This page will attempt to help break down all the chefs "Gobbledygook"

A

Aioli - Garlic based mayonnaise.  Can be flavoured with grated potato, parsley or almonds

B

Balotine - Rolled and stuffed joint of meat or fish

Barigoule - Traditional globe artichoke dish.  Slow roasted and topped with bacon and vegetables.

Bavarois - French cream mousse set with gelatine

Beurre Blanc - Sauce made a reduction of flavoured stock, with butter whisked         gradually in to thicken and form a sauce.

Brandade - Spanish fishcake made traditionally from salt-cod and boiled potatoes

Bruchetta - Sliced Foccacia bread rubbed with garlic, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and grilled.

Borage A small herb with bright blue flowers, leaves and flowers can be used to decorate and perfume, for instance with chopped cucumber and mint in Pimm's and Lemonade.

Bouillabaisse - Rich fish soup flavoured with peppers, fennel, garlic and saffron.

Boxty Potatoes - 1/3 mash potato, 1/3 grated potato, 1/3 flour

C

Café de Paris Butter - Classic compound butter made up of approximately 26 ingredients including: capers; orange; anchovies and herbs.

Cannellini - White kidney bean with a buttery taste.

Capers - Flower buds grown all over the Mediterranean, can be pickled or salted

Caponata - Sicilian speciality made of aubergine, tomato and celery, flavoured with anchovy and capers

Carpaccio - Raw cured loin of meat or fish, sliced very thinly

Chermoula - North African spice mix of lemon, cumin, garlic, coriander and saffron

Chorizo - A Spanish sausage, with many variations, but always including pork and pimento

Chard  - Salad leaf, related to beetroot, which has many varieties, including Ruby and Swiss.  Firm stems and tough leaves in a variety of colours.

Cime de Rape - Sweet cabbage shoots in season spring/early summer

Confit -  Meat (often duck), fish or vegetable slow cooked in duck/goose fat or Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Coulis - Pureed fruit or vegetable, thickened only by it's natural ingredients

Couscous - Traditional North African ingredient made with hard wheat semolina and sometimes barley.

D

Darne - Cross cut of fish i.e. Salmon .with an appearance of the eye of a needle

Dauphinoise - Sliced potato flavoured with garlic and cooked with cream

E

Epoisse - Soft French unpasteurised cows milk cheese.  Strong flavoured.

Escabêche - Spicy cold marinade often served with vegetables and garlic.  Goes well with fish dishes.

F

Foccacia - An Italian olive oil flat bread.

Fondant Potatoes- Potato discs poached traditionally in duck fat, but now mostly in olive oil.

Flageolet - Small green haricot bean.

Fricassee -  Traditionally, sliced chicken sautéed in a white sauce.

Frittata - Italian flat omelette

G

Genoise - Light sponge cake made from whipped egg yolks and egg whites.

Gremolata  - Lemon, parsley, garlic and Extra Virgin Olive Oil dressing.

Gnocchi -Italian dumplings made form flour or potatoes and eggs with flavouring.

Grabiche - Hard boiled egg, tarragon and mustard mayonnaise

H

Halloumi - Greek Cypriot sheep's milk cheese, with waxy texture and salty flavour

Harissa - Tunisian chilli paste

Hollandaise - Butter based sauce.  Emulsion of egg yolks, butter and vinegar

I

J

John Dory - Oval fish caught along rocky coasts.  It has a large head, enormous mouth and prominent lower jaw.  On each side of body is a black spot thought to be the thumb print of St Peter.

Julienne - Vegetables cut to matchstick shape

Jus - Juices of meat, fish or vegetables, reduced to sauce consistency and concentrated.

K

Kea Plums - Take their name from the village near Truro where they grow.  There season is very short approximately 2 week at the end of August early September.

Kofta - Rolled kebab

Kale - Spiky leafed member of the cabbage family.

