The World of Waiters


Book Description




The World of Waiters


Book Description

Originally published in 1984, The World of Waiters provides a close look at the area of everyday working life, focusing on the profession of waiters. The book addresses the complex world of waiters, look at the insecurities, hierarchies and ‘the politics of serving’ that come into play in the everyday working life of a waiter. The book addresses the issues facing waiters in everyday life, including the placing and spacing of customers, the process of ordering and tipping, and customer complaints – all of these are looked at through the lens of the rules adhered to by waiters. The book is created from data compiled by the from 5 English hotels at varying grades. This book provides an interesting case study of the restaurant industry, and will be of interest to any academics working in the field of sociology, in particular the field of the sociology of work and anthropology.




The Waiter


Book Description

“As if The Remains of the Day had been written by Kingsley Amis, The Waiter is…one of the most purely entertaining novels I’ve read in years. This book is a meal you won’t want to finish.” —J. Ryan Stradal, New York Times bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest In the tradition of the modern classics The Remains of the Day and A Gentleman in Moscow comes The Waiter, in which the finely tuned balance of a timeworn European restaurant is irrevocably upset by an unexpected guest. The Hills dates from a time when pigs were pigs and swine were swine, the Maître D’ likes to say—in other words from the mid-1800s. Every day begins with the head waiter putting on his jacket. In with one arm, then the other. Shrugged onto his shoulders. Horn buttons done up. Always the same. There is clinking. Cutlery is moved around porcelain and up to mouths. But in this universe unto itself, there is scarcely any contact between the tables of regulars. And that is precisely how the waiter likes it. Sheer routine…until a beautiful young woman walks through the door and upsets the delicate balance of the restaurant and all it has come to represent. Told in a kaleidoscopic rotation of voices—the headwaiter, the bartender, the coat checker, the chef who never speaks—The Waiter marks the North American debut of an exciting new voice in literary fiction that will leave you longing to sit down at The Hills, order a drink, and watch the world go by….




Service Included


Book Description

A head server at a renowned NYC restaurant dishes out stories and trade secrets from the world of fine dining in this behind-the-scenes memoir. While recent college grad Phoebe Damrosch was figuring out what to do with her life, she supported herself by working as a waiter. Before long she was a captain at the legendary four-star restaurant Per Se, the culinary creation of master chef Thomas Keller. Service Included is the story of her experiences there: her obsession with food, her love affair with a sommelier, and her observations of the highly competitive and frenetic world of fine dining. Along the way, she provides insider dining tips, such as: Never ask your waiter what else he or she does. Never send something back after eating most of it. Never make gagging noises when hearing the specials—someone else at the table might like to order one.




The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World


Book Description

An “engrossing” history of the restaurant atop the World Trade Center “that ruled the New York City skyline from April 1976 until September 11, 2001” (Booklist, starred review). In the 1970s, New York City was plagued by crime, filth, and an ineffective government. The city was falling apart, and even the newly constructed World Trade Center threatened to be a fiasco. But in April 1976, a quarter-mile up on the 107th floor of the North Tower, a new restaurant called Windows on the World opened its doors—a glittering sign that New York wasn’t done just yet. In The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World, journalist Tom Roston tells the complete history of this incredible restaurant, from its stunning $14-million opening to 9/11 and its tragic end. There are stories of the people behind it, such as Joe Baum, the celebrated restaurateur, who was said to be the only man who could outspend an unlimited budget; the well-tipped waiters; and the cavalcade of famous guests as well as everyday people celebrating the key moments in their lives. Roston also charts the changes in American food, from baroque and theatrical to locally sourced and organic. Built on nearly 150 original interviews, The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World is the story of New York City’s restaurant culture and the quintessential American drive to succeed. “Roston also digs deeply into the history of New York restaurants, and how Windows on the World was shaped by the politics and social conditions of its era.” —The New York Times “The city’s premier celebration venue, deeply woven into its social, culinary and business fabrics, deserved a proper history. Roston delivers it with power, detail, humor and heartbreak to spare.” ?New York Post “A rich, complex account.” ?Kirkus Reviews (starred review)




