Przedsiębiorstwa żywienia społecznego w realiach PRL. Model żywienia zbiorowego w warunkach przyspieszonej modernizacji i jego realizacja

Abstract

The most important manifestation of changes in the culinary culture suffered by the Poles in the second half of the twentieth century was widespread collective catering. Promoting the idea of collective catering was initially based on Soviet patterns. According to them the leading role in collective catering was to be played by a factory canteen. It was to pursue important social goals: ensure the rationality of nutrition (i.e. affect the health of the population), to disseminate scientifically appropriate eating patterns, increase productivity and create new jobs for women. In large cities canteens were unable to threaten the popularity of open-catering facilities, especially fast food bars. Reducing subsidies for the workplace canteens took away their last and most important asset, which was the low price of a meal. Back in 1955, staff canteens and snack bars had accounted for 56 per cent of all restaurants in Poland; five years later, it was only nearly 29 per cent. Failure of the “canteen revolution” plan triggered the adoption of another concept of gastronomy development, which focused on a broad and diverse range of open catering establishments. Particular effort was made in the 1970s. Developing a network of fast food bars and the return to the Polish tradition (folkloristic inns) was to help build modern dining establishments, similar to the patterns known from Western Europe. Staff, organizational and supply restrictions made the modernization of this initiative fail already in the 1970s.