L

Latkis - 1/3 Fish, 1/3 mashed potato, 1/3 grated potato. mixed, seasoned, moulded into quenelles and deep-fried.

Linzertorte - Austrian pastry made from a sweet shortbread dough.

Ling - A member of the cod family, slender and olive grey in colour.

M

Mascarpone- Italian dessert cheese made from fresh cream.

Megrim - Flatfish, member of the sole family, caught of the Cornish coast.

Merguez  - A spiced sausage from North Africa flavoured with a mixture of hot pepper and cumin.

Morcilla  - Spanish variety of Black (blood) Pudding.

N

Nage - A reduced vegetable stock..

Native Oysters - Wild oysters governed by local seasons, generally with an R in the month. (Falmouth Bay Oysters are only caught by non-motorised sail boats.)

O

P

Pacific Oysters - Farmed oysters available all year round.  Can be 'milky' during Summer months July/August due to temperature of water.

Panna Cotta - Italian dessert made of cream reduced by a quarter by cooking in a saucepan

Parfait- Sweet or savoury smooth terrine, Can be iced or cooked.

Parmentier - 1cm cubed potatoes cooked in clarified butter, can be flavoured with herbs, onion and bacon

Pavé - Literally meaning  'slab' or 'block', refers to a square shaped sweet or savoury dish.

Pecorino - A variety of hard cheeses made from sheep's milk in central and southern Italy.

Picarda -  Hazelnut, breadcrumbs, orange and a hint of chilli

Primavera - risotto of green vegetables, potato, lemon and parmesan

Q

Quince - Member of the plum family, rarely eaten uncooked, used often in preserves.

Quenelle - 3 sided moulded shape. Usually a mousse or dumpling mix

R

Radicchio - Italian chicory with ruby red leaf and tangy, bitter flavour

Remoulade - Mayonnaise with mustard and herbs

Ricotta - Italian soft cheese made from whey.  Can be cow's or sheep's milk

Ribolitta - Vegetable soup with beans, thickened with bread

Rosti - Finely grated potato, pan fried.

Rouille - Mayonnaise based sauce with garlic and saffron

S

Sabayon - Egg yolks whisked over warm heat with flavouring, can be sweet or savoury

Saffron - The stigmas of a crocus, yielding a a brilliant yellow dye and distinctive flavour.  The world's most expensive spice, because 75,000 stigmas are hand-harvested to produce 1lb of Saffron.

Salsa Verdi - (Green Salsa) Herbs, green chillies, anchovy, garlic, Puy lentils and capers.

Samphire - Sea asparagus, found in marshes.

Sorrel -Parsley like herb with a lemony flavour.

Spetzele - Dumplings made of flour and eggs and poached in boiling water.

Star Anise - Small star-shaped seed of a tree native to China, contains the same essential oils as anise.

Sweetbreads - Pancreas or throat and stomach glands, usually of lamb or veal

T

Tabbouleh - Salad of pre-soaked bulgur wheat and finely chopped herbs and tomato.

Tagine - North African/Moroccan stew, named after the traditional dish it is cooked in.

Tahini - Sesame paste often mixed with crushed garlic and lemon juice.

Tamarind - Fruit pods of an African tree.  The pods contain a sour juice used as a flavouring.  Sold as sticky broken pods minus seeds, and dried.

Tapenade - Olive paste

Tian - Describes a dish created in layers.

Timbale - Name given to a high sided mould, used to shape risottos etc.

Tonata - Tuna, capers, anchovy, herbs.  Often used as a topping or stuffing.

Truffle - Prized relation of the mushroom, that grow near the roots of oak and beech trees.  Can be grated and used in powder form as a garnish.

Tuile - A very thin crisp biscuit often curled and rolled.  Can be sweet or savoury.

Tzatziki - Greek yogurt and cucumber dip.

U

V

W

Whiting - Sea fish similar to haddock and cod.  Flesh is fine textured and friable.

X

Y

Z