A French sauce spoon or saucier spoon is a spoon that is typically the size and shape of a dessert spoon, but with a flattened bowl that has a thinner edge and a small notch on one side. As the name suggests, a French sauce spoon is used to eat the sauce accompanying a dish. Such a spoon may be referred to simply as a sauce spoon, but this can also refer to a spoon used to serve sauce.
The spoon's flattened bowl and thin edge aids scooping a thin layer of sauce from a plate without resorting to tipping the plate; the notch in the bowl allows oil or fat to drain away from the sauce.
Originally invented in France at the restaurant Lasserre in 1950 (chef René Lasserre) as the cuillère à sauce individuelle (individual sauce spoon) and originally found mainly in France, French sauce spoons are becoming increasingly popular in high-end restaurants elsewhere.
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