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A Waiter in Paris: Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City
An evocative portrait of the underbelly of contemporary Paris as seen through the eyes of a young waiter scraping out a living in the City of Light.
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.
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.
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.
It's physically demanding, frequently humiliating and incredibly competitive. But it doesn't matter because you're in Paris, the center of the universe, and there's nowhere else you'd rather be in the world.
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.
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.
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.
It's physically demanding, frequently humiliating and incredibly competitive. But it doesn't matter because you're in Paris, the center of the universe, and there's nowhere else you'd rather be in the world.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published August 9, 2022
736 people are currently reading
7856 people want to read
About the author
Edward Chisholm
5 books79 followersEdward Chisholm was born in Dorset, England. After graduating from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, he moved to Paris. He currently lives in Switzerland.
His first book, A Waiter in Paris, explores the hidden world of the Parisian restaurant industry and the people that animate it. It was shortlisted for the 2023 Ackerley Prize for exceptional non-fiction writing.
His written work has appeared in The New York Times, the Guardian, Telegraph Weekend Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times magazine, Air Mail, and the Daily Beast.
His first book, A Waiter in Paris, explores the hidden world of the Parisian restaurant industry and the people that animate it. It was shortlisted for the 2023 Ackerley Prize for exceptional non-fiction writing.
His written work has appeared in The New York Times, the Guardian, Telegraph Weekend Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times magazine, Air Mail, and the Daily Beast.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 674 reviews
November 6, 2022
The publisher's marketing efforts would have you believe this to be a dry commentary on class struggle with some culinary drama in the background, but we soon find that the events of this memoir take place in 2012 (so virtually a different world to the one we live in now) and Chisholm is desperately unable to capture any of the nuance in his living conditions as a Parisian bistro's low ranking waiter. Another self indulgent, badly written memoir of a college educated white man cosplaying as working class out of boredom, because being poor in a big city and living paycheck to paycheck is "real life" and apparently glamorous, and hard physical labor is just a means to "prove your own worth to yourself" when you have a degree and a safety net to fall back on in your home country.
October 13, 2022
This is genuinely one of the best books I’ve ever read. Paris, to a lot of us, is seen as a romantic, dreamy and luxurious place…and it is! For some. But A Waiter in Paris shows us the reality of what it’s really like to live and work in the heart of a city, doing most of the work with little payoff as those at the top reap all the benefits.
I felt like I knew all the waiters personally by the end of the book and rooted for/adored nearly every single one of them. I’d highly recommend it if you’re looking for a new memoir to read!
Changing my rating to a 5/5!
🍶🥖☕️
I felt like I knew all the waiters personally by the end of the book and rooted for/adored nearly every single one of them. I’d highly recommend it if you’re looking for a new memoir to read!
Changing my rating to a 5/5!
🍶🥖☕️
November 16, 2023
English boy plays dress up as French waiter
Good lord, this book could have been a 100 pages shorter. A real struggle in the middle to keep going but I did it. Hooray!
The Daily Mail says “worthy of standing next to Orwell as a classic”. The only place I’d let this book stand next to me would be in a crowded urinal.
Good lord, this book could have been a 100 pages shorter. A real struggle in the middle to keep going but I did it. Hooray!
The Daily Mail says “worthy of standing next to Orwell as a classic”. The only place I’d let this book stand next to me would be in a crowded urinal.
May 14, 2022
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.
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.
The hours are long, the work is hard, harder still if, like Chisholm, French is not a native language. It is a tactful exploration of how to leverage others into getting what you want, or in the case of Chisholm, what is needed. A Waiter in Paris has effective bits of dialogue that turn out as quick riposte that further develops the worry and tensions of a man without cash or friends. A Waiter in Paris is more about the comradery of the kitchen and the political state of Paris which dictates the waiters and cooks than it is about the survival of such a stressful role. That is prevalent, and Chisholm does well to balance the two, but they are so intertwined, well-explored and crossing over at every turn that separating the two becomes an impossibility.
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.
