According to Wikipedia.org: “Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly…typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a packaged form for take-out/take-away.”
Fast food dates back long before the twenty first century however. In the cities of ancient Rome for instance, street vendors had stands that sold bread soaked in wine as a quick snack in the mornings, and cooked vegetables and stews were sold in simple eating establisments later in the day. Many people living in urban areas during these times had no means to prepare or cook their own food, so they relied on these vendors for their meals. During the Middle Ages, large towns and major urban areas such as London and Paris had many vendors that sold dishes such as pies, pastries, flans, waffles, pancakes and cooked meats. Like the early cities of Rome, many of these vendors catered to people who did not have the means to cook their own food or could not afford housing with kitchen facilities. Thus, they relied on fast food.
