Instructions: French is as difficult to pronounce as it is ubiquitous in toney restaurants.

While the subtleties of a French accent take years to acquire, the following cheat sheet should set you on the right track. (And just remember, when youre feeling totally inadequate, that the average Frenchmans rendition of hamburger isnt anything to write home about.)

o coq au vin: COKE oh-VANH
While the coq in coq au vin refers to a rooster, the dish usually entails a female chicken braised in red wine (vin). o duck a lorange: DUCK ah-lo-RAHNGE
Heres an example of one of those hybrids that starts with English, takes a hard right into French, and leaves the speaker in the dust. Colman Andrews, editor of the food magazine Saveur, thought that for consistencys sake the dish should be billed either as canard a lorange (ca-NARH ah-lo-RAHNGE) or orange duck.
o steak au poivre: STAKE oh PWAHV
According to Andrews, we should really be calling this pepper steak. o Saveur: sa-VUR
While were at it, we might as well tackle this most unpronounceable of food monthlies. In retrospect, calling it Saveur probably wasnt the wisest thing, but its too late now, Andrews said. He advised, If you speak French pretty well, you can try sa-VEUHR, but I tell Americans to say it as if it were sa-VUR.

In any case, its better than say-VIEW-er or savior - which I hear a lot. o confit: kohn-FEE
Confit literally means preserved. The term traditionally refers to meat

(often duck) that has been cooked, then preserved in its own fat. Vegetables such as onions and tomatoes whose life has been cooked out of them are also sometimes called confit.

o cordon bleu: core-donh BLEUH
Cordon bleu is simply French for blue ribbon, and, as in English, the blue ribbon connotes culinary excellence. Veal (or chicken) cordon bleu is made by sandwiching ham and cheese between slices of meat and frying. Le Cordon Bleu is also a French cooking school established in 1895. o prix fixe: PREE FEEKS
Fancy for fixed price.
o haricots verts: AH-ree-co VAIR
Haricot is French for bean, vert means green, and haricots verts are those very thin, very expensive string beans.

o vichyssoise: vee-shee-SWAHZ
A pureed soup of leeks and potatoes that is served cold. Vichyssoise is named for the French city of Vichy.

o mirepoix: meer-PWAH
Many French preparations start with a mirepoix, a sauteed mixture of chopped carrots, onions and celery. Mirepoix was the first French word chef Michael Maroni learned, and so, disregarding the advice of friends and associates, he used it for the name of his Glen Head, N.Y., restaurant. Although the correct pronunciation is printed on the menu, he and his staff are treated each night to meer-pox, meer-poy and everything in between.

o foie gras: FWAH GRAH
Literally fat liver, foie gras refers to the liver of a goose that has been force-fed for a number of months until its liver reaches gigantic, and fatty, proportions. Mirepoixs Maroni has grown accustomed to requests for fire grass.

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