Restaurant

Chef's table at Marcus restaurant in Central London

A chef's table is a table located in the kitchen of a restaurant,[16][17] reserved for VIPs and special guests.[18] Patrons may be served a themed[18] tasting menu prepared and served by the head chef. Restaurants can require a minimum party[19] and charge a higher flat fee.[20] Because of the demand on the kitchen's facilities, chef's tables are generally only available during off-peak times.[21]

Ajisen Ramen restaurant in Nanjing.

In China, food catering establishments that may be described as restaurants have been known since the 11th century in Kaifeng, China's capital during the first half of the Song dynasty (960–1279). Probably growing out of the tea houses and taverns that catered to travellers, Kaifeng's restaurants blossomed into an industry catering to locals as well as people from other regions of China.[22] There is a direct correlation between the growth of the restaurant businesses and institutions of theatrical stage drama, gambling and prostitution which served the burgeoning merchant middle class during the Song dynasty.[23] Restaurants catered to different styles of cuisine, price brackets, and religious requirements. Even within a single restaurant choice were available, and people ordered the entree from written menus.[22] An account from 1275 writes of Hangzhou, the capital city for the last half of the dynasty:

The people of Hangzhou are very difficult to please. Hundreds of orders are given on all sides: this person wants something hot, another something cold, a third something tepid, a fourth something chilled. one wants cooked food, another raw, another chooses roast, another grill.[24]

The restaurants in Hangzhou also catered to many northern Chinese who had fled south from Kaifeng during the Jurchen invasion of the 1120s, while it is also known that many restaurants were run by families formerly from Kaifeng.[25]

In Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, thermopolia (singular thermopolium) were small restaurant-bars that offered food and drinks to customers. A typical thermopolium had L-shaped counters in which large storage vessels were sunk, which would contain either hot or cold food. Their popularity was linked to the lack of kitchens in many dwellings and the ease with which people could purchase prepared foods. Furthermore, eating out was considered an important aspect of socializing.

A Roman thermopolium in Pompeii

In Pompeii, 158 thermopolia with service counters have been identified throughout the town. They were concentrated along the main axis of the town and the public spaces where they were frequented by the locals.[26]

Sign of the old cabaret Au petit Maure

Le Grand Vefour restaurant at the Palais Royal in Paris

Garden café of the Hôtel Ritz Paris (1904), Pierre-Georges Jeanniot

France has had a rich history with the development of various forms of inns and eateries, eventually to form many of the now-ubiquitous elements of the modern restaurant.

As far back as the thirteenth century, inns served a variety of food — bread, cheese, bacon, roasts, usually eaten at a common table. Parisians could buy what was essentially take-out food from rôtisseurs, who prepared roasted meat dishes, and pastry-cooks, who could prepare meat pies and often more elaborate dishes. Municipal statutes stated that the official prices per item were to be posted at the entrance; this was the first official mention of menus.[27]

Taverns also served food, as did cabarets. A cabaret, however, unlike a tavern, served food at tables with tablecloths, provided drinks with the meal, and charged by the customers' choice of dish, rather than by the pot.[28] Cabarets were reputed to serve better food than taverns and a few, such as the Petit Maure, became well-known. A few cabarets had musicians or singing, but most, until the late 19th century, were simply convivial eating places.[29][28]

The first café opened in Paris in 1672 at the Saint-Germain fair. By 1723 there were nearly four hundred cafés in Paris, but their menu was limited to simpler dishes or confectionaries, such as coffee, tea, chocolate, ice creams, pastries, and liqueurs.[28]

At the end of the 16th century, the guild of cook-caterers (later known as "traiteurs") was given its own legal status. The traiteurs dominated sophisticated food service, delivering or preparing meals for the wealthy at their residences. Taverns and cabarets were limited to serving little more than roast or grilled meats. Towards the end of the seventeenth century, both inns and then traiteurs began to offer "host's tables" (tables d'hôte), where one paid a set price to sit at a large table with other guests and eat a fixed menu meal.[29]

The earliest modern-format "restaurants" to use that name in Paris were the establishments which served bouillon, a broth made of meat and egg which was said to restore health and vigor. The first restaurant of this kind opened in 1765 or 1766 by Mathurin Roze de Chantoiseau on rue des Poulies, now part of the Rue de Louvre.[30] The name of the owner is sometimes given as Boulanger.[31] Unlike earlier eating places, it was elegantly decorated, and besides meat broth offered a menu of several other "restorative" dishes, including macaroni. Chantoiseau and other chefs took the title "traiteurs-restaurateurs".[32]

