When do we eat? A survey of meal times When did we begin eating meals in "courses?" Restaurants, chefs & foodservice What is a square meal??

Meals & courses appetizers starters breakfast second breakfast brunch lunch ploughman's lunch free lunch tiffin dinner Sunday dinner afternoon tea (& high tea) supper dessert

Entertaining bake sales barbeque buffets cocktail parties cookie exchanges picnics pot luck soul food tailgate parties

Holidays New Years Day Super Bowl Valentines Day Easter Passover Kentucky Derby Cinco de Mayo Mother's Day Independence Day (USA) Halloween Day of the Dead Thanksgiving Christmas

The history of meal times (and number of meals consumed) makes for fascinating study. These differ greatly from culture to culture and through time. They also depend upon the socio-economic class of the person who was eating. If you are studying the meal times of a specific place/people/period please let us know. American meal times were introduced by Old World settlers and evolved independently accordingly to fit cultural norms. General overview: What Time is Dinner?, History Magazine

Ancient Greek meal times
"Meal times are variable, but a midday meal was usually called ariston lunch... and an evening meal deipnon, dinner. The latter was perhaps typically the biggest meal of the day, and for some the only meal."
---Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:London] 1996 (p. 12)

British meal times (overview)
"In the beginning of the sixteenth century in England, dinner, the main meal of the day, used to begin at 11:00AM. Meals tended over time to be eaten later and later in the day: by the eighteenth century, dinner was eaten at about 3:00PM...By the early nineteenth century, lunch, what Palmer in Moveable Feasts calls "the furtive snack," had become a sit-down meal at the dning table in the middle of the day. Upper-class people were eating breakfast earlier, and dinner later, than they had formerly done...in 1808...dinner was now a late meal and supper a snack taken at the very end of the day before people retired to bed. For a long time luncheon was a very upper-class habit; ordinarily working people dined in the early evening, and contented themselves as they had done for centuries with a mid-day snack...Supper now means a light evening meal that replaces dinner; such a meal is especially popular if people have eaten a heavy lunch..."
---The Rituals of Dinner, Margaret Visser [Penguid:New York] 1991 (p. 159-160)

Anglo-Saxon period
"Taking meals at regular times was seen a good thing in moral terms: every mouth needs food; meals shall take place at their proper time'...Gluttony consisted of eating before the time of the meal, as well as taking too much. Regular mealtimes seem to have been seen as evidence of an ordered, civilised life. Morever, in large establishments, serving meals at set hours would have saved time. Punctual meals were particularly important in monasteries where the offices had to be observed. When meals were taken, or even how many meals a day there were, varied according to the calendar, social class, and personal preference. The novice of the Colloquy seems to eat first soon after midday...The Regularis Concordia mentions the prandium ad sextam at noon, and a cena between Vespers and Compline allowed daily from Easter until Whitsun. From Whitsun until September 14 (apart from certain fast days which included Wednesdays and Fridays) and on all Sundays and feasts of twelve lessons there were also two meals a day but the prandium was not taken until none (3 p.m.). A single meal ad noman between Nones and Vespers was the rule for the winter period from September 14 to Lent; in Lent and on Quarter Tense days the one meal was ad vesperam (after Vespers). So it appears there was a main, midday meal, though this might be put back to mid-afternoon, or later, for which the term was ge-reordung or non-mete. According to the Old English Rule of Chodegang, if preostas ate twice a day then it was a midday and evening, and at Aethelwold's monastery the monks had dinner and supper...An ealier meal than dinner or supper is referred to--the undernswoesendum. Undern was roughly the period of dawn...In contrast to the monastic regimen where the main meal was at or around midday, it is possible that in a secular time-table, main meals were at the third hour and again at supper time, to allow a full day's activity between them. A number of individuals, usually for religious reasons, chose to have only one meal a day. There may have been others whose meals were similarly limited from lack of resources, but we do not hear of them."
---A Handbook of Anglo-Saxon Food: Processing and Consumption, Ann Hagen [Anglo Saxon Books:1992] (p. 69-70)

Medieval era
"...what were the mealtimes and how often did people eat a day? The very poor doubtless ate when they could, but the slightly better-off peasants seem generally to have eaten three times a day. These meals consisted of breakfast at a very early hour to allow for dinner at about 9 a.m., or not later than 10.00 a.m., and supper probably before it got dark, perhas at 3.00 p.m. in the winter. The times and number of meals were originally derived from the hours of devotions of the Church. Monks ate the main meal of their day after the celebration of nones, which was nine hours after daybreak. This was in practice at some time between midday and 3.00 p.m. The evening meal had to be a reasonable time after this, at or after vespers (around sunset). Three meals a day were accepted as reasonable by most later sixteenth-century writers, such as Andrew Borde, although he thought that this was only good for the labouring man: anyone else should be content with two. It has been suggested that breakfast was only eaten by children and workmen, but certainly by the fifteenth century it was quite commonly taken by everyone....although the 1478 household ordinance of Edward IV specified that only residents down to the rank of squires should have breakfast, except by special order...The time was only specified as a 'convenyent hower', although to break one's fast after devotions was the generally recommended procedure. Earlier reference to breakfast sometimes meant dinner, literally, in these cases, the first meal of the day. Sir William Harrison thought that in previous times (not specified) there had been four meals eaten a day, that is breakfast, dinner, nuntions (or 'nuncheons', taken about noon) and late supper. Nuncheons was usually something eaten by workmen who were given payment for it...Edward Prince of Wales (son of Edward IV) probably dined at 11.00 a.m....and supped at 5.00 p.m....The staggering of meals in large households, with the servants eating earlier than the lord...was common."
---Food and Feast in Medieval England, P.W. Hammond [Wrens Park Publishing:Pheonix Mill] 1993 (p. 104-5)

Renaissance period
"...what time to eat? Should the midday meal or evening meal be larger? Entire books were composed on this very topic. Medieval theorists, and common custom through the Renaissance, favored the "prandium," or dinner, at ten or eleven in the morning, as the larger meal. Digestion, it was thought, is fortified by movement and the heat of the sun...authors, armed with a purified Galen and other Greek authors, promoted the larger "coena," or supper, at around six in the evening. They argued that distribution of humors and spirits, the third stage of digestion, is stronger during the day, but concoction is much stronger when the mind and body are at rest...Most authors agreed that two meals are sufficient, although some Arabists favored three meals in two days or food every sixteen hours. The English vehemently defended their custom of taking breakfast. Most agreed in condemning the between-meal and late-night snacks, or "merenda" and "collations." The latter term originally referred to the light monastic meal at the end of the day, which derives its name from John Cassian's "Collations," which was read during the meal. It eventally came to mean all late-night nibbles or after-dinner dainties...Digestions, it must be remembered, was thought to proceed in distinct separate stages rather than one long continual process along the digestive tract. Thus, knowing how long each stage requires also reveals the ideal time to eat. A meal must not commence until the former meal has been thoroughly processed...Such a schedule would mean rising at 6:00, dining from 10:00 to 11:00, supping from 6:00 to 7:00, and sleeping at 11:00."
---Eating Right in the Renaissance, Ken Albala [University of California Press:Berkeley] 2002 (p. 112-3)

Early modern Europe
"One detail that comes primarily from literary evidence is the time of day when meals were customarily taken. This was acutally a matter of debate among dietary writers in the sixteenth century, but most of the deferred to the authority of ancient authors like Galen and recommended two meals per day. The first smaller meal, dinner, should be taken at around 11:00 a.m., and a larger meal, supper, follows six hours later at around 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. These authors reasoned that since the digestive powers are stronger during sleep when the digestive heat is withdrawn inward, and because there are more hours between the evening and morning meal, that supper should be larger. These recommendations follow ancient practice, and concide with early modern custom in Spain and some parts of Italy like Venice and Genoa. But the rest of Europe followed a different pattern--eating the larger meal in the late morning and smaller meal in the evening. The evidence for this comes foremost from literary descriptions of meals that usually take place mid-day. Even in the vast majority of cookbooks that offer menus, the grander meal was held at mid-day...What is clear is that meal times gradually shifted, dinner being held later and later in the day. In the sixteenth century dinner was held around 11:00 a.m. By the seventeenth century it had crept to 12:00 or 1:00 p.m. Samuel Pepys, the seventeenth-century English diarist, recorded several dinners he ate at 12:00 replete with heavy drinking. In the eighteenth century fashionable dinners, and the gentry and business classes in the cities who sought to imitate them, ate dinner later and later in the afternoon...Actually the usual dinner time was 2:00 or 3:00 p.m. by mid-century and by the late eighteenth century it was perhaps as late as 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. Only in more recent times has it come to rest in the evening, when supper consequently became less important. This development necessitated the invention of a new mid-day meal, lunch, which only became standard at the very end of the eighteenth century. Even more elusive is evidence for breakfast. Judging from cookbooks and dietary literature there was no such meal, or at least it was only recommended to children, invalids and the elderly who have weak digestive systems and must eat smaller meals more frequently. Nevertheless, there was such a meal, and some people took it regularly...What appears to have happened is that as dinner moved later in the day, people were hungrier first thing in the morning, especially when the evening meal was relatively small. In countries where the evening meal was larger, breakfast did not become important. In southern Europe it is still not a proper meal, but merely coffee and perhaps a piece of bread or pastry. In England and the north the pattern was quite different...By the eighteenth century breakfast...was eaten around 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning. Only in the nineteenth century did it emerge as a full and sumptuous meal with bacon, eggs and even steaks. Thus the three-meal-a-day pattern we are familiar with is a relatively recent phenomenon. The English afternoon meal called "tea" as a snack between lunch and dinner also did not emerge until the nineteenth century...This kind of evidence of course only relates to the meal patterns of the upper classes. From the comments of dietary writers who usually disapproved of common custom, it is certain that laboring people ate many more meals, usually a breakfast, dinner in the mid-morning, some form of snack at sundown and then a small supper late in the evening. This pattern also persisted despite the shift in meal times among elites."
---Food in Early Modern Europe, Ken Alabala [Greenwood Press:Westport CT] 2003 (p. 231-4)

18th century Britsh mealtimes:
The British Housewife: Cookery Books, Cooking and Society in Eighteenth-Century Britain, Gilly Lehmann (various references throughout the book; charts p. 385-6)

"A Short History of [British] Mealtimes
1780
Breakfast 10AM; Dinner 3-5PM, Tea 7PM, Supper 10-11PM
1815
Breakfast 10AM (leisurely), 9AM (less leisurely), 8AM (working people); Luncheon Midday; Dinner 3-5PM; Supper 10-11PM
1835
Breakfast, before 9AM; Luncheon (ladies only) Midday; Dinner 6-8PM; Supper depending upon the timing and substantiality of dinner
1860s/Middle Class
Breakfast 8AM (town), 9-10AM (country); Lunchoen 1-2PM; Dinner 6-8PM (depending upon formality and place)
1900
Early morning 8AM (tea, bread and butter); Breakfast 8-8:30AM; Luncheon Midday; Afternoon tea 5PM, Dinner 7:30-8PM
1930s
Breakfast 8AM; Lunch/upper classes or Dinner/rest Midday-1PM; Afternoon tea 4PM; High tea 5-6PM; Dinner 7-8PM; Supper 9-10PM.
---Consuming Culture: Why You Eat What You Eat, Jeremy MacClancy [Henry Holt:New York] 1992 (p. 61-66)
[NOTE: These pages contain far more information than is paraphrased above. If you need details please ask your librarian to help you find a copy of the book.]

Edwardian era

Current British meal times
"Mealtimes...These vary somewhat depending on the region of the country you are visiting, but in general breakfast is served between 7:30 and 9, and lunch between 12 and 2. Tea--an essential and respected part of British tradition, and often a meal in itself--is generally served between 4:30 and 5:30. Dinner or supper is served between 7:30 and 9:30, sometimes earlier."
---Fodor's Great Britain [1992] (p. 34)

Anglo-Indian meal times
"Early European officials in India laid lavish tables. Mandeloslo in 1638 notes '15 or 16 dishes of meat, besidest he dessert' in the home of the president of the English merchants at Surat who all lived together. Even in 1780 in Calcutta, Mrs. Eliza Fay, a lwayer's wife and herself a dressmaker, wrote: 'We dine at 2 O'clock in the very heat of the day...A soup, a roast fowl, curry and rice, a mutton pie, forequarter of lamb, a rice pudding, tarts, a very good cheese, fresh churned butter, excellent Madeira...'...Edward Lear, known to posterity for his limericks, had a breakfast while in India in 1874 of 'boiled prawns, prawn urry, cold mutton, bread and butter, and plantains. A painting of an English family at breakfast shows fried fish, rice, oranges and a baked casserole of some sort...In the 18th century the main meal, exemplified by the huge spread desecribed by Mrs. Fay, was in the middle of the day, followed by a siesta, evening visits and light dinner at night... About 1910, a suggested lunch consisted of pea soup, roast chicken and tongue, bread sauce, potatoes, cheese macaroni and lemon pudding. The main meal had moved to 7 or 8 in the evening, and in 1909 the writer Maud Divers declares that 'India is the land of dinners, as England is the land of five-o'clock teas...'"
------Indian Food: A Historical Companion, K.T. Achaya [Oxford University Press:Delhi] 1994 (p. 176)

American meal times
"American meal patterns over the past four centuries have varied across different regions of the country and have been determined by an individual's occupation, social class, gender, ethnicity, and personal preferences. Seasons, holidays, and the weekly round of activities also played a part in determining what is eaten when. All meals, whether served at home or in a restaurant, are structured events...In colonial times, American meal patterns followed European practices, in which the extended family participated in meals, which occurred three times a day; the standard meals were breakfast, dinner, and supper. As the first meal of the day, breakfast...was eaten immediately upon rising or a few hours later, after the earliest chores have been completed...Working men and schoolchildren returned home for dinner, the main meal of the day, which was traditionally served in the early or late afternoon...Supper, the last meal of the day, was light and, sometimes, optional. It was eaten in the early evening...The traditional meal pattern began to change duirng the mid-nineteenth century, due in part to the growth of cities and the shifting of occupations of American men. The first meal to change was dinner. As towns and cities grew, it became more difficult for wokers to return home for dinner at midday as the distance between home and the place of work increased...Dinner, the most important meal of the day, moved to the evenings, when the family could dine together at a more leisurely pace. The midday repast came to be called lunch...and evolved into a small, light, and frequently rushed meal--often something brought from home in a tin pail or a brown bag, or a quick bite in a workplace cafeteria. Sandwiches, soups, and salads became common luncheon foods...After World War II, the American meal pattern changed yet again...Snacking became increasingly common as the century progressed, and the "three squares" diminished in importance."
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 65-7)

Colonial American mealtimes

Early 20th century USA

Mealtimes, and meal titles, at the turn of the 20th century were a reflection of social status, not location. Wealthy folks emulated the latest British etiquette while farm families and poorer folks stuck to the traditional agrarian standards. Folks living in institutional settings (military, hospitals, schools, prisons) ate according to regulations. For example: A wealthy person's dinner party would commence anywhere from 6-8PM, while a mid-western farm family might be sitting down to dinner (their main meal of the day) at noon. The wealthier you were, the later (and longer) the breakfast. Lunch cut across all social classes at this time. Priviledged ladies entertained each other with fancy luncheons while factory workers and school children chowed down sandwiches in brief, prescribed breaks. Regardless of time and place, the general distinction between dinner and supper is the former indicates the main meal of the day; the latter is a light repast. If you took your dinner at noon, you supped at 5 or 6. If you took your dinner at 8, you might sup at 11. Period etiquette books were written for the wealthy and upper middle classes. Meal times and dining notes generally address social occasions rather than family (informal) meals. General notes here:

[1904]
"The hour for luncheon is usually half after 1, the matter of time being its chief distinction from a breakfast, as the latter is served at noon; though another point of different is that while luncheons are frequently given without any more particular meaning than enjoyment, breakfasts come after certain ceremonies or occasions, as for instance, a wedding breakfast or a hunt breakfast....The dinner hour varies from half after 6 to 8 o'clock." ---The Good Housekeeping Hostess, facsimile 1904 edition [Hearst Books:New York] (p. 14-15)
[NOTE: This reprint is readily available. Your local public librarian will be happy to help you obtain a copy. It contains detailed descriptions of how to give parties from invitations to instructions for serving.]

