I funded myself through eight years of education by working as a waiter in some half-decent London restaurants. Waiting wasn’t my vocation, but I could carry plates and was good with customers. Two decades after hanging up my apron, I still feel an affinity with the waiting staff when I’m lucky enough to eat out.
This week, staff at London’s Sanderson hotel were accused of racism after a group of diners, mostly black, were allegedly told by a senior staff member: “You don’t know how to behave in a five-star restaurant.” The party of 22 racked up a bill of more than £2,000 at the swanky West End venue, but said they were “treated like dirt”. Juliet Segayi, whose birthday it was, denies they had been unruly or loud but conceded that the group had been taking selfies.
The manager may have taken umbrage to a group of young people taking gloatographs, regardless of their race
Continue reading...