Modern Food Service

Modern catering. The birth of modern catering at the end of the 19th century saw a great change in the gastronomic world. This conference, held between the two giants of the time, kicked off a leap forward for the design of the catering giant. Basic elements such as hotels, luxury trains, and ocean liners began to define tourism, a new phenomenon emerging across the world at the time. This new phenomenon was, first of all, close to everyone, not just aristocratic aristocrats, and it was a real revolution that businesses had to face.

Modern catering

Ritz, in fact, had difficulty opening large luxury hotels in many European cities, and Escoffier, in turn, took on a strong and fundamental aspect: the restaurant sector.
The gastronomic scenario thus experienced a real revolution at the end of the 19th century and with the advent of the sector tourist.

Modern catering

Auguste Escoffier

Georges Auguste Escoffier was born in 1846 in Villeneuve Roubaix, a town on the coast of Provence.
Already at the age of 13 he began to familiarise himself with the world of work by helping his uncle as a dishwasher and assistant cook in a restaurant. He immediately recognized life in the kitchen. Stealing with his eyes, he later got used to everything that could be useful to make his dreams come true. He was a man who revolutionized the restaurant industry at the time by patting his head, contemplating what he could change with the work.

At the age of 19 he continued his training as a chef, moved to Paris to find the restaurant "Le Petit Moulin Rouge", and in 1870 he was appointed chief chef at the headquarters of the Army of the Rhine during the Franco-Prussian War. . After returning from military service, Escoffier returned to the Petite Moulin Rouge as head chef, and during that time it became a very popular venue for heads of state, members of the royal family, nobles, adventurers and prostitutes.
At age 30 he opened his first restaurant, Le Fasain Doré, in Cannes, he married and soon moved to Monte Carlo, where he started the magazine L`art Culinaire the year he met César Ritz.

The founder of modern catering

Modern catering

Many virtues should be attributed to Escoffier as a person and as a chef. First, he had to make the chef a respectable figure from the start. He completely shifted the role of food from necessity to pleasure, and eventually created a division of labor behind the stove to organize the various people who work in the kitchen. So far, the real way of modern catering is to divide it into teams.
From the gastronomic point of view, just preserve the natural appearance of the Escoffier as it is and decorate it with garnishes. The whole thing is delighted by the appetizing color of the sauce or the polychrome effect obtained from natural and edible ingredients.

Escoffier wanted (and succeeded) a true culinary revolution, which encouraged him to become an important and unforgettable figure in the industry.
His ideas for culinary innovation laid the foundation for what would later become his “new cousin.” For example, he was the first to emphasize the use of the senses in cooking. In particular, smell has been recognized as the main sense capable of improving the taste of foods. For this reason, Escoffier expected his dishes to be served hot and smoked, so that the volatile and subtle molecules enhanced the flavor of the food.

Escoffier “psychic” and author

Modern catering

We can call him a real “psychic”. A monster capable of stealing the unusual and hitherto unknown through the human senses. He was also the first to define a new flavor called umami, which roughly means “delicious” in Japanese. Repetitive taste in meats, cheeses, and protein products in general.
This means that French chef Escoffier inadvertently determined that our tongues have specific glutamate receptors that respond to the taste present in proteins.Escoffier was the author of important books that are still considered essential today. “Le Guide Culinaire”, published in 1902.

It is a basic text on preparing sauces, soups, and basic dishes, and Le Livre des Menus from 1912 describes dinner plans for guests, seasons, or times of availability.
And, finally, a feat granted to him in connection with the birth of the menu.

Modern catering, César Ritz: the story of the most important hotelier

Modern catering

The largest and most famous hotelier in the world, Cesar Ritz, was born on February 23, 1850 in the town of Niederwald. Throughout the world, his name is associated with the highest standards achievable in luxury hotels.
He has literally earned the nickname “King of Hoteliers, Hoteliers of Kings”. From that name comes the English word Ritzy, which means elegance and chic. But beyond his undoubted talent, César Ritz revolutionized the hotel industry by serving gourmet cuisine in his hotel with chef Georges Auguste Escoffier.

Modern catering: the twentieth century and the innovations of the period

The 20th century, thanks to great historical changes and advanced technological and scientific advances, has radically changed society from scratch and has had unpredictable consequences for all human activities, including gastronomy. The advent of the automobile was the surest sign of prosperity and it expanded considerably, allowing people, things and above all thoughts to move more and more quickly.

Modern catering

The average "tourist" is changing in this century. At first it was played exclusively by the nobility and nobles who traveled mainly by steamboat, but now it is played by the middle class who use smaller, more manoeuvrable means of transport such as cars.
In 1900 the first Michelin Guide was published here. A publication describing all the fine-dining restaurants in the region for French-born “gourmet” drivers. In 1912 in France, with the same purpose, the Club of the Hundred was born, which lists the places where you can eat "very good".

Italy was limited compared to France, but there was also in Italy a certain gastronomic fermentation in the first quarter of the century, as evidenced by various publications of that period.
In 1909 a new plate of regional delicacies was published, which reported for the first time recipes from all the regions of Italy, including poor dishes such as panzanella.

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