An opportunity to utilize both my food experience and my SW experience.

This post is a mix between a review of the 2022 Horror/Comedy film The Menu starring Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor Joy, and an interpretation of the unique perspective I have being both a Sex Worker, and having first-hand experience of the restaurant world. It contains spoilers, and content warnings (discussions of SA and Su*c*de) so proceed how you will.

I’ve been asked a handful of times lately, “Would you ever consider getting back into food?” And while I’m going to admit that my response is 100% reactive, the answer is usually a quick and firm ‘no’. Sometimes, it’s an ‘absolutely not’, but the reality is more of an ‘I’m not sure, not right now.’ I think the people closest to me know that I would prefer to own a coffee shop rather than a restaurant, and at the same time- to the people who aren’t close to me- I like to remind them that just because I won a food tv show designed for home cooks doesn’t mean I am required to do anything food related, let alone open and run a restaurant. When people leave me comments like, “all that, and you went back to stripping” all I’m hearing is someone projecting onto me that if they were given the opportunity they would do it differently, and to that I say- ‘go ahead, try’. TV viewers tend to behave like they’re living through the contestants, expecting them to do things that if they really wanted, should just do themselves. I digress, but not really….

The Menu addresses multiple perspectives of the restaurant industry. I’ve seen it through three times at this point, and I get pretty activated each time because I don’t just notice something different, I have specific memories and examples pop up each time, too. This time I was watching ‘with’ someone- and I say it that way because of the magic of streaming services and instagram dms.

“Did you get to the tortillas yet?”

“I’m literally on the title card that says Second Course’”

“Send me a time stamp”

And then basically shared commentary on the commercial breaks. Here are some of the highlights:

“She just mentioned Giada’s restaurant”

“The food critic and her kiss ass assistant are pretty accurate for that industry/community”

“This is like an insane version of Thomas Keller”

”There really are great touches that would actually come from kitchens”

“[Nicholas] Hoult’s [character] is 100% one of the foodie bros from instagram

“Here is another broken emulsion 🤣”

Some of the things I enjoy about this movie, are that a lot of the things that happened, were references to things that either real chefs have done in real life, or real chefs have considered doing, but their investors wouldn’t let them.  The ‘Not Bread-Bread course’? I’m pretty sure someone has done that before, I just can’t remember who. And the food critic complaining about the ‘broken emulsion on that same plate, only to be hand delivered an entire bowl of it, not just once, but twice throughout the meal? That’s something I can imagine Marco Pierre White doing. The kitchen shears in the chicken thigh was a plate with a story, and honestly the one I’d be most interested to eat.

There’s a moment in the movie where a chef with the last name “Keller” (TK nod) mentions how Fiennes’ character sexually assaulted her, and then kept her on staff and treated her poorly for weeks. That type of story and behavior happens all too often in kitchens- Mario Batali being a prime example. In 2017, he faced multiple sexual assault charges and later came forward apologizing for his actions saying they were “wrong and there are no excuses”. He settled two of the lawsuits out of court though…

As I continue to dive into this, I want to point out that I’m likely going to kind of, circle through focusing on the chefs, the diners, and Anya Taylor Joy’s character- Margot, a hired SWorker, as well as the linear storyline. I say this because otherwise this would be a really long post and you might get bored.

Let’s address the diners- if you’ve ever worked in the hospitality or restaurant industry, you’ve seen these customer archetypes before. There’s the snooty food critics who are going to look for something wrong on every plate, the foodfluencer who is wide-eyed and jaw dropped, seeking a crumb of approval from the chef, the ‘finance bros’ who don’t appreciate the food outside of the fact that it’s expensive and will look good when they post it on socials, the 1% couple who are entirely indifferent to the meal, the celebrity diner, and the Sex Worker. Each table should likely activate a familiarity to anyone watching, and begs the viewer, which one are you?

As we learn more about the diners, a lot of focus is put on Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) because, as she is told, ‘doesn’t fit in’, and as the story progresses, we understand why.  It’s not because she’s a SWorker. It’s because the Chef has targeted these diners so that his Menu delivers a cohesive message- not to mention personal as well. The scene where the Chef calls Margot out for being a Service Worker and asks her, “do you enjoy performing your services” is one of the most acceptable and non-judgmental discussions with a SWorker I’ve seen in mainstream media. It’s a moment where the two characters truly have a mutual respect and understanding of each other’s work. They acknowledge that there are highs and lows, but overall they enjoy what they do.

As the plot develops, I found myself commenting a lot on the behavior of the diners. Very much like in any restaurant, it almost didn’t matter what was happening in the kitchen- or at other tables for that matter- to each individual party. I had to give my virtual viewing partner a trigger warning for one particular scene entitled The Mess, to which I followed up with: 

“Don’t you find it interesting how some people just like, keep eating as if they’re not phased at all, like they really are only focused on themselves and their experience with the food?”