If you enjoyed this review, more of my work can be found on my website, Cult Following.
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.
The hours are long, the work is hard, harder still if, like Chisholm, French is not a native language. It is a tactful exploration of how to leverage others into getting what you want, or in the case of Chisholm, what is needed. A Waiter in Paris has effective bits of dialogue that turn out as quick riposte that further develops the worry and tensions of a man without cash or friends. A Waiter in Paris is more about the comradery of the kitchen and the political state of Paris which dictates the waiters and cooks than it is about the survival of such a stressful role. That is prevalent, and Chisholm does well to balance the two, but they are so intertwined, well-explored and crossing over at every turn that separating the two becomes an impossibility.
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.
If you enjoyed this review, more of my work can be found on my website, Cult Following.
June 7, 2024
I would probably rather have read this book from the POV of almost any other person in it.
June 4, 2022
Covering the life of an English graduate who, after working at dead-end jobs in London, travels to Paris where his girlfriend has moved to move in with her and find employment. It doesn't work out and she returns to London leaving him without accommodation and little money. He eventually gets a job as a runner at an upmarket restaurant and this is when the true underbelly of Paris is revealed. The life of the waiter. Overworked, underpaid, having to rely on tips to get by. Life is hard for Edward l'Anglais as he struggles with the language and the management, who dislike him with a vengeance. Most of the book is spent discussing the other waiters and it did become tedious and repetitive. Could have been a lot shorter.
July 1, 2023
One of my greatest pet peeves in life are people who pretend to be poor. I knew I was going to disagree with the author when he stated that the book that inspired him to travel to Paris was George Orwell’s “Down and Out in Paris and London”. The author then continues throughout the entire novel to treat poverty as a romantic adventure, while quite brutally looking down from his ivory tower on the people in his life who are forced into their situation, one he chooses to experience. I think Orwell would have had an aneurism knowing people felt wanderlust from his memoir and not completely overwhelmed by the state failing to provide adequate social welfare to its most vulnerable people.
April 26, 2023
This book could have been condensed from 368 pages to 200 page. The problem is that you have a waiter in a French restaurant that wants to be a writer. He adds superfluous material that makes his book very boring at times.
December 30, 2024
Engaging and often quite funny. You'll never look at Paris or restaurants in quite the same way after reading. One of my favourite books of the year to date.
April 10, 2023
I enjoy service industry memoirs a lot, and while Chisholm's perspective (young white guy unsubtly LARPing George Orwell but in 2012) is cause to be a bit dubious, he paints effective portraits of his fellow waiters and I did like learning about the inner-workings and back-stabbing tensions of a mid-tier (touristy with aspirations) French restaurant.
December 18, 2022
𝗔 𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗜𝗡 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗦 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.
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.
“𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥.”
Be warned, you may think twice the next time you’re dining out. All is not as we might hope behind the scenes and the author made clear this is true in any large city with a competitive restaurant scene. His experience was nearly ten years ago, so maybe things have improved? In any case, reading of his journey through the darker sides of Paris was a pleasure, one I’m sure anyone who loves 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 will also enjoy. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
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.
“𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥.”
Be warned, you may think twice the next time you’re dining out. All is not as we might hope behind the scenes and the author made clear this is true in any large city with a competitive restaurant scene. His experience was nearly ten years ago, so maybe things have improved? In any case, reading of his journey through the darker sides of Paris was a pleasure, one I’m sure anyone who loves 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 will also enjoy. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
May 2, 2023
The penny dropped for me, when Chisholm runs into two acquaintances from university, who are now both stockbrokers or work in oil and gas. Chisholm is not really a Waiter in Paris.
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.
I can’t be completely uncharitable. I enjoyed the book, it’s well written and Chisholm does attempt to address this criticism. I’ll also give him the benefit of the doubt that his desire to be a waiter was genuine and it wasn’t motivated by the cynical fact thought he could get a good Kitchen Confidential-style book out of it.