[1905]
Formal dinner at 8PM (p. 6); "Formal luncheon is served as a rule at one, half-past one, or two o'clock--not later than the latter hour, lest it spoil the guest's appetite for dinner." (p. 36-7); "The modern supper is not, as a rule, the first and foremost object of an evening's entertainment, but is usually an adjunct to some other form of festivity, such as a theatre or card party, or reception. Among the exceptions to this are the so-called game, wine, and fish suppers, popular among the "men-folk." Suppers are of various degrees of formality--from the delightfuly informal chafing-dish "spread" to an affair scarcely less elaborate than the formal dinner...there is no variation from the general rules applying to those features of the formal dinner...[no specific time recommended ] (p. 42-43); "The formal breakfast--or perhaps it would be more accurate to say the company breakfast, for this meal is not as a rule very formal--is much in favor with people of the leisure class...who frequently have considerable time to kill...The hour for a breakfast is usually twelve o'clock, but very often it is as early as ten; never later than noon, for it would then infringe upon the hours appointed by custom for luncheons." (p. 49); "In America the six-o'clock dinner prevails very generally, and the "Five o'Clock Tea" custom has gained comparitively little foothold; it has been adopted by the leisure clases, and is also popular with the college girl, the bachelor maid, the artist, and the so-called Bohemian circle." (p. 53) ---Consolidated Library of Modern Cooking and Household Recipes, Christine Terhune Herrick [R.J. Bodmer Company:New York] 1905 , Volume 1: The Modern Hostess

In sum, American families in this period could be eating breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner (wealthy, priviledged), supper OR breakfast, dinner, supper (agrarian, rural) OR breakfast, lunch, dinner, (middle class, industrial workers).

Food historians generally agree "course meals" were made possible by the agricultural revolution, approximately 10,000BC. When humans evolved from hunter/gatherers into organized agricultural communities, civilization happened. Farming and domesticated animals provided the stable food base required for more advanced activities to flourish. For the upper eschelons, this included leisurely dining and fancy banquets. One of the earliest examples we have of meals offered in different courses comes from Ancient Rome.

What is a square meal? Excellent question with no simple answers. There are two primary schools of thought: (1) Symbolic/metaphoric (a "square meal" is a substantial, satisfying repast) and (2) An actual scientific analysis proposed by a British physician in the 1920s. Shaped, to make it easier for people to understand, like a square. The simple shape concept was embraced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Pyramid, c. 1992. In both cases, a "square meal" is an ideal, not a required list of ingredients or recommended dishes.

A brief evolution of "square" concepts in USA social context:
"Colonists were calling city blocks laid out on the grid plan squares by the 1760s... By 1832 men used square approvingly to refer to the natural, even gait of a good horse in such expressions as a square-gaited horse or square trotter. By 1836 square meant full or complete, as a square meal, though people didn't talk about three squares a day until 1882."
---Listening to America, Stuart Berg Flexner [Simon & Schuster:New York] 1982 (p. 487)

"Square meal. a substantial, satisfying, and balanced meal; three square meals a day. Said to derive from nautical use, with reference to the square platter on which meals were served on board ship."
---New Oxford American Dictionary, 2nd edition [Oxford University Press:New York] 2005 (p.1644)

Symbolic & metaphoric interpretations:

[1808]
"The Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh represents an expenditure of seven millions and the endowments run into a few millions more. Still Pittsburgh's working population is not diminishing and the poor are increasing in far greater ratio than the rich. And there is many a family in Pittsburgh just now that would appreciate a ton of coal or a good square meal far more than an hour's communion with Browning or Henry Prick...It is hard for some persons to grasp the meaning of hunger, to realize the destitution of a cold and cheerless home..."
---"Real Philanthropists," Morning Herald [Uniontown PA] January 31, 1808 (p. 4)

[1857]
"...they'll learn how to enjoy a good square meal when they get back if they live long enough."
---"Walker's Deserters in the Park Again," New York Daily Times, August 27, 1857 (p. 4)

[1866]
"What would you say to see a man tolerably well dressed...down on his knees, scooping remnants of apples, cabbages, very cold potatoes, etc., out from the gutters and devouring them ravenously? Prompted by charity you might perhaps offer him two bits, to go and get something approaching a square meal with, but he would repulse you angrily. This is an everyday sight with us."
---"The Great West, California, The Gutter-Snipes of San Francisco...," New York Times, January 9, 1866 (p. 2)

[1878]
"A revolt is said to be imminent in the staff of medical assistants at Bellevue Hospital. There are 19 of these assistants, who are young physicians, recent graduates of our City medical colleges, and they give their time and whatever talents they possess in consideration of the experience the acquire in walking the hospital and one 'square meal' a day...They say everything is first-class about the institution, and they are treated handsomely in every respect but in the matter of that 'square meal.' That is poor. In fact, it is usually nothing but hospital soup, which, while abundant in quantity and nutritious enough for convalescents, is pretty weak stuff for stalwart, hard-worked young men. This 'feed' question has been the subject of frequent and earnest consultation among the 19, and a day or two ago they had about made up their minds to send in protest or their resignations."
---"They Want 'A Square Meal," New York Times, October 24, 1878 (p. 8)

[1890]
"'Soup, any kind of meat, coffee, vegetables and pie, 15 cents,' is the redletter sign of a Los Angeles-street restaurant."
---"A Cut-Rate Dinner: A 'Square Meal' for 15 cents," Los Angeles Times, April 6, 1890 (p. 8)

[1897]
"Franklin, N.J. While Chief of Police Lester Kierstead slept last night a thief paid him a visit. The thief evidently was hungry, for he went into the cellar of the Chief's house before starting to look for plunder, and ate a square meal of cold meat, bread, preserves, and fruit. To top it of he drank several bottles of beer and smoked a cigar...The Chief was not awakened. He had been out the night before attending the firemen's parade, and was very tired. The first he know of the robbery was when he came down stairs this morning for breakfast."
---"A Chief of Police Robbed," New York Times, October 3, 1897 (p. 1)

[1901]
"In the interests of scientific research and in behalf of the City Council, The Times has appealed--and not in vain--to well-known experts to settle the question, 'What is a square meal?' Councilman Bowen, the champion of the anti-saloon element, after a long and desperate struggle to establish the legal status of a square meal in the haunts of rounders, the retired, out-numbered, discouraged and disarmed by the solitary hamless sandwich and the lonely mustard pot. Editors of erudite evening journals have labored and strained in anguish, but a rotund and filling definition of a square meal cometh not forth...'Maybe you might come in an order a plate of beans for 10 cents. May be that's all you want... well, that's a square meal for you. Suppose I have an egg for breakfast and you come along ad say 'Aw, that ain't a square meal.' 'Well if it's all I wanted it's a square meal.'..."A square meal is anything you want to eat. It's an old piece of bologna, if that's what you want to eat. You can't pass no law to make you eat what you don't want...'"
---"When Does a Meal become 'Square?'", Los Angeles Times, October 16, 1901 (p. 7)

[1910]
"How John D. Rockefeller, Jr. came to camp and begged for a morsel of food, and how he ate as if he had never seen a square meal before, is the story Claud Park is telling his friends."
---"Millionaire Begs Food," Los Angeles Times, July 12, 1910 (p. I1)

[1915]
"Our language is a riddle. A man will eat a pound of round steak, a pyramid of mashed potatoes, half a dozen oval biscuits, a triangle of pie, drink two cups of flat coffee--then call it a square meal."
---"The Square Meal," Toledo Blade, Chicago Defender, June 5, 1915 (p. 2)

[1934]
"To make a meal really 'square' a fourth group may be said to include the extras and trimmings which greatly vary the caloric concentration of a meal, and which in any particular meal or for any particular person may or may not be helpful. No meal is complete that does not contain a goodly quantity of the first two. The amount of the third depends largely upon activity, temperament, weight, digestive ability and appetite. The fourth group may be eliminated with some and the meal will still be adequate, but it is helpful generally as a means of furnishing energy concentration, appetite appeal and attractive variation. A practical working out of this plan for anybody...will be...Breakfast--Fruit freely in any form. Milk or eggs in ample amounts. Cereal food. This last varying anywhere from a thin slice of toast through the many forms of breakfast breads and cereals to a stack of pancakes or even doughnuts...Lunch--Fruit or salad or both; milk or equivalent dairy products; choice of substantials to satisfy appetite: spreads, dressings, etc. Dinner--Vegetables in any and every form; building form."
---"Square Meal Hints Offered," Belle Wood-Comstock," Los Angeles Times, January 8, 1934 (p. A)

[1935]
"Revival of interest in the square meal as a national institution was cited as another evidence of returning prosperity here today...The meeting was in conjunction with the annual convention of the New Jersey State Teachers Association...contrasted modern trends in food selection and preparation with historical curiosities regarding diet."
---"Square Meal Returning," New York Times, November 10, 1935 (p. 42)

[1968]
"America's changing meal patterns must change even more in order to upgrade American diets...The change from three square meals a day at home to haphazard eating, a change affecting all classes of people, is apparently irreversible."
---"Mod Meals:Three Squares a Day Out," Jean Murphy, Los Angeles Times, July 11, 1968 (p. H1)

[1984]
"Our omnibibulous H.L. Mencken...mentions square meal two or three times in his several volumes about the American language, but without really defining it as anything but an interesting proof of our 'instinct for the terse, the vivid, and the picturesque,'...Almost any American of more than a few months' citizenship knows what a square meal is, whether he teaches computer programming or picks crops. A few days ago a man said to me, 'All I really need right now is somewhere to sleep, and three squares a day.' And I knew what he meant: warmth, then food, decent food, something to stick to his ribs and keep him upright and strong. But he did not mean a bowl of beans, or meat between bread slices, no matter how sustaining either of these things may be. He meant a square meal, which perforce means tolls and a place to use them, a knife and a spoon and perhaps even a plate, and a protected place for the enjoyment of all or almost all he could eat. Most of us have eaten square meals in strange places. But no matter where we are or how the food looks, we feel without question that it must be eaten while we are sitting down, and it must be ample, to be truly square...A square...MEAL means plenty of good hot or good cold familiar odorous decent FOOD."
---Square Meals, Jane and Michael Stern, forward notes by M.F.K. Fisher [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1984 (ix)

Scientific interpretation
British Doctor Plimmer is credited for creating dietary recommendations based on nutrients illustrated in "Square Meal" format. The square was meant to make nutrition science easier for average people to understand. Here is the original Square meal diagram. Happy to provide color photo if you wish.

"For practical purposes, the easiest way in which to think about a complete diet is in the form of a diagram which we have called 'A Square Meal.' It is illusterated ...in the middle of the fronticepiece. The large circle represents the bulk of the food, the fuel foods, which consist of carbohydrate (starches and sugars) with a moderate quantity of fat. To a considerable extent the proportion of fat to carbohydrate can be varied without ill-effect, but too high a proportion of fat may upset the digestion. Th ordinary proportion is two-thirds carbohydrate to one-sixth fat, dry weight...To make a 'square meal' four corners must be added. In the diagram the corners are marked respectively...showing how they must be filled by the vitamins to make a complete daily diet...In the frontispiece the diagram of the square meal is set within a large square subdivided into four sections so it can be seen at a glance which articles of food must be provided to fill each corner. If the corners are suitably filled and the appetite satisfied with these good foods, the diet will be well balanced. Many foodstuffs in common use do not contain vitamins. Lists of these poor foods are shown on the sides of the square. They are placed for comparison outside the main square in line with the foods which contain the different vitamins. The food consituents of any meal can be checked against this standard diagram (fronticepiece) to see how closely each meal, or the day's food as a whole, approaches to 'squareness.'

"Consider a simple meal of bread and buter, meat and some green salad. The bread supplies carbohydrate...the butter supplies fat, the meat gives protein and mineral salts are contained in the bread, meat and salad. If enough of these foods be eaten to satisfy a normal appetite, fuel for warmth and energy will be provided and also building material for growth and repair. The circle is thus properly filled. To toast the 'squareness,' each corner must be considered in turn. The salad also supplies C. M will not be provided in sufficient amount unless the bread is wholemeal, as none of the other three foodstuffs supply this vitamin. The meal will not be square unless the bread is wholemeal. The lean of the meat provdes PP or B2."
---Food, Health, Vitamins, R.H.A. Plimmer and Violet Plimmer [Longmans, Green and Co. Ldt:London] 3rd edition 1928 (p. 13-15) [NOTE: Plimmers' 1st edition c. 1922 was titled Vitamins and the Choice of Food and contained no "square meal' diagram or explanation.]

Additional USA observations

[1926]
"A 'square meal' has finally been defined by British scientists after considerable discussion. The term, supposed to have originated in America, should imply more than a substantial repast, in the opinion of Dr. Harvey Henry Aldres Plimmer, professor of chemistry at the University of London. 'A square meal,' the professor says, 'should be be geometrically square, in the sense that it should embrace the cardinal points of good diet, Vitamins A, B, and C and good protein.' In his campaign against impure foods, Sir W. Armuthnot Lane, President of the New Health Society, organized just after the famous surgeon returned from a two months' visit to the United States, says: 'The nation requires not only the square meal but also the 'square deal' in regard to the safety and cleanliness..."
---"'Square Meal' is defined: It should contain three vitamins and protein, says British scientist," New York Times, March 6, 1926 (p. 3)
[NOTE: Dr. Plimmer's findings were published in the book Food, Health, Vitamins c. 1925.]

[1927]
"The familiar expression 'a square meal' may be adopted to represent a complete diet supplying all the material that the body needs, say R.H.A. Plimmer of the University of London and Violet G. Plimmer in Hygia Magazine. The center of the square is filled with the fat, carbohydrate, mineral salts and water; the corners are filled respectively with vitamins A, B, and C and protein P. The corner A represents both the fat soluble vitamin A and D, which are found in the same foods. Foods from the same corner may be used alternatively, but a food from one corner is not a substitute for one from another corner. A square meal consists of food from all four corners in suitable proportions. Some of the foods in the A corner are butter, red liver, oil, milk, egg yolk and liver. In the C corner are the fresh fruits, especially citrus fruits, tomatoes and green vegetables, either raw or very slightly cooked; the B corner contains whole meal cereal products, dried peas, beans and lentils and nuts; corer P includes meat, eggs. milk and cheese."
---"Material Needed to Make Up Square Meal," The Post [Frederick MD], January 12, 1927 (p. 2)

[1941]
"[Miss Plimmer's] square meal plan is easy to learn and easy to follow. The square meal is made from foods in four groups: Bread, Butter, Flesh and Salad. Bread includes flour, cereals, nuts, legumes, potatoes, bananas and root vegetables and dried fruits. Butter includes all kinds of fat. Flesh includes meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese and milk. Salad includes fresh or canned fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits, berries and green leaves."
---"Square Meal Rule Aids Planning Meals in Wartime," Science News Letter, October 18, 1941 (p. 246)

"Square meals make round people
"The saying "square meals make round people" was used by Mrs. August Belmont in 1920, but became popular in newspaper column beginning in 1954. 11 December 1920, New Orleans (LA) States, pg. 2, col. 1: ...Mrs. August Belmont, apropos of the girls restaurant strike in New York, said, "I approve of the strike because it was justified. The inadequate luncheons," concluded Mrs. Belmont, "these girls would look like different human beings. Square meals, you know, make round people." SOURCE: Barry Popik

"Starters (prommolsis and gustation). The aperitif was supposed to aid digestion. Aperitifs included vermouth (wormwood), spiced wine, mead or muslum; it was traditionally poured into a communal drinking-bowl and passed from guest to guest. The ritual, called potio, consolidated the sense of convivality. The promulsis might consist of oysters, marinated octopus, marinated vegetables, cauliflower, onion, garlic, snails, sea urchins, wild mushrooms and, above all, salsamentum, such as ham, bacon and especially salted fish. A Roman meal usually began with eggs and ended with fruit...Eggs were boiled, baked, or sucked raw from the shell. Patinae usually involved large numbers of eggs: hot or cold stuffed omelettes, custards, and tarts like quiches...Olives were rarely absent. Black or green and salted as they are today, they were served without further preparation. Sometimes they were pitted and ground into a kind of tapenade: epithyrum...Dishes such as epithyrum were eaten with bread, which was never absent. It was also the base for various moretum dishes...Rabbit, sow's udder and roast pork might appear as starters, but lighter dishes, like sausages, fish and meatballs, dormice, small fish and birds, were more usual."
---Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome, Patrick Faas [Palgrave MacMillan:New York] 1994 (p. 78-9)

"Salads, cooked vegetables, fungi and some light egg or fish dishes supplied the 'gustus' or hors d'oeuvre at a Roman meal."
---Food and Drink in Britain, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago:Chicago] 1991 (p. 326)

Sample starter recipes (modernized) here.

