A Table D'Hôte - A Poem - Stewed Pears . com %

A table d’hôte translates to “the host’s table”. The expression dates back hundreds of years to the days before there were restaurants in Europe. It was originally used to mean a common table in a guest house or tavern, where diners sat together and ate whatever meal the host (innkeeper) chose to serve.

The first “real” modern form of restaurant opened in Paris in 1786. La Grande Taverne featured mahogany tables, linens, chandeliers, waiters and an extensive menu. After the French Revolution (1789 – 1799), restaurants popped up everywhere. A table d’hôte still existed, but also evolved to mean what we think of as a fixed menu (the opposite of à la carte) with numerous courses, of a few choices each, at a fixed price (prix fixe).

Thomas Rowlandson clearly had a rather satirical view of table d’hôte. You might enjoy clicking on the source link in the caption below in order to zoom in. The detail is great. I particularly enjoy all the various “spilling” tableaux.

The form of the Family Lunch is a rondel prime – a French form😉. For more of my ekphrastic poems, please click here.

Thomas Rowlandson, *A Table D’Hote or French Ordinary in Paris*. May 30, 1810. Hand-coloured etching. Publisher: Thomas Tegg. Image in public domain: Source

Family Lunch

The clink of glass, the slurp of wine
Voices at table competing
All talk, none listen, while seating
They prefer to argue than dine

Soup spills, tambourine bangs, dog whines
Begs for food amidst bleating
The clink of glass, the slurp of wine
Voices at table competing

Chomp and chew and gossip entwine
A triangle bells out greetings
Breasts and bread escape on eating
Rumours release, manners confine
The clink of glass, the slurp of wine
Voices at table competing