Lecture 28: First Restaurants, Chefs, and Gastronomy
food that is rich and spicy? Do they want food that is familiar and
native, or exotic?Arndt, Culinary Biographies.
Brillat-Savarin, The Physiology of Taste.
Escoffi er, Memories.
Ferguson, Accounting for Taste.
Gigante, Gusto.
Gigante, Taste.
Jacobs, Eating Out.
Kelly, Cooking for Kings.
Korsmeyer, Making Sense of Taste.
Spang, The Invention of the Restaurant.
Trubek, How the French Invented the Culinary Profession.
Willan, Great Cooks.The next time you go out to a fancy restaurant, take particular notice of
the dining protocols. How are you seated, and by whom? Are you helped
into your seat? Does anyone unfold a napkin and place it on your lap? This
sometimes still happens and was once commonplace. Are there separate staff
members for pouring water, suggesting wine, or removing dishes? Try to
keep track of the entire staff serving you. How does the waiter or waitress
approach you, and where does he or she physically stay? Is it out of the
way unobtrusively, or hovering nearby? How many tables does each server
manage? You will notice that, normally, the more expensive the restaurant,
the greater the proliferation of servers (which stands to reason), but also
the greater the ritualization of behavior. Is this simply because much more
money is involved, or do people enjoy playacting in restaurants in orderCulinary ActivitySuggested Reading