To serve as A la carte in restaurants in the gastronomy and food and beverage sector; The guests can order any type of food in the menu according to their wishes and budget without any order. Types of food can change the ingredients in its content. (For example; he may not want onions..
What is an A la Carte Restaurant?
The word à la carte means à la carte (meal) menu card in French. There are at least 6 food sections on the food menu in the form of À la carte service, which is generally used for the food menu. These; It consists of breakfast and soups, cold starters, hot starters, salads, pastas, main courses, seafood, dessert and fruits. Considering the number of employees, the kitchen concept and service areas of the restaurant business, these departments are; It can be reproduced as our special meals, pizzas, grilled meals or from our wood oven (black oven).
To serve as A la carte in restaurants in the gastronomy and food and beverage sector; The guests can order any type of food in the menu according to their wishes and budget without any order. Types of food can change the ingredients in its content. (For example; he may not want onions in the salad, he can choose the content of the pizza himself, he may want his meal to be cooked with butter or olive oil)
Each guest who chooses a la carte restaurants chooses the standards of the food options offered (for example; meat rare, medium rare, medium well, very well done options). The most important feature of the à la carte system or the à la carte restaurant is that the desired food is prepared and served by the relevant cook at any time.
So the food is not ready to eat beforehand, it can only be pre-prepared. For example; It can be cutting and seasoning the meat, preparing the pizza dough, preparing the sauces to be used in the meal, or keeping the vegetables ready by cutting. This time can be between 10 minutes for salads, 13-15 minutes for pasta, 20-30 minutes for main courses, 6-8 minutes for desserts and fruits.
The sitting time in restaurants serving with à la carte system is approximately 2-3 hours. But this time may vary depending on how much you order the variety of food and drink. In very busy areas, if there is no food on your table, you may be asked to get up to seat new guests at the table. As the à la carte restaurant kitchen chefs, who are among the cuisines, must be very skillful, fast and practical, not every cook can work in these kitchens, because it is laborious and tiring.
In à la carte restaurants, the shape and presentation of each plate is different, and the prices vary according to the cost of the meal. In many restaurants, these prices and meal weights are indicated on the menu. According to the service understanding of the restaurant management, they can prepare package menus in order to increase their turnover. Package menus can generally be preferred in economical and attractive options for tourists. Among the services of à la carte restaurants other than meals; It can be lounge, branch, meeting, alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages, cafe services.
Note:
I would like to point out that I have previously registered the same definition on the " wikipedia " website on 25 July 2021 as "A la carte restaurant", which is the relevant title within the hotel kitchen organization. But since I posted it on my own website, it was deleted from there.
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Has Chef Ahmet Ozdemir
Coordinator Executive Chef
International Restaurant and Cuisine Consultant