Hannah Selinger Reveals 'Toxicity and Trauma' of the Restaurant Industry in New Memoir (Exclusive)

‘Cellar Rat: My Life in the Restaurant Underbelly’ explores the author's time in the restaurant business, including encounters with Bobby Flay and David Chang

Hannah Selinger is revealing the gritty details about life in the restaurant industry.

The lifestyle writer's upcoming memoir, Cellar Rat: My Life in the Restaurant Underbelly, will be published next year from Little, Brown and Company — and Selinger tells PEOPLE that it's a story that she needed to share.

"When I started this book, I had already written an essay about my life in restaurants, and I realized that I had a lot more to explore — that the work of digging into the toxicity and trauma of what goes on in restaurants and of exploring what happened to me, in particular, in restaurants was not completely finished," Selinger says.

"Cellar Rat is my excavation, and it comes at a time when so many of us are reevaluating these kinds of work spaces," she adds.

Selinger, the author of viral essays “Life Was Not a Peach” and “In My Childhood Kitchen, I Learned Both Fear and Love,” knows the industry well. She previously worked as a server and sommelier in some of New York City’s top dining destinations, and throughout her career, has interacted with well-known celebrity chefs, including David Chang, Bobby Flay and more.

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In Cellar Rat, Selinger examines the trajectory of her career, from working in her hometown pub to serving celebrities at a luxurious Hamptons party, per the book's description.

The author also doesn’t shy away from revealing the darker elements of the job — including the hardships she endured, as detailed in "Life Was Not a Peach," the “allure and danger of power” and what it took for her to walk away from a career that she once loved.

"I hope that my work makes space for new conversations, and that it encourages a broader look at what it means to be an employee and an employer in an industry as fierce and unrelenting as the restaurant industry," Selinger continues.

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The author has been nominated for a James Beard Award and has written for outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post and Travel + Leisure, among others. Cellar Rat is her debut memoir.

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Cellar Rat: My Life in the Restaurant Underbelly will be published on March 25, 2025 and is now available for preorder, wherever books are sold.

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