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Culinary Arts & Cooking vocabulary · Menus & Courses

Starter

Meaning in culinary arts & cooking, with examples

/ˈstɑːtə/nounCore term

In culinary arts & cooking, starter means: A small dish served as the first course of a meal, before the main course. Appetizer is the usual American word.

In Turkish: başlangıç, ilk yemek, meze

How it is used

Used on menus and in orders: "Two starters to share." Waiters ask "Would you like a starter?" In the kitchen the cold starters are often made in the larder or garde manger section. A sourdough starter is something else: a fermented dough culture.

Example sentences

  1. Table five want their starters and mains together.

  2. The burrata is our most popular starter.

Common collocations

  • cold starter
  • hot starter
  • starters to share
  • starter portion
  • order a starter
  • main courseThe largest and most important dish of a meal, usually served after the starter and before dessert. Often shortened to main.
  • courseOne of the separate parts of a meal served one after another, such as the starter, the main course and the dessert.
  • menuThe list of dishes a restaurant offers, with their descriptions and usually their prices; also the planned set of dishes for a meal or event.
  • side dishA smaller dish, such as vegetables, salad, rice or potatoes, served alongside the main course. Often shortened to side.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Menus & Courses

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