Christoph Ribbat

What does eating out tell us about who we are?The restaurant is where we go to celebrate, to experience pleasure, to show off - or, sometimes, just because were hungry. But these temples of gastronomy hide countless stories.This is the tale of the restaurant in all its guises, from the first formal establishments in eighteenth-century Paris serving restorative bouillon, to todays new Nordic cuisine, via grand Viennese cafes and humble fast food joints. Here are tales of cooks who spend hours arranging rose petals for Michelin stars, of the university that teaches the consistence of the perfect shake, of the lunch counter that sparked a protest movement, of the writers - from Proust to George Orwell - who have been inspired or outraged by the restaurants secrets.As this dazzlingly entertaining, eye-opening book shows, the restaurant is where performance, fashion, commerce, ritual, class, work and desire all come together. Through its windows, we can glimpse the world.Christoph Ribbat (b. 1968) has taught in Bochum, Boston and Basel, and is now Professor of American Studies at the University of Paderborn.

Una magnífi ca i breu història social i cultural del restaurant.Un passeig agradable per la història de la restauració, des dels seus orígens fi ns a l’èpocaactual. Un llibre amè i intel·ligent, ple

Un libro que reúne las historias de los chefs más conocidos y los restaurantes de más prestigio.Christoph Ribbat reúne en este libro historias de los chefs más conocidos y los restaurantes de más prestigio, de intrigantes camareras clandestinas y de recetas peculiares, de grandes hoteles de lujo y de comedores secretos, de famosos criticos gastronomicos y de curiosos gourmets. Explora lo que sucede entre bastidores y tiende un puente entre los mas selectos restaurantes de alta cocina en Paris y los locales de comida rapida. Escrito como un agil, divertido e inteligente montaje de anecdotas universales, constituye un agradable paseo por el mundo de la gastronomia con un sinfin de divertidos pasajes ocurridos en las entrañas de las cocinas mas conocidas, donde a menudo transcurren cosas que ni imaginamos