In France, a good meal becomes a ritual where family and friends gather together around the table to share and celebrate life occasions. The ceremony begins with an appetizer and ends with a digestif. Between these two stimulating beverages, you will enjoy a banquet composed of: a starter, a main course, cheese, dessert, wine and bread! This article will definitely open your appetite listing the top 100 french for food.
If you wish to take the tests DELF, DALF or TCF, revising all our french vocabuary worksheets is always a great idea! So read on and start learning French on your own!
Daily Meals
Let’s see how to call all of them in French.
Daily Meals – Les repas de la journée
| breakfast | le petit déjeuner |
| to eat / to have breakfast | prendre le petit déjeuner |
| elevenses / mid-morning snack break | la pause de onze heures / la pause café |
| to eat /to have lunch | déjeuner |
| lunch | le déjeuner |
| an after-school snack | un goûter; une collation |
| to eat/ to have dinner | dîner |
| dinner | le dîner |
| supper | le souper |
| a three-course meal | un repas avec une entrée, un plat et un dessert |
Different Kinds of Fruit
What’s your favorite fruit? How much fruit do you eat every day?
Now, how about learning the names of some different kinds of fruit in French?
Fruit – Les fruits
| cherry | une cerise |
| strawberries | des fraises |
| raspberries | des framboises |
| blackberries | des mûres |
| blackcurrants | des cassis |
| blueberries | des myrtilles |
| grapes | du raisin |
| orange | une orange |
| apple | une pomme |
| peach | une pêche |
Vegetables
Let’s study some vegetables in French.
Vegetables – Les légumes
| a mushroom | un champignon |
| a tomato | une tomate |
| a potato | une pomme de terre |
| a cucumber | un concombre |
| a zucchini | une courgette |
| an artichoke | un artichaut |
| a carrot | une carotte |
| a lettuce | une laitue |
| endive | une endive, la chicorée |
| a radish | un radis |
Meat and Poultry
Beef-rib Bourguignon, steak tartare, char-grilled sirloin, coq au vin… French recipes include lots of meat and chicken.
Meat and Poultry – La viande et la volaille
| beef | le boeuf |
| veal | le veau |
| lamb | l’agneau |
| pork | le porc |
| a sausage | une saucisse |
| ham | le jambon |
| a chicken | un poulet |
| a duck | un canard |
| a goose | une oie |
| a turkey | une dinde |
Fish
Post-impressionist French painter Pierre Bonnard immortalized a traditional Provençal fish stew from the port city of Marseille called: La bouillabaisse. This soup is a mix of vegetables and Mediterranean fish, such as congre, scorpion fish, monkfish, John Dory and gurnard, all of them cut into large chunks. It’s really yummy! Let’s see how to talk about fish in French.
Fish – Poissons
| a conger | un congre |
| a scorpion fish | une rascasse |
| a monkfish | une lotte |
| a John Dory | un saint-pierre |
| a gurnard | un grondin |
| a cod | un cabillaud |
| a trout | une truite |
| a catshark | une roussette |
| a salmon | un saumon |
| an anchovy | un anchois |
Seafood
Below you will find some of the most popular seafood:
Seafood – Les fruits de mer
| a crab | un crabe |
| a mussel | une moule |
| an oyster | une huître |
| a prawn | une crevette rose |
| a shrimp | une crevette grise |
| a lobster | un homard, une langouste |
| a langoustine | une langoustine |
| a scallop | une coquille Saint-Jacques |
| cockles | les coques |
| clams | les palourdes |
Dairy Products
Dairy Products- Les produits laitiers
| milk | le lait |
| butter | le beurre |
| cheese | du fromage |
| cream | la crème |
| yoghurt | le yaourt |
| condensed milk | le lait concentré |
| skimmed milk, unskimmed milk | le lait écrémé, le lait entier |
| goat’s cheese | le fromage de chèvre |
| sheep’s cheese | le fromage de brebis |
| a blue cheese | le fromage bleu |
Desserts
A pâtissier (a pastry chef) is someone who specializes in desserts and pastries. The French are well-known for the different kinds of wine and champagne they have invented, for their delicious cheese and also for some of the most famous desserts in the world.
Desserts – Les desserts
| jam | la confiture |
| marmelade | la marmelade |
| jelly | la gelée |
| stewed fruit | la compote de fruits |
| honey | le miel |
| chocolate | le chocolat |
| custard | la crème anglaise |
| chocolate mousse | la mousse au chocolat |
| ice cream | la glace |
| a sweet, a candy | un bonbon |
Grains And Beans
Beans and grains contain some essential amino acids and complementary proteins for our body. For this reason you can really get lots of nutritional benefits when you add both of them to your diet. They are easy to cook and really affordable. Below you will find the names of some grains and beans in French.
Grains And Beans- Les légumes secs
| rice | le riz |
| brown rice | le riz complet |
| green peas | les petits pois |
| chickpeas | les pois chiches |
| beans | les haricots |
| kidney beans | les haricots rouges |
| broad beans | les fèves |
| lentils | les lentilles |
| oatmeal | les flocons d’avoine |
| bean sprouts | les germes de soja |
Useful Phrases To Order Meals At The Restaurant
Now that you are familiarized with some of the most representative vocabulary about food in French, we think it’s time for you to practice another important aspect: entering a restaurant and ordering a meal. We have chosen the most useful phrases so that you can have a nice and tasty experience! Shall we go?
Some Useful Phrases to order some food at the Restaurant – Exemples de phrases à utiliser pour commander un menu au restaurant
Let’s imagine that you have made a reservation. The first thing you will do is to tell the waiter or waitress that there is already a table waiting for you:
I have made a reservation in the name of Chauve. = J’ai réservé une table au nom de Chauve.
Some questions you could ask are:
- What’s today’s special? = Quel est le plat du jour?
- I’d like some water/ a glass of wine, please. = Je voudrais de l’eau / un verre de vin, s’il vous plaît.
If you need some more time to decide what to order, you can say:
- I haven’t chosen yet. One more minute, please = Je n’ai pas encore choisi. Une minute, s’il vous plaît.
If you need some advice, you can ask:
- What would you recommend? = Qu’est-ce que vous recommandez ?
When you order you can say:
- I will take the main course and the dessert, please. = Je prendrai le plat principal et le dessert, s’il vous plaît.
Once you have finished your meal, you can say:
- Could I have the bill, please? = Pourrais-je avoir l’addition, s’il vous plaît ?
Do not forget to be polite! Say always:
- Excuse-me = Excusez-moi (in case you need to attract the waiter or waitress attention).
- Please = S’il vous plaît.
- Thank you very much = Merci beaucoup.
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