Unlike the majority of other freshmen, Reichl arrived alone in Ann Arbor in the fall of her freshman year; her mother was in Europe, and “it never occurred to [her] Dad that [she] might like company” during her move to the University of Michigan (106). Her roommate turned out to be a young woman named Serafina; as soon as Reichl saw Serafina’s dark skin, she was relieved that Miriam had not accompanied her to school, as she was concerned that Miriam would react badly to Serafina’s ethnicity.

Reichl, however, liked Serafina a great deal and soon began spending time on weekends with Serafina at her Guyanese parents’ Detroit apartment. She particularly enjoyed the coconut bread that Serafina’s mother made, and she includes a recipe for this bread. When Miriam eventually met Serafina, she reacted with undisguised shock; later, she apologized to Reichl for her reaction, saying that it had not occurred to her that Reichl’s roommate might be Black. Miriam was relieved when Reichl explained that Serafina’s family was Indian and French, not Black.

Reichl was irritated when Serafina accused her of being “a rich kid” who did not have to always behave perfectly in order to be accepted (109). Reichl did not think of herself in this way and did not really understand the struggles and sacrifices that brought Serafina to the University of Michigan. She was surprised when Serafina’s white boyfriend, Rob, got in trouble with his fraternity brothers over the relationship and simply explained to Rob’s friends that Serafina was not Black but Indian and French.

Reichl and Serafina continued as roommates the following year, enjoying cooking together and critiquing their two suitemates’ limited Midwestern palates. They went to the farmers’ market regularly and experimented with new recipes. Reichl’s friend, Mohammad, sometimes came over to cook couscous or roast goat. Mohammad was Moroccan, and Reichl believed he befriended her so that he had someone to speak French with. The following year, the two young women got their own apartment together, close to campus, and their home became a constant gathering spot for their friend group—thanks in large part to their cooking.

As the years went on, Reichl returned home to New York as little as possible. She and Serafina got involved in protesting the Vietnam War and grew closer and closer. Reichl particularly relied on Serafina’s support as she developed crushes on a series of young men who were not interested in her. In their senior year, however, Serafina changed. She took a young man named Bill home to meet her family, and when she came back she was withdrawn and depressed. She would not tell Reichl what had happened, so Reichl called her parents to find out. They told her to ask Serafina “about the pelau” (115).

Reichl cooked Serafina a fancy meal of her favorite foods and finally got her to talk. It turned out that, when her mother was serving pelau to her and Bill, Serafina had asked a question about her own childhood in Guyana, which she did not remember. Her mother had confessed that she did not remember it because it never took place—Serafina was adopted in Detroit, and she is Black, not French and Indian. After this, Serafina grew passionate about her Black identity and distanced herself from Reichl more and more.

In her junior year, Reichl developed a friendship with Mac, a Black friend of Serafina’s. Her mother insisted that he was in love with her, but Reichl accused her mother of simply not believing that a Black man might want to be her friend. Mac was a psychology graduate student working with children who had mental illness. Mac introduced Reichl to new aspects of American life: music, food, and experiences common to the Black community but entirely new to Reichl. With him, she experienced discrimination for the first time, when businesses refused to serve what appeared to be a couple with different racial heritage. At Clint’s, a Black-owned bar in Ann Arbor, Reichl learned to make “Claritha’s Fried Chicken,” for which she includes a recipe.

In the summer before her senior year, Reichl and Serafina stayed in her parents’ New York apartment while her parents were away. Reichl worked for a South Bronx social services agency. She describes one particular client, Mrs. Forest, who—at just 19 years old—had three children and had been deserted by her husband. Reichl admired Mrs. Forest’s ability to keep “her children in line” with constant threats of physical violence against them (124). Reichl took the children on several expeditions into Manhattan to broaden their experience of the world. When she finally convinced Mrs. Forest to come along on one of these trips, Mrs. Forest fell in love with the experience of taking the ferry into Manhattan, and Reichl enjoyed hearing the woman sound young and happy for the first time.

Reichl impulsively suggested another trip into Manhattan to meet her friend Mac, who was in town for a visit. Mac was resistant to the idea, however, and when Reichl suggested taking the ferry to Chinatown and buying Mrs. Forest and her children dim sum, Mac pointed out that having Reichl pay for their food was likely to embarrass Mrs. Forest. Eventually, he gave in, however, and they agreed to take Mrs. Forest and the children on the ferry and then for a picnic in Washington Square Park. When one of the children had to go to the bathroom, Reichl suggested that they walk to her apartment, which was a short distance away. In writing up her report of the day, Reichl omitted any mention of the trip to her apartment and meeting with Mac.

When she returned home, Miriam called to say that the doorman had called to complain about the many dark-skinned people coming in and out of the Reichls’ apartment. Reichl was angry about the call and refused to accede to the doorman’s demand that her guests use the service elevator instead of the main one.

Reichl developed romantic feelings for a man named Alan Jones and, hoping to develop a relationship, took a job at a new upscale French restaurant in Ann Arbor where he worked. The restaurant was called L’Escargot, and Reichl talked her way into a waitressing job there despite having no experience. The owner, Maurice, was very proud of the expensive fittings and dinnerware he had provided for the place, and he intended the restaurant to introduce Ann Arbor to a new level of dining experience. The entire staff understood that the restaurant was doomed because it was out of step with the city’s food culture, but Maurice was initially very confident he would succeed.

One aspect of working at L’Escargot that Reichl did not enjoy was the constant sexual harassment she experienced from the sous chef, Rolf. She knew, however, that she would experience this kind of harassment in any restaurant she worked in—if not from staff, then from male customers. Since the money she made at L’Escargot was very good, she decided to stay.

Because of Reichl’s lack of experience, several colleagues took her under their wing and mentored her. From a distinguished older waiter named Henry, Reichl learned about the internal politics of restaurants and about how to cultivate a fine dining experience for customers by engaging with them and being meticulous in her presentations of food. She includes a recipe for “Show-Off Salad,” a tableside presentation Henry taught her. From a waitress named Marielle, who had been trained at hotel school, Reichl learned how to practice things like boning fish and making an omelette over and over until she could do it precisely and perfectly every time.

The staff often talked about the restaurant they would open together after L’Escargot failed. They felt that they understood something about the customers that Maurice did not; American audiences were not sophisticated enough for the unfamiliar food L’Escargot served and did not appreciate the restaurant’s excessively formal atmosphere. Elevated versions of familiar and comfortable foods would be more appealing to customers, they said, and in their restaurant, the atmosphere would be more relaxed and friendly. Slowly, it became clear that the restaurant was, indeed, failing. When Maurice announced that he was selling the place, Henry and Marielle offered him a job in the restaurant they planned to open, but he refused it.