Nearly half of all Americans found their first job in the food-away-from-home business, and two-thirds will have worked in restaurants at some point in their lives, according to the National Restaurant Association. With a net cast that wide, it’s a challenge to cite a field where the biggest celebrities didn’t professionally flip burgers or take lunch orders long before their names first appeared in boldface.
The crime world, maybe? Guess again. Before Al Capone became the kingpin of Chicago’s bootlegging underworld, he worked pre-Prohibition as a bartender.
Bonnie Parker met Clyde Barrow while she was waiting tables at a cafe in Texas. As Bonnie and Clyde, they found robbing banks to be their true calling.
Politics, you suggest?
Barack Obama once scooped Rocky Road and Mint Chocolate Chip at a Baskin-Robbins in Honolulu. He found the experience so enriching that he insisted his daughter Sasha take a summer job at a restaurant near the family’s retreat on Martha’s Vineyard while her dad was still president.
Kamala Harris’ time in a McDonald’s uniform became an issue during her presidential run when Donald Trump accused her of lying about having taken such a low-level job.
On the occasion of the nation’s 250th birthday, we decided to look at what other big names had passed through the industry enroute to fame, fortune or infamy. Here, arranged by the field in which they found notoriety, are some of the surprising examples.
Technology
With an estimated net worth of $275.9 billion, Amazon founder and Chairman Jeff Bezos is ranked by Forbes as the fourth richest person on Earth. He didn’t exactly enjoy that sort of wherewithal when he served as a grill cook at age 16 for a McDonald’s in Florida.
He cites the experience as a jumpstart to his interest in systems, process and automation, the foundations of his e-commerce empire. He has recalled in particular the day he learned how each member of a team has a responsibility. Someone knocked over a five-gallon bucket of catsup and he, as the shortest-tenured member of the crew, was the one expected to clean it up.
Tim Cook, the former CEO of Apple, was making $1.10 an hour as a 14-year-old line cook at a Tastee Freeze in Alabama. He has described his tenure there as “a fabulous time,” in part because the quick-service restaurant was a hub of activity, a result of being the only fast-food place in the small town.
Talk about a grand slam. It’s well known that the AI behemoth Nvidia was conceived at a Denny’s in 1993. What’s often overlooked is that founder and CEO Jensen Huang worked for the diner chain years beforehand as a teen. The job helped him overcome a debilitating shyness, according to the billionaire.
Music
Whatever the genre, chances are some of its stars worked in restaurants before hitting it big in the recording studio.
It’s not known if Gwen Stefani’s preference for wearing gloves was evident during her tenure at a Dairy Queen in Anaheim, California. She’s often cited the job as what kept her eating before her band No Doubt recorded its string of hits.
Nicki Minaj attributes the financial insecurity she faced after being fired as a Red Lobster server as a major source of the drive that led to her pop stardom.
Madonna has also spoken openly about being canned, in her case while working at a Dunkin’ Donuts in New York City. According to the accounts she would later share with fans, the Material Girl was shown the door after squirting donut jelly at customers.
Pop star and heartthrob Harry Styles was in bakery sales in his native England before hitting it big with the boy band One Dimension. His pay was the princely sum of $8.50 in U.S. dollars. Styles would later incorporate shots of the bakery in a documentary about the band. The shop paid tribute to its ex-employee by featuring a wax figure of Styles.
Movies & TV
Acting roles eluded Brad Pitt after he first arrived in Los Angeles in the 1980s, but he did get a small taste of show biz courtesy of the El Pollo Loco grilled-chicken chain. The brand put him in a chicken suit and had him pull in customers by waving a sign. The work reportedly earned him $6 an hour, a fact he’s gleefully cited in interviews conducted after he became a star.
“Barbie” star Margot Robbie learned the rudiments of working for pay as a Subway sandwich artist in her native Australia during her teens. She would later cite the experience as a key component of her transition into adulthood.
Steven Colbert mined his experiences as a waiter in Chicago for some of his later comedy skits, including a bit with former “The Office” star Steve Carell. The two play waitstaff members who are acutely nauseated by the exotic specials they recite to a table. The descriptions alone make them sick.
The comedian explained after he found success that the idea came to him while he was doing improv at night with Chicago’s famed Second City troupe and working as a waiter during the lunch shift at Lettuce Entertain You’s Scoozi restaurant. He was often tired and hung over from partying late into the night with his fellow comedic hopefuls at Second City. Rattling off specials made with heavy creme, flayed veal and other rich fare, he would often find himself close to gagging. He exaggerated the reaction for his bit.
The experience turned Colbert into a zealous advocate for restaurant workers. He professed during interviews after he found success that everyone should work in a restaurant at some point in their lives so they’d appreciate the hard work that’s a norm in the business.
Judging from the figures cited by the National Restaurant Association, it looks as if Colbert is close to getting his wish.
This story is the latest in our ongoing series on the contributions of the food-away-from-home industry to a nation celebrating its 250th birthday. Earlier installments include a look at Thomas Jefferson’s unofficial role as America’s founding foodie, and the amusing world of FAFH mascots.
If you’d like to show your support for the industry by sponsoring any or all installments of the series, please contact edevine@foodaway.org for more information.
As Managing Editor for IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, Romeo is responsible for generating the group's news and feature content. He brings more than 40 years of experience in covering restaurants to the position.