I know people thought of food as a very valuable resource that we traded for a ton of stuff (silk, more food, animals etc). But when did we start making food and selling it for something in return?
Follow-up question:
I once read that part of the origin of the modern restaurant is during the French Revolution. As it goes, when various wealthy aristocrats either fled the country or went to the guillotine, their now unemployed former chefs decided to offer their services to the public at large. Is that true?
It's a fun story, but sounds like one of those 'too good to be true' factoids.
Follow up Question:
The instructions of Shuruppag state that "You should not boast in beer halls... like a deceitful man." Another, manuscript has breweries instead of "beer halls."
Were these beer halls or breweries like a pub/bar? Does the material record allow archaeologists to identify any Sumerian beer halls?