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Feb 8, 2011 16:03
13 yrs ago
French term

en habit d’été

French to English Other Cooking / Culinary
From a French menu:

Brochettes de poulet en habit d’été.

Thanks in advance for any help...
Proposed translations (English)
3 +3 summer-style
3 +4 dressed for summer
3 summer lovin' (chicken skewers)
3 summertime bacon-wrapped (kebabs)
3 in summer dress
3 Summer chicken kebabs
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): cc in nyc

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Discussion

cc in nyc Feb 8, 2011:
@ philgoddard But wouldn't you have the very same question for "en habit d’été"? We're just trying to translate what we've been given...
Tony M Feb 8, 2011:
Don't worry, Phil! Having worked as a waiter here in France, I can tell you that there is just the same problem in the source language — and I've even known French people complain because they didn't have the gumption to ask what something was, and then when it came, said "Oh, I wasn't expecting it to be like that!"

This whole thing about translation vs. explanation has been discussed many times before in this forum, and I'm afraid as ever it's really a case of 'horses for courses'. I have a group of restaurant customers now whom I've 'educated', so they make the job as easy for me as possible with their overly-flowery 'énoncés'.

Oh, and by the way — if you have any more problems with recipes... I'll gladly try them out for you! ;-)
philgoddard Feb 8, 2011:
Dressed for summer I still don't think this works. A menu translation should explain, not just literally translate. I wouldn't like to be the waiter who gets asked by a tourist for the 10,000th time: 'What does dressed for summer mean?"
philgoddard Feb 8, 2011:
Recipes are a pain too. I spent about three hours doing 800 words yesterday. They take a huge amount of research, contain ingredients that aren't available in this country, and are difficult to translate because foreigners write recipes differently. For example, I find they're often vague about cooking times and temperatures. They really need post-editing by a specialist cookery editor, but I suspect this rarely happens.
Tony M Feb 8, 2011:
Menus I do rather agree with Kashew — and I usually only agree to do menu transations in return for... a free meal! And given the mark-up on food, actually a lot of restaurants are only too happy to comply... I inflate my price so that the invoice is worth their top menu for two people, say... and they actually get a translation that in terms of cost to them has an equivalent discount of something like 66%, so everyone's happy ;-)

Often, these sort of 'vague' descriptions are used to cover up a variable menu item, like 'catch of the day' for a fish dish...
kashew Feb 8, 2011:
Special rates should apply to menu translations!
Carol Gullidge Feb 8, 2011:
ask Chef! I was in a similar dilemma while translating menus, and the only way round it in the end was to ask the chef for the recipes. He also sent very helpful pdfs with lots of lovely mouthwatering images. Without that, it was anybody's guess!
Tony M Feb 8, 2011:
Seasonal produce The mention of 'en habit d'automne' referring to cèpes illustrates that this is going to be in some way referring to the use of seasonal produce (Autumn being the mushroom season, of course).

Although I can see Verginia's idea about the BBQ, I have some reservations about that; I'm more inclined to think this is referring to the dish being accompanied with either seasonal vegetables, or perhaps a salad, for example. Just a thought that it conceivably might even been summer fruits, so I think it's best to keep it as vague as the original!
Colin Rowe Feb 8, 2011:
With Phil How about "with a summer(time) garnish", or even just "seasonal garnish".
philgoddard Feb 8, 2011:
I'm not convinced by Kashew's suggestion of "bacon-wrapped", but one of his references mentions "rôti de bœuf accompagné de son habit d’automne, composé de cèpes frais de petits lardons savoureux". I wonder if "habit d'été" means a summer sauce or garnish - perhaps a salad.
Philip Taylor (asker) Feb 8, 2011:
cc in nyc, it's from a menu rather than a recipe unfortunately, so no ingredients given.
Verginia Ophof Feb 8, 2011:
summertime cooking I feel it refers to BBQ cooking

as per Kashew's link :" L'été est synonyme de repas en plein en air et bien sûr de barbecues."
cc in nyc Feb 8, 2011:
Nouvelle recette estivale... Brochettes de poulet aux nectarines jaunes...
Photo: http://www.ptitchef.com/recettes/brochettes-de-poulet-aux-ne...