Antipasto
Antipasto denotes the dishes served before (anti) the pasta (pasto) course. These are often similar to those served for gustatio. Antipasto is also more broadly defined as 'before the meal,' referring to all food served as appetizers. Alan Davidson's Oxford Companion to Food states: "Typical itmes are olives, pieces of raw or cured ham, marinated mushrooms or other vegetables, and items of seafood. As the popularity of Italian food increased in the second half of the 20th century this term acquired wide currency in English" (p.22)

"Antipasto...is an Italian term for 'hors d'oeuvres'...English actually took the word over in the sixteenth century, and partially naturalized it to antepast ( The first mess [course], or antepast as they call it, is some fine meat to urge them to have an appetite,' quoted in the Harleian Miscellany, 1590)."
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 7)

[in the 19th century]" The debate on popular, bourgeois, and aristocratic cooking influence the structure of the meal, modifying it profoundly. Many dishes were moved to a subsequent course, while others were assigned a new role...Among the many issues related to form, the question of the antipasto was the most important. With its profusion of different foods, it was the only part of the meal that reflected the courses offered on the tables of the aristocracy. Its evolution in the bourgeois meal continued to be tied to the stimulation of appetite and the dietary organization of the menu. The success it attained in lower-middle-class festivities, in trattorie and fine restaurants, and its decline at the dinner table made it all the more enigmatic, especially since its contents altered without ever changing completely...From the historical viewpoint antipast should not really be considered in the category of hors d'oeuvre. The term antipasto first appears in the sixteenth century, and Domenico Romoli usues it in the modern sense to mean the initial course. The term "hors d'oeuvre" by contrast is used by Massailot in Paris in 1691 to indicate dishes, such as artichoke hearts or pork trotters, that served as a supplement to the first of second course, as a kind of entrements that could also be presented after the roast. Etymologically, as Panzini shows, if a meal is considered to be the main project (oeuvre), then preparations that are supplementary or marginal to it are considered outside (hors) its scope. Il cuoco piemontese (The Piedmontese cook), written in 1766, uses the term in this sense, citing supporting soups as the hors d'oeuvre but limits its use to the first course. It was only in the following century that "antipasto" and "hors d'oeuvre" became synonymous. Romoli reflects the appetizing function of this course by proposing fresh, unsalted cheese, capers, and little fritters, which are meant to stimulate the appetite without filling the stomach. It was initially a cold but very varied course..."
--Italian Cuisine: A Cultural History, Alberto Capatti & Massimo Montanari [Columbia University Press:New York] 1999 (p. 147-8)

Artusi, in Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well ( c. 1891) adds: "Appetizers or antipasti are, properly speaking, those delicious trifles that are made to be eaten either after the pasta course, as is practiced in Tuscany, which seems preferable to me, or before, as is done elsewhere in Italy. Oysters, cured meats such as prosciutto, salami, mortadella, and tongue, or seafood such as anchovies, sardines, caviar, "mosciame" (which is the salted back of the tuna fish), etc., may be served as appetizers, either alone or with butter. In addition, the fried breads I describe below make excellent appetizers." Artusi's recipes include Crostini di Capperi (canapes with capers), Crostini di Tartufi (truffle canapes), Crostini de Fegatini di Pollo (canapes with chicken livers), Crostini de Fegatini di Pollo Con La Salvia (canapes with chicken livers and sage), Crostini di Beccaccia (woodcock canapes), Crostini Diversi (various canapes), Crostini di Caviale (caviar canapes), Crostini di Accuighe (anchovy canapes), Crostini die Caviale, Acciughe E Burro (canapes with caviar, anchovies and butter), Sandwiches, Crostini de Fegatini e Acciughe (canapes with chicken livers and anchovies), Crostini di Milza (canapes with spleen), Crostini Fioriti (fancy canapes), and Baccala Montebianco (salted codfish mont blanc style). Artusi's book is easily obtained in English translation. We recommend the Murtha Maca/Stephen Sartarelli translation, Marsilio Publishers, NY ISBN 1-56886-039-0. Your librarian will be happy to help you get a copy.

MIDDLE EAST
"Appetizers, called 'maza' in Arabic, constitute one of the glories of this ancient cuisine. They serve as a foretaste of the delights to come in the meal, and are served on small dishes in what can amount to an incredible number, depending on the formality and importance of the meal. The impressive variety of these appetizers range from the simply presented olives or cheese to more complex preparations such as eggplant puree and hummus....The serving of these tidbits of food is believed to have been carried by the Arabs to the Iberian Peninsula during the 900 years the Arabs were in that part of Europe. The Spanish tradition of gathering before a meal for a drink and the sampling of endless appetizers called 'tapas', batches the Arab custom (but without the drinks for Muslims), and to a large extent this pleasant precursor to an elaborate meal is found only in the Middle East and in Spain."
---From the Lands of Figs and Olives, Habeeb Salloum & James Peters [Interlink Books:New York] 1995 (p. 22)

SPAIN
"Andalucia and its Tapas...Sevilla is also the place to go for 'tapas', whcih may be the most fun part of Andalusian cuisine...The origin of the word tapa, which literally means cover, seems to go back to the middle of the last century, from the name given to the slice of ham, cheese or bread used to cover the wineglass served to the horsemen as they arrived at the roadside inn tired and thirsty. The tapa protected the wineglass from dust or rain. In fact, the tapa was free--the patron paid only for the wine...The variety of tapas is almost as extensive as the entire Spanish gastronomy..."
---Spanish Table: The Cuisines and Wines of Spain, Marimar Torres [Doubleday:Garden City] 1986 (p. 11)

"The tapas tradition--that delightful Spanish custom of gathering before lunch and again before dinner for a glass of wine or beer and a sampling of appetizers--is so very popular in Spain as much for the Spaniard's overriding need for company and conversation as for the delicious food, which may range from the sophisticated to the most simple fare...Tapas will be found in even the smallest bar in the tiniest village. The choice in such places will typically be limited to cured ham, chorizo, and cheese, unless there is someone unusally inventive in the kitchen. But it is in the big regional centers of Madrid, Barcelona, Santiago de Compostela, Sevila, and Malaga where tapas often become inspired and are of an overwhelming variety. The Bar Gayango in Madrid is perhaps the epitome of a tapas bar, where no less than seventy-six tapas...are available...Tapas are sometimes taken on the honor system, but in general are served by waiters...The word tapa, meaning cover or lid, is thought to have originally referenced to the complimentary plate of appetizers that many tascas would place on top of one's wineglass--like a "cover." Anything, however, served in small portions can be considered a tapa...Tapas and first course dishes are often interchangeable...While it is obvious that canapes and tartlets would be served only as tapas, any of the clam or mussel dishes are also excellent as first-course offerings."
---Foods and Wines of Spain, Penelope Casas [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1982 (p. 3-4)
[NOTE: This book contains recipes for several popular tapas items.]

"Tapas are savour snacks served in Spanish bars, and typically washed down with glasses of cold vino or manzanilla sherry. They are now of considerable diversity, ranging from simple olives, potato salad, and small spicy sausages to fried shrimps, stuffed peppers, and squid cooked in its ink. The word tapa literally means 'lid' in Spanish, and its gastronomic application comes from the practice of covering glasses or jugs of drink on the bar with edible 'lids', such as a piece of bread or sausage, to keep out the flies."
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 336)

RUSSIA
"The masterpiece of Russian cuisine is the 'zakuski', or hors d'oeuvre, ceremony. Limited to the role of an overture in other cuisines, 'zakuski' are the equivalent of a whole first movement in a formal dinner...By the early nineteenth century, it became fashionable in sophisticated homes to serve 'zakuski' on a separate table in the dining room or in an adjacent room, where they were eaten buffet-style. In a less formal arrangement, the diners were seated around the dining table on which a variety of hors d'oeuvre was displayed. In restaruants, hors d'oeuvre were served one at a time or in groups at the dining table....Depending upon the occasion and their financial position of the hosts, the 'zakuski' menu included:
one or more fish hors d'oeuvre
one or meat hors d'oeuvre
one or more salads and vegetable hors d'oeuvre
one or more egg hors d'oeuvre
marinated and/or salt-pickled vegetables and mushrooms and marinated fruits (plums, apples, and others)
condiments: mustard, horseradish, and freshly ground pepper
fresh whit and dark breads..."
---The Art of Russian Cuisine, Anne Volokh [Collier Books:New York] 1983 (p. 11-13) [chapter on zakuski is about 60 pages long, includes recipes.]

CHINA
Dim Sum plays a very special role in the Cantonese meal.

FRANCE
"First course...The appetizers [early 19th century middle class France] Four tureens of different soups were placed at the corners of the table, while the entrees--light 'made dishes' indended to serve as an introduction to the most substantial meats that came later--were ranged tidily along the sides (hence 'side dishes'). When the soups had been disposed of, the tureens were removed and replaced with four dishes of fish (hence the name releve, or 'remove', for this second installment of the first course). This was not all, however. The peaceful consumption of soup, fish and entrees was constantly interrupted by servants offering platters of salted or preserved meats, or hot dishes of kidneys, liver and the like. These, which were in effect hors d'oeuvre ('extras') designed to stimulate the gastric juices..."
---Food in History, Reay Tannahill [Crown:New York] 1988 (p. 297)

"Hors d'oeuvres...a French term which has been current in a food context since the 17th century (In England, only from the 18th), indicating minor, usually cold, items of food served at the beginning of a meal. In the 20th century, until quite recent times the hors d'oeuvres trolley was a familiar sight in restaurants, incorporating up to several dozen little recipients containing the various delicacies on offer. Typical items would be anchovies, sardines, slices of smoked fish, olives, radishes, sliced tomato (or other salad vegetable), various sorts of sausage and other charcuterie, etc. Hot hors d'oeuvres could be miniature savoury pastries or tiny fritters or other similar tidbits; but these do not belong to the mainstream hors d'oeuvres tradition."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 387)

[1869]

"Hors-d'Oeuvre in General Use. In this chapter I give a selected list of the hors-d'oeuvre most in use in ordinary households; it may be objected, that these belong rather to the maitre d'hotel's department, than to the cook's; but this will not be the case in smaller establishments, where the plain cook will have to attend to these, in addition to her ordinary work; this list of hors-d'oeuvre has therefore appeared to me to have its proper place in domestic cookery. It is customary to dish up hors-d'oeuvre in small oval dishes or flat boats."
---The Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffe, translated by Alphonse Gouffe [Sampson Low, Son and Marston:London] 1869 (p. 76)
[NOTE: Gouffe's Hors' d'oeuvre selections are: radishes (raw, with dressing), Butter (shaped like shells), Gherkins (served in a boat with vinegar), Lyons Bologna or German Sausage (served cold with parsley), Olives (green), Anchovies (trimmed & served with oil), Sardines, (tinned, garnished with parsley & capers, covered with oil), Pickled herrings (served with oil, parsley & capers), Pickled oysters (sprinkle parsley on top), Mixed pickles (arranged tastefully), Cucumber (topped with ravigote), Raw artichokes a la Poivrade (seasoned with vinegar, oil, pepper & salt), Black radish (peeled, sliced & served in a boat).]

[1903]

"Cold and Hot Hors-d'Oeuvre
The name of these types of preparation clearly defines their place in the menu. They are adjuncts, and if omitted from the menu should not alter the general harmony of the meal, especially where dinner menus are concerned. It is therefore indicated that they should be composed of light items of a delicate nature and they should not constitute a complete dish in themselves. But if these items are any less in terms of quantity they should be compensated for this by being of an excellent taste and by giving careful attention to the presentation--both of these should be above reproach. There are two types--cold Hors-d'oeuvre and hot Hors-d'oeuvre--each being entirely different from the other, both from the point of view of preparation and service...As a general rule cold Hors-d'oeuvre are suitable only in a meal which does not include a soup...However, this rule is not always observed especially in a la Carte restaurants; it is a means more usually of serving de-luxe Hors-d'oeuvre such as caviare, oysters, plovers' eggs etc. which do not have an undue influence on the digestion as would be so in the case of fish, salads and marinated vegetables. It is often noted that at least most of the time when these are offered, their use as Hors-d'oeuvre is nothing more than an expedient to occupy the customer whilst waiting for the preparation of the dishes he may have ordered (p. 120)...The hot Hors-d'oeuvre of our modern service are the old Entrees Volantes or side dishes of the French Service which have survived but with a change of name; their use, however, remains the same. They sometimes figure on luncheon menus together with cold Hors-d'oeuvre coming after them, but their real place is on the dinner menu where they come after the soup and serve as a link between this and the main dishes. Nowadays, there is an unfortunate tendency to exaggerate the amount and importance of hot Hors-d'oeuvre: it is too easily forgotten that the essential characteristic of these preparations is their lightness and delicacy. From the point of view of gastronomic logic they can be deemed superfluous and nothing except custom justifies their use. (P. 133)
---Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier [1903], first translation into English by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann of Le Guide Culinare in its entirety [John Wiley:New York] 1979

ENGLAND
What about Victorian appetizers?
According to The Cassells' New Universal Cookery Book, Lizzie Heritage [Cassell and Company:London] 1894, the British were not completely committed to the idea of hors d'oeuvres.

SWEDEN
Sweden's traditional smorgasbord offers guests a variety of small foods presented on a common table. It can be complicated (with courses) or simple (small foods meant as appetizers). Guests are invited to help themselves to whatever pleases them. Smorgasbord relates to the American "cocktail hour" in that these foods are typically offered with alcoholic drinks, similar to hors d'oeuvres.

"Smorgasbord. The best-known feature of the cuisine of Sweden, is related to the Russian Zakuski and also to Hors D'oeuvres and Mezze, but less closely to Tapas. It assumed something like its present form in the course of the 19th century, following old traditions of placing all foods on the table at once and of guests bringing their own contributions. Nowadays, it is usually prepared by the hostess, without contributions, and consists in an assortment of cold dishes, cometimes supplemented by hot ones, served either as the preliminary to a meal...or as a full buffet meal. The literal meaning of the term is 'buttered-bread table', which might lead one to expect an array of open sandwiches. In practice the various savoury items (cured herring in various forms, other seafood delicacies, cold meats, various salads, and cheeses) are presented with various Swedish crispbreads or the like, and only a few items, if any, would appear as miniature open sandwiches. When smorgasbord is a full buffet meal, a typical sequence of course' would be herring (always first); other seafood items such as gravlaks; what are called small warm dishes'...cold meats and the like; cheese/fruit/light dessert."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 727)

About Swedish smorgasbord in the United States

"Smorgasbord. A buffet meal of Swedish origins that has become in this century a very popular party spread. The word...first appeared in American print in 1893. The idea soon caught on, so that by 1941 the West Hartford Ladies Aid Society Swedish American Cook Book listed several suggestions for a smorgasbord, including the following items: butter balls, Swedish rye bread, pumpernickel, hardtack, pickled herring, baked ham, smoked tongue, lingonberries, radish roses, omelets, "Rulle Pulse" (rolled pressed lamb), "liver pastej" (liver paste), jellied veal, head cheese, hot Swedish meatballs, Swedish pork sausage, brown beans, Swedish fish pudding, smoked salmon, stuffed eggs, potato salad, "sill salad" (herring salad), meat and potato sausage, fruit salad, Swedish apple cake, and coffee with cream. Today smorgasbords may still contain many of these same times, as well as dishes from other countries."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p 298)

"[The Fifties] While French cooking carried the most cachet (and was considered the most difficult), Scandinavian cookery--to go with the plethora of blond Danish Modern furniture and bright -colored Dansk pots decorating the choicest homes--was In, In, In. And though Scandinavian restaurants were popular...Scandinavian food was most often found a buffet parties. For what could be more modern, more chic, more fun, and easier, than a smorgasbord at a party? Said House & Garden (November 1959), "As a good delicatessen can supply the bulk of the fish appetizers, cold cuts, Scandinavian cheese and breads, you can afford to spend time making salads and hot foods and preparing and garnishing one or two spectacular dishes such as a Swedish salmon in aspic." Decorations for a smorgasbord were easy, too. All the hostess needed were a few Swedish straw stars, some slim white candles, and the food, arrayed on teak trays, Swedish crystal bowel, and gleaming chafing dishes. To go with the food: beer and aquivit...and pots of strong, hot coffee...Salmon in aspic never caught on big as a party dish, but Swedish meatballs became an American standard for both home eating and for buffets.
---Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads, Sylvia Lovegren [MacMillan:New York] 1995 (p. 203-4)

"About Smorgasbord. This Scandinavian spread has bee in this country so thoroughly adapted to the casusal cocktail hour that some of us have lost sight of its original importance. Smorgasgord in its original country is a square meal in itself, not the prelude to one. Its mainstays of meat and fish--and the aquavit which washes them down--are climactic inperatives when subarctic weather hovers for months outside the door...The food of which a somrgasbord is traditionally composed are sufficeitnly dissimilar to require at least three plates and silver services per person...Typical of those [dishes] first presented are herring, hot and cold, smoked el, salmon or shellfish--a served with small boiled potatoes, seasoned with dill-and at least three kinds of bread with small mountains of butter balls...With the first change of plate come cheeses, deviled eggs, pancakes and omelets with lingonberries, sausages, marinated and pickled vegetables and aspics. With the next, hot foods follow, such as meatballs, ham with apples, goose with prunes, tongue and baked beans."
---Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker [Bobbs-Merrill:Indianapolis IN] 1962 (p. 61)

Wondering about Swedish meatballs?

