What does restaurateur mean?
Word: Restaurateur
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Restaurateur means a person who owns and runs a restaurant, looking after its food, staff and guests.
Word origin: Comes from the French word restaurateur, from the verb restaurer.
How do you spell restaurateur?
Syllables: res - tau - ra - teur
Tricky part: Restaurant has an n, but the word for its owner does not. Adding that n is the usual slip, because the two words look so alike.
Watch out for: restauranteur, restarateur, restrateur
Memory tip: Picture the sign over the door and the badge on the owner's jacket: the sign has an n, the badge does not.
Restaurateur in a sentence
Example 1: The restaurateur visited every table to ask the families how they had liked the dosas.
Example 2: After twenty years as a chef in Mumbai, my uncle became a restaurateur with two small cafes in Pune.
Example 3: A good restaurateur knows that a clean kitchen and friendly staff bring diners back.
Fun Fact
The French verb behind this title also came to mean to provide food for someone, which is how it ended up as the name for the owner of an eating place.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
restaurat_ _ _
a) uer
b) eur
c) ure
d) eer
Show answer
b) eur. This job title keeps its French ending, the same three letters that close amateur.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
tuaerrusetar
a) a person who studies the movements of stars and planets
b) a person who draws up the plans for new buildings
c) a person who repairs old paintings and fine furniture
d) a person whose business serves meals to paying customers
Show answer
d) a person whose business serves meals to paying customers. The twelve letters make the job title on this page.
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) cartographer : map
b) choreagrapher : dance
c) lexicographer : dictionary
d) restaurateur : menu
Show answer
b) choreagrapher : dance. Choreographer has an o before the g; the other three pairs are spelt correctly.
Back to the Roots
Restaurateur comes from the French verb restaurer, which literally means ___.
a) to restore
b) to welcome
c) to season
d) to gather
Show answer
a) to restore. Restaurer means to restore to a former state, and a good meal restores a tired, hungry guest.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A newspaper profile of a successful restaurateur would most probably describe how she ____.
a) trained for years and became a classical dancer
b) wrote six novels set in the hills of Himachal
c) coached the state hockey side to a first title
d) found a site, hired cooks and won loyal diners
Show answer
d) found a site, hired cooks and won loyal diners
2. Compared with a head chef, a restaurateur is mainly concerned with ____.
a) the stock for tomorrow's soup and curry
b) the seasoning of each dish on the menu
c) the plating of each order in the kitchen
d) the profit and upkeep of the business
Show answer
d) the profit and upkeep of the business