But if you want to explain what this dish is, we'll need to see the recipe that you have. In fact, sharing the ingredients it might help us come up with (serious) suggestions.
ormiston Feb 8, 2011:
to me it means served with vegetables available (fresh) in the summer season
kashew Feb 8, 2011:
Summertime brochettes "en habit" http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:B8MYS05...
Philip Taylor (asker) Feb 8, 2011:
Thanks for the suggestions so far. These would work well on a menu, but I'm also looking for an explanation of what the term means, if anyone knows.

Proposed translations

+3
1 hr
Selected

summer-style

Might encompass the idea & remain open-ended enough....
Peer comment(s):
agree cc in nyc
11 mins
agree R.C. (X)
12 hrs
agree Catherine Gilsenan
1 day 3 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I think this is the best option in my context. I was mostly concerned that the phrase was something known to French speakers, but this doesn't seem to be the case. Many thanks for all the answers and comments, very much appreciated."
+4
16 mins

dressed for summer

I admit my suggestion sounds a bit corny; then only confidence level 3.
Peer comment(s):
neutral philgoddard : It presumably refers to the way in which they're prepared, so I'm not sure a literal translation is appropriate here.
17 mins
This is probably not a salad, but the "dressing" allusion made me chuckle. Well, maybe it's just me. :p
agree Sheila Wilson : I don't see it as literal, and I would have posted this if I'd seen it sooner. You have a dressed salad so why not dressed chicken? I like it!
1 hr
Thank you. Looks like we can cook together, if only per shared taste in recipe titles
agree Transitwrite : Agree with Sheila - it was my first thought too
1 hr
Thank you. It'll be three cooks then, but only if we don't use matches
agree Tony M : I quite like this, and it's non-committal enough that at least it could hardly be wrong!
1 hr
Thank you Tony. Plus maybe four on a match is safer than three? (I know it's not logical)
agree jlsgaladriel : Playful wording, but not jarring. I'm with Sheila: I like it. :)
17 hrs
Thank you, though the kitchen is getting crowded ;-)
Something went wrong...
27 mins

summer lovin' (chicken skewers)

why not something like:
"bring on summer" chicken skewers; or
"summer style" chicken skewers; or even...
"summer lovin'" chicken skewers
Peer comment(s):
neutral Andrew Bramhall : I would doubt that chicken skewers are sentient enough to appreciate seasonal variations.
43 mins
"chicken skewers" 53,400 google images & 314,000 google web hits; "chicken brochettes" 3,090 google images & 41,700 google web hits... very similar images for all 3 terms (including "brochettes de poulet")
neutral Colin Rowe : I don't think Oliver was questioning the validity of "chicken skewers" (a very good suggestion, by the way), but rather their ability to love the summer (or any other season).
18 hrs
just one example: http://www.foodinfocus.com.au/74/wine-spirits/wine/summer-lo...
Something went wrong...
39 mins

summertime bacon-wrapped (kebabs)

*

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 41 minutes (2011-02-08 16:45:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:3NSllD2...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 heure (2011-02-08 17:09:29 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Same sort of thing in French:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:B8MYS05...
Peer comment(s):
neutral philgoddard : "Bacon-wrapped" may be correct (I don't know), but your reference doesn't prove anything except that this phrase exists in English. //No! It says "en habit de lard", not "été".
19 mins
Are you happier with the second ref.?
neutral Sheila Wilson : I think this woiuld be a dangerous assumption to make without an ingredients list. // Agreed, but as this is a menu item, we're not likely to get that
53 mins
Very true - the list or a pic would put everyone out of his/her misery on this one.
Something went wrong...
1 hr

in summer dress

Another possibility, maybe
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : I have to say this one sounds a bit less natural to me; perhaps because I initially read it as 'in a summer dress', which made me giggle!
1 hr
Something went wrong...
21 hrs

Summer chicken kebabs

I get the impression that 'summer' refers to what is on the kebab with the chicken pieces - seasonal vegetables along with a marinade on the chicken.
Reference:

http://www.food.com/recipe/greek-summer-chicken-kebabs-123482

Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : But does slightly make it sound as if there might be something called 'summer chicken' (which AFAIK there isn't) — cf. 'spring lamb' (which there is!)
9 hrs
I see what you mean - although with kebab on the end, perhaps less so? I think I actually prefer summer-style kebabs from Ormiston though.
Something went wrong...
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