Rebecca L. Spang’s The Invention of the Restaurant isn’t just about restaurants—it’s about what happens when food stops being survival and starts becoming story.
Focusing on late 18th- and early 19th-century Paris, Spang shows how the restaurant emerged not merely as a place to eat, but as a social stage, a democratic ritual, and a new form of public life. In the wake of the French Revolution, as monarchies fell and markets rose, people began to crave not just nourishment—but civility, comfort, and a sense of identity. The restaurant became their theatre.
Spang weaves historical records, menus, pamphlets, and first-person accounts into a tapestry of change:
- From communal mess halls to personal menu choices
- From royal kitchens to entrepreneurial chefs
- From obligation to pleasure
For readers interested in how architecture, service, and social aspiration intersect, this book is a revelation. It’s academic, yes, but never dull. Spang writes with both rigour and flair, treating menus and meal customs as artifacts of personal and political revolution.
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