| Activity sector | Restaurants, business, culinary arts |
|---|---|
| Employment field | Restaurant |
| Related occupation | Businessperson, chef |
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, it traditionally refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business.
Etymology
The French restaurateur comes from the Late Latin restaurator ("restorer") and from the Latin restaurare ("to restore").[1][2][3] Restaurateur is simply French for a person who owns or runs a restaurant.[4] The feminine form of the French noun is restauratrice.[5] A less common variant spelling restauranteur, which is a later formation from Anglicized forms, is formed from the "more familiar" restaurant, with the French suffix -eur ("one who") borrowed from restaurateur.[6] It is considered by some to be an etymological error or misspelling,[4][6] and the form restaurateur (without the n), the earlier form borrowed from French, is preferred in formal writing, especially in the United Kingdom.[7] Restauranteur (with the n) is still widely used, including in formal British writing.[8] The Oxford English Dictionary gives examples of this variant (described as "originally American") going back to 1837.[9] H. L. Mencken said that in using this form he was using an American word rather than a French word.[10]
See also
- Foodservice
- List of restaurateurs
- National Restaurant Association
- Restaurant management
- The World's 50 Best Restaurants
References
- ^ Michele, Norris (17 October 2006). "Restaurateur Shares the Secret of His Success". NPR. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
- ^ Muhlke, Christine (9 August 2010). "The Insider | Sang Yoon". T. New York Times Company. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
- ^ "restaurateur". Merriam-Webster. Online ed. 2025. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
- ^ "Restaurateur vs. restauranteur". Grammarist. 6 April 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ "restaurateur" (in French). Dictionnaire de l'Académie française. Online ed. 2025. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ Dictionary Media Group. 2025. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
- ^ Wilson, Kenneth (1993). "restaurateur, restauranteur". The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Columbia University Press. Archived 7 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 November 2025. – via Bartleby.com
- ^ Wilkinson, Carl (11 October 2008). "Me and my travels". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
- ^ Oxford University Press. 2025. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
- ^ Mencken, H. L. (1989 [1941]). "A Genial Restauranteur". Newspaper Days. New York: Dorset. p. 215. OCLC 1029047323