Dish: Women, Waitressing & the Art of Service

The waitress is an enduring pop culture icon. But beyond the stereotypes, what does her role in our lives say about us and our view of women? Director Maya Gallus, a former waitress herself, introduces us to women on the job who dish about their experiences, revealing the fantasies and desires that customers project onto female servers – substitute wife…girlfriend…servant. In North America, the service industry is female-dominated. But the majority of women are relegated to the lower end – truck stops, diners and bars. The more sophisticated the dining experience, the more respect and money the server commands – and the more likely the server is to be a man. Dish takes us from the iconic ‘eggs-over-easy’ diner and truck stop waitresses in Toronto to the gritty and glamorous “sexy resto” serveuses in Montreal. Dish also takes the viewer to the elite world of haute cuisine in Paris (where female servers are simply unacceptable) and the bizarre maid cafes of Tokyo (where modern-day geisha tread a fine line between the art of service and servitude). Enter their world. Experience life on the other side. You’ll never look at a waitress in the same way again.

Dish: Women, Waitressing & the Art of Service had its world premiere at Toronto`s Hot Docs Film Festival on April 30, 2010.