FRENCH CHALKBOARD MENUS AND SIGNS
LA CARTE
Did you know that the “carte” in “à la carte” means a small chalkboard?
Like many cuisine-related items, the word “menu” is French in origin, deriving ultimately from the Latin “minutus” meaning miniature.
The idea of choosing items from a menu in a restaurant didn’t enter into the scene until the latter part of the 18th Century. Before that you simply ate what was presented by the chef. When menus offering choices to customers were introduced, they were presented on a small chalkboard, the French for which is “carte.” From this you get the expression “à la carte,” meaning “from the chalkboard.”
We have been fascinated by this aspect of life in Paris and throughout France and have photographed many chalkboard and painted menu boards. They are not limited only to meals at restaurants. They include wines, coffee, cream puffs, food specialties and all sorts of lovely edibles and drinkables at restaurants, bistros, cafés, markets and shops.
We’ve had many requests for prints and canvases of chalkboard menus and signs, so we have added a section specializing in just these items to our shop. We’ve included some of these additions throughout and at the end of this post. Happy reading and bon appetit!…
Breakfast menu at a café in Place du Tertre in Montmartre. Fine art print and canvas available.
Chalkboard menus grew in numbers and in size. Nowadays they are common inside and outside most French bistros, restaurants and cafés.
Multiple chalkboard menus outside Les Sans Culottes restaurant on rue de Lappe in Paris.
FRANGLAIS
Although you find chalkboard menus all over the world – France has no monopoly on them – the ones in France and in Paris specifically seem to have an added je ne sais quoi about them. One interesting and amusing aspect is the quaint Franglaise that creeps in: an all-French chalkboard menu will have “Breakfast,” “Brunch,” “Happy Hour,” “Burger,” “Fish & Chips,” or “Crumble” sprinkled in here and there. There are, of course, plenty of menus in French with English translation, but that's not what we’re referring to. See for yourself.
FAIT MAISON
Recent law requires that French restaurants make it clear whether their dishes are prepared in house from fresh ingredients or not. The term is “Fait Maison” (made in house) represented by a logo of a pan with a roof over it. If all the restaurant’s dishes are prepared in house from fresh ingredients, you’ll see this as an overall icon and statement on a whole menu. If not all, but only some of the dishes fall into this category (the others being packaged, reheated from frozen, etc.), then you will see the icon against those items on the menu which are freshly prepared. Good to know!
On chalkboard menus the logo is hand drawn.
SWEET
Then there are the desserts, crepes, cream puffs and cakes which often have a carte of their own. These are not limited to restaurants but can also be found at pâtisseries and tea shops.
WINE
Chalkboard wine lists are not unusual, either in restaurants or outside wine shops in wine country (Burgundy, Bordeaux and so on).
A Saint-Émilion chalkboard menu at a café offering a wide variety of beverages, mostly wine but also cider, local beer and fruit juice.
COFFEE, TEA, JUICE
Not forgetting coffee, tea and juice, choices for which are also displayed on chalkboards.
GREAT WALL DECOR
Chalkboard menu images make great kitchen and dining room decor and also add atmosphere to French cafés around the world, so we have included prints and canvases of these in our shop. We’ve put together a few scenarios which include our prints or canvases in them, to give you some inspiration for kitchen or dining room decor in your home. Of course if you own or run a French style restaurant or café, some of these would really add a nice touch. Ideally you would be able to get hold of the actual article. But the next best thing is a print or canvas of a genuine French chalkboard menu. These photos are all of original, authentic chalkboard menus and signs gathered on our travels in Paris and throughout France.
Note: in the images below, all the menus are prints or canvases by Parisian Moments available for purchase in a variety of sizes here.
Fine Art Prints and Canvases of Chalkboard Menus and Signs
Some of the prints and canvases we have added to the shop are shown here. You can view all the new images by clicking on the collection below. And if you would like prints or canvases of images in the blog post that you do not find in the shop, please contact us with your requirements.
Thanks very much for reading our blog post. We would love you to leave a comment, share your own French chalkboard memories, or ask us any questions you may have. We respond to all comments promptly.
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À bientôt!
Georgianna and David