Blog post
Are you being served? A short history of waiters and servers in restaurants
A short history of working as a waiter in restaurants
by
Europeana Foundation
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When you last ate at a restaurant or cafe, how was the service? Slow or fast, attentive or more relaxed? We all remember good and bad restaurant experiences - but perhaps we should spare a thought for those working in these roles.
Waiting is a profession that goes back centuries. There's more to the simple act of bringing food and drink to the table than you might think.
Waiting staff follow rules and guidelines determined by the type of restaurant or bar in which they work. Waiting staff carry out many different tasks, such as bringing food to and from diners, greeting customers, cleaning and preparing tables in advance of new diners, polishing dishes and silverware.
During all this, waiting staff are expected to be polite, courteous and friendly.
In some eateries, waiting staff are tasked with upselling, encouraging diners to order additional or specific food.
Waiting staff first appeared in the 1620s in taverns serving drinks. Our modern concept of eating out originated with the first restaurant opening in New York in the 1820s.
Prior to that, in most cultures, women were expected to prepare and serve food preparation.
Most early waiting staff were men, who wore white gloves to show that their fingers had not touched the food. Many served food by silver service - where waiters transfer food from a serving dish to the guest's plate.
Nowadays, there's a huge difference between being a waiter in a 5-star hotel or prestigious restaurant and that of a waiter in a small local cafe.
EXPLORE MORE: Read more blogs about food and food heritage
Attitudes to waiting staff across the continent vary.
In some countries, being a waiter or waitress is a perfect student job, flexible and easy work while studying or preparing for other jobs.
In other countries however, a waiter or waitress is a professional, with a level of service achieved after many hours of training and perfecting skills.
In some countries, tipping is customary - an essential way for waiting staff to supplement their income or help it reach acceptable standards. In other countries, tipping is unusual.
The Royal Library: The National Library of Denmark and Copenhagen University Library
For some, waiting may seem like a simple enough job, but it's not for everyone. In our Europe at Work project, we heard from Nancy who told us about her one and only night as a bartender.
EXPLORE MORE: Read Nancy's story: My one shift as a bartender
Artists and writers have portrayed restaurants, waiters and waitresses in many ways: when they want to reflect on authentic manual work or comment on the gender and status differences between waiting staff and diners.
So, next time, you are at a restaurant, perhaps think about who is working there and how.
By Adrian Murphy, Europeana Foundation
Did you or your family work in restaurants or as waiters? Share your story and help us tell the story of Europe through our working lives in the past and the present.
Feature image: Husband and wife and two waiters, Johann Georg van Caspel, Rijksmuseum, Public Domain