Course (food) facts for kids

When you eat a meal, it's often divided into different parts. Each part is called a course. A course is a group of food items served together at the same time. It might be just one dish, like a hamburger with French fries, which is often the whole meal. Or, it could be many dishes served together, like a big banquet.

For example, a fancy meal might start with a soup as the first course. Then, the main course could be a dish like cordon bleu served with a side dish and a garnish. Later, a dessert like pumpkin pie might be served as the final course. The size and number of courses can change a lot depending on where you are in the world and what kind of meal it is.

Meals are made up of one or more courses. Each course can have one or more different dishes.

Sometimes, all the dishes for a meal are brought out at once. This way of serving is called service à la française. Other times, dishes are served one after another, in separate courses. This is known as service à la russe.

What Does "Course" Mean?

The word "course" comes from the French word cours, which means "run." It started being used in English around the 1300s. People think it got this name because in old banquets, food had to be brought quickly from a kitchen that might be far away. In a cookbook from the 1420s called Du fait de cuisine, the word "course" was used to mean the same thing as a "serving" of food.

See also

In Spanish: Tiempo (comida) para niños