Lunch - what is this meal? History and modern presentation

In the minds of ordinary Russians there are 3 meals: a light breakfast, a comprehensive lunch at work and a delicious family dinner. Sometimes this list is added to snack, but mostly in children. However, in the 1990s the situation changed somewhat, and more and more often restaurants, cafes and other establishments began to call visitors for lunch. "What is it, breakfast, lunch or dinner?" - Many asked themselves in perplexity. Since then, a lot of time has passed, but the situation has not changed dramatically. Confusion with the word "lunch" remained.

Please do not be confused!

So, the very word "lunch", or lunch, came to Russian from English-speaking countries (Great Britain, USA, etc.). They designate the daytime meal as slightly more substantial than breakfast, but not as dense as lunch. This is where the discrepancies arise. Another 30-40 years ago, when answering the question about lunch, what was it, it was right to say that it was the second breakfast. This meal was somewhere around 11-12 hours, unlike lunch, which could take place no earlier than 3 pm.

Today, when it is not necessary to get up so early to the majority of Englishmen, and the number of meals decreased to three, food intake moved closer to 12.00-13.00. In fact, lunch moved the English lunch (dinner) to a later time and virtually abolished the concept of "dinner" (or supper). It is very important not to confuse these concepts when communicating with the British and Americans. Therefore, today we can confidently say about lunch, that this dinner is in the Russian sense.

Business and lunch - what's in common?

But if the word lunch is still familiar to many from the lessons of the English language, then the expression "business lunch" of some still baffles. I wonder what is hidden under it? For this, it is not a bad idea to understand the origin of this concept.

Enterprising Americans took care every minute, and therefore often used meals to communicate with colleagues and partners. Lunch was ideal for both time and volume of food. After all by noon, there were already any news that could be discussed, besides, according to the etiquette rules for lunch, you can simply invite by phone, you do not even need a table decoration. From the combination of the English words business and lunch, there appeared a designation for such a meal. Now it is quite obvious, business lunch - what is it.

Currently...

However, it is unlikely that restaurants, cafes and bistros, offering their clients business lunches, put into the concept the same idea. In fact, this is a complex dinner, consisting of the first, second, salad and drink. It is sad, but it is very similar to the Soviet canteen in its worst sense, besides, the institutions of the "middle hand" often use cheap ingredients for cooking. All this affects the quality.

In a high-end restaurant, they understand differently, business lunch - what it is. For them, this is a way to attract visitors to an exquisite, and therefore more expensive dinner. That is why in such complex dinners there will be all the same dishes, but already selected according to the taste combination. The price reduction is nothing more than a marketing move. It is unlikely that most will dare to go to an expensive institution without recommendations. But to give 200-300 rubles for a test lunch will be many can afford. If the client says about a modest lunch, that it is delicious, then for sure he will want to visit this restaurant more than once.

A little more confusion

Probably, in order to completely confuse the average Russian, the word "lunch control" was invented in English. What does this have to do with nutrition? In fact - no. In fact, these are difficulties in translating (or, more correctly, transcription). In English, it looks like a launch control and literally means "startup control." This term is used by motorists to refer to an electronic quick start system. Obviously, lunch has nothing to do with it.