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Chapter 6: The Restaurant Business

This chapter describes the different characteristics of chain and independent restaurants, identifies some of the top chain and independent restaurants, liststhe classifications of restaurants and differentiates characteristics of chain and independent restaurants. Restaurants offer the possibility of excellent food and social interaction. In general,restaurants strive to surpass an operating philosophy that includes quality food, good value, and gracious service. Two main events were responsible for our culinary legacy coming from France. North Americagained most of its culinary legacy from France. First was the French Revolution in 1793, which caused the best French chefs of the day to lose their employment because their bosses lost their heads!Many chefs came to North America as a result, bringing with them their culinary talents. The second event was Thomas Jefferson, who in 1784 spent five years as envoy to France, and brought a Frenchchef to the White House when he became president. This act stimulated interest in French cuisine and enticed U.S. tavern owners to offer better-quality and more interesting food. The main “ingredient”in a restaurant is cuisine, and one of the main foundations of classical French cooking, on which much of American cuisine is based, is the five mother sauces: béchamel, velouté, espagnole, tomato, andhollandaise. These elaborate sauces were essential accompaniments for the various dishes on the menu. Classical French cuisine was popular until the late 1960s and early 1970s when nouvelle cuisinebecame popular. Nouvelle cuisine is a lighter cuisine than is the classical French and is based on simpler preparations with the aid of processors, blenders, and juicers using more natural flavors andingredients. Instead of thickening a sauce with a flour-based roux, a purée of vegetables could be used instead. Some of this great culinary classical cuisine was: Marie-Antoine Careme (1784-1833),...