The Long & Flavorful History of Restaurants

Though it may seem like people have been eating outside of their homes since the beginning of time, restaurants (like everything else) have a long and exciting history. People have been buying snacks from street vendors or taking travel at pit stops for millennia. In the West, restaurants, as we know them today, came from France and the culinary revolution of the 18th-century. That being said, one of the earliest examples of restaurant culture started halfway around the world and around 600 years prior.

The First Ethnic Restaurant

According to historians, the very first businesses that were recognizable as restaurants started popping up around 1100 A.D. in China. Cities like Kaifeng and Hangzhou were packed urban populations of more than 1 million inhabitants each. Trade grew strong between these two capitals, but traveling Chinese tradespeople weren’t accustomed to the local foods. The original restaurants in these two cities were initially southern cooking for people coming from the south and vise versa. The “ethnic” restaurant was the first restaurant.

Kaiseki Dining Tradition

In Japan, restaurant culture began in the Japanese teahouses. In 16th-century Japan, chefs created a multi-course kaiseki dining tradition, in which tasting menus were crafted to tell the story of a particular place and season. The practice included serving dishes and cutlery that matched the aesthetic of the food being served.

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Table D’hôte

As Japanese chefs were creating full-sensory dining experiences, a different tradition caught on in the West. The French table d’hôte was a fixed price meal eaten at a communal table. The meal was eaten with friends and strangers who gathered around a wide variety of foods. The only meal was served at precisely 1 pm, there was no menu, and the cook decided what was prepared and served.

Coming to America

As we’ve seen in both China and France, the more, the merrier, and you can’t have a restaurant without a large (and hungry) urban population. So, it makes sense that the first restaurant that opened in America opened in New York City in the 19th century. Delmonico’s opened in 1837 and featured luxurious private dining rooms and a 1,000-bottle wine cellar. The restaurant remains at the same Manhattan location and has a vast menu. It’s impressive how restaurants have evolved, huh?

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The Wisdom Segment - World

I Twenty thousand years ago, humans and wolves hunted the same prey. As such, a partnership was the best choice for the two. Both parties benefited, with the wolves benefiting from human cleverness, and the humans taking advantage of wolf agility.

II Since humans have a tendency to protect abandoned cubs, and wolf cubs are easily able to acknowledge and adapt to human hierarchical rules. This is the origin story of the dog-human partnership as every single dog breed originated from these ancient wolves.

III Animal domestication originated from the human-wolf agreement where both species benefited from each other. Animals must have a willingness to be domesticated. Apart from wolves, other large mammals such as sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and cows were domesticated as well.

IV A 12,000-year-old jawbone from a dog was discovered in a cave in Iraq. It is the earliest proof of canine domestication. Puppies with strong barks who had beautiful fur, or were friendly and obedient were selectively bred.

V Sheep were the first animals to be domesticated for food. Not long after, goats joined their ranks. This started sometime around 9,000 BC. More settled communities started domesticating pigs and cattle around 7,000 BC, ensuring a regular supply of meat.

VI Having these animals as livestock provided many additional benefits to the Neolithic man. When they died, their leather and wool were used for making clothing. Their horn and bones were used to make sharp tools. Even their fat went to a good cause: creating candles.