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In the last Food Season episode of the current batch, we get into the language of restaurant service - specifically those terms that give some of us (well, me) fiery indigestion, like “Enjoy!” or “Are you still working on that?”
Restaurant psychologist Stephani Robson and former server Sara Brooke Curtis explain how what servers say is affected by such things as restaurant furniture, tipping, the need to turn a table around quickly for the next diners, and customer moods and caprices.
Also, I get into an argument with a bathmat. Scroll down to the bottom of the post to see this condescending inanimate object.
The transcript of this episode is at theallusionist.org/transcripts/enjoy.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Stephani recommends the books The Rituals of Dinner by Margaret Visser and Dining Out by Joanne Finkelstein. TIL table manners exist to prove to our fellow diners that we’re not about to murder them with knives!
Which equivalents to “Enjoy!” or “Tuck in!” do you use in other languages? Sweden has ‘varsågod’, Mexico has ‘provecho’, there are many many more.
I’m not the only one with pet peeves! A lot of people can’t stand “No problem”; other people despise “You’re welcome”; it’s a generational divide?
There are always loads of interesting food-related articles to read on Gastro Obscura, such as this one about the lost language of New York’s soda jerks.
What are the origins of to 86 something?
‘Waitron’ - ungendered alternative to waiter/waitress - and a lot more restaurant slang.
Sara recently made several episodes for the podcast Gravy from the Southern Foodways Alliance, and one pertinent to today’s topic is When Menus Talk.
She also spent six months interviewing waitstaff in San Francisco for The Splendid Table.
YOUR RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
latration
CREDITS:
Stephani Robson is a senior lecturer at Cornell University. She tweets @skr4cornell.
Sara Brooke Curtis is a former server and current audio producer; you can hear her work on shows including Gravy and Short Cuts. Find more about her at sarabrookecurtis.com and she tweets @sbcsays.
This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman.
Martin Austwick makes the music that you hear in every episode. Download his songs at palebirdmusic.com and listen to his new podcast Year of the Bird about the songs he writes.
Find the show on the socials at twitter.com/allusionistshow, facebook.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/helenzaltzman and instagram.com/allusionistshow.
