Service à la russe – a manner of dining that involves courses being brought to the table sequentially.
A typical 14-course menu for a formal French dinner in service à la russe style is as follows:
- Oysters or clams on a half shell. Alternatively, fruit or caviar may be served
- Soup (each guest may choose between clear or thick)
- Radishes, celery, olives and almonds
- Fish, with potatoes and cucumbers with oil & vinegar
- Sweetbreads (or mushrooms)
- A roast with a green vegetable
- Frozen Roman punch (an alcoholic fruit punch thickened with egg whites)
- Game with salad
- Artichokes, asparagus or spinach inside a shell of pastry
- Creamed sweet (e.g. a heavy pudding)
- Frozen sweet (e.g. a sorbet or ice cream)
- Cheeses with biscuits and butter
- Crystallized and stuffed dried fruits served with bonbons
- Coffee, liqueurs, cognac, and sparkling water (at this time cigars may be smoked)
