All it takes is a woman’s touch!

By SOMDATTA SENGUPTA

Published March 13, 2008

I met Fern Esposito for a column I used to write for The Courier about four years ago. The column was called Around Town and it profiled people who had made a difference, who stood out in the crowd, faces that one would rarely forget.

When I got a call from Fern last week, saying she has written a book about her restaurant in Red Bank, I was both happy and sad. Happy to hear from her and learn that she was an author, and sad because she had sold her restaurant, Sogno. Sometimes when you meet after a long time, it is difficult to acknowledge all that has changed since you last met. I guess I expected Sogno to remain the same, just as one lingers with the memory of a fond place and hopes to revisit it.

The Red Bank restaurant, as the name suggests, was a dream come true for Fern. More than that, it represented Fern’s exceptionally bright and cheerful personality. It was cozy, comfortable and uplifted you as soon you walked in. It was truly an extension of her warmth and charm.

In her book, The Door Whore, which is a work of fiction as Fern said when we met, she draws on her personal experience at Sogno and weaves a monologue of a woman’s journey into a man’s world: the business of running a successful restaurant.

At the beginning of her book she outlines her struggle, when she explains that the title of her book is a common restaurant lingo for an attractive female person who greets you at the door. I paused. I recalled a number of my favorite haunts, and to my surprise, barring my infrequent ventures into Indian restaurants in New Jersey or New York, I have been always greeted by a very attractive and lovely lady at the door who asked me: “A table for two?”

To my further surprise, as pleasant as those first encounters were, I was shocked to discover that I never noticed them — the door whores. They were pretty but faceless. I remembered and accepted the fact that I would be welcomed by a woman without even ever noticing it as a trend.

And I am not an activist, my friends would even hesitate to call me a feminist, but I felt quite upset that I was party to a thought process that categorized femininity as part of restaurant décor, as part of the formula for success instead of being the brains behind it.

And that’s what compelled me to read on. It was a true account of a woman’s day-to-day encounter with challenges in man’s world. From winning the argument at home to winning the hearts of her customer’s, Fern’s lead protagonist, Ivy Zingara, deals with every roadblock with grace and persistence. For example, in the second chapter, Ivy is faced with workmen who don’t want to take instructions from her, having her to rely on her husband to deal with them.

Fern writes:
“Some of them just ignored me while others did spiteful things in an attempt to aggravate and upset me. One worker seemed to knock off his jollies by defecating in all three of the brand new toilets and never flushing, while others enjoyed putting out their cigarettes on the newly laid ceramic tile floor despite the numerous “NO SMOKING” signs.”

Equally interesting is the exchange that follows with the inspector who snubs her and storms out. The book is truly the tale of “agony and ecstasy” of the “ultimate door whore” as the author categorizes her lead character. It pens with honest accuracy the plots and sub-plots that female authority evokes. It deals with the practicality of wise business practices when dealing with a staff situation that attempts to victimize the owner. Above all, it delightfully paints the quirks and characters of the American suburb.

“You have to put your heart and soul into it, you have to do it well if you want to do it at all,” Fern said. And she did. Her book is as easy to read and relate to as is she herself.

The book is available on amazon.com and a sneak peek can be glanced at http://www.thedoorwhore.net