Fuck. We're dicks, huh?The Menu · 2022 — Chapter 1 of 13 · 2'48" · B2
Guests Board the Boat to Hawthorn, Explained: running interference
Nobody is fighting yet. On the boat to Hawthorn, the guests trade small talk — who knows whom, who is a "big foodie" — while one person quietly asks a companion to run interference and someone mutters, "This is like prom." Under the pleasantries, everyone is already performing for status.
What happens
On the boat to Hawthorn, the guests size each other up before dinner. Margot and Tyler mingle with a food critic, a superfan, and other wealthy diners. One guest asks a companion to run interference for her, someone calls another "a big foodie," and the small talk stays brittle as the island comes into view.
Listen for
running interferencePond scumin the housefoodie
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Now
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Phrase of the scene
running interference
shielding someone from trouble
有人对陪同的人说，你本该替我挡开这些打扰。
I need you to run interference with the press today.
Also in this scene
- Pond scum
algae on a pond; also a contemptible person
- in the house
present at an event
- foodie
a person who is very interested in food and cooking
Everything marked in this scene
25 notes across 59 lines
Food critic for Saveur.Okay, well, it's official.All aboard for Hawthorn.liaison
All aboard for Hawthorn.[OVER PA SYSTEM] Ladies and gentlemen, please make yourselves comfortable for our short journey to Hawthorn Island.Thank you. GEORGE: Ahoy.Let's hope she's seaworthy, eh?eh as a tag
Let's hope she's seaworthy, eh?present at an event
FP in the house.Oh my God. Check it out.shielding someone from trouble
Hey, aren't you supposed to be running interference for me?be supposed to be doing
Hey, aren't you supposed to be running interference for me?Make sure people don't bother me, then.I saw all his movies when I was a kid.It's one of his classics. Mmm, mmm.as in for clarification
As in algae. Come on.algae on a pond; also a contemptible person
Pond scum. It's not.It's actually fucking laughably good.No. No. It's the balance of the products.elision
Please don't say mouthfeel.Jesus, this is like prom.Yeah, I never went to prom.Aw, poor baby.liaison
Aw, poor baby.Guests Board the Boat to Hawthorn, explained
What's really going on
The boat is the first course, and everyone is already being graded. The guests don't know each other, so they fall back on the only currency they have: taste. One guest wants a companion to "run interference," which tells you the polite mingling is a threat to be managed, not a pleasure. Another guest is mocked as "a big foodie," a label meant to flatter the person while exposing how badly he wants in. And someone sizes up the whole forced ritual with "this is like prom" — the same dressed-up anxiety, the same need to be seen by the right people. Nothing violent happens here; the menace is that these strangers are competing for proximity to a chef they have not met, and that the social performance has already started before the food does.
Theme
SatireThe guests' desperate small talk mocks fine-dining culture before dinner even begins.
ClassWealthy diners compete for status and proximity to the chef, revealing what money actually buys.
What you'll learn
- Use All aboard in the same situation
- Hear running interference as pressure, not small talk
- Catch who the line is aimed at
- Notice how "All aboard" changes the exchange.
- Listen for the attitude carried by "All aboard".
Listen for
- All aboard — liaison
- don t — elision
- poor baby — liaison
Hey aren t you supposed to be running interference for meThe speaker wants a companion to step in and shield them from other guests' questions. "Running interference" means blocking trouble for someone else.
You need the mouthfeel of the mignonetteA line about how a dish should feel in the mouth, not just taste. "Mouthfeel" is texture; "mignonette" is the tangy shallot-vinegar sauce served with oysters.
Jesus this is like promThe forced, dressed-up social ritual feels as awkward and status-obsessed as a high-school prom.
I saw all his movies when I was a kidThe speaker claims long-term fandom, signaling they are here because they grew up admiring this person rather than for the food.
Questions about this scene
Why does one guest ask another to "run interference" on the boat?
Because the other guests keep pressing in, and the speaker does not want to be questioned or recognized. Having a companion step between them is a way to control the conversation before dinner starts.
Why is someone called "a big foodie" here, and is it a compliment?
Partly. It means the person loves and knows food, but on this boat the label also sounds like a dig at someone who wants to be seen as an expert.
What does "this is like prom" mean in this scene?
It compares the trip to a high-school prom: everyone is dressed up, anxious, and performing for a crowd, trying to be noticed by the right people.
Who is actually in charge on the boat?
The staff, not the guests. The guests may be rich and famous, but from the moment they board they are being watched, scheduled, and judged, which the easy small talk cannot hide.
The Menu · 13 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 2on the edge of the abyssTyler Explains Why Chefs Are Artists
Watching · Chapter 1running interferenceGuests Board the Boat to Hawthorn
Chapter 2on the edge of the abyssTyler Explains Why Chefs Are Artists
Chapter 3not brain surgerySlowik Serves the Island Course
Chapter 4pull this cardThe Guests Beg for Bread
Chapter 5on the mapThe Chef Recounts a Childhood Memory
Chapter 6plausible deniabilityTortillas Expose EchoBrite's Crimes
Chapter 7aspires to greatnessSlowik Humiliates Jeremy
Chapter 8name droppingA Staff Member Shoots Himself at Dinner
Chapter 9hard home truthsSlowik Serves Tea and Truths
Chapter 10rattle youSlowik Sees Through Margot
Chapter 11refused his advancesThe Guest Reveals Her Real Name
Chapter 12swore you to secrecyThe Chef Confronts His Devoted Fan
Chapter 13bear witness toSlowik Makes the Foodie CookChapter 1 of 13 · about 50 min to go