OVERCOOKED:

Breakfast, Lunch & Denial.

Ebook

6x9 Paperback 188 Pages

Jeff has spent nearly three decades running Parker’s Table & Bar, a corporate-owned, tourist-filled, retiree-frequented restaurant in Clearwater, Florida. On the surface, it’s a well-oiled machine—guests enjoy good food, great service, and a dining experience so seamless they assume it just happens. What they don’t see is the organized chaos behind the kitchen doors. The staff? A dysfunctional but weirdly effective family, held together by caffeine, sarcasm, and mutual suffering. The customers? Mostly great—except the ones who make Jeff question whether civilization was a mistake. And corporate? They keep trying to "improve" things in ways that only make life harder.

What keeps it all from falling apart? Jeff lets it thrive. He knows that restaurants don’t run on rules and policies—they run on instinct, trust, and a staff that knows how to perform under pressure. Sure, the kitchen breaks every unwritten health code, the servers handle food like goblins, and the regulars are either beloved or barely tolerated. But at the end of the day, 499 out of 500 guests leave happy. That one nightmare customer? Jeff and his team take the hit so the other 499 don’t have to.

With razor-sharp wit, painfully accurate restaurant absurdities, and a cast of characters you’ll swear you’ve met before, this behind-the-scenes look at the restaurant industry is equal parts brutal, hilarious, and strangely heartwarming. Because despite the chaos, this place works. And in the end, that’s what keeps Jeff coming back—at least for now.