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Ordering meat in a restaurant

blue? medium? burnt to a crisp?

This is an image of food from

The French like their boeuf, agneau and magrets de canard less well done than most other nationalities; there are old stories about chefs who refused point blank to incinerate a good cut of meat (although most predate the advent of online restaurant reviews!)

If it’s not done enough, you can always ask the server take it back for a little more heat.

bleu: blue (just singed on the outside)

saignant: rare

rosé: pink/rare (used for lamb, duck and veal)

à point: medium

bien cuit: well done

très bien cuit: very well done

Meat

Text © Dana Facaros

Image by CoralBrowne