From the Art of Service to Precarity: The Rise and Decline of an Essential Profession
For centuries, table service was a refined art, reserved for highly skilled professionals and trusted members of royal courts and great noble houses. From Imperial Rome to the grand hotels of the 19th century, the waiter embodied prestige, competence, and discipline.
Today, this figure is often relegated to a marginal, underpaid, and overlooked role, crushed by a lack of training, job insecurity, and the spread of self-service. Modern society has turned the profession into a temporary job and has confused the concept of service with that of servitude, devaluing an art that has defined hospitality for centuries.
Origins: Servants, Courtiers, and the Art of Service
Even in ancient Sumerian, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian civilizations, banquets were ritualized events where service followed strict rules. In the pharaohs’ courts, specific attendants were responsible for pouring wine and preparing food, often priests or high-status servants.
In ancient Greece, the concept of hospitality (xenía) required that the household slave (oiketês) be responsible for welcoming and serving guests. However, in more refined symposia, the task of pouring wine fell to young boys (pais), who had to entertain the guests and follow strict etiquette rules.
The Romans elevated this concept even further: in the convivia, the lavish banquets of the patrician elite, service was managed by tricliniarii, slaves trained in both serving and entertaining. Some were so refined and specialized that they were highly sought after in influential households, considered true “experts” of service. The wealthiest Roman houses also employed structores (responsible for carving meat) and carptores (who selected and presented the food).
The Middle Ages: From Feudal Service to the Codification of Rituals
During the Middle Ages, feudal social structures transformed the relationship between servants and nobility. Food was a symbol of power, and the way it was served was just as important as the ingredients themselves.
In medieval castles, service was managed by a strict hierarchy:
- The steward (scalco) was the most important figure, overseeing the kitchen, pantry management, and banquet organization. This was a position of great trust, often held by noble-born individuals.
- The cupbearer (coppiere) was responsible for pouring drinks, a crucial role due to the constant threat of poisoning. Often, the cupbearer would taste the wine before serving it.
- Valets and table servants carried dishes and maintained the decorum of the dining area.
At this time, service was not merely a practical task but a display of power. The lord or monarch dined surrounded by a court of servants who had to follow precise rituals to reinforce the ruler’s prestige.
The Golden Age: The Waiter as an Elite Figure
The modern concept of the waiter developed between the Renaissance and the 18th century, alongside the rise of aristocratic houses and luxury inns. France, in particular, became the reference point for the art of service: in the 17th century, the waiters of Versailles and noble French households were among the most refined and sought-after.
With the expansion of this hospitality model, the waiter became a distinct professional figure. This period saw the introduction of elegant uniforms and the evolution of French service, which had originated in royal courts and involved bringing all dishes to the table simultaneously, and Russian service, where waiters served guests individually.
In the 19th century, with the expansion of grand hotels and high-end restaurants, the profession of the waiter became highly specialized, requiring specific skills and rigorous training. The first hospitality schools for maîtres d’hôtel and waiters were established, and working in Europe’s top restaurants was considered an honor and a privilege.
The Military Model of Escoffier
A major revolution in restaurant service came with Auguste Escoffier, the famous French chef who, in the late 19th century, imposed a military-style organizational model in grand hotels and restaurants.
Escoffier introduced the brigade de cuisine, a rigid hierarchy where every position had a clearly defined role, eliminating improvisation and making service faster and more efficient. This system extended beyond the kitchen and into the dining room, with precisely structured roles such as maître d’hôtel, chef de rang, and commis de rang, creating a real chain of command.
The idea was simple: no chaos, no role overlaps, only precision, efficiency, and obsessive attention to detail. This model guaranteed quality and professionalism, but today it is increasingly being abandoned in favor of speed, cost-cutting, and reducing the number of skilled—and therefore expensive—staff members, as well as their training.
The 20th Century: The Decline of Service and the Rise of Fast Food
From the second half of the 20th century, the status of waiters as service professionals began to deteriorate, turning into a temporary, underpaid, and low-status job—little more than a plate carrier.
In the 1950s and 1960s, economic booms and the spread of fast food transformed restaurant service into an optimized process rather than a valued experience. The concept of quality service was replaced by productivity:
- More tables served in less time
- Less interaction with customers
- Less attention to detail
The American fast-food model almost entirely eliminated the traditional waiter role, replacing it with standardized, impersonal, and often automated service. Even in traditional restaurants, cost-cutting led to staff reductions and declining training standards.
