Germaine Mar 11, 2019:

Silviantonia, Since you feel the need for a warning, don’t forget the fire extinguisher! ;-)

Germaine Mar 11, 2019:

Tony, In essence, it’s for flambées (et à partager), et bien que la viande, la volaille ou le poisson soient d’abord saisis/dorés sur le grill ou à la poêle, la cuisson peut se terminer sur la potence. Ça dépend seulement du modèle (for 300 to 500 euros, let’s hope we’ll get more than a spike ball hanging over a piece of wood!) :
https://www.google.com/search?q="potence à viande"&tbm=isch&...
https://laflambee.ca/

(Notez la différence entre potence et porte-brochettes)

Silvia Brandon-Pérez (asker) Mar 11, 2019:

I learned to do "sous vide" out of a translation Was totally fascinated with the topic, as I love to cook, and it was a very long assignment and I decided to order "sous vide" equipment, and for searing, after you have cooked the meat, I wanted goggles and a blowtorch and a WARNING! sign in the kitchen... Still, great fun!

Tony M Mar 11, 2019:

@ Asker 'Flaming Tower' is fine, just so long as you can be sure that they are always flamed — the trouble is, they aren't always, so in this particular restaurant, do you know for a fact that all of them are?
I suspect if I were attempting to produce this culinary masterpiece, it would probably end up more like 'Towering Inferno'!! Where's Bruce Willis when you need him?

Silvia Brandon-Pérez (asker) Mar 11, 2019:

Difficult client... Wants to translate to a medieval weapon, which has nothing to do with this... I am leaning toward the "Flaming Tower" proposed by Germaine, for the drama...

Will let you know soon what the client says... Listening to Nina Simone while I finish another document.

Tony M Mar 11, 2019:

@ Charles In essence, they can't really be cooked on the 'potence' — apart from just flaming at table, say; the skewers of meat etc. will be pre-cooked on the grill, and then hung onto the potence to be brought to table. That much of the preparation is likely to take place in the dining-room, yes.

Germaine Mar 11, 2019:

The Flaming Tower of Beef
So what is a Potence de Boeuf? It’s cubes of steak that have been grilled, and then hung on special contraption (which looks a bit like a gallows, hence the name) that keeps the meat hot and even cooks it further. At the table, it’s covered in a flaming liqueur, and served with four different sauces and a good helping of delicious, thick-cut frites. Here’s the serving for the four of us, shown with our server pouring on the flaming liqueur... (photo)
https://loren24250.wordpress.com/2015/10/26/the-flaming-towe...

Charles Davis Mar 10, 2019:

@Tony Well, I bow to your professional judgement, but it appears that "potences" are prepared in the dining room, if not actually on the table. So there is a distinct element of putting on a show about it:

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g187075-d141...
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g66865...
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g19665...
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g66865...

A gimmick, sure, but as I say, if that's what you're selling, make sure the customer knows what it is, no?

Tony M Mar 10, 2019:

@ Charles As a restaurateur, I can assure you these would not be prepared at table — though quite likely on e.g. a charcoal grill within the dining room.
But my point realy is, while in FR the unusual term has some 'cachet', it's really not the way we would normally express things on a menu in EN.
Certainly, I would eschew any mention of 'kebab', which would at best be misleading and at worst, as you say, undersell the product.
It all depends how this menu translation is to be used: some of my menu customers ask for a concise translation to be tucked in under the FR text, so they just need a basic overview of the dish and what's in it; it sounds ridiculous to try and translate the flowery and often marginally accurate énoncés that we chefs are so keen on in FR!
Other customers, however, produce an entirely separate menu in each language, in which case the marketing aspect is a bit more to the fore.
However, I don't think there is anything very 'marketing' about a mundane description of a metal gadget; surely much better to put that into the "succulent prawns, lovingly marinaded in..., drizzled with..., lightly grilled over our very own wood-burning grill before your very eyes"

Charles Davis Mar 10, 2019:

@Tony I don't agree with you there. The object of the exercise is to get people to order it, and so you don't want to make it sound like a bog-standard kebab. I'm not sure, but I have an idea that it may be prepared at the table, or at least in sight of the customer, so there could an element of spectacle involved. OK, so it's a gimmick: but a way should ideally be found to preserve the marketing value of the gimmick, in my view.

Tony M Mar 10, 2019:

@ Asker On a menu, I don't think there is any need — or indeed advantage — in describing how it is presented at table: the only thing the diner needs to know is what the primary ingredient is, and the fact that it comes on a skewer.

Likewise, if you have a heading, 'skewers' or something a little more poetic, might be all you need.

It's a restaurant gimmick, popular in tourist areas — and pragmatically, also saves space on tiny, crushed-in tables ;-)

Charles Davis Mar 10, 2019:

If you have a menu with a section headed "Potences", as here: https://goo.gl/hep9zB , then you could put the explanation in the heading and then use "potence" in the items (sorry, it's just occurred to me that you may not want the URL for that reference posted, so I've replaced it with a less transparent one).

Charles Davis Mar 10, 2019:

I think this could be a case for keeping the French term and adding an explanation. The latter is probably necessary because very few people will know what a culinary "potence" is.

Charles Davis Mar 10, 2019:

"Hanging grill" would perhaps describe it, but turning this into a convincing menu entry is defeating me for the moment.

I did find this in Rick Steves France 2019:

"The ambience is medieval, especially if you order Potence Flambée—meat or fish served on mini gallows."
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_AtmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT387&lp...

I'm a bit dubious about this option...

Silvia Brandon-Pérez (asker) Mar 10, 2019:

I know what they are and what they look like... But would you list them on the menu as gibbets? They also have broches and brochettes which I translated as skewers...

Tony M Mar 10, 2019:

@ Asker These are usually those hanger things (look like a gibbet!) from which skewers of cooked meat are hung and then brought to table.

This sort of thing:

https://www.vanhattemhoreca.fr/images/gallery/5611/580X580/s...