire meal. Larger meals might include many courses, such as a course where a soup is served by itself, a course when cordon bleu is served at the same time as its garnish and perhaps a side dish of vegetables, and finally a dessert such as a pumpkin pie. Courses may vary in size as well as number depending on the culture where the meal takes place.^[1]

When dishes are served mostly in a single course, this is known in formal terms as service à la française; when dishes are served mostly in separate courses, this is called service à la russe.

^ Edward Giobbi; Eugenia Giobbi Bone (20 October 2005). Italian Family Dining: Recipes, Menus, and Memories of Meals with a Great American Food Family. Rodale. pp. 1–. ISBN 978-1-59486-126-0. Retrieved 24 August 2013.

[GiobbiBone2005-1] Edward Giobbi; Eugenia Giobbi Bone (20 October 2005). Italian Family Dining: Recipes, Menus, and Memories of Meals with a Great American Food Family. Rodale. pp. 1–. ISBN 978-1-59486-126-0. Retrieved 24 August 2013.

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