A global history of restaurants beyond white tablecloths and maître d’s, this book presents restaurants as both businesses and as venues for a range of human experiences. From banquets in tenth-century China to the medicinal roots of French restaurants, the origins of restaurants are not singular – nor is the history this book tells. This book highlights stories across time and place, including how Chifa restaurants emerged from the migration of Chinese workers and their marriage to Peruvian businesswomen in nineteenth century Peru; how Alexander Soyer transformed kitchen chemistry by popularizing the gas stove, predating the pyrotechnics of molecular gastronomy by a century; and how Harvey Girls dispelled the ill repute of waiting tables, making rich lives for themselves across the American West. An informed and entertaining history that takes readers from the world’s first restaurants in Kaifeng to the latest high-end dining experiences.

A global history of restaurants beyond white tablecloths and maître d’s, this book presents restaurants as both businesses and as venues for a range of human experiences. From banquets in tenth-century China to the medicinal roots of French restaurants, the origins of restaurants are not singular – nor is the history this book tells. This book highlights stories across time and place, including how Chifa restaurants emerged from the migration of Chinese workers and their marriage to Peruvian businesswomen in nineteenth century Peru; how Alexander Soyer transformed kitchen chemistry by popularizing the gas stove, predating the pyrotechnics of molecular gastronomy by a century; and how Harvey Girls dispelled the ill repute of waiting tables, making rich lives for themselves across the American West. An informed and entertaining history that takes readers from the world’s first restaurants in Kaifeng to the latest high-end dining experiences.