Food Offerings and the Menu
Eating out in restaurants and cafés is a fairly recent invention. In the middle ages travellers would seek shelter and food at castles and monasteries. The development of the Inn and coach house was an early form of providing hospitality for profit. Food was also produced for the poor in workhouses and soup kitchens these were sometimes run for profit though many were run by charities.
Food provision can be categorised in various ways.
Cost sector catering
Industrial
Canteens Cafeterias Directors' dining rooms
Welfare catering
Schools Hospitals Hostels Nursing Homes Meals on wheels
Transport catering
Air - Terminal In-Flight On board ship Rail Motor way Roadside
Restaurants
Take away Fast food Steak houses Ethnic Cookery
Coffee shops Carveries
The Menu otherwise known as the Bill of Fare is a selection of items available.
There are three main types of Menu :
a la carte a selection of individually priced dishes
table d' hôte a fixed price menu with a choice of dishes within each course
banquet or function menus a fixed price menu usually with fixed courses usually selected from a choice of alternative menus.