Hannah Seling's captivating memoir offers a raw and intimate look into the often-hidden realities of the restaurant world. More than just a chronicle of her professional journey from server to sommelier, this deeply personal account unveils the complexities of navigating a high-pressure industry through the lens of a privileged, Ivy League-educated white, cisgender woman. Seling doesn't shy away from the harsh truths: the grueling hours, the inadequate compensation, and the pervasive lack of empathy that characterize this demanding field. She masterfully portrays the toxic environment she encountered, painting a vivid picture of the relentless pace and the emotional toll it exacts. However, her narrative is not solely one of struggle. Interspersed with accounts of hardship are moments of pure joy—the transcendent pleasure of a perfectly executed dish or an exceptional glass of wine, experiences that illuminate the passion and artistry at the heart of the culinary profession. Seling’s honest and unflinching reflection on her unique perspective within this challenging industry makes for a compelling and thought-provoking read.

Received an advanced copy from NetGalley: Always fascinated with inside looks into other peoples lives , especially ones that differ from mine. I also enjoy reading about behind the scenes in the restaurant industry. Restaurant stars are known to be awful people behind the scenes and she definitely delivers the truth of this which makes for a page-turning read , but she also writes really well about the sad truth of sexism and the at-will lay-off firing and lay-off policies states have (that effect all fields unfortunately). The wisdom from hindsight is at play here as well. The writing is good , the recipes look delicious and I enjoyed this palate cleanser of a book.

I love anything to do with food services and memoirs so this is amazing. I will be recommending this to my friends and family. The experience of working on the line or anywhere where food is served is a hard job but also beautiful.

3.5 but rounded up.

If I had to elevator pitch this book, I would describe it as somewhere between Heartburn and Sweetbitter. The author provided a really insightful look into the resturant industry, the toxicity and abuse that can occur, and the big personalities that are drawn to that environment. There were things I didn’t love. I wish the author took more responsibility for her own bad choices and I wish there was a deeper look into some topics that were brought up, but ultimately, the charm of the writing and the authenticity of the author made up for any flaws. I also LOVED the use of recipes as storytelling and I can’t wait to try them.

Having started in the food service industry at the age of 14, books about the industry have been a staple of my personal library.
I was thrilled to get the opportunity to read an advance copy of the Cellar Rat.

This was more than just a book about life in restaurants though. The author depicted the inner workings just like I remembered but took it one step further and bared her soul to what that life did to her as well as exposed what many women myself included experience while working in a male dominated arena.

She pulled no punches in calling out abhorrent behavior by both male and female chefs she worked with. Anyone who watches the Food Network or Top Chef will recognize many of the names.

This is a brave account of pain and growth and an exposé of the dark side of the restaurant industry rolled up in a well written and captivating book. I highly recommend it.

It's entertaining enough to read about someone trying to make it in the NYC culinary world. I wish she'd do a little less name-dropping and mention a bit more of her soul-searching about why she had such a hard time staying at this restaurant that she was lucky enough to be employed at.

Good writing though, and I did enjoy the way she tied a recipe into each chapter based on a memory or dish served at the restaurant she was discussing in the preceding pages.

read pre-publication thanks to the folks at NetGallery

Well written and insightful. Restaurant life is definitely its own world.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/215748655

I love a good workplace memoir, especially one that doesn't hold back on the details about bad behavior. Hannah Selinger has a lot of stories to tell about her decade in New York's restaurant scene. Where it shines is how well she explains the day to day responsibilities of service and how things work. If you've watched a lot of food television, like The Bear, for instance, you've seen some of this played out on the screen and it is riveting.

However, Selinger admits to some rather egregiously bad judgment and it then becomes unsurprising that she would have a hard time rising up through the industry. As far as the writing goes, there's a lot of repetition of her ruminating about her losses and disappointments that feel at times like padding. All in all, it's dishy retribution against chefs like David Chang, who was by his own account an angry and terrible boss. I'm glad Selinger found a writing career and happiness after her twenties; it seems like it was hard-won. Three and a half stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I did not get the point of this book. It was boring, trite, and didn't really have a point. I didn't think the writing was very good.

Selinger's Cellar Rat is an enjoyable and very dishy read -- in that it calls out bad behavior in the restaurant world and names (sometimes very famous, and still active-in-the-industry) names. But it's also a literary, considered rumination of finding yourself in your twenties; balancing work life with your personal life; discovering your passions; and sussing out your boundaries and sticking to them. I've heard it compared to Bourdain's writing, but that's not quite right. Rather than exposing the seamy underbelly not of the chef's life, Selinger's tale focuses on the various service people (front-of-house, waiters, sommeliers, hosts.) who are, if anything, subject to more abuse and indignities than the kitchen staff.