A Waiter in Paris


Book Description

An evocative portrait of the underbelly of contemporary Paris as seen through the eyes of a young waiter scraping out a living in the City of Light. A waiter's job is to deceive you. They want you to believe in a luxurious calm because on the other side of that door . . . is hell. Edward Chisholm's spellbinding memoir of his time as a Parisian waiter takes you beneath the surface of one of the most iconic cities in the world—and right into its glorious underbelly. He inhabits a world of inhuman hours, snatched sleep and dive bars; scraping by on coffee, bread and cigarettes, often under sadistic managers, with a wage so low you're fighting your colleagues for tips. Your colleagues—including thieves, narcissists, ex-soldiers, immigrants, wannabe actors, and drug dealers—are the closest thing to family that you've got. It's physically demanding, frequently humiliating and incredibly competitive. But it doesn't matter because you're in Paris, the center of the universe, and there's nowhere else you'd rather be in the world.




Welcome to Waiters' World


Book Description

Welcome to Waiters' World is a step-by-step guide to successfully waiting tables. Joël Hoachuck, who has been in the restaurant industry around the world for over 30 years, has written this guide in hopes of sharing his knowledge with the Waiters' of the World. The guide begins by covering both the psychological and ethical aspects of the waiters' interactions with customers and their coworkers. It moves into the techniques required to efficiently wait tables, showing you the tools of the trade through clear illustrations. Welcome to Waiters' World also provides an easy-to-understand overview of wine service, finishing up with a glossary of restaurant lingo and its definitions. You can then test your knowledge with a final quiz. Mastering the techniques detailed in this book will result in the waiter having confidence, maximizing sales, increasing their income and excelling at their job. Restaurant owners and managers will find this handbook to be an extremely beneficial tool, saving hours of on-site training. Everything a manager teaches is contained in this guide, including important techniques and tips that are often overlooked. The resulting professional service will be apparent, creating memorable experiences that make your guests come back for more. If your restaurant is ready to provide top notch service, or you are a waiter who wants to be at the top of your game, this book is for you!




Waiter Rant


Book Description

Taken from the popular blog, WaiterRant.net, tells the story from the server's point of view about customer stupidity, arrogance, misbehavior and even human grace.




Waiter to the Rich and Shameless


Book Description

A down-and-out musician chops off his hair to become a server at the top of the Hollywood food chain, discovering a cloistered world of money, fame, bad behavior and intrigue. Waiter to the Rich and Shameless is not just a peek into the secretive inner workings of a legendary five-star restaurant; it is not just a celebrity tell-all or a scathing corporate analysis. It is a top-tier waiter's personal coming-of-age story, an intimate look into the complicated challenges of serving in the country's most elite, Hollywood-centric dining room while fighting to maintain a sense of self and purpose.




Commanders of the Dining Room


Book Description

Excerpt from Commanders of the Dining Room: Biographic Sketches and Portraits of Successful Head Waiters Certainly, the close relationship of the waiters with those things that are necessary to satisfy the appetite, and their efficient manner in serving the same, should endear the men in the dining room and the head. Waiter at the door to the heart of every one who enjoys the luxurious comforts of an up - to-d_ate American hotel dining room. It is true, of course, that to be entitled to such recognition, one should have achieved eminent success in one or more of the high call ings of the world. But there is, however, an exception to every rule. And in this case, it is a very justifiable one; for, while it may not be said that these men have achieved success in what is recognized as the higher callings, yet, nevertheless, thev have undoubtedly achieved success in that calling which circumstances have forced a number of them, many of who-m, had conditions been otherwise, would have attained positions of eminence in any one of the higher callings into which the natural force of the world's current might have carried them, like other men, who have been unhampered in the development of their natural ability, and unrestricted in their move ment through the various channels of Operation. As human plants, dwarfed by a force, unnatural to the design of the Creator, that they have made commendable success, and have shown natural ability is a fact which is sufficient under the circumstances, to entitle them to this biographic recognition. It will also be appreciated that though a head waiter's position may not be regarded as one of the highest callings, his functions, how ever, are very important in the hotel industry. By no means is the position simply what the title designates. There was a time when the duty of the man bearing the title Head Waiter, was merely what the title signifies, and nothing more; but to-day, that title is a mis nomer, as it fails to express the real duties of the position. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.