History of food menu

Physical menu and food list are some of the most important in-house marketing and sales tool. The menu is the production plan governing almost every phase of the establishment and becomes the backbone of a food service or hospitality operation.

The first coffee houses and restaurants did not use written menu.

Eventually, some restaurants in Paris began the custom of writing a list of foods in a small board. The waiter hung this from his belt to refresh his memory.

The first restaurant in France where customers could choose from a selection of items presented on a menu was opened in 1765 by A. Boulanger. He placed a sign scripted in Latin over his establishment.

The word ‘menu’ comes from the French and means ‘a detail list.’ The term is derived from the Latin word ‘minutus’, meaning ‘diminished; from which the word ‘minute’ come.

It became definitive when Antoine Beauvilliers opened La Grande Taverne de Londres in 1804, since it also brought a la carte menu to the table and waiters to serve the individual wishes of the customer.

History of food menu