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    Zen and the Art of Waitering
    Zen and the Art of Waitering
    Zen and the Art of Waitering
    Ebook35 pages30 minutes

    Zen and the Art of Waitering

    By Jonas Simon

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    About this ebook

    "Before enlightenment: Run food, take orders.
    After enlightenment: Run food, take orders."
    - Buddhist proverb, author unknown.

    So speaks the wisdom of a lost treasure of Eastern thought, "Zen and the Art of Waitering." This recently rediscovered tome, long thought to be lost to the ages (and considered by some to be just a myth), speaks not just to waiters, but to the waiter in all of us (by which I mean, people who are occasionally surly, sometimes discontent, and usually drunk). Funny, compassionate, daring, and eminently useful, “...Waitering” is a guiding light cutting a swath through the darkness and chaos that is the world of professional service. Full of insight (“The first rule of service is thus: The guest cannot conceive of a world outside themselves”), practical advice (“To avoid killing one’s guests, envision them as already dead) and humor (“If a snot is placed in the guest’s pasta carbonara and the guest does not see it, is the snot truly there?”) it is a book who’s goal is to education, enlighten and entertain.

    A great read for anyone who likes to eat out and would like a glimpse at what goes on behind the kitchen doors, and a must read for those in the industry themselves, “Zen and the Art of Waitering” may be specific in nature, but it’s principles of non-attachment, non-desire, letting go, and acceptance can be applied successfully to all walks of life. If you've ever felt stuck in a situation suffering the same problems again and again, if you've ever felt forced to put up with your current life just so you can (hopefully) be happy later, or if you've ever felt like you were looking for a window in a locked room, this is a book for you. Also, it’s hella-funny.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJonas Simon
    Release dateApr 17, 2010
    ISBN9781458028822
    Zen and the Art of Waitering

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      Book preview

      Zen and the Art of Waitering - Jonas Simon

      Zen and the Art of Waitering

      Jonas Simon

      ~

      Smashwords Edition

      Zen and the Art of Waitering

      Copyright © 2008 by Jonas M. Simon.

      All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the author.

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author (and his desire to not be hustling Chicken Parmesans when he's sixty).

      ~

      Zen and the Art of Waitering

      ~

      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Before enlightenment: Run food, take orders.

      After enlightenment: Run food, take orders.

      -Buddhist proverb, author unknown

      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Prepare yourself physically and mentally for the task ahead. If you have not slept or eaten properly (or are hung over) you will surely suffer. Draw your focus to your breath. Attune your senses into the now. A waiter must be quick but not frenzied; calm, yet alert. If you have any problems outside of work that is where you must leave them; in service, as in war, grief has no place on the battlefield.

      ~

      Refer to your 86 list to see what is absent from the night’s menu. You will be sure to refer to it throughout the shift and to promptly inform the guest of any such discrepancies beforehand during your greet. If the guest spends many minutes deciding what to order, only then to discover it is lacking, they will be angry indeed. The guest, like the tiger, is most dangerous when hungry.

      ~

      Check your side station. Do you have everything you will need for the night ahead: share plates, pasta spoons, steak knives, lemons and straws, etc? If not, now is the time to get them while it is still slow. The temptation will be to use this time to talk and flirt with the other servers. This is natural, but unwise. If you have to search out a steak knife during the rush, you will surely regret not preparing properly beforehand. As in the parable of the grasshopper and the ants, it is the wise man who can forestall immediate pleasure for future gain. This is a lesson that must be learned if you are to become a server or, indeed, a man.

      ~

      Be swift in your execution, but never rushed. Busy though you may be, in

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