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, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business.
Occupation | |
---|---|
Occupation type | Business |
Activity sectors | Restaurants, business, culinary arts |
Description | |
Fields of employment | Restaurants |
Related jobs | Businessperson, chef |
The French word restaurateur comes from the Late Latin term restaurator ("restorer") and from the Latin term restaurare.[1][2][3] The word 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 is formed from the "more familiar" term restaurant[6] with the French suffix -eur borrowed from restaurateur. It is considered a misspelling by some.[4][6] The Oxford English Dictionary gives examples of this variant (described as "originally American") going back to 1837.[7] H. L. Mencken said that in using this form he was using an American, not a French, word.[8]