little bitty girl

Only ONE book!

I swear I am not getting lazy although I must say that I am having a hard time keeping up with work taking up so much of my time of late. Also, my library books were all overdue and there was not much that I felt like re-reading from my library. Except for this book, Kitchen Confidential.

This is one of my all time favourite books for many reasons. When I was in university, I spent about three years bartending and waitressing. After all, it was the only job that a university student could have that made relatively decent money. A lot of times, chefs depicted on Food Network are clean, polite and usually boring. This book really deals with the realities of restaurant life and truly depicts what "lifers" in the business are like. I also love that Anthony Bourdain never hides his absolute love and curiosity about food. In my ideal world, I would have loved to have been his assistant when he travelled and ate his way around the world.

Whenever I read this book, I am reminded of all the funny and interesting people I have met, the insanity of chefs and I do really think back on those days as the "glory days." All the wait staff and chefs I met were all pretty quirky characters. There are days when I really miss it but I know that there is no going back. That, and I would have most likely been a raging alcoholic by now. Somehow, it always went hand in hand. You always went out with your mates for that extra pint after.

Working at a restaurant has taught me so much how to interact with different people and work under pressure. These are lessons that you can never teach to someone. In many ways, the experience has definitely molded part of my personality today. I can always tell if someone has ever worked in the service industry. There is a self confidence that radiates from those who enjoyed their experiences there. I'll be sure to kick my kid towards a restaurant job when it's their time, as I really do believe it's a wonderful life lesson.