Laurie Woolever

Thank you for having me. Very happy to be here.

Thank you for having me. Very happy to be here.

Yeah, I will say that the world of restaurants and professional cooking that I entered into was very high pressure and very high stakes, but also a lot of fun. There was pretty easy access to alcohol. But I do want to say that my perspective comes from one specific restaurant. So I think that there is a range, certain fine dining restaurants, there's a very low tolerance for alcohol.

Yeah, I will say that the world of restaurants and professional cooking that I entered into was very high pressure and very high stakes, but also a lot of fun. There was pretty easy access to alcohol. But I do want to say that my perspective comes from one specific restaurant. So I think that there is a range, certain fine dining restaurants, there's a very low tolerance for alcohol.

drinking on the job, joking around, there's silence in the kitchen. That was not my experience. Things were a little looser, a little bit more fun. And this was the late 90s and early 2000s. So that was a specific point in time. I do think that kitchens remain a high pressure, high stakes environment. There is a lot of goofing around and a lot of camaraderie, a lot of ways to blow off steam.

drinking on the job, joking around, there's silence in the kitchen. That was not my experience. Things were a little looser, a little bit more fun. And this was the late 90s and early 2000s. So that was a specific point in time. I do think that kitchens remain a high pressure, high stakes environment. There is a lot of goofing around and a lot of camaraderie, a lot of ways to blow off steam.

But I do think that things have changed for the better. That's my anecdotal understanding from speaking to friends who are still in the business.

But I do think that things have changed for the better. That's my anecdotal understanding from speaking to friends who are still in the business.

I think at the time, survival meant getting along with people, going along. If there was someone that was in power that was doing something untoward or uncomfortable, it was about—and this was my experience, and I wrote about it in the book— I tried to diffuse it quietly and privately and not to make a scene about it because I knew that would lead to blowback.

I think at the time, survival meant getting along with people, going along. If there was someone that was in power that was doing something untoward or uncomfortable, it was about—and this was my experience, and I wrote about it in the book— I tried to diffuse it quietly and privately and not to make a scene about it because I knew that would lead to blowback.

I think survival was just making and saving enough money to be able to live in New York City. And in some ways, that is still the case. It's working as a writer, living in New York, raising a child. It is continuing to hustle every day to try and make money. But I think that I am a much more confident person now and a much more calm person now.

I think survival was just making and saving enough money to be able to live in New York City. And in some ways, that is still the case. It's working as a writer, living in New York, raising a child. It is continuing to hustle every day to try and make money. But I think that I am a much more confident person now and a much more calm person now.

I did give up drinking and doing drugs several years ago, and that has made a big difference in my life. So in a lot of ways, it's easier to survive and to get by when your life is quieter and calmer and not so chaotic.

I did give up drinking and doing drugs several years ago, and that has made a big difference in my life. So in a lot of ways, it's easier to survive and to get by when your life is quieter and calmer and not so chaotic.

It was really exciting to be headquartered at Babo, to be at this place that had just opened to huge critical acclaim. There were a certain number of seats and probably 10 times as many people looking to get a seat in the restaurant every single night as there was availability. So that really just led to an electric sense of I'm in the center of something really great.

It was really exciting to be headquartered at Babo, to be at this place that had just opened to huge critical acclaim. There were a certain number of seats and probably 10 times as many people looking to get a seat in the restaurant every single night as there was availability. So that really just led to an electric sense of I'm in the center of something really great.

And my colleagues were all at the top of their game, young and youngish and very excited about being somewhere that was really one of the best restaurants in New York. And all of that came with access to opportunity for me. Mario had a lot of power in the marketplace and media, real estate, business. And so he was able to connect me with a lot of people who were helpful to my career.

And my colleagues were all at the top of their game, young and youngish and very excited about being somewhere that was really one of the best restaurants in New York. And all of that came with access to opportunity for me. Mario had a lot of power in the marketplace and media, real estate, business. And so he was able to connect me with a lot of people who were helpful to my career.

He helped me to get bylines as a fledgling food writer and really just kind of established me in a scene in New York that was very appealing to me.

He helped me to get bylines as a fledgling food writer and really just kind of established me in a scene in New York that was very appealing to me.