I’ve worked in the restaurant business since I was a junior in high school, so the terror, stress—whatever you would like to call it—that Gabrielle Hamilton describes about her restaurant, Prune, is oh-so very real for me.  I began as a host and I remember looking at the staff around me on a Sunday morning brunch shift and saying a silent prayer for the hell we were about to experience.

Hamilton’s emphasis in her excerpt from Blood, Bones & Butter is on the importance of not “going down” throughout the long hours of your shift.  She says, “You are always, always going to face forces that can bring you to your knees.” Whether that means pouring pancake batter over yourself and your station (it was blue cheese in my case), or going hungry in a place that is literally full of food, the food service industry is one that can definitely make you look yourself in the face when you’re at your worst. Continue reading →