And it's a page-turner. Selinger could have easily cast this as fiction: The stories she weaves and the cast of characters she's assembled are *that* compelling. The chapters cover different episodes in Selinger's life as she moves from restaurant to restaurant, accumulating battle scars (from boyfriends, from bad bosses, and from unreasonable clients) along the way and learning bit by bit what she can and cannot tolerate. She doesn't shy away from writing about the ugliness and pain of this world -- including her own embarrassing missteps. But there's joy here too -- and Selinger's writing is evocative and propulsive. I could almost feel the swell of pride in a perfectly executed service, the heady excitement of finding herself at the epicenter of the most important city in the world, and the bone-deep exhaustion of being on her feet for 15 hours a day, every day. At times, the language -- while beautiful and lyrical (Jhumpa Lahiri, one of her writing instructors in college, is an early fan) -- can get a bit tedious as she explains for the umpteenth time how restaurants are toxic environments that are particularly dangerous for people injured by childhood traumas.

Selinger also devotes many many words to the intellectual love she harbors for wine after she tumbles into a career as a sommelier at BLT Prime, a popular steakhouse in Manhattan. The passion with which she describes the undertones of a wine -- influenced by the soil the grape is cultivated in, and the vagaries of weather it's subjected to -- makes me want to head back to Winetasting 101.

Ultimately, this is a story of a hard-fought and hard-won coming-of-age. And of making your peace with the good, the bad, and the ugly of your choices. Selinger also attended Culinary school at the tail end of her restaurant adventures and she includes a related-to-the-story recipe at the end of each chapter. For example, at the end of the chapter where she's snubbed by a famous pastry chef, there's an amazing-sounding recipe for Carrot Birthday Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. I thoroughly loved this Frankenstein hybrid of a memoir/workplace drama/call-to-arms/love-note-to-Manhattan (especially as a former New Yorker) and hope this finds a wide audience.

Thanks to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for the ARC.

Hannah entered the restaurant industry when she was 21 years old. She spent a decade rubbing shoulders with famous chefs and celebrity guests (that she name drops—celebrities who don’t tip well, in the age of social media? Scandalous!). She learned about wine and food but was also one of the many victims of an industry that hates women and disparages the front-of-house folks like the servers and sommeliers. It was tough reading about how she was mistreated, but also how she believed the terrible things her higher ups said about her—when you’re in that environment, it’s really difficult to remind yourself you are intelligent and have talent. The horrible relationships she had with men during her decade working in restauarants were also not fun to read about.

It has a happy ending. She’s now a successful food writer with kids and a husband and a bedtime that happens at a reasonable hour instead of the wee hours of an alcohol-fueled night.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this memoir, which RELEASES MARCH 25, 2025.

As soon as I saw the comparison to Sweetbitter, I was sold on reading Cellar Rat. I love any story set in or about the restaurant world, and Hannah Selinger’s book provided the perfect insider look into fine dining in New York City in the early 2000s. I loved how this was really a book about Hannah, and she happened to work in restaurants. It is a memoir about navigating your 20s and finding a career (and losing it and finding it again), and love, and loss. I really enjoyed it. Highly recommend!

This extremely well-written book is just as spot on as Hannah's impeccable wine service.

In her brave, honest and passionate memoir, Hannah spills the tea on the "murkiness surrounding all aspects of restaurant life." She recounts just how cruel the restaurant business is and what happens when you don't toe the line.

Do you have an interest in the restaurant industry? Check out Cellar Rat by Hannah Selinger to learn what one woman went through.

Like many people, I’m interested in the restaurant business and what really goes on behind the scenes. This book is written from the perspective of a server, rather than a chef, which is more typical. The stories, however, are very similar. The hours are wretched, the pay is dismal, the work is brutal. And if you are a woman, it’s often demeaning. The author writes about the terrible incidences she experienced and being treated unfairly. But that’s not unique to the restaurant business. Discrimination and politics happens everywhere, but it seems particularly rampant in restaurants. The difference being that it seems to attract people who have a strong passion for food and are willing to deal with the difficulties. I’m glad the author found a way out!

Thanks to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for the ARC and my honest review.

Curiosity. That’s why most of us want to read this book. What can she tell us?

After graduating from Columbia, Hannah Selinger found jobs in restaurants and ended up becoming a sommelier. She was in her 20s with a photographic memory and could think and react quickly. However, she made mistakes along the way which meant moving on to other jobs which wasn’t easy. Some of it made me wonder why anyone would want to do this although at one point, she was making six figures at a high scale establishment and meeting celebrities.

She was on the fast track at work trying to keep up with busy evenings. It was hard to believe someone would criticize her at work for eating bread while she was on a break. He said she had to be careful with the extra calories. She ran every day and was a size 2! After each chapter, she presented a variety of special recipes which included bittersweet chocolate cream pie and carrot cake. It’s a good addition.

At the same time, Hannah talked about the relationships that didn’t work out. You know what they say: be careful or you might end up in a book like this. She was frustrated with her work and love life. She felt like it could have been related to some of her childhood issues that needed to be resolved.

Hannah's knowledge with wine and service is impressive. I didn’t find anything shocking from her stories in restaurants. Yet, it felt like I was sitting across from her in a cozy coffee shop wanting to find out more about her life. She said she’s now married with a husband and two children. Tell us more please.

My thanks to Little, Brown and Company, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of March 25, 2025.

What happens when a career you love doesn’t love you back?

Hannah Selinger knows the answer all too well.

