(Reviewed by JD Jung)
Hannah Selinger graduated from Columbia University but found herself working as a server at a hometown dive. She eventually moved back to New York and found employment at some of the most trendy, high-end restaurants. First working as a server, then “cellar rat” (stocking the wine cellar) and eventually as a sommelier. Envious? Well, you shouldn’t be.
Selinger exposes the toxic culture of the industry in her memoir Cellar Rat. She maintains that she changed many of the names of the people and establishments. Since I was not familiar with the New York dining scene, I googled the head chefs and restaurants that she mentioned. I found that she didn’t conceal their identities and what I discovered was shocking.
She never knew what the next day would bring. She thrived on the unpredictability of the restaurant business and found it thrilling and intoxicating. As a cellar rat and sommelier, she loved wines but hated the erratic personalities of management. On the romantic front, since her work was non-stop, her only relationships were at work. She now realizes that she was naïve and susceptive to the advances of unavailable, predatory men. Misogyny was prevalent, which didn’t surprise me in the early 2000’s but the rest she endured certainly did.
Why did she stay in the restaurant business for so long, enduring such emotional abuse and random dismissals without notice? This is essential information, and you’ll find out when you read the book.
Cellar Rat is a page-turner that is difficult to put down. An original recipe related to the story is included at the end of each chapter. That’s just a plus. More importantly this opened my eyes to a life and subculture I was totally unaware of.
What I also appreciate is that she admits that a few of the dismissals were of her own doing and mistakes. She also admits that she grew up financially stable and had a financial support system when she needed it. She acknowledges that most restaurant workers aren’t afforded that luxury.
Cellar Rat will force you to look at the high-end restaurant industry differently. Selinger maintains that these abuses still occur today, and it is her mission to expose them. I think she succeeds in that.