In the UK, the vast majority of our drama, literature, comedy and reporting is created and commissioned by white, middle class, liberally educated men. And subsequently it’s through this narrow prism we see many of our stories. There’s nothing wrong with white middle class, liberally educated men, I am one, and some of my favourite works have been made by them. But I would have much rather read the story of a waiter in Paris told from the perspective of an actual Parisian or at least an old hand, not Edward from the Home Counties who did a few years waiting tables between university and writing for the New York Times. At least Bourdain stuck it out for 20 years before cashing in his chips…
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.
I can’t be completely uncharitable. I enjoyed the book, it’s well written and Chisholm does attempt to address this criticism. I’ll also give him the benefit of the doubt that his desire to be a waiter was genuine and it wasn’t motivated by the cynical fact thought he could get a good Kitchen Confidential-style book out of it.
In the UK, the vast majority of our drama, literature, comedy and reporting is created and commissioned by white, middle class, liberally educated men. And subsequently it’s through this narrow prism we see many of our stories. There’s nothing wrong with white middle class, liberally educated men, I am one, and some of my favourite works have been made by them. But I would have much rather read the story of a waiter in Paris told from the perspective of an actual Parisian or at least an old hand, not Edward from the Home Counties who did a few years waiting tables between university and writing for the New York Times. At least Bourdain stuck it out for 20 years before cashing in his chips…
February 4, 2025
This dude needs perspective
June 14, 2022
Grabbed me from start to end! A whole sector of the service industry that goes completely unnoticed in our day-to-day, but Edward Chisholm rips out the carpet and exposes the dark underbelly of the waitering/restaurant business. I'm aware not all institutions operate as the infamous bistrot mentioned in the book, but it definitely opened my eyes to what's happening behind the scenes. Power struggles, abuse and fear are told through a humorous and stoic tone, giving us as viewers a window into a world of brotherhood and thievery. The unsung heroes with chunky black wallets and disdainful looks keep our appetite for life going every time we get that 'let's go out to eat and drink and be merry!' feeling. As the pages trickle by and we dig deeper under the well-worn cobblestones of Paris with Edward, the anecdotes become more personal, vivid and a wholly authentic representation of what the real Paris looks, feels, smells and tastes like. There's nothing romantic about the City of Love, yet it's as undeniably French as a 'jambon beurre'.
Just recently I was in a Japanese restaurant and because of 'A Waiter in Paris' I could pick out the holes, understand the hierarchal dynamics between the staff and get a feel for the culture of the establishment. A few hours later after some terrible food poisoning, Edward's accounts came flooding back into my mind and I was imagining all the ways my food had been mishandled. Trust me you will never see restaurants the same! Bon Appétit!
Just recently I was in a Japanese restaurant and because of 'A Waiter in Paris' I could pick out the holes, understand the hierarchal dynamics between the staff and get a feel for the culture of the establishment. A few hours later after some terrible food poisoning, Edward's accounts came flooding back into my mind and I was imagining all the ways my food had been mishandled. Trust me you will never see restaurants the same! Bon Appétit!
March 17, 2024
Sadly Mr Chisholm is no Bourdain - but then who is?
So this a perfectly serviceable memoir of half a year spent working as a runner in a Parisian restaurant, rather than a page turning exploration of a life's work. It's an outsider's retelling of the stories of others.
I got the feeling more was being hidden than told.
So this a perfectly serviceable memoir of half a year spent working as a runner in a Parisian restaurant, rather than a page turning exploration of a life's work. It's an outsider's retelling of the stories of others.
I got the feeling more was being hidden than told.
June 10, 2025
One of the better memoirs I’ve read. It was a tad bit long, but I enjoyed listening to the audiobook. 4/5⭐️
July 15, 2025
*YMS voice* will do for Parisian restaurants what ‘Jaws’ did for the ocean
July 18, 2025
Glæder mig til at høre ham i Tranquebar til oktober!!
June 20, 2022
Really enjoyed this book, certainly shows the life of French waiters in a new light and makes me wonder if it is the same the world over? Loved the many characters and personalities.