"General Remarks"
The custom among Continental nations of commencing dinner with some savory plate, which shall stimulate a jaded appetite or serve as a whet to the palate, is gaining ground, probably more in deference to fashion than from individual requirement. As to the wisdom of the practice, much difference of opinion exists. On the one hand, it is asserted that such dishes are injurious, where appetite and digestion are lacking, and that given a good appetitie, they are quite unnecessary; while on the other, it is urged that they are in many cases of real benefit. But between the two extremes--from the Russian habit of indulging in several varieties of highly-flavoured food, followed by strong liqueur or spirit, to the oyster served au naturel, declared by many to be the hors d'oeuvre par excellence--there is ample scope for the introduction of little dishes, appetising and free from injurious properties.

It should be remembered tht while over-elaboration should be guarded against, in such as precede a simple dinner, careless service is inexcusable. Dainty service and suitable garnish must not be neglected; tiny dishes of glass or white china, holding just enough for one person, are most suitable and effective for dotting about the table; though for less ceremonious occasions large dishes may be used, say two or three, each containing a distinct variety.

The following list will enable a selection to be made, and suggest many other combinations. The chief materials available are anchovies, anchovy paste or butter, beetroot, capers, cress, celery, chervil, cods' roe paste, cucumber, caviare, herring roes or filets, marinaded herrings, lemons, lax (Norwegian salmon), mussels, olives plain or stuffed; oysters, pickles, smoked ham, sausages, tongue, &c.; tarragon, tomatoes, &c. &c. Various potted meats, fish pastes, and butters, play an important part in the garnishing of the dishes. Many small savouries which would also be served as Hors D'Oeuvres will be found under that and other headings later on...." (p.21)

Recipes in this book include Anchovies, Bouchees de Harengs, Bouchees de Saumon, Caviare, Devilled, Canapes a la Premier, Canapes d'Olives, Croutons a l'Alberta, Sardines in Aspic, Shrimps a la Dorisa and Hors D'Oeuvres Assortis. (p. 21-23)

From the Oxford English Dictionary:
3b. A dish eaten as the first course of a meal, before the main course (also in pl.). colloq.
1966 Sunday Express 16 Oct. 18/3 You get a three-course dinner, with four ‘starter’ courses and seven main dishes to choose from, and a sweet. 1966 Vogue Nov. 154/3 Starters include fish soup, cock-a-leekie, duck-liver pâté. 1966 Woman 24 Sept. Pullout 1 (heading) A starter. A main dish. A dessert. 1968 New Society 22 Aug. 266/1 The first course of a meal is sometimes called a ‘starter’, which is perhaps not so much non-U as jargon. 1969 P. Highsmith Tremor of Forgery xvii. 155 ‘Try this Tunisian starter. Turns up on every menu.’ He meant the antipasto of tuna, olives, and tomatoes.

The word "starter" can also mean the natural spontaneous leavening used for making sourdough bread.

Breakfast, like most meals, is a moveable feast that depends upon cuisine, culture, and class. Food historians agree on these three points when it comes to breakfast:

1. Most people, in most times (including today) were lucky to partake of this meal.
2. For most people, in most times (including today) this meal was very simple.
3. Breakfasts composed of multiple dishes are the priviledge of the leisured wealthy.

ABOUT AMERICAN BREAKFAST

The history of the American breakfast is a reflection of the history of our country. What people ate for breakfast, how much, and when evolved as our country progressed from native culture to agrarian society, through the industrial revolution and onto modern days. Most traditional American breakfast items were brought here by the people who settled our country. Historians confirm eggs (esp. omeletes), sausage, and pancake-type foods have been enjoyed since Ancient Rome and Greece.

Breakfast also tells the story of social interaction and scientific advancement:

• colonists learned to incorporate "new world" foods into their diets (corn muffins, grits)
• immigrants brought traditional foods (kuchen, potato pancakes, doughnuts)
• pioneers learned to adapt their foods for wagon cooking (cowboy coffee, biscuits)
• 19th century food reformers advocated a healthy diet (corn flakes, granola)
• modern convenience (pop tarts, Egg McMuffins, frozen bagels)
• nutrition legislation (school breakfast programs)
• scientific advancement (instant oatmeal, cholesterol-free egg beaters, low-fat bacon)
• restaurant business (doughnut shops, 24 hour diners, elaborate Sunday brunches)
• Second breakfast

What time was breakfast? What was typically consumed at this meal throughout American history? This is a fascinating study. The answers depend upon who you were, where you lived, how much money you had, and what you did for a living. As a rule, the more money you had, the more you ate, the later you ate it, and the more time you spent around the table. Throughout our country's history, it is not unusual for many hard workers to put in a couple of hours of work BEFORE breakfast.

"Even more elusive is the evidence for breakfast. Judging from cookbooks and dietary literature there was no such meal, or at least it was only recommended for children, invalids and the elderly who have weak digestive systems and must eat smaller meals more frequently. Nevertheless, there was such a meal, and some people took it regularly. The word itself comes from the late Latin disjejunare, meaning "to un-fast' or break the fast of the evening. Remarkably, the word was contracted in the Romance languages to disnare or disner in Olde French, or dinner in English. Thus the word dinner actually means breakfast. But the word is not recorded in English until 1463 in a royal account book that records expenses for breakfast, but it is not entirely clear whether this was an early dinner or another meal, the one we know know as breakfast, eaten first thing in the morning."
---Food in Early Modern Europe, Ken Albala [Greenwood Press:Westport CT] 2003 (p. 232)

"Breakfast...Native American breakfast consisted of cornmeal mush and perhaps cornbread, both items the first European settlers adapted for their own breakfasts. The settlers also breakfasted on a quickly prepared porridge called "hasty pudding," made with cornmeal and molasses. Later bread or toast and coffee or tea were the usual breakfast, while in the nineteenth century affluence brought more variety to the diet and larger portions of meats, fish, cheese, bread, jams, and often a tot of rum or cider. Also popular were pancakes, especially buckwheat pancakes, which were consumed in stacks with butter and molasses or maple syrup... In different parts of the United States different food items are served for breakfast, although a meals of eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee seem ubiquitious, with the addition in the South of grits, ham, or biscuits, in the West with chile peppers, and in the Northeast with sausages and hash-brown potatoes, and in urban restaurants with preparations of eggs benedict, finnan haddie, melon, french toast, caviar, waffles, Danish pastry, fruit, English muffins, and many other items In Jewish communities breakfast may consist of bagels and cream cheese. The popularity of breakfast cereals began in the middle of the nineteenth century and has continued since then, especially a children's breakfast item."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 41-2)
[NOTE: This book is an excellent resource for historic profiles of selected foods. Ask your librarian to help you find a copy]

Why do many Americans think of eggs & bacon as breakfast?

Excellent question! With no definative answer. The American habit of breakfasting with eggs and pork products (bacon, sausage, Taylor Pork Roll) descends from British roots. General notes traditional English breakfasts here. Why eggs in the morning? Some hypothesize the practice descends from the days when many people had their own chickens, hense ready eggs supply. Eggs were harvested in the morning. The fresher the egg, the tastier it was. Immediate consumption might also been a a convenience to the cook: eggs eaten are eggs that do not need to be stored. And then, there's the practical side. Eggs cook quickly.

RECOMMENDED READING

• Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith, Volume 1 "Breakfast Foods," (p. 127-134)
  ---excellent historical and regional overview; includes bibliography for further study
• Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet, Harvey Levenstein
  ---food fads and technological impact

Some traditional American breakfast foods:

• Bagels
• Breakfast cereal inventory
• Coffee
• Coffee cake
• Doughnuts
• Eggs
• French toast
• Hominy/grits
• Milk
• Orange juice
• Pancakes & crepes
• Pop Tarts
• Toast
• Waffles

"TRADITIONAL AMERICAN BREAKFAST" THROUGH HISTORY
Of course, what people eat in all times depends upon who they are (ethnicity/religion), where they live (New Orleans? Boston? Des Moines?) and how much money they have (the wealthy usually have more food choices than the poor). The following menus are not indicative of what all Americans were eating during specific period. The idea of one homogenous American breakfast table is a 20th century concept made possible by national-level food production and distribution. If you are researching the breakfast habits connected with a specific people/place/period please let us know.

[Colonial era]
Virginia breakfasts

[18th century]
Breakfast at Monticello

[19th century]

• [1868: New York]
  "Breakfast. We are of the opinion that everybody out to eat as little meat as possible, and drink no wine, beer, or any other liquor at breakfast, no matter what the sex or age, except when prescribed by the physician in case of sickness, disability, etc. The food may be selected from the following: Bread and Butter, Eggs, Omelets, Fried Fish, Fried Potatoes, or other vegetables, Sardines, Fruit, according to the season. As for meat, in case some should be eaten, it ought to be cold, such as fowl or veal, cooked the day before. Muffins, and other cakes or pastes, served warm, are very bad for the stomach and teeth. The beverage ought to be either coffee, with milk, chocolate, cocoa, choca, or cold water, but do not by any means drink tea at breakfast. Although cold meat is not by far so injurious as warm meat for breakfast, it ought, nevertheless, to be as little partaked of as possible, and especially by the young."
  ---What to Eat and How to Cook It, Pierre Blot [D. Appleton:New York] 1863 (p. 247-8)
• [1876: St. Louis] Breakfast, Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving, Mary F. Henderson
• [1877: Minnesota] Bills of Fare, Buckeye Cookery, Estelle Woods Wilcox
• [1892: Battle Creek, Michigan] Breakfast Dishes, Science in the Kitchen, Ella Eaton Kellogg
• [1896: Boston] Breakfast Menus, Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Fannie Farmer

20th century

• [1909: New York City] "New York City's Breakfast And It's Cost," New York Times, February 14, 1909 (p. SM10)
• Pictures of American cereal boxes & prizes from the 1950s (fun stuff!): I & II (scroll down to the end of the page)
• If you want to research 20th century American restaurant menus, use the Los Angeles Public Library's Digital Menu Collection---keyword breakfast & cross it with a decade (193*)

COMPARE WITH BRITISH BREAKFAST HABITS

"If the British are known for any culinary achievement it is the great British breakfast and it was in this century that it achieved its status. Even in the nineteenth century bacon for breakfast would become almost de rigeur, even for the lower classes, as long as thy could afford it...At the beginning of Victoria's reign the essence of the breakfast, eggs and bacon, with the eggs cooked in a variety of ways, had already become the expected way to start the day. The meal began with porridge or cream of oatmeal...continued with the cooked part, and finished with toast and marmalade; coffee or tea was drunk with it. Both the porridge and the eggs and bacon could be cooked beforehand and left in heated dishes upon the sideboard for the master and mistress to help themselves...As the family became richer the breakfast grew, almost as a reflection of the power and affluence of the British Empire iteslf."
---British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History, Colin Spencer [Columbia University Press:New York] 2002 (p. 259-60)
[See also: brunch.]

What is the current "traditional" English breakfast?

SURVEY OF BRITISH BREAKFASTS THROUGH TIME

[Medieval times]

"...what were the mealtimes and how often did people eat in a day? The very poor doubtless ate when they could, but the slightly better-off peasants seem generally to have eaten three times a day. These meals consisted of breakfast at a very early hour to allow for dinner at about 9.00 a.m., or not later than 10.00 a.m., and supper probably before it got dark, perhaps at 3 p.m. in the winter, The times and number of meals were originally derived from the hours of devotions of the Church. Monks ate the main meal of their day after the celebration of nones, which was nine hours after daybreak...It has been suggested that breakfast was only eaten by children and workmen, but certainly by the fifteenth century it was quite commonly taken by everyone. Breakfast was regularly allowed for in the accounts of Dame Alice de Bryene at the beginning of the fifteenth century, although the 1478 household ordinance of Edward IV specifies that only residents down to the rank of squires should have breakfast, except by special order...The time was only specified as a convenyent hower', although to break one's fast after devotions was the generally recommended procedure. Earlier references to breakfast sometimes meant dinner, literally, in these cases, the first meal of the day."
---Food and Feast in Medieval England, P.W. Hammond [Wren's Park:Phoenix Mill] 1993 (p.104-5)

"For those who had the means or lived in a region where wine was plentiful and cheap, pieces of bread, or "sops," soaked in wine were a popular breakfast."
---Food in Medieval Times, Melitta Weiss Adamson [Greenwood Press:Wesport CT] 2004 (p. 51)

"People in the Middle Agest usually ate two meals a day: as substantial dinner around noon, and a light supper in the evening...Although not officially recognized as a meal through most of the Middle Ages and frowned on by moralists, breaking the overnight fast too soon for an early-morning breakfast was a comon practice among peasants and craftsmen, who started work at daybreak and found it hard to hold out until dinner. By the fifteenth century, the nobility, too, began the day with bread, meat, and ale. Also traditionally allowed a small morning meal were children, the elderly, and the sick. Grown men, not wanting to be associated with these groups, tended to feel apologetic or embarrassed to admit that they had breakfast."
---ibid (p. 155)

[Tudor period]

"The 'traditional' large British breakfast was not something the Tudors indulged in. Some did not eat breakfast at all, while those who did generally enjoyed a light meal of bread and sometimes cold meat. At Court, only dinner and supper were served, and Thomas Tusser recommended that servants should not be allowed to sit down to eat before they had done some work."
---Food and Feast in Tudor England, Alison Sim [Sutton Publishing:Phoenix Mill] 1997 (p. 86)

"Breakfast was not a family meal: those who took it (and not all did) had it in their rooms."
---Elizabethan England, A.H. Dodd [B.T. Batsford:London] 1973(p. 92)

What kinds of food were available in Tudor England? If you need to serve a Tudor breakfast you might consider toasted bread with marmelade and some (cold) ham. Tudors didn't drink coffee or tea. They drank ale (beer) with most of their meals!

[1660s]
"Breakfast when eaten, had no coffee or tea until the early seventeenth century. Beer or ale served as beverage. The meal varied with individuals, depending upon their prosperity, but usually consisted of a slice of bread, a glass of ale, beer, or dry wine. Pepys speaks mostly of "drinking my morning draft" at some ale house...The morning draught' at the inn, was, in fact, the ordinary breakfast of the majoity of Englishmen at this time...Pepys did indulge in breakfast. He mentions breakfast dishes sucha s these "turkey pie and goose, mackerel, pickeled oysters, beef, cake and ale, collar of brawn, b read, butter and sweetmeats, cold chine of pork, hashed mutton, dish of cold creame, creame and cakes," and he sices one breakfast menu consisting of "neat's tongue, wines of all sorts, ale, anchoves, a baffel of oysters, and gammon of bacon." He also mentions a pot of chocolate several times, which he bought at the inn. Chocolate was introduced into England about the year 1652...Pepys also writes of going into an inn where he "did send for a cup of tee (a China drink) of which I never drank before."...Tea is said to have been sold in England as early as 1635...and presents of it were considered appropriate for princes and other grandees until the year 1657..."
---"Dining With Pepys in Seventeenth Century England," Margaret Alberi Flynn, Essays on the History of Nutrition and Dietetics [American Dietetic Association:Chicago IL] 1967 (p. 129)

[Georgian & Regency periods] The Elegance of Breakfast

[1780]
"10a.m. A substantial and highly conversational meal, to which visitors are invited, and which can last hours. Cold roast beer, cheese, ale, fish, eggs, often chops and steaks. Tea, toast, bread, butter, and-for those who can afford it-coffee, chocolate, and cakes."

[1815]
"For the leisurely, 10 a.m.; for the less leisurely 9 a.m.; for the busy lawyers, copyists, shop assistants and so forth 8 a.m. or earlier. Tea and coffee, replacing ale...At Headlong Hall...the hospitable butler stood sentinel at a side-table near the fire, copiously furnished with all the appratus of tea, coffee, chocolate, milk, cream, eggs, rolls, toast, muffins, bread, butter, potted beef, cold fowl, and partridge, ham, tongue, and anchovy."

[1835]
"Now more commonly held before 9 a.m.. Less formal and punctual than before. Losing some of its social flavour and prestige to luncheon. Though still including a variety of grilled dishes, hot toast, fancy breads, butter, and jams are becoming more prominent."

[1840s]
"Already, in 1840, breakfast was becoming more substantial, earlier, and less social, and the tendency spread and crystallized until, but 1860, the meal had a pronouced menu of its own."

[1854]
"As early as 1854...the White Lion fortified its guests against a wet Sunday morning with pot of hare; ditto of trout; pot of prepared shrimps; dish of plain shrimps; tin of sardines; beautiful beefsteak; eggs, muffin; large loaf, and butter, not forgetting capital tea'."

[1860s]
"In town 8-8.15 a.m., in the country 9-10 a.m. For the middle and upper-middle classes in town, a brief family meal, including cold meats and hot dishes. No guest unless especially invited. In the country, a more leisurely meal."

[1861] Breakfasts, Mrs. Beeton (#2144-2146)

[1900]
Early morning. 8 a.m. For the fortunate, a tray with tea and bread and butter brought to them, while still in bed, by a maid. Breakfast: London businessmen and their families, 8-8.30 a.m. Chops and cold meats are no longer served; instead, kedgeree or a fried slip with buttered eggs and bacon.

