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History of
Foodservice
• The history of foodservice is closely associated with travel.
• Throughout history, merchants have traveled extensively to
trade with other nations or tribes.
• There were also the religious pilgrimages to places of
worship.
• Invariably, in the different places of destination, food and
lodging have been provided to the travelers.
• In the Middle Ages, the beginnings of foodservice was
evident in the dining rooms of posting houses of the Romans,
as well as the inns and taverns of the English people.
• The Canterbury Inn had a kitchen measuring 45 feet in
diameter , which provides food not only for the monks but
also for the pilgrims who came to the abbey to worship.
• In the Royal Households of England where numerous guests
(150 to 00) were received daily, foodservice became a
necessity.
• Thus, a systematic recording of its expenses was made and
compiled in the Northumberland Household Book which was
considered the first known record book of scientific food cost
accounting.
• Also in England during the industrial revolution, a certain
Robert Owen provided meals at nominal prices in an effort to
improve the working conditions of the workers in his mill.
Owen’s feeding program was so successful that it spread
throughout the civilized world. Hence, he was been known as
the father of modern industrial catering.
• An English nurse, Florence Nightingale, pioneered in hospital
foodservice during the Crimean War. She was so efficient in
organizing and managing the meals for the patients that she
has been called the first hospital dietitian in the modern
sense. A noted chef named Alexis Soyer helped her in the
establishment of a hospitaldiet kitchen.
• The formal school feeding program was started in England by
an Englishman named Victor Hugo. The American school
feeding programs were patterned after Hugo’s program.
• As opportunities for travel increased, so did the commercial
foodservice grow. In the 16th century, coffeehouses were
established in the United States of America. In Paris, France,
however, it was only sometime in 1765 that the first
restaurant was opened by a Frenchman named Boulanger.
• Then, with the advent of the 20th century, commercial
foodservice has become highly favored over the other types
of foodservice systems.
The Beginnings of Foodservice
in the Philippines
• In the Philippines, foodservice existed as early as the time of
the barangay system. The datu had to feed his people
including the slaves or alipin. Hence, it required the service of
food in great quantities.
• The Chinese were the forerunners of the developmental
rudiments of the commercial type of foodservice. The earliest
recorded date of Chinese-Philippine trade is 982 A.D.
Traders with valuable merchandise came to Luzon from
Fookien, Southern China. Though the Chinese peddlers, the
Filipinos came to know of varieties in dining pleasures.
• During the Spanish period, Chinese food became popular
that they were no longer peddled by ambulant vendors but
were served under more permanent structures. A letter of a
civil servant to King Philip II of Spain reported that the
Chinese Community, “the Parian” had many eating houses
where the Sangley’s (Chinese) and the natives partook of
their meals.
• The natives set up eating places usually at the back of public
markets. Here, portions of kari-kari (an elaborate stew) could
be readily bought at cheap prices. Thus, such eating places
came to be known as karihan. No explanation, however,
could be obtained from history books why the Spaniards later
called it as carinderia.
• On the other hand, the Chinese operated eateries which
came to be known as panciterias since they usually serve
pancit (noodles).
• The Americans modified the foodservice system when they
introduced the concept of cafeteria. It started with the public
school feeding program in 1906when attempts were made to
remedy the poor nutrition of children. The American teachers
put up cafeterias to demonstrate the value of proper diet to
the students. The cafeteria was a laboratory of the home
economics courses which also served meals to both students
and the faculty.
• The cafeteria concept was not limited to the schools. Other
types of foodservice such as the commercial fast food
centers, in-plant feedings, and dining rooms in healthcare
institutions picked up the concept of self-service.
• From then on, many concepts and practices have been
introduced by other countries which have contributed to the
development of foodservice in the Philippines. Changes have
taken place with increasing speed due to many factors like
modern technology; new legislations; and urbanization.
• It is expected that with the onset of globalization and the
effect of modern information technology in the Philippine
foodservice industry will become more diversified and
definitely grow in magnitude.
End of Presentation