September 25, 2024
In and of itself it's a well written, engaging tale of life in the liminal space of waitering in a Parisian bistro. I found it particularly fascinating because of the resonance (acknowledged openly in the book) with Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London which was fascinating, things haven't really changed in 100 years.
It also has this Waiting for Godot meets Of Mice and Men quality where we get a rotating cast of almost archetypical characters of whom we get surface level emotional sketches, often based around some idyl they're waiting for or planning on going to before they just disappear.
Would definitely recommend.
It also has this Waiting for Godot meets Of Mice and Men quality where we get a rotating cast of almost archetypical characters of whom we get surface level emotional sketches, often based around some idyl they're waiting for or planning on going to before they just disappear.
Would definitely recommend.
August 25, 2025
i was so excited to start this book that i even shut the voice inside my head that said “not even the guardian has a nice thing to say on this book printed in capital letters at the back of the cover.” well, i should’ve listened to my intuition and had less faith in what was put in the basement of a waterstones in covent garden. this is one of the most mediocre and abominable pieces of literature i’ve ever read. the embryonic ideas at the base of the book are not too bad—except that they’re expressed in the most shallow, meagre, prosaic and self-complacent and indulgent way possible. not to mention the writer’s shockingly moronic understanding of capitalism and marxist theory! and even if we can condone the shallowness of thinking and the complete lack of emotional depth—which we can’t—the style in itself is the most limping literary exercise ever made, and it should belong in the drawers of a 16-year-old wanna-be-writer rather than on the shelves of a bookstore and on the list of an esteemed publisher. the lexical repetitions (and no, it’s not an “artistic choice”, nor a skilful use of polyptoton or paronomasia: put this aside a paul auster book, and we’ll see if you can even compare the mastering of language, rhetoric and communicative means), the illogical semantic constructions, as well as the complete lack of musicality of the prose make these pages perfect to wrap fish for your next recipe. you’re welcome! i can’t believe i wasted 10 pounds on this—and i can’t even donate it because i too strongly believe in intellectual integrity and it would be an attempt to the next victim’s cognitive faculties putting this back on the shelves of some cute secondhand bookstore overlooking the amsterdam canals. daniela is right, still many years have to pass before time can actually be the judge of what is worth reading amongst contemporary literature.
p.s.: i won’t even mention the poverty fetishism, racism, classism, overall ignorance and the performative cosplaying as a low-class worker by a highly educated, privileged white british man—as the other reviews for this book are pretty eloquent about it all.
i could write an entire essay on how bad this book is.
p.s.: i won’t even mention the poverty fetishism, racism, classism, overall ignorance and the performative cosplaying as a low-class worker by a highly educated, privileged white british man—as the other reviews for this book are pretty eloquent about it all.
i could write an entire essay on how bad this book is.
July 30, 2022
I was engaged by the subject matter and writing early on; a real contemporary 'Down and Out in Paris and London' with all the associated bleakness showing that very little has changed over the years. A real eye-opener to me of what goes on behind the scenes.
Some excellent observations, musings, and turns of phrase. A more thorough editing would have trimmed it neatly by about 50 pages; getting rid of some unnecessary repetition of ideas and slightly cliched sentences (for example, "the sound of a woman's heels clipping along the pavement" too many times; and the continual explosive anger of a low-level manager became wearisome (although not as wearisome as it was for the author no doubt!)), and fixing some typos.
I read it in three days - (that's a good sign of how much I enjoyed it)
I'm glad Mr Chisholm has been able to realize his true calling
Some excellent observations, musings, and turns of phrase. A more thorough editing would have trimmed it neatly by about 50 pages; getting rid of some unnecessary repetition of ideas and slightly cliched sentences (for example, "the sound of a woman's heels clipping along the pavement" too many times; and the continual explosive anger of a low-level manager became wearisome (although not as wearisome as it was for the author no doubt!)), and fixing some typos.
