Im Restaurant

Since the first restoring establishments opened in 18th century Paris, the local scene has always revolved around seeing and being seen, showcasing style and distinction – and the feeling of being at home among strangers. Impatient guests keep the staff busy with their special requests. However, it is the waitresses, headwaiters, and chefs who secretly control the proceedings and sometimes literally spit in the soup of the patrons. In the kitchen, at the bar, and at the table, pleasure collides with hard labor, elegance with exploitation, cultural diversity with racism. Whether upscale or shabby: restaurants are a mirror of society. Christoph Ribbat assembles the gripping gastronomic experiences of kitchen workers and culinary geniuses, waitresses and philosophers, gourmets and sociologists. He looks behind the scenes, spanning the journey from the first Parisian gourmet temples to the rise of fast food and the most innovative chefs of our time. Yet, he presents not only a cosmopolitan history of the restaurant but also a fast-paced narrative experiment between cultural studies and documentary novel.