The Misconception About Service: Serving Is Not Servitude
One of the biggest issues in how modern society views the waiter profession is the confusion between service and servitude.
Today, in many environments, being a waiter is seen as a degrading job, as if serving someone were humiliating. This misconception stems from a society that has lost sight of what true service means.
Service Is an Art, Not Humiliation
In many cultures, serving has always been a noble act. The samurai were literally “those who serve,” yet no one would dare call them slaves. The English butler, the waiter of a grand French restaurant, and the expert sommelier are all figures who elevate service to an art form, where knowledge, discretion, and attention to detail make the difference.
The real issue is not serving but how society perceives those who serve. In Japan, service is considered an essential part of hospitality culture (omotenashi), while in Italy and many Western countries, being a waiter is often seen as a dead-end job for students or those with no other options.
This mentality has led to a catastrophe in the restaurant industry:
- Fewer and fewer people want to do this job.
- The quality of service has plummeted.
- Customers complain about incompetence, but no one is willing to pay for better service.
The result? Venues where customers are treated like numbers and waiters who do the bare minimum, frustrated by ridiculously low wages and disrespectful customers who treat them like modern-day slaves.
Italy and Europe: The Decline of the Waiter Profession
In Italy and much of Europe, the waiter profession is in crisis. The tradition of hospitality, which for centuries made these countries a benchmark in the industry, is slowly disappearing.
The main problems:
- Miserable wages and precarious contracts – Today, waiters earn little and often work without job security. In a sector that generates billions, dining room staff remain the most exploited.
- Lack of training – Hospitality schools increasingly focus on cooking rather than service, neglecting waiter training.
- Shortage of qualified staff – More and more restaurants complain about not finding waiters, but few people want to take on a job that offers no career prospects or adequate recognition.
- Rude customers and employers who don’t value staff – Waiters often suffer from rudeness and arrogance, both from customers and restaurant owners.
The Future of the Waiter: A Profession at Risk of Extinction?
The decline of the waiter profession is not just a problem in the restaurant industry; it is part of a broader cultural shift in which the true value of service—despite being constantly talked about—is increasingly disregarded. However, this profession is not doomed to disappear entirely, but rather to evolve.
The Illusion of a Restaurant Industry Without Waiters
Many restaurant owners believe that technology can replace human service. In recent years, we have seen the introduction of:
- Tablets for ordering – Less interaction with staff, more efficiency for the restaurant.
- Self-service and digital kiosks – Eliminating the need for waiters but reducing the customer experience to a mere transaction.
- Robot waiters – In some Asian countries, particularly Japan and China, robots have replaced part of the dining room staff.
These innovations bring greater speed and efficiency, but they also raise a fundamental question:
Can a quality restaurant exist without waiters?
The answer is no. Dining is not just about food; it is about hospitality, care, and experience.
Towards a Rediscovery of Professionalism
While many restaurants focus on technology to cut staff and costs, there is also a growing demand for authentic and personalized hospitality. Customers are increasingly attentive to service quality, and those who can afford it are willing to pay for a better experience.
For this reason, the waiter profession could be reborn in a new form:
- A return to professionalism, with more specialized training to create true service experts.
- A renewed emphasis on the value of service, finally putting the customer back at the center of the dining experience.
- An intelligent integration of technology, where automation supports staff rather than replacing them.
The Problem with Western Mentality
However, there is a cultural obstacle: Western society tends to devalue the role of service work. This is the real issue. As long as society views waiters as second-class workers, underpaid and without prospects, no one will choose this profession.
In contrast, where service work is respected, the best professionals receive recognition and proper appreciation.
The Waiter of the Future
The waiter of the future must not be just a plate carrier, as they are often seen today, nor merely a salesperson, as many restaurant owners believe. Instead, they should be a true hospitality professional, capable of enhancing the quality of the dining experience. The profession must evolve, yes, but without losing its essence.
If attitudes do not change, the fate of the profession is sealed:
- The shortage of waiters will continue
- The remaining professionalism will collapse
- Dining out will become an increasingly soulless industry
However, if society starts to truly value service, then waiters could once again become key figures in hospitality—just as they were in the past.