Traiteur (culinary profession)

The traiteur in French history represents the origins of today's restaurant. Prior to the late 18th century, diners who wished to "dine out" would visit their local guild member's kitchen and have their meal prepared for them. However, guild members were limited to producing whatever their guild registry delegated them to. [Spang, 8-10.] These guild members offered food in their own homes to steady clientele that appeared day-to-day but at set times. Patrons called their guild member their "traiteur". The guest would be offered the meal table d'hôte, which is a meal offered at a set price with very little choice of dishes, sometimes none at all. [Spang, 30-31.]

Today in France, a "traiteur" is a catering business devoted to take-out food. Generally there is no seating; a few traiteurs may have very limited seating. Especially in market towns where there is competition, traiteurs take great pride in the beauty of their window displays. Traiteur 'departments' are now common in supermarchés, the equivalent of the US/UK delicatessen. The staple of this type of business is an array of salads, cold meat and seafood dishes. In France today, it's a 900 million-euro business involving 1,250 companies. [Fedèle, P. et Bravo, E.]

The word is cognate with the Italian trattoria.

References

*Spang Rebecca L., The Invention of the Restaurant. (2nd ed.). Harvard University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0674006850
*Fedèle, P. et Bravo, E., "Traiteurs Organisateurs Réceptions: La mutation s'acceélère" ("Traiteurs and Caterers: The pace of change quickens"), Neo Restauration, n° 434, sept 2006