HOW WE EAT TODAY

SERVICE OR SELF-SERVE

You may think this is a post about nutrition and if so you would be very wrong.

I love cultural history and especially the history of food, manners and methods of cooking and eating.  Many of my friends find my choice of reading material a bit odd but if it they have a question about food, cooking etcetera I’m their first stop.  Now I don’t know all there is to know, god no, that’s why I continue to read but I’ll take on any of them in a game of cultural trivia.

When most Americans sit down for a meal, that is if they indeed sit down for a meal together, it is usually served “family style” where all the food is placed on the table and each person helps themselves.  This style is very much akin to “service a la francaise”  employed by European and American upper classes until sometime in the middle to late 19th century.  Though similar in style to today’s family style it was a much more elaborate, even formal affair.  It consisted of many courses eaten in a particular order but all set out at once on the table and arranged much like a centerpiece.  Needless to say once you got to the final courses some were cold.

By the late 19th century service a la francaise gave way to “service a la russe” where each course was presented in order hot from the kitchen passed around and offered by a servant.  This required the need of one or more footmen.  Obviously unless you were an Astor or a Vanderbilt the evening meal was somewhat of a free for all as it was in my home growing up, though certain civilities were expected.

Today many people when entertaining opt for a buffet style spread of food which really is much like service a la francaise.  Obviously it is easier, less formal and allows each person to pick and choose whatever they want to eat and as well as the portion.  

When in a restaurant we are actually dining in the style of service a la russe though I’ve yet to see any footmen, arrogant waiters maybe but no footmen.

Before the recent Covid pandemic most of our lives were hectic and too many of us, me included, took to eating on the go, standing up and even in our cars.  I blame the rise of the “drive-thru” window!  

My first memory of ever eating in the car was when I was about six years old and my family journeyed down to Florida for some “fun in the sun”.  On the way we stopped at a “drive-in”, we all ordered hamburgers, French fries and a coke.  The meal was delivered on a metal tray that somehow hooked onto the door of the car.  What a marvel!

As an interior designer in order to meet the needs and desires of my clients it is necessary for me to become intimate to how the individual, couple or family lives.  Though a formal dining room is always a demand I’ve come to know it is rarely used.

If the meals are taken at a table it is usually in the breakfast room or kitchen.  Many clients request counters with stools in the kitchen work area for eating. 

TV trays which were popular in the 1950’s and 60’s are back.  I confess our family does this many nights.  This will horrify our dear friend Adam but then he’s a Brit and insists the plates be warmed before bringing them to the table.  

Again TV has become so ingrained in our lives and for some “dinner and a show” is an evening must raising the need for choosing the right coffee table to allow for such an activity.  

There are even high/low versions on the market which look like a typical cocktail table but then raise and “scissor” the table into a height and position allowing for dining from the sofa.  Again I fear if Adam reads this his wife JoHannah will have to pick him up off the floor.  

Finally there is the “Breakfast Tray” very popular in the 1920’s and solely used by the female gender - real men don’t breakfast in bed.  Downton Abbey fans and Emily Post aficionados will be well acquainted with this archaic indulgence.  Mrs. Post's early etiquette books even instructed how the tray should be laid out.

But believe it or not many people ferry their meals on a tray to their beds to feast in front of the evening TV line-up.  I admit red faced to this practice and once again urge my beloved friend JoHannah to pick Adam up off the floor!   

THE GALLERY

Italian Plums, After G.G., 2015, Paulette Tavormina, photographer, represented by Robert Klein Gallery, Bosto