[1930s]
About 8 a.m., earlier for the poor, later for the rich. For the rich, toast, butter, marmalade, porridge, other cereals, eggs, bacon, fruit. The poorer classes do without fruits, cereals, and marmalade, eat less bacon and eggs, and often substitute margarine for butter. The well-to-do drink coffee and tea, others only tea."
[SOURCES: Consuming Culture: Why You Eat What You Eat, Jeremy MacClancy [Henry Holt:New York] 1992 & Movable Feasts: A Reconnaissance of the Origins and Consequences of Fluctuation in Meal-Times with special attention to the introduction of Luncheon and Afternoon Tea, Arnold Palmer, Oxford University Press:London, 1952.]

LOOKING FOR CURRENT BREAKFAST CUSTOMS AROUND THE WORLD?

Breakfast Around The World
---brief descriptions of traditional breakfast of many countries, some with historic notes. Clickable map makes this site easy to use.

If you need more information, ask your librarian to help you find these books:

1. The International breakfast book: greet the day with 100 recipes from around the world/ Martha Hollis
2. Around the world on a breakfast tray/John Tissot
3. The complete international breakfast/brunch cookbook / Kay Shaw Nelson

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
Food historians generally define "continental breakfast" as a small morning meal consisting of coffee and bread products. The "continental" designation means continental Europe, excluding Great Britain, which is well known for its traditional large meat and egg-based breakfasts. Most often this meal is connected with France. Why? The original name for it was "petit dejeuner."

Acccording to the Larousse de la Langue Francaise [Librarie Larousse:Paris] 1979 (p. 511), the word 'dejeuner', meaning "to take a meal in the morning or afternoon," dates in print to 1155. The term petit dejeuner' was in use by 1540.

"What appears to have happened is that as dinner moved later in the day, people were hungrier first thing in the morning, especially when the evening meal was relatively small. In countries where the evening meal was larger, breakfast did not become important. In southern Europe it is still not a proper meal, but merely coffee and perhaps a piece of bread or pastry. In England and the north the pattern was quite different."
---Food in Early Modern Europe, Ken Albala [Greenwood Press:Westport CT] 2003 (p. 232,234)

"Breakfast. The first meal of the day, which literally breaks the fast of the night. Two quite different breakfast traditions can be traced--the first hot drink (and pick-me-up) of the day, and the first meal of the day, which is much more substantial. In France this is the petit dejeuner, milky coffee with bread in some form, not commonly called the 'continental' breakfast, and often bought in the cafe, on the way to work...Other simple foods that are popular for breakfast include fresh fruit and yogurt."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely Revised and Updated [Clarkson Potter:New York] 2001 (p. 161-2)

Continental breakfast was known to Americans by the turn of the 20th century. According to this article from the New York Times, it was not very popular.

"Undoubtedly it is true that during the past few years there has been a well defined effort to substitute the Continental breakfast of rolls and coffee for the hearty meal of many dishes that has so long been served in this country but, though this project has received the support of more than one American of high social station, it has failed ignominously, and simply because the great mass of the people agree with William Dean Howells in designating breakfast as their "best meal."
---"Game and Other Delicacies More Expensive...The American Breakfast," New York Times, October 20, 1907 (p. X5)

If you are a culinary/business student studying the "business" aspects of continental breakfast (consumer preference, market trends, innovative ideas) ask your librarian how to access magazine and newspaper articles. Here you will find notes from travel magazines, hospitality journals (free continental breakfast as a guest incentive) and foodservice trades (what's new in continental breakfast?).

Where and when was "brunch" first referenced in print?
Food historians all cite to the same source(s) but none of them quote from them directly. We have a copy of the original Punch article [August 1, 1896]. We're still searching for the oft-quoted, but vaguely dated [1895] Hunter's Weekly reference. If you have a copy, would you please share it with us?

Conventional wisdom:
"As a family became richer the breakfast grew, almost as a reflection of the power and afflucence of the British Empire itself. As the map of the world glowed pink, the sideboard in the morning room began to be laden with extra dishes. It already had a choice of cold cuts, comprised of sliced meats, and perhaps even a whole leg of ham or tongue...it was a short step to dipping chicken or pheasant legs in mustard and heating them up in the oven...A Breakfast Book of 1865, suggesting a huge number of other dishes...brawn, pickled pork, cures and devilled bones, fried potatoes, pork chops, veal cutlets, bloaters and anchovies. As well as this, the cook could make us dishes like ham toast, croquettes, hashed game and rissoles...Then there were savoury puddings, savoury pies, galantines and meat in jelly...Major L., who published Breakfasts, Luncheons, and Ball Suppers in 1887, divides breakfast into four types: the family breakfast; the dejeuner a la fourchette, where the items were introduced in courses similar to dinner; a cold collations (which must produce an ornamental effect); and the amigu which is an entertainment of a very heterogenous character, having the resemblance to a dinner, only that everything is placed on the table at once; releves, soup, vegetables, and hot entremets are held to be ineligeble...These are breakfasts designed for the weekend house party; Major L. suggests that they should contain a variety of items and he repeats much of what we hav heard before: he thinks that sportsmen can eat whatever they like, but he is concerned that ladies should be more abstemious though he admits that they rarely eat meat for breakfast'. By meat he means roasts and cutlets becuase then he goes on to list what ladies may eat; this includes ham, bacon, chicken, kidneys, roast larks, broiled duckings and devilled turkey...Such opulence and conspicious consumption of luxuries is reminscent of Renaissance princes, medieval kings and Roman emperors."
---British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History, Colin Spencer [Columbia University Press:New York] 2002 (p. 260-1)

"Although the meal itself came to glory in the United States, the word is a British invention, coined in 1895 by Guy Beringer in a visionary article titled "Brunch: A Plea." Instead of England's early, a postchurch ordeal of heavy meats and savory pies, the author wrote, why not a new meal, served around noon, that starts with tea or coffee, marmalade and other breakfast fixtures before moving along to the heavier fare? By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday-night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well. "Brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting," Beringer wrote. "It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.""
--- "At Brunch, The More Bizarre The Better," The New York Times, July 8, 1998 (p. F1)

[1863:USA]
The earliest description we find for "brunch" describes the meal perfectly including the odd timimg:
"We do not understand by breakfast a meal taken under that name in the afternoon; then it should be called dinner, or at least lunch; at such a meal, the following dishes may be served:

Calve's head, served cold, Cervelas of any kind found at pork butchers, Headcheese, Mutton Chops, Veal Cutlets, Eggs cooked in any way, Fried Fish, Fruit according to the season, Galantine of Birds, Galantine of Veal, Ham, Cold Meat of any kind, Oysters, Omelets, Pate de foie gras, Meat and Fruit Pies, served cold, Salad of Chicken, Salad of Partridge and other birds, Salad of Lobster, Sandwiches, Sardines, Sausages of any kind, fresh or smoked, Smoked Fish or Meat, Fried Vegetables, Drinks according to taste."
---What to Eat and How to Cook It, Pierre Blot [D. Appleton:New York] 1863 (p. 248)

[1896:UK]
"Brunch v. Blunch! According to the Lady, to be fashionable nowadays we must 'brunch.' Truly an excellelnt portmanteuar word, introduced; by the way, last year, by Mr. Guy Beringer, in the now defunct Hunters Weekly, and indicatying a combined breakfast and lunch. At Oxford, however, two years ago, an important distinction was drawn. The combination-meal whn nearer the usual breakfast hour, is 'brunch' and, when nearer to luncheon, is 'blunch.' Please don't forget this." ---"Fashionable and Seasonable," Punch, August 1, 1896 (p. 58)

[1900:UK]
"Brunch. Sir,--We were much interested in seeing in the Academuy of December 15 an allusion to the word 'brunch.' Does the poet of the Westminster Gazette think he has invented it? If so, it is another case of plagiarism. This useful word was introduced to us about four years ago by a youthful subaltern of artillery, since when we have used it constantly. There are some other words of the same type which we might mention. 'Brupper' is the joyous meal you have after a very late dance, for instance, and consists of supper, which might almost be breakfast. 'Brea' is early morning tea, or chota haziri. 'Tunch' is rather a common meal in the country, and would be partaken of on coming back late in the afternoon, after a long morning's hunting or bicycling; some people call it 'an egg to their tea.' 'Brinner,' on the contrary, can only be eaten by those people whose custom it is to dine heavily in the middle of the day. Germans probably find it a favouritemeal. But, of course, 'brunch is undoubtedly far the best of them all, and is, indeed, as you remark the 'resource of the indolent.'--I am, &c. M."
---"Brunch," The Academy,[London] December 29, 1900 (p. 650-651)

[1924:USA]
"Guests are usually invited to luncheon, supper, or dinner, but there is a type of company meal which may be successfully used on holidays-the company breakfast, generally held not earlier than half-past ten or eleven in the morning; the menu is of the same nature as the French dejeuner--or what is laughingly called "brunch" in England--the combination in reality of breakfast and luncheon.

Company Breakfast Menus

A Winter Breakfast
Grapefruit
Broiled Ham (sliced thin) Potatoes au Gratin
Buttered Toast
Waffles (Electric Waffile Iron) Maple Syrup or Strawberry Jam
Coffee Tea

A Summer Breakfast
Raspberries or Blackberries Cream
Shirred Eggs, Swiss Style
Popovers or Potato Flour Muffins Butter
Coffee"

---Mrs. Allen on Cooking, Menus, Service, Ida C. Baily Allen [Doubleday:New York] 1924 (p. 872)

[1931]
"'Brunches' (Late Bridge Breakfast)...'Brunch,' the eleven-o-the morning social event is decidedly the vogue this year in Los Angeles. Because of the unconventionality of the hour the 'Brunch' menu, as the name implies, has the elements of both breakfast and luncheon, creating a repast wholly new and distinctive. Marian Manners, Director, Los Angeles Times Home Service Bureau, will demonstrate two delicious menus for 'Brunches,' correct in every detail, emanating the spirit of this smart, modern innovation. Every woman reader of The Times is cordially invited to attend this program. No obligations whatsoever...Free file-size recipe...Bring a friend and 'learn about brunches.'
The Informal Brunch: Tomato Juice, Popovers, Planked Corned Beef Hash with Eggs, Coffee The Formal Brunch: Coffee Cocktail, Fruit Melange, Balloon Potatoes, Baked Stuffed Squab, Pecan Muffins, Grapelade."
---Display ad, Los Angeles Times, November 3, 1931 (p. A3)

Related meal? Second breakfast.

Why do we celebrate Mother's Day with restaurant Brunch?
Brunch gives the entire family the chance to enjoy an elegant, leisurely meal together. Mom presides at the head of the table, not in the kitchen. Nor does she have to clean the house for company. Midday meal also give mom plenty of time to catch up on her chores later on in the day. This explains why we don't typically find suggested menus for Mother's Day in standard household cook books.

The earliest print references we find for Mothers Day Brunch are newspaper advertisements, circa 1944. These brunches were held in country clubs and churches. Savvy restauranteurs knew a good opportunity when they saw it. Sample early menu:

[1948:USA]
"Mother's Day Brunch
What could be more fun than...morning brunch for the whole family on Mother's Day? Brunch is a sort of glamourous, leisurely, combination of breakfast and lunch that is more hearty than an ordinary breakfast. In fact, it often includes a dessert too. Start the menu with grapefruit shells filed with icy cold grapefruit sections and with fresh or frozen strawberries. A fluffy omelette with a tomato and ripe olive filling is quite delicious with crisp bacon curls and broiled canned cling peaches..."
---"Menus and Recipes," Philadelphia Tribune, May 8, 1948 (p. 8)

Lunch was introduced as a ladies' meal in the 18th century. Definitions and menus evolved through time. The Industrial Revolution played a key role in establishing this meal as our modern noontime repast. Free lunch was served in 19th century American bars and saloons to entice mid-day customers. Ploughman's lunch is British pub fare.

"At the beginning of the sixteenth century in England, dinner, the main meal of the day, used to bein at 11:00 a.m. Meals tended over time to be eaten later and later in the day: by the eighteenth century, dinner was eaten at about 3:00 p.m. French dejeuner, like "breakfast." once meant the first food eaten after waking from a long spent foodless...dejeuner is now used for "lunch,"... In English, lunch or luncheon (originally also called "nunch" or nuncheon") was in the first place a snack between meals. Dr. Johnson's Dictionary (1755) said Lunch or Luncheon was "As much food as one's hand can hold"; he suggess that it derives from "clutch" or "clunch."...By the early nineteenth century, lunch...had become a sit-down meal at the dining table in the middle of the day. Upper-class people were eating breakfast earlier, and dinner later, than they had formerly done. Lunch having displaced the afternoon dinner...and having become a substantial regular meal with a name of its own...By the late nineteenth century, luncheon had become a social occasion mainly for elite women; at this time of day their menfolk were busy seeing to their financial affairs...The corresponding French institution was dejeuner a la fourchette, the lady-like "fork luncheon." Nowadays, lunch...has returned to its ancient function as a workday snack."
---Rituals of Dinner, Margaret Visser [Penguin Books:New York] 1991 (p. 158-9)

"The midday snack was not dignified by a name in the eighteenth century, but the omission was not long permitted. In 1808 Jane Austen described to her sister a day she had recently spent at Godmersham" 'The Moores came yesterday in the Curricle betwen one & two o'clock, and immmediately after the noonshine which succeeded their arrival, a party set off for Buckwell to see the Pond dragged...' Thsi term is a variant on wht Dr. Jonson called 'nunchin, defined as 'a piece of victuals eaten between meals'. Twenty years later, it was called 'lunch' (defined by Johnson as 'as much food as one' hand can hold') that had take over. IN 1829 the committee of the exclusive Almanack's Club decreed that the correct word was 'lunch': 'luncheon is avoided as unsuitable to...polished society'. The lexical uncertainty, and the preoccupation with the politeness of the term, shows that the new meal was at first reserved for the upper classes: hardly surprising, since the main meal of the day, dinner, was still at mid-day for the working classes."
---British Housewife: Cookery Books, Cooking and Society in Eighteenth-Century Britain, Gilly Lehmann [Prospect Books:devon] 2003(p. 318-319)

"The prolonged and busy morning meant that there was no real need or accepted hour for lunch, and this meal crept only gradually into existence during the second half of the nineteenth century; by that time breakfasts had become earlier and dinners still later, so that lunch was viewed as a private family affair for mothers and children who needed some nourishment in the middle of the day, not yet as another social meal to whoch guests could be invited. Afternoon tea in the drawing-room, as we know know it-- tea, with any combination of bread and butter, sandwiches, biscuits and sweet cakes, taken about four or five o'clock--was the latest of modern meals to be created, a specifically social function inveneted by the leisured hostesses of the Edwardian era. However, even if lunch did not officially exist in Jane Austen's lifetime, its origins were already there in the custom of offering refreshments to morning callers, who by definition would arrive between 11.00am and 3.00pm. Such refreshments could include cold meats, sandwiches, cake and seasonal or preserved fruits, which taken together could add up to quite a satisfying meal. If the morning's business were shopping in town rather than calling upon neighbors, pastry-cook shops would provide tarts, buns and other confectionery, to be washed down with a glass of whey, at a very modest charge. The coaching inns would also undertake to provide cold food for travellers breaking their journeys in between the recognised mealtimes. Such an unofficial small meal might be referred to, especially in the south of England, as a 'nuncheon'-a dialect word, with many variant spellings and pronounced something like 'noonshine'."
---The Jane Austen Cookbook, Maggie Black & Dierdre Le Faye [Chicago Review Press:Chicago] 1995 (p. 10)

"...dinner was by far the most significant meal of the day. At one time it had been held around noon, or in the early afternoon, but the association of high status with mealtimes led ot a creeping inflation of the dinner hour. My Austen's day, the upper classes served dinner to their children at about 2:00 or 3:00PM, while the adults ate at 5:00 or 5:00. The result was a long gap in the middle of the day when no food was served...as the gap between breakfast and dinner widened, with everyone trying to eat later than their neighbors, it became more common to have a little something between breakfast and dinner. However, this meal, known variously as noonshine, nuncheon, or luncheon, did not become standard during Austen's lifetime. Even families who regularly indulged in sandwiches, cold meat, or some other light fare around noon, the food was seen as refreshments or a "collation"...rather than a full meal. It was eaten in the drawing room, which rather deprived it of full mealtime status. It might also be consumed on the road at a inn, when travelers were at the mercy of schedules and of inn location. In such circumstances, they ate when they had the chance, regardless of time and fashion. "Lunching" was not an English verb until the 1830s and did not become an acceptable term among the educated until still later. On occasion, people chose to take their afternoon meal outdoors, in which case the meal might be referred to as 'cold meat," a "cold collation," or a "picnic," The practice of eating outside with packed lunches was also known as "gipsying." All members of the party were supposed to contribute something to the meal, rather like a potluck dinner today..."
---Cooking with Jane Austen, Kirsten Olsen [Greenwood Press:Westport CT] 2005 (p. 18-19) Sample menus from this book (p. 391): "The Nicest Cold Luncheon in the World," Raw cucumbers, Salad of asparagus, Porter, mead, or fruit wines & "A Cold Collation at Pemberley," Butter cake, Cold roast beef, Cold roast ham, Pyramid of grapes, Pyramid of nectarines, Pyramid of peaches, Selection of gooseberries, raspberries, currants, figs, mulberries, pears, plums, muscadines, melons, and/or pineapples.]

