Lesson 2: modern concept of hospitality

 

Reading:

Modem concept of hospitality began to develop in the nineteenth century, which saw more innovations in hospitality than in all previous history. The famed Cesar Ritz, whose name has entered the vocabulary as a synonym for luxury, made restaurant dining at London's Savoy almost a must for the aristocracy of both sexes. He revolutionized hotel restaurants by offering a list (carte in French) of suggestions available from the kitchen. This was the beginning of the a la carte menu. The Americans used their special brand of ingenuity to create something for everyone. In 1S48, a hierarchy of eateries existed in New York City. At the bottom was Sweeney's "sixpenny eating house" on Ann Street, whose owner, Daniel Sweeney, achieved questionable fame as the father of the greasy spoon. Sweeney's less-than-appetizing fare was literally thrown down to his hungry customers, who cared little for the social amenities of dining. At the top of the list was the famous Del-monico's. This restaurant was known as the most expensive in the country.

In the nineteenth century, better methods of preserving food through canning and vacuum packing made out-of-season culinary delights commonplace. There was also an enormous growth in mass feeding. In schools, until the nineteenth century, no one had ever considered lunches for schoolchildren, because there were so few children who went to school. Canteens for schoolchildren started in France in 1849. The cafeteria concept originated in the California Gold Rush, when prospectors, eager to return to their claims, preferred to stand in line to be served from big communal bowls and pots rather than wait their turn at table.

The twentieth century brought fast food industry. In 1921, Walter Anderson and Billy Ingram began the White Castle hamburger chains. These eye-catching restaurants were nothing more than a griddle and a few chairs, but people came in droves to these eye-catching restaurants, and within ten years the White Castle had expanded to 115 units. Marriott's Hot Shoppe drive-in roadside restaurant opened in 1927, and the word "a carhop per" was coined because as an order taker approached a car, he or she would hop onto its running board. The first motel was opened in San Luis Obispo, not far from Los Angeles, in 1925.

After the stock market crash of 1929 and the Depression, America rebounded with the elegance and deluxe dining of the 1930. By the end of the decade, every city had a deluxe supper club or a night club. The first elegant American restaurant that was not French in style was the Four Seasons. It offered seasonal menus (summer, autumn, winter, In a Restaurant spring) and art as a theme. Its developer understood why people go to restaurants – to be together and to connect with one another. Modern restaurant exists to create pleasure, and how well it meets this expectation is a measure of its success. The exclusive restaurant of yesterday may be still exclusive restaurant of today, but the less affluent people can choose from great many cheap eating places. Nowadays people have

freedom of choice, and they expect to have affordable accommodation, food, and

entertainment – things of which hospitality industry is made.

 

 

Exercises:

1. Find in the text the following topical words and phrases, make sure that you are able to explain what they mean in English, and add them to your working vocabulary:

a canteen, a cafeteria, to stand in line, a hamburger chain, a drive-in, a carhop per, an order taker, a deluxe supper club, a developer.

2. Explain in English what is meant by:

a hierarchy of eateries, to achieve questionable fame as, out-of-season culinary delights, an eye-catching restaurant, the name stands for, an original restaurant, to offer art as a theme.

 

3. Write out from the text the sentences or their parts containing the words and phrases given below and translate them into Russian:

social amenities, to originate, prospectors, to rebound, a must, ingenuity, questionable fame, a canteen, a cafeteria, a communal bowl, to be coined, to meet the expectations.

 

4. Answer the following questions:

1. What does the name of Cesar Ritz stand for in the history of hospitality?

2. What was remarkable about American eating places?

3. What do the names of Sweeney and Delmonico stand for?

4. How and when were the concepts of canteen and cafeteria developed?

5. What changes in eating habits were developed in the twentieth century?

6. Why do the people go to the restaurant? What do they expect while eating out?