History of Hospitality

  • Period: 800 BCE to 400 BCE

    Ancient Greece

  • 776 BCE

    Olympics

    Olympics
    When the first Olympics were held, there were no restaurants--only private food clubs.
  • 600 BCE

    The Arts

    The Arts
    While Greeks ate, they liked to listen to music and poetry.
  • 500 BCE

    Mealtime

    Mealtime
    Greeks considered meals as a time to nourish the soul.
  • Period: 146 BCE to 1453

    Ancient Rome

  • 200

    Mealtime

    Mealtime
    In Ancient Rome, meals were primarily served at home.
  • 500

    Food/Trade

    Food/Trade
    Romans desired exotic food and spice, which led to their trade with the east and north.
  • Period: 500 to 1500

    The Middle Ages

  • 1000

    Money

    Money
    Romans spent their wealth on banquets for clients, friends and family, and the lower class (financial aid in exchange for political support).
  • 1000

    Trade

    Trade
    During the Middle Ages, trade was little to none, so they didn't have many spices or exotic foods.
  • 1200

    Lifestyle

    Lifestyle
    During the Middle Ages, people mostly farmed.
  • 1300

    Mealtime

    Mealtime
    In the Middle Ages, large banquets were held almost every night for one reason, to eat.
  • Period: 1300 to

    Renaissance through French Revolution

  • 1400

    Spices

    Spices
    During the Renaissance, noblemen made their cooks use large amounts of exotic spices to cook their foods.
  • Period: 1492 to

    Colonial North America

  • Trade

    Trade
    Mostly because their location on the Adriatic Sea, people during the Renaissance could easily get or obtain spices from India and sell them for very high prices to people or distributors heading north. Merchants in Venice controlled the spice trade.
  • Preparation

    Preparation
    In colonial North America, not much care was given to the preparation of meals.
  • Preparation

    Preparation
    Haute Cuisine was a system of food preparation used during the Renaissance.
  • Mealtime

    Mealtime
    In colonial North America, if travelers arrived after dinner had been served, they would have to go without.
  • Period: to

    Industrial Revolution

  • Mealtime

    Mealtime
    During the Industrial Revolution, people often ate at home. They lived close to factories so they could walk to work, go home for lunch, and leave again for dinner.
  • Food Service

    Food Service
    During the Industrial Revolution, the restaurant industry began to grow. In 1825, inns, taverns, and food service facilities located near railway stations began to grow.
  • Period: to

    The Gilded Age

  • Restaurants

    Restaurants
    During the Gilded Age, high society people dined in fancy restaurants. They dined in places where they could be seen in elegant surroundings.
  • Wealth

    Wealth
    After the gold rush in California, some people were getting rich and some could not keep up with all the people, so they wouldn’t get to eat.
  • Efficiency

    Efficiency
    In the Gilded Age, the smart restaurants developed a cafeteria that served food faster and cheaper without needing servers.
  • Period: to

    The Twentieth Century

  • Employment

    Employment
    In the twentieth century, employment was a must, so many people got jobs, making them want to eat out more.
  • Restaurants

    Restaurants
    Because of the people's desire to eat out, lots of restaurants opened, such as Child's, Schraffts, etc. These were among the first lunchtime restaurants.