Book excerpt: This is a book for dining servers and everyone interested in the world of dining service. It is a guided tour of our world through the products we work with from many different cultures and cuisines, and through the techniques, terminology, and language of this enduringly fascinating work. The Pocket Server is also an accelerated learning tool that takes the professional dining server quickly along the steps to acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to excel in this work. In reflecting the richness of our world, The Pocket Server also includes short biographies, mini-histories, odd and interesting facts, statistics, advice, a quiz, and other assorted detours whenever possible.