Hey readers,
It’s release week for Hot Pot Murder! (Here’s the buy link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/673134/hot-pot-murder-by-jennifer-j-chow/9780593336557/) Go ahead and visit it… I’ll wait.
Now that you’re back: Did you know that I worked in a family restaurant (serving Chinese food) for years? That influenced me to write a culinary cozy, and it also served as an inspiration for Ba’s dim sum eatery in the L.A. Night Market series.
Here’s a fun quiz that explores my restaurant background.
Find out how well you know me!
Jennifer’s Restaurant Biz Quiz
- Which side of my family worked at the restaurant?
a. Dad’s
b. Mom’s
c. Both
d. No relatives worked there - What was the name of the restaurant?
a. Rising Phoenix
b. Dragon City
c. Golden City
d. China Buffet - Which of these kitchen prep duties did Jennifer do?
a. peel potatoes
b. peel carrots
c. wrap egg rolls
d. all of the above - What color was her uniform?
a. blue
b. white
c. red
d. black - Which of these was her favorite item to order off the menu?
a. wonton soup
b. chow mein noodles (fried)
c. beef chow fun
d. egg drop soup - How did she practice math while working?
a. by making change when using the antique register
b. by counting the number of customers
c. by calculating the food tax
d. by multiplying the number of napkins in her head - Where did the leftover food go?
a) to the pigs
b) local charity
c) with the family
d) what leftovers? - Which of her family member(s) cooked in the restaurant kitchen?
a. self
b. Dad
c. aunt
d. uncle - When they had to clear out the salad bar and fill it out with new ice, where did the old ice go?
a. in the potted plants
b. out on the parking lot
c. in the alley for a “snow” day
d. piled into the sink - Which of these things happened while she worked at the restaurant?
a. teen customer left their phone number with a “call me” note
b. diner gave an overly generous tip
c. Jennifer spilled a tray of drinks on a customer
d. all of the above
Answer Key:
1. a. Dad’s; 2. c. Golden City; 3. d. all of the above; 4. d. black; 5. b. chow mein; 6. a. making change; 7. a. the pigs; 8. c. & d. aunt and uncle; 9. c. “snow” day; 10. d. all of the above
Please share your own restaurant experiences below!
Chicks on the Case 
The only restaurant experience I have is dining in and ordering take out.
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That’s the only experience you need, Dru! Yum!
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The closest thing I have to restaurant experience is working at the Arby’s at the mall food court. And I only worked the register. LOL
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A much-needed position! My friend owned a Chinese restaurant at the mall. The mall dynamics are fascinating!
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Back in the days unless you were someone special in town, your first jobs were in the industry.
My first was the Woolworths cafeteria.
Then I worked for a pizza place in the mall serving beers and dozen banana desserts. Okay, I was underage. So I could pour the beer, but someone else had to hand it to the customer. That’s the place where I got my dislike for pizza. The sauce was so thick they used a paint brush rush to put it on the crust. Nope! That’s why I crack jokes about letting the hubbs order pizza and I complain.
Then, while I was waiting for my enlistment to start, I was a waitress at a Shoneys.
Lots of experience, but no cooking, just service.
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Woolworths, RIP! I bought a lot of notebooks to write in from there as a kid. I am totally grossed out by the paint brush thing also. And Shoneys–I hope you got that yummy fudge cake with ice cream dessert for free. (I used to chug sweet tea with it. Umm…)
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Ooh, Woolworths! And you do have a lot of serving experience. I can’t believe they used a paint brush for the pizza (okay, maybe I *can* believe it).
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Hmm. I didn’t do so good on the quiz, but I did a stint making fantastic pizzas at Godfather’s. They were so big I could hardly slide them into the oven! That was a fun job—for a while. Glad it didn’t last too long!
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Supersized pizzas! My hubby used to work at McD’s, and he once made a soft serve so big, the little kid he served was overwhelmed by the size.
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LOL! In high school my husband worked at McD’s and when it was slow, they’d try to make “TV burgers” … you know, like they have on the commercials. He still has his cheesy trophy (pun intended!) for Best Grillman of 1978.
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Ha! What an award!
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Jen, congrats again on HOT POT MURDER! I have to admit, I never worked in a restaurant. But I did work at Starbucks for a while and covered shifts on the cafeteria line in college. I loved the quiz, but I was wrong about the pigs. Please tell us about the piggies!
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Thanks, Lisa! I hear you get discounts when you’re a barista at Starbucks.
The pigs–yes. We partnered with these local farmers and helped feed the piggies. (Too bad we never got to do a field trip to the farms.)
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I worked making pizzas for our college food service several nights a week, then moved on to waiting tables for several years. Which I enjoyed. I used to say that if I could have made the same money and worked the same hours as my attorney job, but waiting tables instead, I’d swap in an instant. No I say that retirement is better than either option.
Then, once in cooking school, I learned all the stations of a restaurant–my favorite was the hot line: loved that line-up of mise-en-place containers and the efficiency of it all!
Congrats on HOT POT MURDER, Jen–huzzah!!!
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Retirement does sound like the best option, Leslie. And kudos to you for completing cooking school–I’m still in awe! (Thanks also for the congrats on the book!)
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I don’t have any experience working in the industry, Jen, but my wife Nancy waited tables back in the day. It wasn’t easy, but it paid the bills!
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Definitely does. And those tips are a nice bonus!
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My only restaurant experience has been eating in them.
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Always a fan of those restaurant experiences!
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This is fabulous! I’m running out to my volunteer duties at CCWC. Will take the quiz later! (And “borrow” this idea for a future newsletter; giving you full credit!)
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Thanks, El! Will see you at CCWC soon!
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Huge congrats, Jen, and thanks for sharing this fun quiz!! I didn’t do well, but I learned more about you, which is the best score of all. ❤
I have worked several restaurant jobs, but I think my favorite was my teenage stint at Baskin-Robbins. (Not a restaurant, I know, but food service, so half-credit?) We had some regulars with zany preferences. My favorite: a state police officer who would come in to order a milkshake made with one scoop of chocolate almond, one scoop of orange sherbet, and mixed with root beer instead of milk. I made my own to see if it was any good. It…was not.
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Jennifer, I have never worked at a restaurant but am amazed at the job the workers do and how hard it is. I worked at a dress shop and then taught for 38 1/2 years. Retirement is the best. My husband is a great cook and his brother said, you should open a restaurant, but that is way too much work. I love your books and I love dim sum. I would have loved to eat at your parents’ restaurant. I just got your new book and it will be read next.
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Congratulations, Jen! Can’t wait to read it!
And I love all of the answers here…but I especially want to hear more about the answers in 10 someday.
I worked at Friendly’s one summer. It’s much more fun to eat there than to work there is all I’ll say about that!
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