History of Hospitality and Foodservice Culinary History

Standard: CA-ICA1 Students will examine and identify the history and philosophy of the food service industry.

About this unit: Identify key historical persons and summarize their contributions to foodservice Identify and describe foodservice restaurant styles

The real beginning – Ancient Greece and Rome 300 – 400 BC – civilizations of Ancient Greece and Rome Greeks dined in private clubs that offered food to members Travelers dined in clubs where they brought their own food People ate while reclining on couches, enjoying music, poetry and dancing.

Ancient Rome Meals were primarily served in the home Romans traded in distant lands because they wanted exotic foods and spices The wealthy dined at lavish banquets

Marcus Apicius Roman, Marcus Apicius, was a gourmet and loved luxury. Wrote one of the earliest cookbooks, De Re Coquinaria (On Cooking) When he was going broke, he poisoned himself rather than die of hunger

De Re Coquinaria Apicius Cookbook

The Middle Ages AD 475 - 1000 During the Middle Ages, feudalism emerged. The common people worked the fields for landowners in return for safety from invaders Common people lived on bread, dried peas, root vegetables. Meat from pigs was salted and smoked. No hunting allowed because wild game was owned by the lord of the manner.

Middle Ages, cont. Landowners had magnificent banquets – one sole purpose was to eat. People arrived at the same time – at with fingers and pulled out knives to cut away huge chunks of meat Large pieces of bread called trenchers were used as plates The trenchers and bones were thrown to scavenger dogs

Middle Ages – cont. Little trade during the middle ages. Travel was dangerous Europe was isolated and there were few spices Herbs grew wild, and these aromatic plants were used for seasoning

The Renaissance (A.D. 1400-1600) The Renaissance was an awakening of food and culture. The wealthy craved spices and used them in their foods A high style of eating began

Catherine de Medici Catherine, a fourteen year old princess from Italy, married Henry II of France. She was lonely and homesick so she brought her cooks and recipes and entertained Dining became stylish – she brought ice cream to the French Court. Introduced the fork – people carried their own silverware when dining out

Catherine De Medici Considered “not pretty in face”

Mid 1600’s Coffee was introduced in Europe 1650 – the first coffeehouse – Café opened in England Until now, the only establishments were taverns and pubs that catered to men. Women were welcome in coffee shops and bakers offered pastry. Eating in public became acceptable

Guilds – 1650 - 1715 People with similar interests formed guilds to control production of specialty items Examples: Chaine de Rotissieres (roasters) and Chaine de Traiteurs (caterers) The guilds established professional standards and traditions that exist today The chef cap – toque – was the sign that someone was a member of a cooking guild

Boulanger - 1765 Opened the first restorante – the origin of the modern restaurant in Paris, France Served soup Others followed his lead, and within 30 years there were 500 restaurants in Paris. Dining out was fashionable

Marie-Antoine Careme Born into a large, very poor family in France At age of 10 went to work – learned basics of cooking Created many French Sauces and made the first sweet pieces that are forerunners to today’s wedding cakes Trained many chefs

Georges Escoffier - 1898 Classified the five Mother Sauces – still used today. Established rules for dress, safety and sanitation in his restaurants Organized the Kitchen Brigade System – assigning responsibilities to staff members

Kitchen Brigade - organization Chef de Cuisine (Executive Chef) Sous Chef Station Chefs Tournant Saucier Garde Manger Rotisseur Entremetier Poissonier Potager Pastry

Foodservice in the United States In Colonial America, few people traveled or dined out (1600’s)

Industrial Revolution – 1800’s When the Industrial Revolution began in the United States, people moved to the cities to work in factories. By 1800, European style coffee shops opened in the cities Factory workers needed to eat lunch, so diners – kitchens on wheels drove to factory to sell food

The Guilded Age – 1850 - 1890 Industrial leader made a lot of money – began showing off their fortunes Desire for luxury dining increased Ornate restaurants opened – DelMonico’s in New York is an example. The DelMonico Brothers opened several restaurants – became the first chain restaurants – several restaurants owned by one group of people

The Gold Rush 1849 – Gold discovered in California People traveling west needed to eat – cafeteria was born Cafeteria was assembly line process of serving food quickly and cheaply – no need for servers

The 20th Century By the 1900’s, people were eating out regularly. Lunch restaurants and coffee houses were popular 1930’s – White Castle opened – the birth of fast food restaurants 1940-s quick service restaurants continued – McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken Low prices based on volume sales