Bread and Butter

by Michelle Wildgen

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This book would not exist without the efforts of a small army of readers, writers, and restaurant gurus. My novel group—Susanna Daniel, Judy Mitchell, Jesse Lee Kercheval, Jeannie Reynolds Page, and Melissa Field—allowed me to hijack our meetings for several months until I’d completed a first draft, and they fed me delicious snacks to boot. Rae Meadows and Sarah Yaw provided the kind of trenchant reads that make me hound them to quit their jobs and neglect their children in favor of being my full-time readers, and sometimes I am kidding. Edenfred is no more, but when it was a gracious writing space for Madison artists, you can bet I used it to complete yet another round of revisions.

  Though I worked in the restaurant business for a number of years, that was a long time ago, and when I sat down to write about the business’s day-to-day workings, I needed professionals. Leah Caplan and Daniel Momont let me pick through their knowledge and their psyches, and any inaccuracies are all my fault. The staff at Lombardino’s let me hang around the kitchen during service and never once admitted that I was in the way, which I absolutely was. Michael Ruhlman’s wonderful series on the life and career of the modern chef was invaluable, and not just for the excuse to read the books all over again, in the process kiting at least one Michael Symon dish. I have yet to make it, but Harry can prepare it in his sleep.

  Emilie Stewart’s guidance and tenacity were once again instrumental in getting this book out in the world. Liz Duvall and Nora Reichard caught every inconsistency and repetition. There are not enough superlatives in the world to heap at Jenny Jackson’s feet for her faultless ability to find the crispest solution to the fuzziest manuscript issues and her supernatural ability to read each new draft afresh. Working with her has made me not only a better writer but a better editor.

  Emily Dickmann, Farah Kaiksow, Jeremy Kraft, Tom Kuplic, Daniel Momont, Ryan Narzisi, Tara Waldron, Alison Weatherby, and Kate Zurlo-Cuva are some of the best friends and extended family the world has to offer, and one of these days I will set us all up on that commune to which I am pretty sure they’ve implicitly agreed.

  There is no better husband and father than Steve O’Brien, who is my cheerleader, my structural support, the funniest man on earth, and the most memorable childbirth class participant the world has ever known. And finally, I spent a long time dithering around with the first seventy pages of this novel, until Holly O’Brien set a firm deadline. That’s my girl.

  A Note About the Author

  Michelle Wildgen is the executive editor of the literary quarterly Tin House. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Wildgen received her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. Her fiction, personal essays, and food writing have appeared in The New York Times; O, The Oprah Magazine; Best New American Voices; Best Food Writing; Prairie Schooner; and elsewhere. Wildgen is the author of the novels But Not for Long and You’re Not You, and the editor of the anthology Food & Booze: A Tin House Literary Feast. You’re Not You has been optioned for film by Hilary Swank and Denise Di Novi.

  Visit: michellewildgen.com.

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  ALSO BY MICHELLE WILDGEN

  But Not for Long

  You’re Not You

  Food & Booze: A Tin House Literary Feast (editor)