Fast Food

Fast food is food which is prepared and served quickly at outlets called fast-food restaurants. It is a multi-billion dollar industry which continues to grow rapidly in many countries. more...

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Overview

A fast-food restaurant is a restaurant characterized both by food ready to eat quickly after ordering, and by minimal service. One trait shared by all fast food establishments is that the customer pays for the food prior to consuming it. Often this food is referred to as fast food. In response to increasing backlash against fast food, the industry has been trying to move the public away from that term over the past ten to fifteen years, shifting to the term quick service restaurant (QSR for short). Despite the industry's efforts, consumers continue to refer to them as "fast-food restaurants" .

The food in these restaurants is often cooked in bulk and in advance and kept warm, or reheated to order. Many fast-food restaurants are part of restaurant chains or franchise operations, and standardized foodstuffs are shipped to each restaurant from central locations. There are also simpler fast-food outlets, such as stands or kiosks, which may or may not provide shelter or chairs for customers.

See also: Vending machine#Automatiek

Because the capital requirements to start a fast-food restaurant are relatively small, particularly in areas with non-existent or poorly enforced health codes, small individually-owned fast-food restaurants have become common throughout the world. Restaurants such as Culver's and Noodles, where the customers sit down and have their food orders brought to them, are also considered fast food.

History

Although fast-food restaurants are often viewed as a representation of modern technology, the concept of "ready-cooked food to go" is as old as cities themselves; unique variations are historical in various cultures. Ancient Roman cities had bread-and-olive stands, East Asian cultures feature noodle shops. Flat bread and falafel are ubiquitous in the Middle East. Popular Indian "fast" food delicacies include Vada pav, Papri Chaat, Bhelpuri, Panipuri and Dahi Vada. In the French-speaking nations of West Africa, meanwhile, roadside stands in and around the larger cities continue to sell- as they have done for generations- a range of ready-to-eat, chargrilled meat sticks known locally as "brochettes" (not to be confused with the bread snack of the same name found in Europe).

The modern history of fast-food in America began on July 7, 1912 with the opening of a fast food restaurant called the Automat in New York. The Automat was a cafeteria with its prepared foods behind small glass windows and coin-operated slots. Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart had already opened an Automat in Philadelphia, but their “Automat” at Broadway and 13th Street, in New York City, created a sensation and numerous Automat restaurants were quickly built around the country to deal with the demand. Automats remained extremely popular throughout the 1920's and 1930's. The company also popularized the notion of “take-out” food, with their slogan “Less work for Mother”. The American company White Castle is generally credited with opening the second fast-food outlet in Topeka, Kansas in 1921, selling hamburgers for five cents apiece. Among its innovations, the company allowed customers to see the food being prepared. White Castle later added five holes to each beef patty to increase its surface area and speed cooking times. White Castle was successful from its inception and spawned numerous competitors. In recent decades, Mexican-style food like tacos and burritos, as well as pizza, have also become staples of fast food culture.

Read more at Wikipedia.org