There are many people who rely on hospitality service jobs to live. Some are careerists, finding a place in a restaurant or catering company that suits their life. Many more become waiters or bartenders while working towards another career or aspiration. Waiting tables, in essence, becomes a waystation, a temporary way to earn money while working toward a dream.
Matthew Batt waited tables during his academic studies but he was already an English professor when he found himself returning to the job during his sabbatical, which came with a 50% pay cut. He documented the experience, which was different than he imagined, in his book The Last Supper Club: A Waiter's Requiem.
"I lived in absolute peril the entire time I worked in restaurants," recounts Matthew Batt, who returned to waiting tables while on sabbatical and feared running into his students. Photo by Lee Stanford.
The Last Supper Club: A Waiter's Requiem is a personal account of a return to an unforgiving industry. Photo courtesy of University of Minnesota Press.