Ivy League students are increasingly working as waiters. But this isn’t a tale of the desperation of students looking to avoid youth unemployment. Alina Dizik’s article was about top students choosing to wait tables as a career:

• With the price of entrees at top tier restaurants rising about $100 restaurants are committed to providing a top class dining experience.
• This includes hiring the best waiters possible. Head waiters can make as much as $150,000 a year with tips.
• It’s not a job for the faint hearted. Each of the plates in a 16 course tasting dinner menu can have up to 15 ingredients and various preparation styles. Waiters are expected to be able to answer questions about each of.
• Some dishes require other skills such as the ability to perform a card trick that goes with a seasonal chocolate cheesecake.
• Only 10% of those who apply for jobs as waiters at top restaurants get accepted – rivalling admission rates at top universities.
• Restaurants for their part offer ‘courses’ such as a rundown on various cocktails or the art of wine tasting.

Read about what it takes to be a top waiter, the input that they get to have on new dishes, and more over here.

Source: The Wall Street Journal