“What is a menu and what does it mean to have a literate understanding of one?” This is a question Tony Mirabelli asks in The Menu section of his writing Learning to Serve: The Literacy of Food Service Workers. He declares the menu to be a genre in itself, placing great importance on its existence and the use of it. The knowledge and understanding of the menu is paramount to the successful operation of the diner, as waiters, customers, chefs, and managers make use of it; essentially everyone involved with the diner. Mirabelli seems to base the majority of his data in this section on personal experience, referencing several instances from his two years of work at Lou’s to illustrate several points. And these include not only his own experiences but those of coworkers at the time.
His primary finding is that a menu is not just a piece of printed text used to catalogue the meals a restaurant serves. It is a literacy held by those who work at that restaurant; an understanding of the meals and options offered. In his work as a waiter, Mirabelli had to hold down a considerable wealth of knowledge about every meal and specialty at Lou’s. Having a literate understanding of the menu and every bit of information on it is central to the success of a waiter/waitress, and helps the restaurant to succeed.
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