Amuse-bouche

For the Hannibal episode, see Amuse-Bouche (Hannibal).
Amuse-bouche
A Parmesan panna cotta amuse-bouche
Alternative namesAmuse-gueule
CourseHors d'oeuvre
Place of originFrance

An amuse-bouche (/əˌmuːzˈbuːʃ/; French: [a.myz.buʃ])[1] or amuse-gueule (UK: /əˌmuːzˈɡɜːl/, US: /-ˈɡʌl/; French: [a.myz.ɡœl]) is a single, bite-sized hors d'œuvre.[2] Amuse-bouches are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons but are served free and according to the chef's selection alone. These are served both to prepare the guest for the meal and to offer a glimpse of the chef's style.

The term is French and literally means "mouth amuser". The plural form may be amuse-bouche or amuse-bouches.[3] In France, amuse-gueule is traditionally used in conversation and literary writing, while amuse-bouche is not even listed in most dictionaries,[4] being a euphemistic hypercorrection that appeared in the 1980s[5] on restaurant menus and used almost only there. (In French, bouche refers to the human mouth, while gueule means the wider mouth of an animal, e.g. dog, though commonly used for mouth and derogatory only in certain expressions, e.g. "ferme ta gueule".)[6][7]

  1. ^ (plural pronounced the same in French even when (sometimes) spelled with an s: amuse-bouches)
  2. ^ Murray, Kenneth, ed. (2006). Bon Appétit: A Dictionary of French Restaurant Terms. Concorde French Language Publications. p. 3. ISBN 0-9545991-2-8.
  3. ^ Burgel, Patrick (2005). Le petit dictionnaire des pluriels: 5000 mots. Chatou: Éditions Carnot. p. 35. ISBN 2-84855-114-3.
  4. ^ "Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales (CNRTL)". Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  5. ^ Dictionnaire Le Petit Robert. Éditions Le Robert. 2011. ISBN 978-2849028988.
  6. ^ "Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales (CNRTL)". Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  7. ^ Grimes, William (1998-07-22). "First a Little Something from the Chef ... Very Very Little". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-11-01. The predinner treat known as an amuse-bouche, or amuse-gueule, used to be a throwaway, a complimentary palate pleaser, to translate the term, which was put before the diner to make a good impression. Recently, however, like a bit player with big ideas, it has begun to hog the stage