Giving food words
A closer look at the menu
There is no precise formula for a ‘good’ menu. In my eyes, a good menu can be simple or complex, feature illustrations or blank space, comprise many pages or a single sheet. But one non-negotiable of a stellar menu, for me, is clarity. I have no interest in mystery when it comes to what I’m ordering; I want my expectations for the meal ahead to be confidently established. I want sensory descriptions of dishes, using bold, accessible language that does the ingredients justice. I want to anticipate the food I’m about to eat with accuracy, certain of what will arrive at my table, and excited by how my host has articulated the details.
When it comes to explaining the importance of clarity, bell hooks does it best. (I’m currently listening to All About Love on audiobook; it’s one of those books that makes everything make sense). The first chapter examines why giving love words - discerning the guts of it - matters so urgently, and how our ability to recognise true love is entirely dependent on us having clarity about what ‘love’ actually means. The author tells us:
“Definitions are vital starting points for the imagination. What we cannot imagine cannot come into being.”
bell hooks, All About Love
This pearl of wisdom extends into every corner of the human experience. In the context of the kitchen, setting intentions for a meal by writing a menu is a deliberate act of care, an invitation for your guests to engage in the minutia of what you have prepared for them, before they have even taken a bite. In fact, the word menu itself comes from the Latin minutus - something made small - your hospitality in micro.
The menu, then, is a tool for intimacy. Rebecca May Johnson comments wonderfully on the relationship between culinary practice and closeness. She reflects on her own habits, noticing that:
“Cooking is the tool I use to draw close to other people, though closeness makes me anxious. Cooking is how I manage closeness.”
Rebecca May Johnson, Small Fires
If cooking fosters closeness, then menus are the love letter - and we’ve been using them in this way for a very long time - about 3,000 years, give or take. I’ll leave you with a timeline to prove it, because I’m a nerd and fell down a research rabbit hole while writing this piece…
A timeline of the menu
879 BC: Nimrud (ancient Kalhu, today northern Iraq). Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II hosts an epic dinner party to mark the completion of his new palace. The festivities last for ten days, and thousands of guests from the surrounding region are invited. The banquet boasts an assortment of food, including oxen, fruits, cheeses, and honey. To immortalise the event, the king commissions a carving onto a huge stone tablet known as a stele - a souvenir of what was eaten, what was celebrated; a love letter in retrospect. The Banquet Stele stands as perhaps the earliest recorded menu in history, preserving a glimpse of ancient indulgence.
1100 AD: Hangzhou, China. Urban centres such as Hangzhou see the emergence of early forms of restaurants, distinct from traditional inns. For the first time, these eateries provide their guests with a selection of dishes to choose from, rather than just serving up whatever is available that day. The variety is extensive (historical accounts from Hangzhou writers note that over 600 dishes are available across the taverns, noodle shops, fine dining spots, and teahouses of the city). The food scene of the Song dynasty is also to thank for inventions such as table service, musical performances by waiting staff, and potentially an early form of rating system. Instead of the Michelin stars we are familiar with today, restaurateurs displayed up to 5 flags outside their buildings to showcase the quality of their offerings.
1769: Paris, France. Elaborate meals are really only enjoyed within the confines of the private residences of the French upper class. Dining out is limited to inns or taverns, where diners sit at communal tables and share the same meal with everyone else. As late as 1769, menus and fine dining are still novel concepts, as evidenced by the inclusion of a scene in the play Arlequin Restaurateur aux Porcherons which dramatises the perusal of a menu (according to research by historian Rebecca Spang).
1831: NYC, USA. Delmonico's in New York City is the first place to introduce the notion of ordering individual items from a menu.
July 2020: London, England. As part of the nation’s efforts to combat the damage of the Covid pandemic on the hospitality industry, Rishi Sunak launches the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme. For the first time, QR code menus are widely embraced by establishments as they endeavour to make their dining experience as ‘contactless’ as possible.
Digital Supper Club is a newsletter written by me, Anna. What’s on the menu? Aside from tacky culinary puns, you can expect essays on the cultural significance of food; the social currency of it, its history, and its joys. I’ll be sharing recipes, restaurant reviews, my musings on food-based art and literature, and maybe even some poetry peppered here and there (I warned you about the puns).
I still dream of Eat Out to Help Out. That month, we were Kings.