I read it in three days - (that's a good sign of how much I enjoyed it)
I'm glad Mr Chisholm has been able to realize his true calling
July 17, 2023
more of a 3.5 ? could’ve been 100 pages shorter at least but i enjoyed reading. sometimes he misses his own points a little bit and on several occasions i wished i could remind him that he had very actively chosen to do the down-and-out schtick — but ultimately if nobody ever made ‘poor’ decisions or created unnecessary drama for themselves it would be a boring life and there’d be much less to read !
August 17, 2024
This is a fantastic book! One all people who enjoy dining at restaurants should read! It gives an intense and exciting insight into the world of waiting and shit they put up with.
February 15, 2024
This is a captivating memoir by Edward Chisholm, which explores the ‘underworld’ of the restaurant business in Paris.
As a university graduate, Chisholm moved to Paris and moved in with his girlfriend. His dream was to be a writer, but needing some form of income to live in the meantime, Chisholm takes a job in a restaurant as a runner, with aspirations of becoming a waiter. Having no money, no skills or previous experience in the service industry and not being able to speak the language, the sordid side of Paris is soon revealed to him.
The life of a waiter. Underpaid. Overworked. Having to rely on tips to survive. This memoir will open your eyes.
This book will certainly make you think twice about eating out in Paris if you are a foodie. Stories of cocaine being smoked in the kitchens, waiters who have not changed their shirts in weeks, cutlery not being washed properly and food being picked up off the floor and put back onto plates headed for the dining room!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you are a fan of Down and Out in Paris by George Orwell, then you will like this book. Chisholm manages to capture the ambience and the daily struggle through his words and he brings his fellow employees at the restaurant, to life.
The only criticism I have is that I think the book could have been a little shorter. I listened to the audible version and at 13 hours long, there were sections when I thought that a little less detail would have had the same effect. Nevertheless, a riveting read.
As a university graduate, Chisholm moved to Paris and moved in with his girlfriend. His dream was to be a writer, but needing some form of income to live in the meantime, Chisholm takes a job in a restaurant as a runner, with aspirations of becoming a waiter. Having no money, no skills or previous experience in the service industry and not being able to speak the language, the sordid side of Paris is soon revealed to him.
The life of a waiter. Underpaid. Overworked. Having to rely on tips to survive. This memoir will open your eyes.
This book will certainly make you think twice about eating out in Paris if you are a foodie. Stories of cocaine being smoked in the kitchens, waiters who have not changed their shirts in weeks, cutlery not being washed properly and food being picked up off the floor and put back onto plates headed for the dining room!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you are a fan of Down and Out in Paris by George Orwell, then you will like this book. Chisholm manages to capture the ambience and the daily struggle through his words and he brings his fellow employees at the restaurant, to life.
The only criticism I have is that I think the book could have been a little shorter. I listened to the audible version and at 13 hours long, there were sections when I thought that a little less detail would have had the same effect. Nevertheless, a riveting read.
September 2, 2024
3.5
Oddly made me feel nostalgia for my restaurant days, wouldn’t say I’m definitely out of it yet though and potential for me to eat my words there. It’s definitely hard work and staff are under EVERYTHINg and anything. At the same time though I thought he deeped it a bit much at times… like bro just do your job it’s not difficult? AND… not to always be that person but the male privilege. Chisholm acknowledges his privilege but not as a man? Obviously he can’t speak to the experience of being a waitRESS but LORDDDD reading this like men have it so much easier. Now maybe I’m the one deeping it too much but the job itself was not nearly as hard as the experiences that came alongside being a woman in this environment. And I worked in a tapas restaurant. Call me self-important but that work is harder than your average single dish deal.
Overall though I enjoyed this a lot and he painted a vivid picture of Paris, the city of bakeries and bistros, through the people who operate its under-belly. I had such genuine care for all of these characters that were so individually and concisely mapped out. I’m a strong believer that ubiquity is in detail and not generalisations. In blanket description to make a character everyone you fail to make them anyone. Although there is such a host of people to quickly get to know, Chisholm was so effective in immediately letting the reader in to this group of waiters. I genuinely finding myself caring about what happens to these individuals that I tried to google them halfway through. Chisholm takes care of this curiosity at the end so maybe display more patience than I did. oops.
