A form of hors d’oeuvre, these are small dishes that are served at the beginning of the meal. The key distinction between these and traditional appetizers is that they are not ordered off the menu. Rather, they are served at the sole discretion of the chef.

An amuse-bouche is typically a bite-sized, savory item. Though not served at all restaurants, they are staples of fine dining establishments or more modern, experimental establishments. So, if you want to make a dinner or meal that is in line with those sentiments, consider adding an amuse bouche. Be aware that a lot of dishes considered an amuse-bouche are work intensive.

The term itself is, as you might have guessed, French. The transliteration for the term is literally “mouth amuser” or “entertains the mouth”, rather fitting for the item if I do say so myself. Despite its borderline omnipresence in certain circles, the term’s modern usage, according to Merriam Webster, can only be traced back to 1959 (the same year that brought us the term binge eating).

The concept of the amuse-bouche came about during the nouvelle cuisine movement. The (almost) obscenely short explanation for what this movement is this: you can think of this French culinary movement as the reason why fine dining dishes evolved to become smaller, daintier fare with a default emphasis on the natural. The amuse bouche fit perfectly within this framework by being the perfect opportunity for chefs to show off their own creativity, their personal philosophies as they relate to food, and to highlight the ingredients being used.

By being so small and concentrated, there is a tendency towards more natural flavors. That is not to say that every single amuse-bouche must emphasize natural flavors but only that there is a tendency towards such due to the small “space” that chefs are working with. Think of this as the flash fiction of food.

For those of you that have read this far, the reason that this page is listed under two different terms is due to the terms being functionally the same. The word “bouche” is used to refer to a human mouth while “gueule” is used to refer to an animal’s mouth and/or (depending on context) a more vulgar way of referring to a human’s mouth.

Not to be confused with an American, red wine. Contrast with canapes.