In June 1786 the Provost of Paris issued a decree giving the new kind of eating establishment official status, authorizing restaurateurs to receive clients and to offer them meals until eleven in the evening in winter and midnight in summer.[32] Ambitious cooks from noble households began to open more elaborate eating places. The first luxury restaurant in Paris, the Taverne Anglaise, was opened at the Palais-Royal at the beginning of 1786, shortly before the French Revolution, by Antoine Beauvilliers, the former chef of the Count of Provence, It had mahogany tables, linen tablecloths, chandeliers, well-dressed and trained waiters, a long wine list and an extensive menu of elaborately prepared and presented dishes.[32]

The French Revolution caused a mass emigration of nobles, and many of their cook chose to open restaurants.[33] One restaurant was started in 1791 by Méot, the former chef of the Duke of Orleans, which offered a wine list with twenty-two choices of red wine and twenty-seven of white wine. By the end of the century there were a collection of luxury restaurants at the Grand-Palais: Huré, the Couvert espagnol; Février; the Grotte flamande; Véry, Masse and the Café de Chartres (still open, now Le Grand Vefour)[32]

In the early 19th century traiteurs and restaurateurs, became known simply as "restaurateurs". The use of the term "restaurant" for the establishment itself only became common in the nineteenth century).

The first restaurant guide, called Almanach des Gourmandes, written by Grimod de La Reyniére, was published in 1804. During the French Restoration period, the most celebrated restaurant was the Rocher de Cancale, frequented by the characters of Balzac. In the middle of the century, Balzac's characters moved to the Cafe Anglais, which in 1867 also hosted the famous Three Emperors Dinner hosted by Napoleon III in honor of Tsar Alexander II, Kaiser Wilhelm I and Otto von Bismarck during the Exposition Universelle in 1867[34] Other restaurants that occupy a place in French history and literature include Maxim's and Fouquet's. The restaurant of Hotel Ritz Paris, opened in 1898, was made famous by its chef, Auguste Escoffier. The 19th century also saw the appearance of new kinds of more modest restaurants, including the bistrot. The brasserie featured beer and was made popular during the 1867 Paris Exposition.[32]

In Brazil, restaurants varieties mirrors the multitude of nationalities that arrived in the country: Japanese, Arab, German, Italian, Portuguese and many more.

In Colombia, a piqueteadero is a type of casual or rustic eatery.[35] Meals are often shared, and typical offerings include dishes such as chorizo, chicharrón, fried organs, fried yuca, maduro and corn on the cob. Customers order the foods they want and the prepared foods are served together on a platter to be shared.[35] The word piquete can be used to refer to a common Colombian type of meal that includes meat, yuca and potatoes, which is a type of meal served at a piqueteaderos. The verb form of the word piquete, piquetear, means to participate in binging, liquor drinking, and leisure activities in popular areas or open spaces.[36]

In Peru, many indigenous, Spanish, and Chinese dishes are frequently found. Because of recent immigration from places such as China, and Japan, there are many Chinese and Japanese restaurants around the country, especially in the capital city of Lima.

Tom's Restaurant in Manhattan, New York, United States, which was made internationally famous by Seinfeld

In the United States, it was not until the late 18th century that establishments that provided meals without also providing lodging began to appear in major metropolitan areas in the form of coffee and oyster houses. The actual term "restaurant" did not enter into the common parlance until the following century. Prior to being referred to as "restaurants" these eating establishments assumed regional names such as "eating house" in New York City, "restorator" in Boston, or "victualing house" in other areas. Restaurants were typically located in populous urban areas during the 19th century and grew both in number and sophistication in the mid-century due to a more affluent middle class and to suburbanization. The highest concentration of these restaurants were in the West, followed by industrial cities on the Eastern Seaboard. [37]

In the 1970s, there was one restaurant for every 7,500 persons. In 2016, there were 1,000,000 restaurants; one for every 310 people. The average person eats out five to six times weekly. 10% of the nation's workforce is composed of restaurant workers.[38] According to a Gallup Poll in 2016, nearly 61% of Americans across the country eat out at a restaurant once a week or more, and this percent is only predicted to increase in future years. [39]

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, The National Restaurant Association estimated restaurant sales of $899 billion in 2020. The association now projects that the pandemic will decrease that to $675 billion, a decline of $274 billion over their previous estimate.[40]

Indian restaurant industry is highly fragmented with more than 1.5 million outlets of which only around 3000 of them are from the organized segment.[43] Organized segment includes Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs), Casual Dining, Cafes, Fine Dining and Pubs, Bars, Clubs and Lounges.