Ultimately we are all marionette puppets who don’t realise the strings are limp (or far too taught).
P.S. what a brilliant final sentence x
Oddly made me feel nostalgia for my restaurant days, wouldn’t say I’m definitely out of it yet though and potential for me to eat my words there. It’s definitely hard work and staff are under EVERYTHINg and anything. At the same time though I thought he deeped it a bit much at times… like bro just do your job it’s not difficult? AND… not to always be that person but the male privilege. Chisholm acknowledges his privilege but not as a man? Obviously he can’t speak to the experience of being a waitRESS but LORDDDD reading this like men have it so much easier. Now maybe I’m the one deeping it too much but the job itself was not nearly as hard as the experiences that came alongside being a woman in this environment. And I worked in a tapas restaurant. Call me self-important but that work is harder than your average single dish deal.
Overall though I enjoyed this a lot and he painted a vivid picture of Paris, the city of bakeries and bistros, through the people who operate its under-belly. I had such genuine care for all of these characters that were so individually and concisely mapped out. I’m a strong believer that ubiquity is in detail and not generalisations. In blanket description to make a character everyone you fail to make them anyone. Although there is such a host of people to quickly get to know, Chisholm was so effective in immediately letting the reader in to this group of waiters. I genuinely finding myself caring about what happens to these individuals that I tried to google them halfway through. Chisholm takes care of this curiosity at the end so maybe display more patience than I did. oops.
Ultimately we are all marionette puppets who don’t realise the strings are limp (or far too taught).
P.S. what a brilliant final sentence x
April 21, 2025
Super conflict about this. The narrator is a middle class university educated man choosing to undertake life as a parisian waiter, bed bugs and all, not out of necessity or hardship but out of a need to simply "proove" he can. He romanticises a gruelling and thankless profession for no end other than to cosplay as a member of the working class.
Nonetheless, his depiction of his colleagues, their lives, the hopes and dreams of a waiter in Paris, the psychological warfare of a restaurant, and the never-ending plight of the working man embody the ideals of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité.
[Honestly a phrase he never fucking shuts up about, and neither apparently does paris].
I really did enjoy this book and I would recommend it, even if it did constantly roll my eyes every other chapter. Maybe I should just work on that gigantic crack on my shoulder, or maybe people from privilege should stop free trialling poverty to give them something interesting enough to write about. idk.
Nonetheless, his depiction of his colleagues, their lives, the hopes and dreams of a waiter in Paris, the psychological warfare of a restaurant, and the never-ending plight of the working man embody the ideals of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité.
[Honestly a phrase he never fucking shuts up about, and neither apparently does paris].
I really did enjoy this book and I would recommend it, even if it did constantly roll my eyes every other chapter. Maybe I should just work on that gigantic crack on my shoulder, or maybe people from privilege should stop free trialling poverty to give them something interesting enough to write about. idk.
August 14, 2024
I really enjoyed this actually - an interesting character study of Parisian hospitality staff, and did make me appreciate the profession more! I was glad he acknowledged his privilege at the end of the book, because sometimes he’d be complaining, but he didn’t have to be working there at all. Also I quickly grew tired of his lack of French skills, knowing that some of the other people at the restaurant had learnt French just fine. Maybe just a criticism of perceptions of language learning in the UK?
September 13, 2025
An engaging tale of one British man’s attempts to be accepted as a waiter in a busy Parisian hotel. Reading sometimes like a work of fiction but with a clear desire to expose the seedy underbelly of restaurant work. I admire the writer’s endeavours, dislike the inanity of some of the characters and certainly would not swap my current job for one in the restaurant. Upon reading this book, I’m not entirely sure I’d even eat there!
February 8, 2025
Not sure if this book lived up to its hype but it was appreciated since it was a gift from my son and purchased at the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris. Which I imagine its author Edward Chisholm could have visited while writing this book? So I felt like I was conducting a French adventure in some ways.
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