I didn't think I could top last year's World Book Night when I went to McCurdy's Comedy Club in Sarasota to perform my literary comedy and give my favorite book - The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - to the entire audience (click here to see that post) BUT...
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| Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain is a must read for any F&B employee! |
Having been a waitress like 15 times, I couldn't help but to request Anthony Bourdain's delicious tell-all Kitchen Confidential about the food & beverage industry for World Book Night 2014. Bourdain is a real bad ass and an incredible chef who loves to travel and get into trouble...so I guess you could say he was right up my alley.
Because the book was about working in the F&B industry, I already knew I was going to give it out at a restaurant. It made sense. Plus, there was a chance I could get free food! It was only the night before - typical of most of my brilliant ideas - that I thought 'Hey, wouldn't it be fun to revisit all of the those restaurants that I used to work at?' The question I should have been asking was 'Would I have enough books?' Or 'Would they let me back in the door?'
I kid I kid. I only got fired from a couple. I mean, who tips a quarter? And, maybe that dude didn't really need a cappuccino at 11pm at night! Anyway, I've been writing a book about my journey into becoming the Stand-Up Librarian and sadly, I've had to relive a lot of those server jobs, but thankfully most of them were run into the ground by the idiots managing them so I was left with just a few to visit.
So because I am a huge hoarder (and it also makes sense to take my future bestselling book to the stage with original costumes), I have kept all of my server outfits - collared shirts, aprons, bow ties and check presenters. I grabbed an old Fleming's bar apron, covered the logo with a Geisha check presenter, added the standard 3 pens and wine key (in case they asked me to work), and on April 23rd, headed to four of my old restaurants ready to celebrate some of the hardest working people I know with free books! Here is a photo journey of where I went...
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| Wearing my old bar apron from Fleming's to pass out free copies of Kitchen Confidential for WBN 2014! |
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| Giving free books to all of the cooks at the Sweet Sage Cafe. I worked here in 2004! Thanks to owner John Messmore. |
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| Giving the waitstaff at Lee Roy Selmon's free books! I worked here in 2006 when I started my Masters degree. |
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| I visited my old co-workers Chris, Roy & Greg at Ya Ya's Flame Broiled Chicken to give them free books. This was my very first job in 1990! I was a cashier but I loved cutting the chicken with the butcher knife. |
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| Finally, I had a few books left to drop off with Jeremy at the Daiquiri Deck where I worked in 2005 while trying to write my first book. |
Lastly, I met up with my mom and helped her pass out 100 Best-Loved Poems to those enjoying the beach at sunset. It seemed a great way to end World Book Night with the soft white sand at my feet and a heart made out of seaweed.
I LOVE World Book Night!
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| What's more poetic than a seaweed heart? |