There are 86,915 commercial foodservice units in Canada, or 26.4 units per 10,000 Canadians. By segment, there are:[44]

• 38,797 full-service restaurants
• 34,629 limited-service restaurants
• 741 contract and social caterers
• 6,749 drinking places

Fully 63% of restaurants in Canada are independent brands. Chain restaurants account for the remaining 37%, and many of these are locally owned and operated franchises.[45]

Le Procope restaurant in Paris, France

Pozoj, a restaurant in Čakovec, Croatia

The EU-27 has an estimated 1.6m businesses involved in 'accommodation & food services', more than 75% of which are small and medium enterprises.[46]

Workers in the kitchen at Delmonico's Restaurant, New York, United States, 1902.

As of 2006, there are approximately 215,000 full-service restaurants in the United States, accounting for $298 billion in sales, and approximately 250,000 limited-service (fast food) restaurants, accounting for $260 billion.[47] Starting in 2016, Americans spent more on restaurants than groceries.[48]

In October 2017, The New York Times reported there are 620,000 eating and drinking places in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They also reported that the number of restaurants are growing almost twice as fast as the population.[49]

One study of new restaurants in Cleveland, Ohio found that 1 in 4 changed ownership or went out of business after one year, and 6 out of 10 did so after three years. (Not all changes in ownership are indicative of financial failure.)[50] The three-year failure rate for franchises was nearly the same.[51]

Restaurants employed 912,100 cooks in 2013, earning an average $9.83 per hour.[52] The waiting staff numbered 4,438,100 in 2012, earning an average $8.84 per hour.[53]

Jiaxi Lu of the Washington Post reports in 2014 that, "Americans are spending $683.4 billion a year dining out, and they are also demanding better food quality and greater variety from restaurants to make sure their money is well spent."[54]

Dining in restaurants has become increasingly popular, with the proportion of meals consumed outside the home in restaurants or institutions rising from 25% in 1950 to 46% in 1990. This is caused by factors such as the growing numbers of older people, who are often unable or unwilling to cook their meals at home and the growing number of single-parent households. It is also caused by the convenience that restaurants can afford people; the growth of restaurant popularity is also correlated with the growing length of the work day in the US, as well as the growing number of single parent households.[55] Eating in restaurants has also become more popular with the growth of higher income households. At the same time, less expensive establishments such as fast food establishments can be quite inexpensive, making restaurant eating accessible to many.

The restaurant industry in the United States is large and quickly growing, with 10 million workers. 1 in every 12 U.S. residents work in the business, and during the 2008 recession, the industry was an anomaly in that it continued to grow. Restaurants are known for having low wages, which they claim are due to thin profit margins of 4-5%. For comparison, however, Walmart has a 1% profit margin.[56]

As a result of these low wages, restaurant employees suffer from three times the poverty rate as other U.S. workers, and use food stamps twice as much.[56]

Restaurants also employ marginalized groups. They are the largest employer of people of color. Restaurants rank as the second largest employer of immigrants. These workers statistically are concentrated in the lowest paying positions in the restaurant industry. In the restaurant industry, 39% of workers earn minimum wage or lower.[56]

• Fierro, Alfred (1996). Histoire et dictionnaire de Paris. Robert Laffont. ISBN 978-2221078624.
• Gernet, Jacques (1962). Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion, 1250–1276. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-0720-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Spang, Rebecca L. (2000), The Invention of the Restaurant. Harvard University Press
• West, Stephen H. (1997). "Playing With Food: Performance, Food, and The Aesthetics of Artificiality in The Sung and Yuan". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. 57 (1): 67–106. doi:10.2307/2719361. JSTOR 2719361.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "Early Restaurants in America". UNLV Libraries Digital Collections. University of Nevada Las Vegas. Retrieved April 30, 2013.