A Waiter in Paris: Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City

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The waiter 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. Edward Chisholm’s spellbinding memoir of his time as a Parisian waiter takes you below the surface of one of the most iconic cities in the world and right into its glorious underbelly. Death of the social life, ruinous financial warfare and a genuine drive to be something are all topics contained in writer Edward Chisholm, who recounts his experiences as a runner, waiter and restaurant hand in A Waiter in Paris. It is the dying, noble profession that so many have tried to document and bring to life through various pieces of media, failing to do so because a blemish is missing or a character is out of place. To take it from the source is the best-case scenario, a scattering of scenes that add detail to a scattershot life in a Parisian restaurant. The ins and outs of the filthy business put in the limelight with an effective gaze on what it really means to be a waiter. What a nightmare. Cutting and intense, but equally measured to give a perspective of an outsider trying to break into a culture that has an active distaste for him. A Waiter in Paris is not just a powerful piece that documents perseverance in the face of stubborn doubt, but also a strong companion piece to Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell. As much as Chisholm tries to make the comparison as clear as possible, the smaller moments and details make it very, very clear. Paris has not changed since its days of crooked alleyways leading to miserable kitchens and despondent chefs. Chisholm has the unenviable job of painting that picture but does so with broad strokes and interesting results. As much an exercise in trust of the fellow man as it is a nervy and exciting dash through the underbelly of culinary experiences.

And it never even crossed my mind to work in a Paris restaurant - ever. This (fill in. your own blank) book confirms my decision on that score. I don't think this is a book everyone will read or if they do, will love. Too bad, because Chisholm tells a tale of determination, endurance, fortitude and daring that blew me away. He climbed his own Mt. Everest; no sherpas, no map, no modern equipment. No frills. There were no frills I could find anyway. Words that come to mind are cliched, but they fit; raw, grimy, smelly, vicious, relentless and nowhere do these bon mots: 'liberte, egalite, fraternite' crawl in. Want an adventure? Do you have dream that must be realized? Don't we all? My advice - in case it's working off the books in a glamorous foreign city, READ THIS BOOK. 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. Colleagues - including thieves, narcissists, ex-Legionnaires, paperless immigrants, wannabe actors and drug dealers - who are the closest thing to family that you've got. Waiting tables is physically demanding work, frequently humiliating, and incredibly competitive. But it doesn’t matter because you’re in Paris, the centre of the universe, and there’s nowhere else you’d rather be in the world.Chisholm succeeds in his aim to become a waiter, but inevitably things come to an end when he suffers an injury and moves onto a new job. His experience has changed him, though, and he moves on to write about his subterranean experiences in Parisian restaurants. As he notes in the quote above, so little has changed since Orwell’s time, and you can’t help wondering what any Health Inspectors think of these conditions! 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. This is more a memoir of the author as a young man -- twenty something, an aspiring journalist with no gritty life experience to reveal. His months as a Parisian waiter (actually, mostly as a "runner", aspiring to be a waiter) provide the robust, colourful and often treacherously difficult writer's fodder. Indeed, if you are looking for the glamour, sweetness and beauty routinely associated with this European city, this bio is not going to provide it. However, if you are looking for an authentic experience as well as some beautiful character creation (with a side of personal growth ), you will absolutely enjoy this.

This is part of my Summer Reads series where I’ll be sharing book recommendations – a series of “not just cookbooks”. by Edward Chisholm for the win! This memoir may be the very best I’ve read this year. In it, Chisholm recounts his first year of working his way into the elite, yet lowly world of Paris waiters. This was made even more difficult by the fact that he’s English and spoke almost no French. ⁣⁣ The waiting job was finished, I knew it. The minute I missed my next shift, it was over. In the sense that was a good thing, I had achieved what I came to do: I had become a Parisian waiter, I’d been accepted. My experience with these people had changed me. I had discovered a world hiding in plain sight; one we interact with daily, but care little for. It was the one that Orwell had written about; the very same world, for it has changed so little. 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.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. The waiter 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. Inspired by George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, A Waiter in Paris is a brilliant portrait of the underbelly of contemporary Paris through the eyes of a young waiter scraping out a living in the City of Light.

Keep in mind I spent my young summers in my family's restaurant in a resort town. All I wanted was to be a waitress. The glamour, the uniform, the tips! The dream came true when I came into working age in my state and I learned life lessons and earned money for the first time outside the cocoon of my earlier years. My memory served me well and from summer to summer for 4 yrs I was one of the "wait staff". Two shifts and I must have had a day off. Did I love it? I might still be there if it was still there.) 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. A foodie’s nightmare is A Waiter in Paris. There is a definitive, dreamlike stature to dining out in The City of Light. Will A Waiter in Paris be responsible for second-hand Paris syndrome? It is doubtful because those enjoying brief trips to Paris are not finding the camaraderie of the early morning coffee house, the late-night climbs through narrow stairways, all beautifully developed by Chisholm’s strong prose. For all the infectiously intense moments and the genuine interest Chisholm drags out of his experience, it is still unclear why anyone would wish to become a waiter in such a bustling city. The pride is observed, and the cutthroat world behind the staff-only door is revealed, but little of it makes sense to a passing reader because it is hard to wrap the mind around why anyone would choose to be a waiter.An English waiter's riveting account of working in Paris restaurants (...) a searing account of what life is really like 'at the bottom of the food chain', Chisholm's prose positively delights in describing the graffiti, sodden cardboard boxes and litter-strewn pavements. (...) This astonishing book describes a cruel, feral existence and is worthy of standing on the shelf next to George Orwell's Down And Out In Paris And London (1933) as another classic about human exploitation. -- Roger Lewis * Daily Mail * I loved this book for many reasons. Paris is my absolute favorite city in the world and I always enjoy books that take me there. I worked as a waiter in college, though under much different conditions, so I could relate just a little. This memoir was so riveting it read like fiction. The “cast of characters” was varied, fully fleshed out, and hugely interesting. There were comrades, criminals, friends, villains, and more. All that made for a great reading experience.⁣⁣ You also get lots of details about the horrid bedbug-infested hovels in which the author must live. Prostitutes out front, people sleeping in their cars on the street, shared bathrooms, paper-thin walls.

Ah, Paris… gastronomie magnifique and… insane shit going on behind the scenes. A Waiter in Paris charts Edward Chisholm’s jaw-dropping experiences while serving tables in the French capital, a demi-monde of sadistic managers, thieves, fighting for tips and drug dealers. Seems like not much has changedsince George Orwell worked the same beat.’– Evening Standard Edward Chisholm's book is vividly written and merciless in its detail. Paris and its pleasures always leave one wondering about the seamier side beneath the surface, and here it is. I'd advise readers to enjoy it somewhere warm and comfortable, and on no account to try it before a gastronomic weekend. -- Edward Stourton Chisholm is a wonderful observer of people, of poverty, and of the French." - Simon Kuper, author of The Barcelona Complex and Spies, Lies, and Exile 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.This astonishing book describes a cruel, feral existence and is worthy of standing on the shelf next to George Orwell’s Down And Out In Paris And London (1933) as another classic about human exploitation.’– Daily Mail 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. Much the way that charity camp out for the homeless are not real approximations of what it’s like to be homeless because the participants are destined a warm bed the night after, Chisholm can’t really capture the struggle of being a waiter because unlike most of the other characters he’s not trapped in that life. Spears’ vulnerability shines through as she describes her painful journey from vulnerable girl to empowered woman. himself takes a room in a hotel in an insalubrious part of Paris, and this too shows the gritty reality behind the glimmer and sparkle the City of Light likes to portray.