Culinary Connections

Ever wonder how restaurants got started? Humans have to eat to sustain their lives, so the idea of serving up food in a centralized location came about many moons ago. Superior Products Restaurant Equipment and Supplies begins a three part series today on restaurants, their history and evolution. You can follow eating establishments from their very earliest days to today’s cornucopia of places to eat.

Today’s post will focus on the early history of restaurants worldwide, while our second installation will review early American dining places. The third and final post of our series will take a look at modern day restaurants, diners, cafeterias, bistros, and other eateries we have available as dining options today. Most of the information contained in this article came from Wikipedia.com and their attributed sources.

So, way back when…

Restaurants are believed to have originated in ancient day Pompeii, Rome. Many small restaurant/bars sprung up and served as a social outlet for the citizens. Many homes were without kitchens, and these thermopolia usually had L-shaped buffet type setups, offering hot and cold prepared food to those who might have trouble finding it otherwise. 158 such thermopolia have been found throughout ancient Pompeii, many of them located in busy public areas.

During China’s Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the hospitality and catering industry took off in Kaifeng, the northern capital of China in the 11^th century. The industry expanded from the taverns and teahouses that had been set up for individuals travelling through an area to new restaurants catering to the local community. Kaifeng had paper currency and had a population in excess of 1 million people. In addition to locals, visitors from other parts of China also visited these new “restaurants”.

Individual restaurants offered specialized menus to its patrons based on different types of cuisine, and socio-economic and religious considerations. Many of the families who ran restaurants in Kaifeng moved to Hangzhou, the capital city during the 12^th and 13^th centuries, after the Jurchen invasion.

Cafes began in Constantinople during the 16^th century when the first coffee house was born. They were popular gathering spots where the educated class would gather for hours sharing ideas, and indulging in drinks and snacks. The concept spread to Europe in the 17^th century, when the first modern-day café was opened in 1696, the Café Procope. This café in France offered wine, brandy, and liqueurs, as well as coffee.

During the 18^th century, the French government oversaw highly regulated establishments that served food for the purpose of restoring one’s strength or to help the sick and ailing recover. The French word restaurer means “to restore” and this is the origin of the word restaurant. The French Revolution was when restaurants as we think of them today were born. Laws were lifted on restricted foods that now allowed anyone who could afford the food to buy it. Many chefs capitalized and created menus with cooked-to-order food for the public to enjoy.

Can you imagine cornering the foodservice equipment and supplies market early on? Being a supplier of wholesale coffee cups and restaurant glasses could have quite the lucrative business back then. Today, you need look no further than Superior Products to find all of the equipment and supply needs for your foodservice establishment.

Stay with us this week as we continue our “History of Restaurants” series. Remember as you retrace the origins of restaurants, cafes, and catering establishments, that if you are in the foodservice business now, you need look no further than our website for quality kitchen cooking equipment, catering supplies, bar equipment and much, much more!