A Waiter in Paris, Edward Chisholm (2022)

Ignore the comments on the covers, Chisholm is no Bourdain. A good writer with a fascinating story to tell? Yes. But to compare him to Bourdain or Orwell seems premature.

A Waiter in Paris chronicles the life of Chisholm as just that, a waiter in Paris, however, although experiencing the life for a short period, Chisholm himself explain his middle-class background and his experience almost as purposeful cultural tourism which should allow the readers to read this for what it is, a fantastic insight into another world, but from the view of an outsider.

Bourdain was chef, talking about the world of food, something he knew intimately about, Chisholm is a writer, talking about service, something he wanted to learn about. Both uncover novelties, but from different perspectives.

I enjoyed this book. It got better as it went on, however what also became clear was this was less the general experience of being a waiter in Paris and partly the story of a single insane restaurant. I liked reading about how Paris is like on its outskirts, its underbelly, and how it deals with its cultural seasons and tourists. I enjoyed how respectful Chisholm was in his writing and hope he serves us another book soon.