by Heather and Rose MacDowell
In this “chick lit meets haute cuisine” novel, twenty-eight year old Erin Edwards stumbles into waitressing while waiting for her dream job in marketing. Although Erin has spent some time eating in restaurants, she’s never worked in one, especially a place like Roulette, one of the best (and most expensive) eateries in Manhattan, complete with one ambitious celebrity chef and two miserable managers. Erin endures all sorts of embarrassment and humiliation at her new job while the kitchen workers place bets that she won’t last a week. Luckily, an experienced co-worker takes pity on Erin and shows her the ropes of food service. Although she eventually gets the hang of it, she has a hard time adjusting to this high stress environment where rich customers are allowed to treat you like a slave for a (usually) measly tip.
As a former waitress, I was really looking forward to this book, which Publishers Weekly called “whip smart” in a starred review. I also sympathized with Erin’s situation because I too stumbled into waitressing with zero previous experience. (Of course, I learned the ropes at a low end, diner type place named the Char Pit where our best seller was the $9.99 prime rib special instead of a hip, expensive restaurant like Roulette.) While I enjoyed most of the MacDowell’s story, especially the staff camaraderie and Erin’s romance with a cute customer, some efforts to be humorous felt slightly forced to me. So while I can’t give this novel a rave review, it was a good, authentic look at restaurants and waiters and for the most part, a fun book to read.
In this “chick lit meets haute cuisine” novel, twenty-eight year old Erin Edwards stumbles into waitressing while waiting for her dream job in marketing. Although Erin has spent some time eating in restaurants, she’s never worked in one, especially a place like Roulette, one of the best (and most expensive) eateries in Manhattan, complete with one ambitious celebrity chef and two miserable managers. Erin endures all sorts of embarrassment and humiliation at her new job while the kitchen workers place bets that she won’t last a week. Luckily, an experienced co-worker takes pity on Erin and shows her the ropes of food service. Although she eventually gets the hang of it, she has a hard time adjusting to this high stress environment where rich customers are allowed to treat you like a slave for a (usually) measly tip.
As a former waitress, I was really looking forward to this book, which Publishers Weekly called “whip smart” in a starred review. I also sympathized with Erin’s situation because I too stumbled into waitressing with zero previous experience. (Of course, I learned the ropes at a low end, diner type place named the Char Pit where our best seller was the $9.99 prime rib special instead of a hip, expensive restaurant like Roulette.) While I enjoyed most of the MacDowell’s story, especially the staff camaraderie and Erin’s romance with a cute customer, some efforts to be humorous felt slightly forced to me. So while I can’t give this novel a rave review, it was a good, authentic look at restaurants and waiters and for the most part, a fun book to read.
No comments:
Post a Comment