Only in recent years has our favourite global institution - the restaurant - come under academic scrutiny; and erudite feathers are flying, regarding the origins of the first modern restaurant.
Of course, establishments where members of the public can buy food and beverages have existed for hundreds of years. Take for example, the coaching inns and hostelries of yesteryear, where guests who stayed overnight were invited to dine at their host’s table, in exchange for payment, a practice, incidentally, from where we get the modern term table d'hôte. But, I digress…so back to the question of who can lay claim to the first modern restaurant.
Now, on this subject, things are hotting up in academe. Interestingly, there is no argument with the definition of the word restaurant, namely a “commercial establishment where refreshments or meals are prepared and served to paying customers”; but recent debate focuses rather upon the etymology of the word restaurant, which is derived from the French verb “restaurer”, to restore.
Not surprisingly, a Frenchman, Monsieur A. Boulanger, is central to the argument. According to popular belief, as well as more authoritative sources such as the Guide Gourmand de la France, Boulanger, was the first true restaurant proprietor to set up in business, in 1765, in Paris's first arrondissement, on the corner of Rue du Louvre, formerly the Rue Pouille and Rue Bailleul.
Apparently, a sign above the entrance to Boulanger’s restaurant proudly claimed: Boulanger débite des restaurants divins, i.e. Boulanger provides divine sustenance. And, to make sure that the punters were in no doubt as to what was on offer, the following words were inscribed, in Latin, above the front door: Venite ad me omnes qui stomacho laboratis et ego vos restauro, which translates roughly as “Come to me, those with empty stomachs and I will give you sustenance”.
Now, all this seems highly plausible; the French soup vendor, Boulanger, who sold his food and beverages described as restaurants, or restoratives, to the public, was probably the first modern restaurateur to offer a selection of inviting dishes to paying customers.
And who are we to argue with that weighty tome, the Larousse Gastronomique that attributes the origins of the word restaurant to the offerings of Monsieur B., way back in the 1760s? Indeed, Micheline Chappey, the current proprietor of the Café du Musée, (the site of Boulanger’s original food outlet), dismisses, with a shrug of Gallic nonchalance the very possibility than anyone other than Boulanger could have set up the world’s first, true restaurant. Chappey is unequivocal: "There's no doubt about it… this was the site of the very first restaurant”.
Academic experts, in the meantime, are bubbling over with opposing theories.
Research, for instance, by Rebecca Spang of University College, London, questions the very existence of Monsieur Boulanger, let alone his establishment selling meals to the Parisians of his day. Ms. Spang, it would appear, has failed to establish any direct sources to support pro-Boulanger theories. The numerous accounts of Boulanger’s first restaurant that proliferate throughout the writings of culinary historians (most of them French) are, according to Ms. Spang, wholly unconvincing. “These legends”, she claims, “just get passed on by hearsay and then spiral out of control". Moreover, Ms. Spang has produced evidence to suggest that the world’s first restaurant was, in fact, established by another Frenchman, called Roze de Chantoiseau, in 1773, in the centre of Paris, near Rue St. Honoré.
But the argument simmers on, with several respected academics challenging the recent findings of Rebecca Spang. The Patrimonie Culinaire, for instance, which has thoroughly researched the topic of French cuisine, contends that Boulanger is still the most likely contender for the title of the world’s first restaurateur.
Be that as it may, one thing is certain - the first restaurant had its origins on French turf.
But, there is a final twist to the tale of the first modern restaurant; a delightful irony that will please those aficionados of all things British…
You see, the first indisputably luxury restaurant to be set up in Paris in 1782, as opposed to the humble eaterie of Boulanger repute, had a distinct whiff of Sassenach about it. Surprisingly, the proprietor, Antoine Beauvilliers, decided to call his magnificent restaurant: La Grande Taverne de Londres. So, by association, London became synonymous with culinary excellence – a well-deserved reputation that the city retains to this very day.
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