Menu Design in Europe

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Jim Heimann’s new book on Menu Design in Europe is a mouthwatering feast for the eyes, featuring hundreds of European menus from the early 19th century to the end of the millennium. The colourful, sketchy Salts Diner menu was penned by none other than David Hockney, the spot being one that he regularly frequented: “the spontaneity of his drawing is wonderful and it appears he sketched it in situ”, Jim adds. This was served – as was often the case at that time – in an intermediary form between French and Russian service where each course featured a collection of dishes, grouped by type. Within the pages of this book a record of a several centuries of gustatory elation is a reminder that this common object, once a key element to a meal, was elevated to an art form inspiring memories and culinary history. Also showcased are the Michelin awarded restaurants of the celebrity chef–era and rarities such as a German military menu from World War II.The Carlton Restaurant in Wiesbaden, which boasted an elegant Wiener Werkstätte-inspired green and cream design, offered an all-inclusive dinner for four marks fifty, with individual plates mostly at two marks fifty, though what this meant in terms of relative expense is hard to know.

Congress Tart sounds unappealing and it is unclear what the Haversnack café in London had in mind in 1966 in its offer of ‘Fruit Disc’ for 1/6d.It can be a faux pas to use cutlery at all if eating a burger; asking for a knife and fork in a Chinese restaurant can elicit a withering stare; and during the gastropub craze for serving food on boards, slates or anything except an actual plate, the smooth transfer of food to mouth required concentration. Unfortunately the state of contemporary menu design has been simplified or eliminated due to QR codes,” he begins.

At the turn of the century, however, Jim explains that design began to be more influenced by various art movements, making way for Art Nouveau and later modernism to take centre stage.

One’s heart goes out to the organisers of a dinner in Leeds on behalf of the trade body of funeral directors in December 1919 to celebrate the end of the Great War. This extremely old menu – or ‘bill of fare’ as they were commonly known – already shows signs of artistic endeavour, with one side boasting a series of tongue-in-cheek illustrations designed to entertain readers. The 1891 menu from Paris's Le Grand Vefour, with its intricate die-cut design, evokes a bustling Belle Epoque bistro, while the 1932 menu from London's Royal Palace Hotel transports you to the bar at a spirited, Jazz Age nightspot. In many instances, the menu elevated dining to an art, reflecting, in turn, its purpose as an essential part of graphic and culinary history to be retained for posterity.