Mike Benson, Back Waiter

It’s just after midnight, and Mike Benson is folding up his white cotton button down. It needs to be just as spotless for his shift tomorrow. He’s exhausted after nine hours on his feet. The kitchen staff is going to party, but they were all out until 4 last night, and Mike can’t make it until then. He needs rest. Working as a back waiter at John Besh’s August- a Gayot Top 40 restaurant and a 2013 James Beard Nominee for Outstanding National Restaurant- isn’t easy, but it is rewarding (“ABOUT.” Chef John Besh. Accessed November 14, 2015. http://www.chefjohnbesh.com/about/). Lingering aromas float out from the kitchen and over the dark wood floors of the dining room, layers of roasted duckling and breaded flounder. Mike is overcome by a wave of hunger, as he remembers he hasn’t had a bite to eat since the staff-wide “family dinner” nine hours ago, before opening . Luckily he saved some of the gnocchi for later.

It’s been close to two years since Mike lucked into a low-level position working in the kitchen at August. One night, over the mellow jazz at the downtown pizza joint, Domenica, he struck up a conversation with a man in a dark blue blazer. After several minutes chatting about his desire to work in upscale dining, the man revealed himself to be none other than John Besh, renowned chef and owner of Domenica, August, and several other notable New Orleans eateries. Besh, an award winning chef, owns 10 high-end restaurants in the greater New Orleans area. (“ABOUT.” Chef John Besh. Accessed November 14, 2015. http://www.chefjohnbesh.com/about/). Before parting ways, Besh gave Mike his email and told him they would continue the conversation. Within two months, Mike was training at Besh’s flagship restaurant, August.

In the Dining Room

Mike dances confidently through the packed dining room, as he weaves amongst the conversational hum with silent feet. He sidesteps a team of servers, who engulf a table of four as they gingerly set down their entrees in unison. The pink juice of carefully sliced wagyu beef melts into the blood red ring of beets on a sparkling ceramic canvas. The diner’s eyes grow wide and their lips curl into a smile as they’re submerged in a bath of rich French fragrances. With each bite, their stomachs grow beneath pressed button downs and black dresses. A table over, a man is down on one knee, as his new bride to be chokes back tears between sips of champagne. Curious patrons look on, but Mike pays no mind as he refills glasses at the next table. He doesn’t spill a drop.

Mike was midway through his junior year at Tulane when he started part-time at August. He was three years removed from his only prior experience in the restaurant industry, a position working various jobs in a café bakery. He had always been interested in cooking, and regularly cooked for himself and friends. At August, Mike was tasked with mundane but necessary jobs like peeling potatoes and carrots. Without a car of his own, he was forced to rely on friends, and more often than not, the streetcar. After a sweaty summer in the kitchen, Mike decided the life of a chef wasn’t for him. While he insists that the overall atmosphere of the workers in the restaurant is that of a close-knit community, the chefs maintain a more competitive nature. At his request, Mike was able to take on the position of a food runner, a job with better hours and pay, where he split his time between the kitchen and the restaurant floor. His main responsibility was to deliver finished plates from the kitchen to the dining room tables.

After a year running back and forth from kitchen to the table, Mike was promoted to back waiter, his current position. The back waiter rests near the bottom of the complex fine dining hierarchy. While the servers, career men and women, talk to tables, take orders, and pour wine, Mike’s sets out bread, refills water, clears dishes, and makes sure the food comes out on time. He usually takes care of 4-8 tables at a time, which comes to around 40 people. While his official hourly wage is around $3, once tips are added, his real pay comes out to around $20 an hour. It’s a substantial amount more than those who work in cheaper digs, like the Popeyes down the road, due to the large tips that accompany pricey meals and given that the median hourly wage in Louisiana is $8.56. (“Louisiana – May 2014 OES State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed October 25, 2015. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_la.htm#35-0000). Mike usually works four shifts a week, which provides him with enough money to cover all of his expenses and put a portion of each check in savings. The pay is a welcome difference from friends trying to earn livings as musicians and writers. According to the 2012 State Of The New Orleans Music Community Report, the average musician in New Orleans earns $17,800 a year, with 39% making less than $10,000.(Ramsey, Jan. “Sweet Home: 2012 State of the New Orleans Music Community Report.” OffBeat Magazine. Accessed November 26, 2015. http://www.offbeat.com/news/sweet-home-new-orleans-releases-2012-state-new-orleans-music-community-report/). Financial stability can be a fair trade off for creative freedom in the workplace.

Looking Forward

While Mike finished his senior year of college in the spring of 2015, he hadn’t earned enough credits to officially graduate. So, in addition to working at August, he has the course load of a full-time student. He admits that class work coupled with his unusual work hours makes it difficult for him to see friends, especially on weeks with exams or papers. However, Mike still manages to meet his roommates at the bar down the street regularly. He’s usually shrugged off the stress of a shift by his third glass of whiskey. He also hosts a weekly radio show at WTUL and has been playing drums in a band for several years. They have gigged around the city and recorded a couple albums, but play less often now, as work takes up most of their time. The music is just for fun at this point; Mike believes his future is in food.

August’s tall wooden doors shut behind Mike like they have hundreds of times before, as he walks out into the sticky night air. There’s a little more than half a year left on his lease, and he doesn’t know if that will be the end of his time at August and in New Orleans. Mike hopes to someday manage a high-end restaurant, and to help him achieve that goal he plans on completing a graduate program in hospitality, which will require him to leave the city. But it might not be time yet. “It’s just so easy to live here”, he says. Maybe he’ll just resign the lease and work at August another year, save up some money, and enjoy the city.