"The Nineteenth Century. The traditional meal pattern began to change during the mid-nineteenth century, due in part of the growth of cities and the shifting occupations of American men. The first meal to change was dinner. As towns and cities grew, it became more difficult for workers to return home for dinner at midday as the distance between the home and the place of work increased. Workers earning an hourly wage did not have paid lunch breaks, so they tended to eat as quickly as possible...Dinner, the most important meal of the day, moved to the evening, wene the family could dine together at a more leisurely pace. The midday repast came to be called lunch (shortened from "luncheon") and evolved into small, light, and frequently rushed meal--often something brought from home in a tin pail or a brown bag, or a quick bite in a workplace cafeteria. Sandwiches, soups, and salads became common luncheon foods. Although somewhat more the masters of their own schedules, professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, and businessmen, rarely had time to return home for a long afternoon meal. So they ate larger, hearty breakfasts and big dinners, and skipped lunch or ate something light at work...By the late nineteenth century, the evening meal became the major meal of the day; it evolved into an occasion for entertaining. Among the affluent, dinner was served later and the offerings were much more sumptuous then they had been."
---The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America/Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 66):

No such thing as a free lunch? False!

"Ploughman's Lunch"
The "Ploughman's Lunch," as defined by modern British cuisine, presents a modest plate of simple sandwich and pickle or small salad. When and where did this practice begin?

Interesting question with several possible answers. Food historians confirm laborers (medieval ploughmen, pastoral shepherds, copper miners, etc.) typically consumed simple, portable, belly-filling foods at midday. These dinners (the practice of calling this midday meal lunch began in the 18th century, but was not widely accepted until the 20th) were brought from home. Most often they consisted leftovers from the previous night's supper. Indeed, bread, cheese, salted meat and preserved fruit/vegetable (aka pickle) were simple to pack and easy to consume without the aid of utensils. Copper miners in Cornwall "lunched" on Cornish pasties for this reason. The "Ploughman's Lunch" one finds in British pubs today is a modern twist on this old theme. According this British food historian, this *standard* menu option dates to the 1960s. Notes here:

"The ploughman's lunch is often taken as an example par excellence of the hijacking and perversion of traditional food. What, it is asked, could a ploughman find less satisfying after a back-breaking morning in the fields than an exiguous piece of tasteless, unidentifiable cheese, a flaccid roll, a couple of limp lettuce leaves, and a dollop of commercial pickle? The ploughman's as it is often abbreviated, began to appear in the pubs of Britian in the late 1960s. It was quick to arrange, making it easy for publicans to satisfy the growing demand for pub food more adventurous than a packet of crisps, and it had the added advantage for the marketing men of conjuring up a nostalgic vision of a simple hearty country food. The basic ingredients--cheese, bread, and pickle--have remained the same, although what a Victorian farm labourer would have thought of the pate which is now sometimes substituted for the cheese is nobody's business. What was the nineteenth century's idea of what a ploughman had for lunch? ‘The surpised poet swung forth to join them, and an improvised sandwich, that looked like a ploughman's luncheon, in his hand.' (J.G. Lockhart, Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, 1839)."
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.259-260)

Period American cookbooks offer few suggested luncheon menus. Luncheon in the mid 1800s was still considered a fashionable meal practiced by the wealthier classes. Dinner was still the main meal of the day for most folks; often served at noon. This distinction sometimes causes confusion when searching for menus of this era. There are entire books written on dinner menus.

American lunch notes, 1863:
"We do not understand by breakfast a meal taken under that name in the afternoon; then it should be called dinner, or at least lunch; at such a meal, the following dishes may be served: Calf's head, served cold, Cervelas of any kind, found at the pork butchers, Headcheese, Mutton Chops, Veal Cutlets, Eggs, cooked in any way, Fried Fish, Fruit, according to the season, Galantine of Birds, Galantine of Veal, Ham, Cold Meat, of any kind, Oysters, Omelets, Pate de foie gras, Meat and Fruit Pies, served cold, Salad of Chicken, Salad of Partridge, and other birds, Salad of Lobster, Sandwiches, Sardines, Sausages, of any kind, fresh or smoked, Smoked Tongue, Smoked Fish or Meat, Fried Vegetables, Drinks according to taste.
Lunch. What we have described above for breakfasts taken in the afternooon, may be served for lunch, no matter at what hour it is taken."
---What to Eat and How to Cook It, Pierre Blot [D. Appelton:New York] 1863 (p. 248)

Sample luncheon menus, c. 1886

About Anglo-Indian meal times.

What's the difference between dinner and supper? Excellent question with no simple answer. Today in the USA we use the terms interchangeably. Historic context reveals several a variety of different answers, each appropriate for their given period and people. Today's family-style Sunday Dinner comes closest in purpose to the original meal. Menus (classic roast, bbq kabobs), dining times (after church? after work? after football?) & serving locations (dining room? around the TV?) are determined by family priorities, obligations & taste.

What is "dinner?"
French, from verb "diner," meaning to dine. First instance of this work in English print is 1297: "The chief meal of the day, eaten originally, and still by the majority of the people, about the middle of the day...but now, by the professional and fashionable classes, usually in the evening."
---Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition.

""Dinner," in North America, increasingly means any evening meal, light or heavy; the word "supper" is used less and less, and "dinner" can now be quite swift and small. Dinner parties usually take place at night."
---Rituals of Dinner, Margaret Visser [Penguin Books:New York] 1991 (p. 160)

"Dinner...The main meal of the day...The word dinner, dating to the thirteenth century in England, derives from the French "diner." Supper is also found in English as of the thirteenth century, from the French so(u)per, itself possible related to "soup," which was often the simple repast of the evening meal. In American usage, "dinner dates in print to 1622. In America the tradition of eating the heaviest meal at midday was superceded in the 1820s by the demands of workers whose mealtime was often not paid for by their employers, thereby necessitating a quick, light meal before getting back to work. This became known as lunch, and the main meal of the day, "dinner," was consumed after work ended.
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 112)

Sunday dinner?
The origin of today's Sunday dinner (defined as a formal family meal held in a family member's house with extended family attending) descends from ancient rituals of families (tribes of related people) coming together for social sustenence. The evolution of this meal is complicated and affected by several factors including:

• Religion...Christians traditionally view Sunday as the day of rest and family renewal.
• Social ritual...Agrarian societies commonly shared mid-day dinner as the largest meal of the day.
• Practicality...Cooking a large meal (roast etc.) once a week and feeding off the leftovers was efficient

Modern families mourn the demise of traditional Sunday Dinner:

"Every near-by road, park and restaurant bears witness to the passing of the old-fashioned Sunday dinner from the neighborhood of New York. Who, any longer, eats such a Sunday diner as did every self-respecting family a few decades ago--or less? The meal used to be a ritual. The ceremony began with the dropping in, after morning worship, of relatives in black coats and rustling silks. They gathered in the parlor to discuss every one who was not there until the aromas from the kitchen reminded them of Sunday diners of their own. Some, however, always remained for the rolling back of folding doors. Sunday dinner was the weeek's "company" meal. Among other things there would be chicken and pickles after grandmother's treasured recipe. In Summer there was ice cream, home made, most likely, and in such quantities that every one was sure to get enough. But the oncoming generation will cherish no such memories. The once set repast has become almost anything from a "shore dinner" to a mere snack. Sometimes it is dispensed with entirely, a late breakfast and an early supper striving to bridge the gap. The pace of modern life is to blam, and tow of its major problems are specifically responsible. Servant girls have looked upon the lot of their sisters in factory, office and shop and rebelled against the seven-days-a-week job. They demand their Sundays off, and get them, letting the brunt of the burden fall on the housewife. The housewife in her turn revels at the prospect of spending the day of rest in the kitchen; and so che bundles the family off, maybe to a restaurant, maybe to a park or a bench refreshment stand, maybe for a picnic in the woods. Even were help available for serving a Sunday feast at home, it is not very likely that New York would remain faithful to the old- fashioned form. The traffic problem prescribes a Sabbath of a new order. Elsewhere one may attend servcies most properly and make one's way home to dinner in peace and comfort, all without sacrificing the outing that every automobile owner considers essential to Sunday; for when dinner is done, ample time remains for a spin on little-crowded country roads. But the New Yorker knows that he must devote his day to the jaunt. New Yorkers take their lunch baskets with them and gayly speed away; or with less forethought they keep going until some favorite inn is reached, or one of the Joneses and the Jenkinses have recommended, or one that merely catches the eye in passing. Dinner on Sunday, in consequence, has lost its importance. It is no longer Sunday dinner."
---"Sunday Dinner, Old and New," New York Times, September 22, 1929 (p. SM10)

• Southern Barbeque Trail/Southern Foodways Alliance
• Kansas City Barbeque Society
• Commissioner of PhB (Doctor of Barbeque Philosophy)
• Mongolian Barbecue
• 1950s USA barbecue
• pulled pork
• Jamaican jerk

Barbeque sauce
People have been marinating fire-roasted meats with sauces to tenderize and enhance flavor since ancient times. The primary difference between ancient marinates [vinegars, fermented fish extracts, soya sauce] and barbeque sauce as we know it today is the tomato [a new world food].

We will probably never know who invented the first tomato-based barbeque sauce [and how it tasted] but we can make educated guesses as to how various recipes evolved based on local ingredients, cultural preferences and popular demand. A close cousin is ketchup, also made with tomatoes, vinegar, sugar & spices.

Many Americans take great pride in their region's recipe for BBQ sauce. Most of these sauces originate from the southern and central regions of our country: Texas, Kansas City, the Carolinas, Louisana, Arkansas and Memphis. Other regions also produce local sauces, such as Syracuse, New York.

BUFFET IN AMERICA
Buffet-style entertaining caught on in America during the Great Depression. At home it required little or no maid service and enabled the hostess to present a splendid table. Restaurants studied this trend and capitalized on it. The Prix fixe dining option was not a new concept. Neither was all-you-can-eat. Colonial taverns, grand passenger ships, college dining halls and Victorian eating clubs were founded on these principles.

What made Depression-era buffet different was that it presented the perfect human fueling option in a time of need. Buffets, in this scenario, were all about quantity. This gave restauranteurs the wiggle-room they needed to make a profit. Diners enjoying the challenge of piling high their plates, even when they could return as many times as they liked, were especially welcome. The epitome of the grand American buffet was perfected in Las Vegas.

Buffet was a popular American party option in the 1930s:
"Buffet service is one of the simplest and most delightful ways of entertaining large groups. For formal occasions, such as wedding breakfasts, formal teas and receptions it is most usual. But it is equally charming for the informal Sunday breakfast or supper, holiday breakfasts, indoor picnics and church socials. The general procedure for formal and informal buffet service is the same--the elaborateness of decoration, the types of foods, the kinds of linen, and the presence or absence of servants mark the distinction between formality and informality. The buffet table should be as much of a "picture" as possible. A handsome cloth of damask, lace or embroidery, or runners of lace or linen are suitable. The floral centerpiece should be truly beautiful and flanked by tall candles in holders of silver, glass or porcelain. A candelabra may be chosen as the center decoration, with flowers on either side. Candles are not used, however, before four in the afternoon. The coffee or tea tray and the punch service are placed at opposite ends of the table. Plates filled with sandwiches, cakes, little cookies, salted nuts, and if the menu is elaborate, with salads, or other foods, are arranged down the sides of the table, with the silver and china needed in their service, laid close by. If the silver is placed in rows, the effect is graceful. Piles of plates and of small folded napkins should be conveninetly near. Everything should be balanaced to create an artistic and orderly effect. If guests are numerous, the punch may be served from a separate table. At a formal affair, waitresses preside at the buffet table and serve the guests. They also collect the used dishes. If a frozen dessert is provided, it is served from the table, or individually from the pantry. A frappe or soft ice is usually placed in a bowl. It is served in cups or glasses, placed on doily-covered plates, and a teaspoon is placed on the plate. Moulds of ice cream are sliced and served on plates; forks are laid on the side of the plates. The guests stand or sit at a buffet meal, as convenient--special tables are not provided. The informal buffet table may be gay with colored linen and simple flowers. The table is set as for formal buffet service with this exception: decorations and foods are less elaborate, and guests serve themselves informally, or are served by the hostess or members of the party."
---When You Entertain: What to do, and how, Ida Baily Allen [Coca Cola Company:Atlanta GA] 1932 (p. 27-8)

Home buffet menus:
1920's American buffet menus
1940's American buffet menus
1960's American buffet menus.

Who launched modern American "all you can eat" buffet?
Mr. Herb McDonald, Las Vegas NV, 1946.

"The man who inspired the all-you-can-eat buffet and brought the Beatles to Las Vegas died Saturday, better known by his deeds than his name. A visionary who helped mold Las Vegas for more than a half century, Herb McDonald, 83, was one of the first publicists on the Strip, founder of the group that brought the National Finals Rodeo to Las Vegas and an innovator in professional golf tournaments. "He was the godfather to all of us in publicity and marketing -- he made the footprints that we follow today," said Jim Seagrave, vice president of marketing and advertising for the Stardust...McDonald inspired the buffet in 1946 more out of hunger than genius, he recalled. One night while working late at the El Rancho Vegas, the first hotel on what would become the Strip, McDonald brought some cheese and cold cuts from the kitchen and laid them out on the bar to make a sandwich. Gamblers walking by said they were hungry, and the buffet was born. The original midnight "chuckwagon" buffet cost $1.25."
---"Strip Visionary McDonald Dies," Gambling Magazine, July 10, 2002
[http://www.gamblingmagazine.com/ManageArticle.asp?C=220&A=1319]

"Herb McDonald, a business pioneer whose ideas helped make Las Vegas a hub of international tourism, died Saturday. He was 83. A publicist for nearly 50 years, McDonald has been credited for the development of Las Vegas-area signatures such as the Strip's first all-you-can-eat buffet and the city's status as a popular convention site...In the early 1950s, McDonald launched an inexpensive buffet at the El Rancho, a tactic that has since been used to attract patrons at virtually every hotel-casino in Southern Nevada."
---"Veteran publicist who helped promote LV as destination dies at 83," Chris Jones, Las Vegas Review-Journal, July 10, 2002, D; Pg. 2D

Early advertisement for El Rancho's Buckaroo Buffet, courtesy of the UNLV.

Of course!!! There are other claims to this particular fame:
"Jane Ann Morrison's Monday column was unclear about Claudine and Shelby Williams being the first to open a buffet on the Las Vegas Strip. In her oral history, Claudine Williams said the first Las Vegas Strip buffet was started at their Silver Slipper Casino. A misplaced clause in the column incorrectly made it sound like she was referring to the Holiday Casino. However, historians credit the late Herb McDonald for starting the first Las Vegas Strip buffet, starting with a "chuck wagon" of mostly cold cuts at the El Rancho Vegas in 1946."
---"Corrections," Las Vegas News Journal, May 27, 2009 (p. 3A)

Where was the first Chinese buffet served & when?
"Chinese" food first stalked American appetites around the time of the San Francisco Gold Rush when, according to the Smithsonian Institution, the first recorded Chinese restaurant on U.S. territory opened in 1849. It was called Macao and Woosung and was founded by Norman Asing, who developed what may have been the first all-you-can-eat buffet, charging a buck for the splurge. His innovation spawned a flurry of "chow chows," and they blessed America with an enduring legacy: chop suey."
--- "Funny Valentino's it's Chinese food with a wink at this Oak Cliff restaurant," Mark Stuertz, Dallas Observer, October 16, 2003, Dining/Reviews

Related meal? Brunch!

Cakes
Candies
Cookies
Dessert pyramids
Ice cream
Pies
Pudding & custard

Dessert is a complicated topic because the role/importance of last/sweet course in a meal are cuisine and time dependent. Some cultures (China, most notably) traditionally prefer fresh fruit over sweet confections.

Who "invented" dessert? No one knows. Food historians tell us the practice of ending a meal with something sweet probably had something to do with ancient medical ideas regarding digestion. Many of these ideas continued until the genesis of modern nutrition science (mid 19th century). Did you know ancient cultures avocated ending the meal with cheese because it was thought to aid digestion? Culinary evidence confirms peoples of ancient cultures enjoyed sweet treats such as cakes, cookies, confections, sugared nuts, and dried/candied fruits. These were typically the food of the wealthy classes. Other people might partake of these treats for special occasions (weddings, religious festivals). The idea of enjoying a sweet dessert every day by "average people" is a relatively modern concept.