Before she was a James Beard-nominated food writer (and the lifestyles writer who made #Scandoval happen), Selinger worked as a server, sommelier and later beverage director with/for some of New York City’s top food celebrities — Bobby Flay, David Chang and Johnny Iuzzini — in the early 2000s.

Selinger hadn’t planned on a life in the restaurant industry. She was a Columbia University graduate when she began working at a pub in Newburyport in 2002 — a means to pay the bills while figuring out her next move. A year and a DUI later, she left that gritty scene for Emerson College and an MFA program.

But in 2005, fresh out of graduate school, she’d once again answer the industry’s siren song. She was back in New York City and the job at Flay’s Bar Americain was supposed to be temporary. It was the first restaurant job (it lasted six weeks) in a cascading line of positions that made up a one-sided love affair that didn’t favor Selinger.

New York is full of restaurants and Selinger quickly found a new job. When that one didn’t work out, she found another. Along the way, she became a certified sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers and became the beverage manager for Chang’s Momofuku Group.

All of this took place during the celebrated era of “bad boy” chefs — Gordon Ramsey, Anthony Bourdain, Chang, Emma Hearst, Charlie Trotter — whose bad behavior was celebrated and ignored because of their culinary prowess.

Selinger would eventually leave the culinary world behind, but then, in 2020, Chang would publish his memoir, in which he noted his past bad behavior. Selinger responded to this in an Eater.com review of his book, in which she said he downplayed the trauma inflicted on her and other employees.

“In all my years of restaurant work, I had never seen anything like the roiling, red-faced, screaming, pulsing, wrath-filled man that was David Chang,” she wrote in the review. She writes that she heard Chang tell a 22-year-old line cook that he’d “murder [his] whole f---ing family” for cooking a subpar family meal (dinner for the staff) and berated her for a wine order in front of her staff.
“‘Who the f--k told you that you could buy this?’ he screamed. ‘Who the f--k do you think you are?’” The act, she says, was a move to tear her down, discredit her in front of the staff, and make her “less than” despite her credentials — a hallmark of the misogynist atmosphere of the industry.

Selinger’s tell-all, “Cellar Rat: My Life in the Restaurant Underbelly,” which will be released March 25, is raw and vulnerable. It is a hard look at why, she, as an intelligent woman, was sucked into the cult of restaurants, where employees are rewarded for keeping their heads down and working 12-hour days for not enough pay.

What was it that made her stay in the industry? What fueled her choices? Her bad decisions? Was it the lure of the camaraderie, the late nights, after parties and the freedom of having daytime hours to herself? Was it the trauma experienced in childhood — a relationship with her stepfather that would erupt in violence and then find her seeking his approval — affecting her as an adult? Was she repeating the cycle?

Selinger isn’t looking for a single answer and is culpable for her decisions, good and bad. But, she is looking for answers to why we have tolerated and celebrated this behavior; why we let it continue and how we put an end to it.
“Cellar Rat” is a look at how the restaurant industry, not unlike others, can be toxic, can gaslight victims into doubting themselves, how it minimizes harassment and normalizes unacceptable behavior. It also offers hope for change and offers grace to those who have been a victim of a toxic workplace.

Selinger, also a graduate of the French Culinary School, now ICC, concludes each chapter with a recipe — a bourbon and Coke bundt cake, a white Burgundy-braised chicken, filet mignon Rossini, bittersweet chocolate cream pie — inspired by the chapter’s content. I recently made the white Burgundy-braised chicken thighs made with wine, shallots, garlic, chicken stock, herbs and lemons (unfortunately, because the book is yet to be published I can’t share the recipe). The chicken is as succulent as it is beautiful; a delicious way to end my time with this memoir.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for providing me with this ARC.

3.5 stars.

Cellar Rat is an honest and gritty memoir that gives readers an insider’s look into the world of fine dining. Selinger’s prose brilliantly captures the chaotic energy of restaurant life, while her personal struggles and anecdotes add depth, making the book both informative and relatable.

The pacing occasionally felt slow but overall, I enjoyed reading Cellar Rat.

If you’ve worked in the restaurant industry or are curious about its inner workings, this one’s for you.

3.5 Stars

I find the inside scoop of working in restaurants some of the most fascinating accounts to read. This author's life goal was to be a writer, but things moved sideways for about a decade as she found herself working in the restaurant industry while in her 20s. She worked in some high-end restaurants and became a wine expert. The work culture was addictive and a lifestyle unto itself with schedules the opposite of most people's 9-5 work existence. This alternate work universe lent itself to breeding intimate personal relationships with restaurant personnel- always a mistake. There was also the reality of being fired at any moment with little explanation, an utter lack of empathy for private life crises, crushing double shift schedules, and working on holidays. I enjoyed reading about the NYC locales and the celebrities she encountered while working. She included a recipe at the end of each chapter. This memoir was an interesting and enjoyable read.

Thank you to the publisher Little, Brown and Company for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

As someone who spent 25 years in the restaurant industry, I was excited to read this book. It is an easy read that will enlighten those without service experience and have those of us 'in the know" nodding our heads in understanding. The author does an excellent job of describing her experiences and growth within the business.