How to Translate Dish Names

How to Translate Dish Names - Omelette

Knowing how to translate dish names can be a challenge for culinary translators, as a literal translation is very rarely satisfactory.

The right translation will not only depend on the target audience, but the target setting of the translation. 

So, how should we translate dish names?

Strategy One: Don’t Translate At All

In the UK, it is fairly commonplace to find a foreign dish name in a cookbook, or even on a restaurant menu. We’re used to the importation of different cuisines and cultures, and will often pick to go to a restaurant based on its national cuisine – you’ll hear us say we’re “Going for Turkish tonight,” or “To the Italian restaurant down the road.”

I personally think this technique works well in a cookbook or in an informative article, where extra context is likely to be given. 

It can also be used on menus, but only if the translator is sure that this is appropriate for the specific restaurant. 

A restaurant in a tourist destination, for example, will want customers to quickly understand what they’re eating, have minimal questions for the waiter, and to not be deterred by lots of foreign language. In this case, it would probably be better to use another strategy

In a fancier restaurant, though, where the waiters are well-trained in their knowledge of the menu and the chef is wanting to promote or share their cuisine, this strategy works really well.

The waiter will work as a sort of cultural mediator between the customer and chef, and the customer will leave the restaurant with new found knowledge of a culture and cuisine that wasn’t their own, which might have been why they chose the restaurant in the first place. In these cases, a fully translated menu might actually be a deterrent. 

Strategy Two: Add a glossary 

Another way to bridge the gap for a reader with a low knowledge of a cuisine is to add a glossary. 

I’ve seen this work really well on menus, but it can also be used in longer form texts, such as newsletters, articles and even fiction. 

The glossary will permit the dish name to remain in its original language, but give easily accessible content to the reader so that they quickly understand what is being referred to or offered. 

This is another great technique for when a translator wants to make sure the reader learns something new about the source culture, or doesn’t want to overly explain a dish (and make it sound way less delicious or sophisticated). 

Strategy Three: Add Context

The final strategy for translating dish names without translating them literally is to add in context around the dish name. 

For example, you might add in brackets after the dish name to include a brief description. 

Gofio escaldado (toasted corn purée)

Or, on a menu, you could have a one or two line description of the dish as a byline:

Gnocchi à la florentine 
Potato-based pasta dish with a spinach and cheese sauce

Adding in brackets with additional information can be a great technique to use in marketing materials, as it retains the excitement and intrigue of a new foreign dish whilst giving the reader enough information to be able to imagine the dish. If the reader can’t even slightly imagine the dish, the sentence will be completely ineffective. 

It always works really well in menus that are showcasing a national or regional dish amongst a menu that is otherwise completely translated.

Strategy Four: Complete Localisation

This technique is not my favourite, as I will always advocate for learning about different cultures, but certainly has its places. 

A key place would be on a menu on a tourist strip, where the restaurant is trying to pull in punters thick and fast, without necessarily educating them. 

Why bother trying to keep the foreign dish name ‘Patatas Bravas’ when the hungry tourist simply wants fried potatoes? It has to be acknowledged that sometimes the best way of selling a dish will be to completely localise it and make it familiar to the target customer.

A second place where this type of complete localisation might be done is for a text which has been repurposed. An international magazine, for example, might use the same content for two different audiences, but want the translated version completely localised for the target audience. 

For a French-British publication, a jambon buerre will become a ham sandwich, a pain au chocolat a chocolate croissant, and so on. 

No Matter What: Be Consistent

Whichever method you choose when thinking about how to translate dish names, Rule No 1. is to always be consistent. 

A menu or a cookbook should always feel coherent all the way through. The last thing you want to do is confuse your customer with your translation process. 

Following one strategy should be easy if you’ve really thought about who your target audience is, and in what setting they’ll be reading your translation. Once you’ve thought this through, only one strategy will really make sense!

If you’d like an English translator to translate your French or Spanish menus, cookbooks, or online content, get in touch! I’d love to hear from you.