Food historians caution us that "dessert-type" courses were known by other names in times past. Ancient Romans consumed "secundae mensa." Medieval England delighted in "subtleties." Elizabethan England feasted on "banquets." 19th century France dined on "dessert" inspired by Antonin Careme.

A sampling of Ancient Roman desserts (Secundae mensa)

Why the word "dessert?"
According to the Larousse de la Langue Francaise, the word "desserte" derives from the French verb "desservir," meaning to clear the table. The noun "Dessert," denoting a sweet served after the main meal was cleared, seems to have surfaced in 17th century. By the 18th century dessert was frequently referenced in both France and England.

"Dessert...(de dessevir 2; 1539). 1. Dernier service d'un repas, compose de fromages, fruits, gateaux, etc.--1. (1692). Fruits, patisserie, etc., qu'on mange a la fin d'un repas; moment ou on sert ce mets." "Desservier (lat. deservire, servir avec zele; v. 1050)"
---Larousse de la Lang Francaise, direction de Jean Dubois [Librarie Larousse:Paris] 1979 (p. 531)

The Oxford English Dictionary (2nd edition) confirms the this information:
"Dessert...[a. F. dessert (Etienne 1539) 'removal of the dishes, dessert', f. desservir to remove what has been served, to clear (the table)...
1.a. A course of fruits, sweetmeats, etc. served after a dinner or supper; 'the last course at an entertainment'. The oldest reference to the word dessert in the OED was published in 1600: "W. Vaughn Direct. Health (1633) ii.ix. 54 Such eating which the French call desert, is unnaturall. 1666. Pepys Diary 12 July, The dessert coming, with roses upon it, the Duchesse bid him try."...
1.b. "In the United States often used to include pies, puddings, and other sweet dishes...Now also in British usage (oldest reference is provided comes from 1789).

"Desserts. A collective name for sweet dishes considered suitable for the last course of a meal, including cakes, ice creams, creams, raw and cooked fruit, puddings, pastries, and pies. Cheese have also be included amongst desserts. In Britain, 'dessert' is sometimes regarded as an elegant synonym for the words 'pudding', or 'sweet', which are used in the same collective sense. The word derives from French desservir, meaning to remove the dishes, or clear the table. Originally 'the dessert', singular, denoted a course of fruit and sweetmeats, either placed on the table after the meal, or served at a separate table; in English, it replaced the word banquet, an older name for a similar course, during the 18th century. The change in emphasis from the 18th century French dessert' to the 20th century miscellany of sweet desserts appears to have taken place in North America. The word had a wider meaning for Americans as early as the end of the 18th century, whereas this usage was not common in England until the 20th century. Originally, dessert, apart from providing something sweet to nibble, was designed to impress...A formal dessert in the old sense is now a rarity. One interesting survival is the Provencal gros souper' on Christmas Eve, which finishes with a ritual presentation of les treize desserts, the 13 desserts, based on local fruits, nuts, baking, and confectionery...Traditions vary between areas and families, but there are always 13 items, and they are said to represent Christ and the twelve apostles."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 247)
[NOTE: If you are looking for the history if a specific dessert this book is excellent. Ask your librarian to help you find a copy.]

"Dessert, The last course of a meal. The word comes from desservir (to remove that which has been served) and consequently means everything offered to guests after the previous dishes and corresponding serving utensils have been cleared away. In former times at great banquets, dessert, which was the fifth course of the meal, was often presented in magnificent style. Large set pieces fashioned in pastry, described often and in great detail by Careme, whose accounts are accompanied by splendid illustrations, were placed on the table at the beginning of a meal...It was not until about 1850 that the word dessert took on its present meaning. In ancient times, meals generally ended with fresh or dried fruit, milk or cheese dishes, often served between meat courses, consisted of jellies, flans, blancmanges, tarts, compotes, nieules (flat round cakes), fouaces (fancy pastry), echaudes (poached pastry), waffles and various other small cakes, The dessert proper consisted of the issue, a glass of hippocras served with oubiles (wafers), followed by boutehors (dragees with spice and crystallized fruit). In the 17th century, desserts had become more elaborate and were decorated with flowers. They included marzipan, nougat, pyramids of fruit, dry and liquid preserves, biscuits..., creams, sugar sweets...sweet almonds in sugar and orange-flower water, green walnuts, pistachios, and marrons glaces. At the end of the century, ice creams made their appearance, and at the same time patisserie became extremely diversified, with different basic mixtures, such as puff pastry, sponge, choux pastry and meringue. In the 20th century, dessert in France evolved to include cheese and fresh fruit as well as sweet dishes. However, the term is usually take to mean the sweet course of the meal, whether it is served before or after the cheese course. The contemporary dessert may include one of a wider range of dishes, from elaborate gateaux and pastries to simple fruit dishes at a dinner party..."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter:New York] 2001(p. 414)

If you are inclined learn more about the evolution of meals/courses we suggest Margaret Visser's The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities, and Meaning of Table Manners [Penguin:New York] 1995. If you want to research a particular time and place let us know. We will be happy to help you find the information you need to complete your project.

"Soul food" is a culinary movement, not a dictionary term. Many traditional recipes and ingredients descended from earlier times. While there is some general concensus regarding the "core list" of ingredients/recipes considered soul food, there are many subtle nuances and culinary diversions. The term "Soul food," as it relates to cuisine, entered the "scene" of food history in the 1960s. Some notes here:

"The expression "soul food" is a term grafted from the expression "soul music," which in the 1960s referenced black artists noted for their soulful blues and rhythmic music. The term "soul" was applied also to artists noted for their culinary skills, particularly to field-hand cooks in antebellum America, who performed culinary miracles with foods then thought to be too common for the master's table. These included the South's cheapest staples, such as black-eyed peas, yams or sweet potatoes, collard greens, dandelion greens, turnip greens, chitterllings (the small intestines of hogs), how maws (the stomach of the hog), ham hocks, trotter (the feet of the hog), hog jowl (the cheek of the hog), cornbread, and so on. The numerous African American authors who wrote soul food cookbooks in the 1960s...invariable listed a wide range of foods."
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 1 (p. 27)
[NOTE: This book contains much more information than can be paraphrased here. Ask your librarian to help you find a copy.]

"Soul Food.
Although this term applies to traditional foods eaten by African -Americans, especially in the South, it is of rather recent vintage, first in print in 1960, when it became associated with the growth of ethnic pride in African-American culture, of which food was a significant part. The term dates in print to 1964 and comes from the faternal spirit among African-Americans that their culture, heritage, and cooking gives them an essential "soulfulness" that helps define the African-American experience. Soul food dishes include chitterlings, blackeyed peas, collard greens, hominy, grits, ham hocks, and more. As Bog Jeffries, in his Soul Food Cookbook [1969] notes "While all soul food is southern food, not all southern food is soul."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 304)
[NOTE: the 1964 reference is this: The Last Word from Soul City, New York Times Magazine, August 23, 1964 p. 62. This brief article defines terms popular with African-Americans in Harlem at that time. The definition provided of "Soul food" is chitterlings, collard greens, ham hocks, grits, black-eyed peas and rice, and the like."]

"Soul Food, early 1960s, being the "down home" food associated with poor southern Blacks, Black ethnic dishes often stem from slavery days when slaves were given the cheapest southern staples and the food parts discarded by the plantation owners, to which they added greens they had grown themselves or picked wild--and a touch of African cooking. it includes beet greens, collard greens, dandelion greens, poke greens, and turnip greens; black-eyed peas (1738, they were brought by slave traders from Africa to Jamaica in 1674 and from there to the American colonies), hog maw, hog jowel, trotters, and ham hocks; sweet potato pie, and such ubiquitous southern favorites as corn bread, fried chicken, and watermelon. The new Black awareness and pride made soul food something of a fad by the late 1960s and both Blacks and Whites were talking about the new soul food restaurants."
---I Hear America Talking, Stuart Berg Flexner [Simon & Schuster:New York] 1982 (p. 51-2)

"Soul food" in the news:

"Consider yourself a square if you don't know what 'soul food' is. It includes such down-home delicacies as stewed chicken and rice, fried chicken, rice, gravy and greens, and ham hocks and black-eyed peas."
---"Masco Young: Philly After Dark," Philadelphia Tribune, March 25, 1961 (p. 5)

"'I'll travel many miles out of the way to get to a place where I can get that down-home 'soul food,' Hank Ballard declared recently. 'When I say soul, I'm talking about chitterlings, barbecued ribs and chicken, black-eyed peas, collard greens and rice.' Going a step further, the King recording star said, 'I really believe that the right kind of 'soul food' can really insopire a musician or a singer to come up with some swinging 'soul music.' If you don't believe it, then just notice where most musicians go whenever they're in town. They don't flock to the big fabulous steak houses. 'They'll usually eat all their meals at some Sally Mae's,. Miss Lucy's, or Pearl's small restaurant or in a home near the theater or ballroom thats 'known for good eatin.'"
---"'Soul Food' Inspires Tub, Wrinkles Top 'Scarf' Where Hank Ballard is Concerned," Pittsburgh Courier, May 27, 1961 (p. A23)

"How singer James Brown keeps in condition for his exhausting singing and dance routine. Said Brown: 'I eat plenty of soul food--and that includes chitterlings, collard greens, chicken, rice and gravy, ham hocks and beans..."
---"The Grapevine," Masco Young, Pittsburgh Courier, August 25, 1962 (p. 22)

"President Johnson set the pace New Year's Day for good luck throughout 1964. He ate blackeyed peas."
---"LBJ Feasted on Lucky Soul Food," Chicago Defender, January 4, 1964 (p. 4)
[NOTE: Blackeyed peas & rice is called Hopping John.]

"Turnip greens, the nation's most famous 'Soul Food,' has been barred from the cafeteria of the A&M Consolidated School here. Supt. W.T. Riedel told trustees that parents had complained students were not eating in the cafeteria because of greens and other vegetables on the menu. Upon hearing the news, a 'Soul Brother' commented: 'Man, they must not be integrated.'"
---"Texas School Bars Soul Food on Menu," Philadelphia Tribune, February 13, 1965 (p. 3)

"Temptations' David Ruffing toasting singer Tammi Terrell with champagne on her birthday. Gotham club prexy Chile Springer turning down the three dinner parties on his natal day. Settled for a soul cooked meal by our gal Honey."
---"Zagging with Ziggy," Ziggy Johnson, Chicago Defender, May 7, 1966 (p. 26A)

"A word about 'soul,' a vogue word among Negroes having had a number of transmogrifications these days. Sould can mean a mild manifestation of race pride and social colidarity--'our thing'--a shared emotional bond of unity and good feeling. In the early sixties there was a 'soul music' movement among Negro jazz musicians, most of them conservatory-trained, advocating a return to the roots of Negro music for inspiration, a return to field hand chants work songs, funky blues and gospel rhythms in what was a rejection of sophistication in favor of strong feeling. Some even felt compelled to eat 'soul food'--deep South and ghetto dishes like ham hocks and collard greens, pigs' feet, pigs' knuckles and chitterlings."
---"The Big, Happy, Beauty of the Detroit Sound," Richard H. Lingeman, New York Times, November 11, 1966 (p. SM25)

"History has caught up with Davis Roberts. For years he has cooked the traditional foods of his people. Today, the came foods are symbols in a social revolution. Down-home cooking has become soul food. 'Aside from its social connotation, soul food is worthy of popularity on its own merits-for the simple reason that it tastes good.' said the Alabama-born actor. 'It also turns out to have great nutritional value,' he added with a smile. General acceptance of soul food, a term that has been in public use for about three years, stems from the civil rights movement. Roberts called it 'a kind of affirmation.' 'It's now enyoing a public popularity, but in the old days there was always a sort of stigma attached to it as an economy food. Gumbos, for example, were clean-out-the kitchen dishes. But now soul food has become a sort of luxury. Some of the ingredients are expensive, and you have to run all over town to find them,' he said. Soul food, a new term for old dishes, was daily fare in the Southern countryside during Roberts' boyhood in Alabama and Tennessee. The simple cookery was based on what was available, on what could be grown on a little plot of land--turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, kale, field peas, corn, sweet potatoes, cabbage, rutabagas, salt pork and ham hocks. 'People could often keep a pig when they couldn't keep a cow.' Roberts said. 'Much sould food requires a lot of time because it was cooked by people who had a lot of time,' he observed. For that reason, the busy actor does not cook it as often as he would like to eat it...One of Roberts' menus, cooked from childhood memory, consists of collard greens and salt pork, cold beets in vinegar, baked sweet potatoes, buttermilk and corn bread. Another consists of smothered pork chops and gravy, succotash 'and the perennial corn bread.' Roberts, how had to grapple with the problem of converting cooking habits into specific recipes, explained that 'soul food requires the kind of cooking that is done by taste, by someone who stands there and watches and stirs and tastes.'"
---"Soul Food to Shout About," Jean Murphy, Los Angeles Times, October 12, 1967 (p. G1)
[NOTE: This article offers three recipes: Davis Roberts' Pasta Con Pesto, Down-Home Succotash, and Collard Greens and Salt Pork.]

"Even the little restaurants that before simply offered 'home cooking' now carry large signs in their windows advertising 'soul food.' The food itself has not changed: chicken and dumplings, spareribs and ham hocks, greens and yams, cornbread and biscuits. The difference is that now these Southern Negro foods are viewed as part of 'our black cuisine.'"
---"African Influence Thriving in Harlem," Earl Caldwell, New York Times, March 12, 1968 (p. 45)

Related food? Greens: collard, turnip & mustard.

Humans have been pairing alcoholic beverages and delicious food for thousands of years. Offering small bites to thirsty stand-up crowds is nothing new. Think: free lunch. The "cocktail party," as we Americans know it today, deftly transforms ancient themes to new experiences.

Who "invented" the cocktail party? History does not record. Many historians generally credit Americans (unofficially) during Prohibition/1920s. Think: Gatsby's great parties. Instructions for perfect cocktail parties first surface in American texts in the 1930s. British texts also address cocktail parties; mostly as an American vulgarity.

James Beard's suggestions for hosting a successful cocktail party transcends time:
"The most important key to the success of a cocktail party is the attitude of the hosts. Things should be arranged so that there are no worries on the guests' arrival, and no misgivings about the amount of food in the refrigerator or the amount of liquor in the cellar. True hospitality means that the host is giving his undivided attention to his guests and enjoying the party. No one can feel at home with a worried host. So keep up a steady happy attitude no matter what happens and if there are worried, keep them in the back of your head and don't give them away to anyone else."
---Hors D'Oeuvre and Canapes With a Key to the Cocktail Party, James Beard [M. Barrows:New York] 1940 (p. 168)

Spectators have consuming food at sporting events from ancient times forwards. What fans eat depend upon the event, place & period. From Ancient Roman Coliseums to modern tailgating: these meals are special. Game day feeds fuel more than bodies. These edible bonds cement team allegiance. First we eat, then we battle. Then we continue to eat. Because we're human and we're hungry. About sports concessions.

Enter: The first Super Bowl [1967]
The first Super Bowl converged in the Los Angeles Coliseum, January 15, 1967. Kansas City Chiefs vs. Green Bay Packers. Packers won (35-10). A Los Angeles Times article published the day after mentioned what might have been the "first" Super Bowl party: "Pepsi Cola biggie Samuel Dresch and Mrs. Dresch flew into town with two private planes full of friends for the Super Bowl Game. They entertained later in Perino's private dining room with a dinner party." [Perino's is on Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles.]

What do Americans eat during the Superbowl?
Most fans start with items representing the competing teams: sourdough bread for the 49'ers, crab cakes for the Ravens, Clam chowder (Manhattan for Giants vs New England for Patriots), Buffalo Wings for the Bills, Cheese platters for Green Bay, Deep Dish Pizza for the Bears, Kansas Style ribs for the Chiefs, Horseshoe sandwiches for the Colts, Cheese steaks for the Eagles, Po'boys for the Saints &c.

After that, the menu is mostly composed of man cave finger foods: easily consumed, plate optional, washed down with beer in mass quantities. This meal is consumed on coffee tables in TV rooms. The television (the larger the better) is the focal point; not the table. No place for fussy salads and complicated desserts. Women's magazines sometimes offer festive ideas for dressing up "your man's" party. Fuggetaboutit. Another phenomenon: this is one American holiday where catering/delivery is not only okay, it's recommended.

