Traiteur (culinary profession)
Encyclopedia
The traiteur in French
history represents the origins of today's restaurant
. Prior to the late 18th century, diners who wished to "dine out" would visit their local guild
member's kitchen
and have their meal prepared for them. However, guild members were limited to producing whatever their guild registry delegated them to. These guild members offered food in their own homes to steady clientele that appeared day-to-day but at set times. Patrons called their guild member their traiteur. The guest would be offered the meal table d'hôte
, which is a meal offered at a set price with very little choice of dishes, sometimes none at all.
Today in France, a traiteur is a catering business devoted to take-out food and service of banquets. Many traiteurs also undertake home delivery. Generally there is no seating on the business premises; a few traiteurs may have very limited seating. Especially in market towns where there is competition, traiteurs take great pride in the beauty of their window displays. Traiteur 'departments' are now common in supermarchés, the equivalent of the US/UK delicatessen
. The staple of this type of business is an array of salad
s, cold meat
and seafood
dishes. In France today, it's a 900 million-euro business involving 1,250 companies.
The word is cognate with the Italian trattoria
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
history represents the origins of today's restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
. Prior to the late 18th century, diners who wished to "dine out" would visit their local guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
member's kitchen
Kitchen
A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation.In the West, a modern residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a refrigerator and kitchen cabinets arranged according to a modular design. Many households have a...
and have their meal prepared for them. However, guild members were limited to producing whatever their guild registry delegated them to. These guild members offered food in their own homes to steady clientele that appeared day-to-day but at set times. Patrons called their guild member their traiteur. The guest would be offered the meal table d'hôte
Table d'hôte
Table d'hôte is a French loan phrase which literally means "host's table". It is used as restaurant terminology to indicate a menu where multi-course meals with only a few choices are charged, at a fixed total price. Such a menu may also be called prix fixe . The terms "set meal" and "set menu"...
, which is a meal offered at a set price with very little choice of dishes, sometimes none at all.
Today in France, a traiteur is a catering business devoted to take-out food and service of banquets. Many traiteurs also undertake home delivery. Generally there is no seating on the business premises; a few traiteurs may have very limited seating. Especially in market towns where there is competition, traiteurs take great pride in the beauty of their window displays. Traiteur 'departments' are now common in supermarchés, the equivalent of the US/UK delicatessen
Delicatessen
Delicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....
. The staple of this type of business is an array of salad
Salad
Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...
s, cold meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
and seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
dishes. In France today, it's a 900 million-euro business involving 1,250 companies.
The word is cognate with the Italian trattoria
Trattoria
A trattoria is an Italian-style eating establishment, less formal than a ristorante, but more formal than an osteria. There are generally no printed menus, the service is casual, wine is sold by the decanter rather than the bottle, prices are low, and the emphasis is on a steady clientele rather...
.