“I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if that happened in real life. Actually more realistic than anything in this story. People would still take selfies and continue eating”

The foodfluencer is literally asking, “Is there bergamot in here, Chef?” As one of the sous chefs bodies is wrapped in a tarp and taken away.

I want to take a moment to mention that the death by su*c*de scene in this movie is not far from reality. There have been many chefs who have passed in this manner, the motives all different, of course- however, as the film explains- building up the emotional turmoil of needing to fill someone’s shoes and a knowing that they were “very good, but would never be great” is an emotional load many chefs carry. I don’t want to dive any deeper into that than this, however I do think of a few specific people in memoriam.

There are a handful of moments in the script that you’d only understand if you had experience in kitchens, otherwise you’d just think the chef was ‘crazy’. Specifically, the moment where the Chef recalls feeling he ‘wasted’ a day off watching a movie starring the Celebrity Diner (played by John Leguizamo). Anyone might see that as an overreaction, but if you’ve worked in a kitchen, pulled 60hr weeks, and had the only 2 free hours of your day off spent watching a bad movie, you’d be pissed too. (Kinda like how GR would get pissed at us on The Show for having a world class kitchen at our disposal and then making him something he could have bought at a gas station. (What’s the point?). Another moment being when Margot went head to head with the Restaurant Manager, and they featured a knife with a full tang and a bone handle- something only people with high quality knives, or chefs themselves would notice.

The movie drives it’s authentic representation of kitchen and restaurant life through details like record logs of reservations through the years, and placement of products that are strictly commercial- the Paco Jet being the butt of more than one joke. There’s a scene where the chef finally serves his Angel Investor his just deserts (pun), and the diners advocate for him in that he kept the restaurant “open through Covid”.

There’s a moment of pause at one point, where the men are given an opportunity to escape, and the women simply step inside to continue their meal. I enjoyed that part and how it was a reflection of how many cultures eat that way- men and women in separate rooms. I noticed how as the women ate, they let their guard down and spoke freely- becoming comfortable enough to be vulnerable with each other. Margot at this point does something that is the ultimate show of cards- she tells the women her real name.

As the guests collectively seem to accept their fate, it’s revealed that Hoult’s character, Tyler, knowingly hired Margot to be his escort to the dinner in full knowledge of the evenings impending outcome. He chose to invite her anyway because the restaurant didn’t accept solo diners. Incredibly selfish motives, this behavior speaks to the stigma SWorkers face on a regular basis, on top of the overwhelming truth that not only is the work real work, but it is also incredibly dangerous. We’ve all seen true crime documentaries where SWorkers are the victims, and I personally know many workers who share their location with friends for the sheer fact that there’s a chance they won’t come home.

The ‘dessert’ course was a mockery to most kitchens in that dessert is almost always overlooked. I can pretty much bet with certainty that any restaurant will feature a rendition of s’mores, cheesecake, or key lime pie. All that ingenuity throughout the meal, only to end it blandly with low quality chocolate and gelatin.

The plot has a ‘Ratatouille’ moment as I’ll call it in that Margot, being the smart woman that she is, plays by the Chef’s rules to find a way out within the boundaries of his Menu. She tells him she doesn’t like the food, sends it back, and is “still hungry”, “Starved” even. The typical audience member doesn’t realize, but this is a HIGH INSULT to any chef, and if they value their craft, they will go through great lengths to remedy the situation. Pulling from what she noticed while in his office, Margot requests a cheeseburger- the dish that began the Chef’s food journey before it became a career. It becomes almost a competition, promising her “A very traditional cheeseburger- cheap like the ones her parents could barely afford” The subtle dig, but agreement to deliver.

“That come with fries?” She asks.

It’s at this point that Fiennes delivers the best line in the whole film:

“Is the fryer still on?”

As the chef makes Margot’s cheeseburger, we see him genuinely smile. And after she takes a bite and confirms that it is indeed a good cheeseburger, she politely asks for it ‘To go”. Any chef would hate to see food wasted, so he agrees, and she not only pays for her meal in cash, but she also leaves a tip. This small bit of solidarity reinforces how and why Margot is not like the rest of the diners, and she does deserve to leave. The Chef’s issues are not with her, she respects him and his craft, and in turn he did the same. Margot, while she did challenge the chef, was in part, an ideal diner.

This movie is not just fantastic because it’s an excellent representation of the restaurant industry, but it is also one of the only films I can think of that features a Sex Worker as both the Hero and Final Girl. Ralph Fiennes’ acting was superb, and I mentioned more than once how he clearly studied chefs and their mannerisms. I specifically saw a few stances and hand placements that were undeniably nods to GR, and why not- he is a leading figure in the industry. I was left feeling satisfied, I enjoyed Margot taking the menu with her, as I’ve done that many times before- but her using it as a napkin while the restaurant burned in the background was reminiscent of times I’ve left kitchens behind after being treated in ways I didn’t enjoy.

And I did go out the next day to have my own ’Slutty Cheeseburger with crinkle cut fries..