25. The medieval period saw the birth of the professional food industry
Professional cooks emerged during the medieval period, employed at the great estates and in the smaller shops of the urban centers. Cheesemongers made and sold cheeses, poulterers sold birds; butcher’s beef, pork, and game. Prepared foods were sold from tradesmen hawking their wares on the streets, as were some meats such as rabbits and sausages. In Europe, and especially in England, the culinary achievement of the pie crust led to wholly edible pies, sold by a tradesman who was known as the pieman. Virtually any food could be baked into pies; meats, vegetables, fruits, and fish and eel, which became known as a sea pie. Pies became a favorite meal of workers at midday, rather than a dessert.
A hierarchy developed in the cooking industry, with those employed at the estates tending to specialize, (bakers, grillers, confectioners, etc) and those employed by the urban shops considered lesser skilled and mere tradesmen. The wealthy scorned the urban shops which catered to the working class and the poor, as well as many of the foods they prepared. Many believed that the constant exposure to the heat and smoke of the medieval kitchen negatively affected the bodily humors, and cooks were stereotyped as hot-tempered as a result. Restaurants were unknown, though inns and taverns offered food, usually prepared in their own kitchens, as an accompaniment to their patrons’ wine or beer.