[1998]
"In fact, many observers say, Super Bowl Sunday has become one of America's biggest binge days. In terms of food consumption it ranks third, behind only Thanksgiving and Christmas, according to research by Hallmark Cards. "The event has become much more than a football game - it's a party phenomenon," said Hallmark spokeswoman Kathi Mishek. She noted that the greeting card concern sells as many party goods for the Super Bowl as it does for the Fourth of July. The Super Bowl party is a tradition that's grown in part because of the proliferation of large-screen TVs, marketing efforts of food retailers and producers and the desire to keep festivities of the not-so-long-ago holidays going. Americans want to linger a little longer in the holiday mood, said Lawrence Wenner, a professor of communications at San Francisco University, who has written extensively on the Super Bowl. "There's a big void in the first part of the year, when there are no festive holidays." Super Bowl Sunday has "become, what you might call, a cultural high holy day," he added. "I guess it's the last hurrah of the holiday season," Reif confirmed, "the last excuse to overeat." Unlike the scene at Christmas and Thanksgiving, Super Bowl party hosts aren't necessarily slaving in their kitchens baking hams or roasting turkeys. The menu for the day centers on snacks and finger foods, which can be easily eaten in front of the TV set. Often the food is spicy and greasy. Dips, pizza, chili and chicken wings figure prominently. "It's guy food," said Sandra Oliver, editor of Food History News, a newsletter she publishes in Isleboro, Maine. "Guys eat spicy things, like Buffalo wings. We're not talking refined." "It's a culinary celebration of uncertain traditions," Michael Weiss posted on the Claritas Corp. Demographic Detective Internet home page. Claritas, which gathers demographic data, found that Super Bowl parties are "associated with a mixed grill of finger foods with imported pretensions: salsa and corn chips, brie and pita, mozzarella and bruschetta, heat-and-serve pizza rolls and platters of elaborately rolled deli meats." For many party givers, this feeding frenzy demands takeout food, rather than home cooking. "It's our single biggest day, believe it or not," said Jim King, owner of Kitchen Kabaret, an East Hills caterer, echoing the sentiments of many in his business. King supplies fare that ranges from chicken wings to antipastos and crudites to filet mignon. Other popular takeout items with caterers on Long Island include oversized hero sandwiches, deli-meat platters, taco salads and football-shaped cakes. "This is the one day people don't go out," said Ronnie Dragoon, owner of the Ben's Kosher Delicatessen chain. "They stay at home, turn on the TV, and invite over friends and neighbors." It's also the biggest day for consuming snack foods, among them potato chips, pretzels and nachos, according to the Washington-based Snack Food Association, which estimated that Americans consumed 10.8 million pounds of potato chips on Super Bowl Sunday last year. Marketing gets a lot of the credit for whetting our appetite to party on during the Super Bowl. It's helped, Wenner said, by the two-week period between the conference championships and the big game. "The hype level got bigger and bigger," he noted. Food historian Oliver said the marketing machines of Madison Avenue are working hard. "Take a look at January," she said. "Generally speaking, grocery stores don't have white sales. There's really nothing in the month to hang promotions on." Another factor: Women moving out of the kitchen into the living room. Over the past 18 years, the percentage of women watching the Super Bowl has increased, according to Hallmark. Today, nearly 50 million, or 44 percent, of all Super Bowl viewers are women, said Hallmark's Mishek. On top of that, there's also been a proliferation of large-screen TVs, such as the one owned by the Reifs. "You can get more people into your living room," Wenner noted."
---"Super Bing / Championship-level Feasting Truns Super Bowl Sunday into one of the Year's Three Biggest Food Holidays," Alan J. Wax, Newsday (New York), January 21, 1998(p. B14)

Humans have been gathering in large groups to witness competitions from ancient times forward. Military encounters, sporting events, theatrical performances and political rallies all draw crowds. Sooner or later crowds get hungry. Then, as today, spectators brought their own food or puchased from on-site vendors. Some arrived hours or days before the event in order to get the best seats. They laid picnics and cooked with portable messing units. Tailgating happened.

Tailgating, as we Americans know it today, is a beloved institution. It's the perfect convergence of our competitive spirit and zest for outdoor adventure. In the olden days we tailgated from our Conestoga wagons. In the early 20th century new car owners raced off to enjoy motor picnics. In the mid 20th century we built family-oriented camping facilities, inevitably resulting in friendly outdoor culinary (sometimes competitive) exchanges. In all scenarios, some folks were fine with roughing it while others insisted on dragging civilization along for the ride. Where else but America can fine linen, pate and champagne neighbor nicely with paper plates, bratwurst and beer?

Why call it tailgating?
James Beard said it best: "For a Tailgate picnic you need a station wagon, for this is simply a picnic that utilizes the spacious rear flap as the buffet table. Drive to the prettiest spot you can find, unload your grill and serve a delightful tailgate buffet."---James Beard's Treasury of Outdoor Cooking, James Beard [Golden Press:New York] 1960 (p. 220)
[NOTE: Mr. Beard's "Tailgate picnic for four" menu features Chicken and Rice Paella, Crisp Green Salad, Blue Cheese, French Bread & Beer.]

Historians generally agree college football fans were the first to embrace the tailgating ritual. Some football historians state spectators feasted on picnics before witnessing the first intercollegiate football game (Princeton vs. Rutgers, 1869). Others credit Yale for hosting the first American tailgate party during the Great Depression: "Since it got going at the Yale Bowl more than a half century ago, the pre-game parking-lot picnic known as tailgating has become an almost universal tradition on football Saturdays."---"Tailgating in Style," Robert McG. Thomas Jr., New York Times, September 16, 1985 (p. C2). Our survey of newspaper articles confirms "parking lot picnics," (renamed "tailgating" in the 1950s when sales of oversized station wagons soared) as a pre-event on-site social feeding option, first surfaced in the mid 1930s. Yale's tradition is well documented. ?

Large spectator events today regularly contribute to the national tailgate party. Each offers a unique buffet based on place and taste. "Old fashioned" station wagons have been replaced by SUVs, pick-ups, vans, RVs and mini-coopers. Tailgating has morphed from ivy league social to a competition event in its own right. For some people, the pre-game party IS the main event. Like American Thanksgiving, tailgating is all about food, fraternity, and taking a break from daily routine to taste the passion of national pride. Go Bills!!! ?

A selected chronology of modern American tailgate parties

[1934]
"It was impossible to feed this throng, so field kitchens, set up at strategic corners of the fields in back of the campus, dispensed the American sporting lunch, hot dogs and hamburgers and coffee. All over the lawns basket parties sat in picnic fashion..."
---"53,000 See Yale Score Stirring Football Upset by Halting Princeton, 7-0," Robert F. Kelley, New York Times, November 18, 1934 (p. S1)
[NOTE:Norman L. Macht, in his book Football's Last Iron Men 1934, Yale vs. Princeton, and One Stunning Upset draws this conclusion: "The lawns with picnic basket parties, the equivalent of today's tailgate parties." (p. 3)]

[1935]
"No visitors are allowed to picnic in the Yale Bowl."
---"Sorts of the Times, John Kieran, New York Times, November 30, 1935 (p. 10)
[NOTE: Presumably, this explains why the picnics were consumed in the parking lot.]

[1955]
"'Games are social affairs. People bring picnic baskets and eat at parking lots. They exchange social pleasantries, then go in Yale Bowl and watch the game.'"
---"Traveleing Olivars," Jean Hoffman, Los Angeles Times, September 7, 1955 (p. C4)

[1959]
"Tailgate party is the name for picnics off the rear end of the family station wagon."
---"Household Hints," Delta Democrat [Greenville MS] September 15, 1959 (p. 3)

[1961]
"The parking lot cookout--or tailgate party--is picking up where the backyard barbecue left off. This new American dining custom occurs in parking lots near football stadiums in many college towns on Saturdays. For a tailgate party you need a station wagon, food, ice, cool martinis, people and a lot of unexpected happenings bordering on the hectic. The latter is what makes the tailgate party a kiss n'cousin of the backyard barbecue. Theoretically, friends meet, the tailgate is lowered, the food is spread and the football fans quietly down a simple lunch before the game. Not long ago, the tailgate party was exclusively a ritual in Ivy League circles. But it has spread. Our family tailgated recently at that citadel of rigid discipline, the U.S. Military Academy--West Point. If the superintendent had known we were coming he would have locked the gate. Events just cannot move with military precision at a tailgate party. The modus operandi in tailgate circles involves planning ahead to meet your less fortunate friends who must arrive in an ordinary car. The idea: Share your tailgate. The trick: Find your friends and have them find you so you can eat before the game. Some folks really make an affair of a tailgate party--bringing a big pot of spaghetti, a roast, or barbecued chicken for all. The ultimate in tailgate party occurred one recent Saturday before a Princeton game, The host arrived early in a station wagon with a kitchenette inside. HE made a stew before the game!"
---"From One Woman to Another," Bedford Gazette [Bedford PA], November 10, 1961 (p. 4)

[1967]
"Tailgate mania ...has led to an unusual display of culinary art in collegiate parking lots nationwide. One sample: At West Point home games, a lady arrives in a chaffeur-driven limousine. Said driver switches to a white coat. With all due ceremony, he puts up table, arranges arranges comfy chairs, and proceeds to serve a feast complete with wine poured into cut glass goblets. Some tailgaters embellish tables with floral decorations and lighted candles. Others please the palate while portable stereo tickles eardrums..."
---"A Tailgater's Life Can Be Hectic," Lowell Sun [Lowell MA] October 10, 1967 (p. 12)

[1971]
"Tailgating is strictly American and it's part of that Saturday madness known as the college football season. It's also part of the U.S. food picture. To the uninitiated, tailgating is the practice of eating...and and also drinking...from the rear end of a station wagon, a camper or some other kind of vehicle, usually in the parking lot of a football stadium on a Saturday afternoon before a game. The tailgating fans arrive early to get choice parking spots and out comes the food...and drinks. It seems the bigger the stadium, the more the tailgating because the bigger the crowd the more the hot dog without, waiting in line for and endless period. Tailgating apparently had its origin in New England. That's where I first encountered this fascinating American tradition and it brings back fond memories. It was on our wedding trip 17 years ago [1954] and three children ago when I subjected my bride of two days to attending a football game at Michie Stadium at West Point, N.Y. when the Cadets played Dartmouth...on that beautiful Saturday afternoon...there were hundreds of fans eating in the parking lot near the banks of the Hudson before the game...Now the most popular type of tailgating is to obtain chicken, potato salad and baked beans from any of the many chicken franchise spots...Others prepare lunches of the popular schoolboy type of bologna, pickle loaf or ham sandwiches plus the fan's favorite home made side dishes like macaroni salad and baked beans. As a rule the fans prepare just what they would for a summer picnic and generally several carloads of football and food enthusiasts get together to plan the menu and enjoy the feast together. We've seen fans using hibachi grills to prepare their own hot dogs, minute steaks and the like. We've seen pecan pies and other goodies emerge from the rear end of a station wagon as the topping for a tailgating adventure. And many come with large quantities of eight-packs and also the ingredients for other liquid refreshments. It seems to be a particularly popular practice at homecoming games when fans come from great distances to see the football team of their alma mater and to meet school friends from other areas. There's a great fellowship in a tailgating party...and it's even economical because of the price of hot dogs at most stadiums....Time normally spent in waiting in line for food can be used to enjoy good food and to greet old friends."
---"1-2-3 Hike! It's Tailgating Time," Journal-News [Hamilton OH], September 23, 1971 (p. 30)

[1974]
"In parking lots near the football stadiums Saturday afternoons all kinds of cheerful sounds ring out during the pregame time. Sunday afternoons, too. The tailgate party and picnic season...now a fixture each fall, takes lace among fans of the college, high school, sandlot and pro teams. Victuals range from the simple--brown bag containing bottle of beer or soda and sandwich--to the really splendid: champagne, French bread, whole cold chicken, cheese, nuts, fruits. Some tailgate parties or picnics are complicated but fun. Sample: cooking on the site a spaghetti dinner, using a portable kitchen set up in a camper. The more elegant tailgate affairs include tables, usually card tables, spread with real tablecloth. A bowl of flowers suits such an al fresco eating and dining ritual. Tailgating takes its name from the use of a station wagon's tailgate. The popularity of tailgate parties on autumn days has increased through the years. With today's high food prices, sandwiches and a mug of beer would seem to be the best fare. But an elegant feast need not require the hosts to take out a second mortgage. For example, a $5 per person spread might include: whole cold chicken, assorted fruits, cheeses and nuts, fresh French bread and champagne. Another tailgate party tip: pack the picnic-lightening way...For the neatest tailgate party of all, aim for a finger-food menu...Leftovers? After the game is over avoid inching along in traffic jams. A post-game tailgate party gets you out of traffic jams and makes leftovers disappear. PS. --Don't be afraid to make your tailgate feast overly splendid. Anything absolutely anything goes. I have seen lighted candles in sterling silver holders on folding tables with linen cloths in stadium parking lots. Black tie, anyone?"
---"Football Tailgate Parties," The Times [San Mateo, CA] September 25, 1974 (p. 12)

[1975]
"Roy Lilley watched fans gather for the Louisiana State-Kentucky football game with he benevolent air of a man who started it all. Modest house trailers, recreational vehicles, campers--every manner of modern mobile living--maneuvered into parking spaces under the prideful Lilley gaze...'We were the first ones,' he said...'The Lilley Pad,' one of a hundred or so mobile homes lined up in a huge lot 400 yards from LSU's Tiger Stadium. 'We were the first ones to bring a camper to an LSU football game.' His wife, Marge, said, 'That was back in 1964.' He pushed his glasses higher on his nose. 'We were the only ones that year. Then, in 1965, there were three and in 1966 there were 11. After that it just sort of mushroomed.' The Lilleys typify the new breed of football fan, who no longer is satisfied with open-air tailgate parties in the family station wagon. Nor does he want to battle traffic, reserving motel rooms far off campus months ahead or standing in the drizzle or snow while quaffing a pregame stimulator...Across the country, from Florida to California,...these affluent thousands gather on autumn weekends for college and professional football games. It is hard to tell if the games come with parties of the parties come with games. The traditional tailgate party is not dead. Rather it waxes with imagination that would have boggled the early Ivy league tailgaters in their Stutz Bearcats and front-drive Cords."
---"New Breed of Grid Fan Uses Camper, Trailer," Racine Journal Times [WI] November 7, 1975 (p. 16)

[1980]
"For some people, the best part of the football season is tailgating...those festive picnics that take place in stadium parking lots before football games. Amid tall the excitement of a college or pro game, tailgating has become a tradition in many areas across the country. People even have at-home tailgate parties before watching a game on TV."
---"A Mexicali Tailgate Party," New Pittsburgh Courier, November 8, 1980 (p. 16)

[1983]
"The gastronomic tradition associated with tailgating has undergone many changes as the vehicles from which they are held. A generation ago, typical tailgaters lumbered onto grassy parking fields in cavernous station wagons with growling V-8 engines, a surfiet of passenger space and wide rear doors. Vegetable soup in squat thermoses, ham and Swiss on rye, chocolate brownies, and Scotch and soda--or slight variations on that theme--were standard fare. Today's tailgaters are likely to putter to the game in a lunch-box-sized import from which unfortunate back east revelers emerge to spend the first part of cocktail hour attempting to stand erect. While the accommodations today are more austere than the big-car era, the food may make up for it. Colorful pasta and grain-based salads, homemade breads, imported cheeses, cold poached chicken and fish with herb sauces, roast game birds, lobster bisque, fruit tarts--these and more are showing up at pregame festivities. As a recent outing at the Yale Bowl in New Haven demonstrated, the table settings for tailgate picnics seem to be getting as fanciful as the food...tailgate picnics offer more culinary license than summer picnics. For one, the weather is generally cooler, so one can consider mayonnaise-based dishes that may present problems in hot weather; secondly, all varieties of hot foods are appropriate....Planning a tailgate picnic...is not unlike designing football strategy for their down and short yardage" You want just enough flair and unpredictability to keep the other side guessing, but not so much fancy footwork that you risk a disaster."
---"Tailgate Feasts," Bryan Miller, New York Times, October 23, 1983 (p. SM26)

[2003]
"There is little fast food among die-hard tailgaters. For some fans, the time spent cooking is half the fun. At Louisiana State University, some fans show up 48 hours before kickoff to start tailgating..."
---"Before the Sunday Kickoff, Tailgating With Gusto," Peter Kamkinsky, New York Times, September 24, 2003 (p. F1)

[2010]
"Garner Food Company has launched the Texas Pete(R) Ultimate Tailgate Contest to find the most amazing tailgate party in the country among 2010 college football fans. If your tailgate party photos convince the judges that yours was the "ultimate tailgate party" among college football fans from today through November 13, 2010, you'll win a grand prize package worth nearly $3,000, including a Honda "Companion" generator, a Vizio 42" flat screen TV, a DirectTV Package and a Char-Broil Quantum Series Grill."
---"Sporting Activities; Football. Texas Pete Ultimate Tailgate Contest," Food Weekly News, September 23, 2010 (p. 46)

About culinary research & about copyright
Research conducted by Lynne Olver, editor The Food Timeline. About this site.