New book reveals life front-of-house
An expose of one man’s experiences working front-of-house at two New York restaurants has been released in the UK.
Waiter Rant Behind the Scenes of Eating Out is the first book from the author of the American blog waiterrant.net.
After working for seven years as a waiter and manager, the anonymous author – since revealed as Steve Dublanica – decided to put his experiences together in a book.
The result is an entertaining, yet sometimes painfully true version of a waiter’s life that anyone working front-of-house will relate to.
Descriptions of fellow staff members and difficult customers may strike a chord with waiting staff reading the book. From Caesar, the crazy proprietor of Amici`s to Sammy, the bribe-taking manager and Beth, the waitress who is always broke before pay day.
Described by Anthony Bourdain as the “front of house version of Kitchen Confidential” it is well worth reading for empathy if you`re a waiter or to find out what the job really entails if you`re not.
Waiter Rant Behind the Scenes of Eating Out by A Waiter priced £12.99 is published by John Murray.
An excerpt from the preface:
"Ordering from a waiter is one of the most-taken-for-granted human experiences in modern life. We`re never more ourselves when eating out with family and friends. While engaging in the basic rituals of breaking bread, we become a lot less guarded and a lot more primitive.
"Thinking that the waiter is a powerless tip slave, customers often direct that primitiveness toward the person trying to take their order. Waiting should be simple job, but it isn`t. It`s not all doom and gloom, though. If you keep your eyes open, you`ll see the occasional crumb of human grace fall from the table. Eighty per cent of my customers are the nicest people you`d ever want to meet. But I`m concerned that the percentage of people who know how to act in a restaurant is diminishing at an exponential rate."
