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Oct 9, 2012 08:14
11 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

marché du chef

French to English Other Food & Drink Catering
This appears in a marketing piece advertising the catering options that a restaurant offers. The sentence ends '...à choisir parmi une sélection indiquée dans notre carte et notre marché du chef.'
I was thinking maybe 'chef's selection' could be a suitable translation although this still sounds a little strange in the context. Researching the term seems to produce mainly names of restaurants... Any suggestions or clarification would be greatly appreciated.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +4 specials
3 +1 market(-fresh) menu
4 chef's choice
3 -1 from our chef's marketing

Discussion

Emma Rowe (asker) Oct 9, 2012:
Yes, I do believe the mental image of the chef strolling around the market in his whites (would health and safety allow that?!) was my stumbling block here! Thank you for your comments!
Tony M Oct 9, 2012:
@ Catherine & Colin Thanks!

Call it a « déformation professionnelle » ;-)

I heard a wonderful cabaret song, far more ironic, performed by a well-known Paris restaurateur himself; it was almost frightening!

http://www.le-gai-moulin.com/enchanson.htm
Colin Rowe Oct 9, 2012:
@Tony Priceless!
Catherine De Crignis Oct 9, 2012:
Agree with Tony Although I would have put it a little less ironically ! ( - ;
Tony M Oct 9, 2012:
Clarification Conjures up a lovely image of the merry chef getting up early to wander round the market with his little basket lovingly choosing delicious ingredients to cook, just for you...

Sadly, in my experience of actually doing it, it usually means 'whatever we've got left over and want to use up', or 'whatever the wholesaler has on special offer'

So it basically means 'occasional dishes, not on our regular menu' — you might call them 'chef's specials', though I don't personally like that, as I always feel it conjures up the idea of a 'speciality of the chef', which of course this isn't.

A similar expression is often used: 'marché du jour'; this might lead one to the idea of 'today's special' — though note that it can easily turn into 'this week's special', depending on how (over-)enthusiastic the chef's little shopping spree might have been ;-)

Proposed translations

+4
1 hr
Selected

specials

There's the regular menu (notre carte), more or less invariable, plus specials that change from day to day – chef's specials, daily specials... your choice.
Peer comment(s):
agree Tony M : Yes, in the specific context given, I really feel this is all that it needs.
11 mins
Thank you.
agree Colin Rowe : Agree - this is probably sufficient on its own.
1 hr
Thank you.
agree Sheila Wilson : May not be a very close translation, but it translates the idea, IMO
3 hrs
Thank you.
agree philgoddard : The implication may be that it's what the chef has picked up at the market that day.
6 hrs
Thank you.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
-1
43 mins

from our chef's marketing

Hasn't quite got the right roll to it, but I don't see anything classier yet - agree that chef's special smacks of spam!

"The regular menu is augmented by a long list of printed daily specials that reflect the seasons and the chef’s marketing for the day" http://www.cafesilvium.com/default.asp?contentid=476

This turn of phrase occurred to me as UK English variant user, but the ref I'm giving you is US, and I wonder if this is US usage...
Peer comment(s):
disagree Tony M : 'marketing' refers to the whole field of sales techniques, I think it would be very unwise to use it here in the sense of 'market purchases' / The US ref. you quote is poorly written with many errors — and I suspect this is one of them!
11 mins
I was indeed worried about European implications of the US expression "doing the marketing"
Something went wrong...
+1
1 hr

market(-fresh) menu

A suggestion - presumably your marketing piece wants to present the restaurant in the best possible light. This suggestion is based on the following links and examples:

Market Menu at £24.50
3 courses, glass of wine, filter coffee at £24.50
Our Market Menu is an ideal way to sample our market fresh approach to food. Try our 3 course menu with a glass of our house wine, red or white, and filter coffee to finish all for £24.50 excluding service.
We change the menu daily to reflect what we have purchased at the markets that morning.
http://www.opusrestaurant.co.uk/?p=687

The “market fresh” menu
Enjoy market freshness with our seasonal popular priced set-menu
http://thatched-cottage.co.uk/the-market-fresh-menu/

Restaurant Marché
The name Marché comes from their adjacent position to the farmers market on Bainbridge and the fact that Greg has always loved the 20th century French trend of "cuisine du marché," cooking what the market offers.
http://www.seattledining.com/archive/restaurants/restaurant_...

Andrew Fairlie at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie
plus we've our menu du marché as we term it ...
The menu du marché we introduced it last year and it's now working really well for us. It was a new addition, previously we used to just do the à la carte and the degustation but the marché, gave us the opportunity, if we wanted to, to change the menu every day, ...
We do a lot of work with our suppliers in terms of what they have available for that day or the next. ...
du marché is something completely different. ... The change can be triggered perhaps b[u]y a supplier saying, "We've got roe deer it's coming into the very best of its season,"
http://www.thestaffcanteen.com/menu-watch/andrew-fairlie-at-...
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : Given that this opposes 'carte', I think it unwise to repeat 'menu' — quite likely just to be a single dish of the day. I'd have gone for 'market-fresh dishes' OK — except that I'm worried it could imply the rest is all stale ;-)
23 mins
Thanks, Tony - I take your point about menu v single dish. Perhaps "chef's seasonal special(s)"? (still trying to make the "special" sound like something positive)
neutral Sheila Wilson : It's assuming the chef went to the market - something that we don't know
3 hrs
Thanks, Sheila. It would indeed be helpful to have more info about the restaurant, e.g. here the "menu du jour" is described as "concocté selon le marché" and "établi selon le marché du Chef" http://www.restaurant-la-parenthese.com/menus/le-menu-du-jou...
agree philgoddard : I think this is a good idea. Maybe "daily market-fresh menu". It sounds more classy than "chef's specials".
5 hrs
Thanks, Phil - perhaps it depends on the intended clientele or market segment (sorry!)
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

chef's choice

This is quite a commonly used term and in my experience the purpose of its use is quite widespread. For example there are numerous restaurants and food caterers using this term in their names or marketing, rather than just in the description of their menus or product lists.
Example sentence:

"The menu includes 2 canapés, of the CHEFS CHOICE, served on arrival, fresh baked dinner rolls, seasonal vegetables and green salads..."

"Gumbo Of The Moment: Traditional bayou fare of the trinity, okra, fresh herbs, and CHEF'S CHOICE of the moment."

Reference:

http://www.portraitgallerycafe.com.au/documents/87_Portrait%20Catering%20Function%20menu%202012.pdf

http://www.urbanspoon.com/cities/35-hampton-roads/restaurants/1124068-rivers-inn-restaurant-and-crab-deck/menu

Something went wrong...
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