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"Expectations as a diner at a place like this are always very very high. And we look at a menu and we can see there's a lovely choice. Different items here take different times to prepare. But we expect the food to arrive at the table at the same time, regardless of what we order. They come to the table because there is a system in place. And that system is down to Escoffier.

Before Escoffier, restaurants had no choice. You ate what the chef was making. But with the A La Carte menu, Escoffier introduced a level of complexity that required the culinary version of a production line. The pleasure of eating out for the customer is not having to think about any of this."

Michel Roux Jr explores the life and influence of his great culinary hero, Georges Auguste Escoffier - the man who turned eating into dining.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00ypy02