HAPPY NEW YEAR TO DAC FROM AUSTRALIA

Joanna Wright & Phil Franet

Call Sign's upside-down reporter from the Dial-a-Cab DP department, Joanne Wright, has now been in Australia for six months during her bumming-around holiday with boyfriend Nicky. She has already filed several reports with Call Sign on her travels, but seems to have settled in Melbourne at least for the next few months.
Joanne is always sending emails and making phone calls to her friends at Brunswick House and would like to wish everyone connected with Dial-a-Cab, a very happy new year. Our best wishes to you too Joanne...

In the photo, Joanne is with managing director Phil Franet in the Call Centre of Silver Top Taxis in Melbourne.

RESTAURANTS IN LONDON

For the next few issues, Call Sign will be looking at historic restaurants around the capital that have interesting tales to tell. As this month's introduction to the series, we are taking a brief look at the history of eating out in London, especially considering that the 'London Eats Out' exhibition is on until 27 February at the Museum of London.

Before 1851, it was very unusual for men and women to dine together with most establishments being male only or occasionally segregated.
The Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in 1851 helped to change this and one of the most successful restaurants of the time was the Café Royale in London's Regent Street. It was famous for its Bohemian clientele such as Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley and especially for its fine French food with wine to match.
London restaurants were modelled on the continental type and many were set up or run by French, Swiss or Italians. The Savoy Hotel was specially designed to appeal to Americans and offered a selection of American dishes in the restaurant. Multi-cultural eating in London had arrived.

The arrival of the twentieth century saw the City's economy shift towards the service industries which led to a boom in the capital's eating houses. Today, everybody eats out with increasing regularity.
To illustrate this growth; in 1900 there were 150 restaurants in the City and the West End. Today London is the restaurant capital of the world and boasts 5,700 of them! So look out in future Call Signs for details of some of these fine establishments.