Modern Menus: Courses and Arrangement

Such extensive classical menus are rarely served today. Even grand, elegant banquets comprising many courses are usually shorter than the menu we just described. However, if you study that menu, you will be able to see the basic pattern of modern menus hiding amid all those courses.

The main dish is the centerpiece of the modern meal. If the meal consists of only one dish, it is considered the main course, even if it is a salad or a bowl of soup. There is usually only one main course, although large banquets may still have more than one, such as a poultry dish followed by a meat dish.