Chefs and Restaurants

Cooks have prepared food in large quantities for as long as people have gathered to eat. For millennia, chefs have catered to the complex dining needs of the wealthy and powerful, from Native American, European, African, and other traditions. Meanwhile, for centuries, food vendors in China, Europe, and elsewhere have sold meals to the public—either prepared themselves or sourced from others.

However, the history of the professional chef is a relatively recent development, largely shaped by French influence and closely tied to the rise of restaurants. Only with the emergence of restaurants in the late 18th and early 19th centuries were chefs expected to produce diverse dishes efficiently and economically for different diners at different times.