Ladies and gentlemen, for our next course, let us take the evening air.The Menu · 2022 — Chapter 11 of 13 · 7'25" · B2
The Guest Reveals Her Real Name, Explained: refused his advances
The guest finally drops the act: "my name is not Margot" — and it is not the only thing she has been hiding. She tells the room she refused Slowik's advances years ago and was frozen out for it, while he answers a critic's compliment with a reminder that such praise once mattered.
What happens
Near the end of the meal the guest tells the table that her name is not Margot. She says she refused Slowik's advances three years ago, that he kept her in his kitchen, and that he refused to look her in the eye or speak to her for eight months. Slowik answers the critic Lillian Bloom with old, pointed courtesy.
Listen for
refused his advancesleave you to itties everything togetherlook me in the eye
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Now
Phrase of the scene
refused his advances
turned down someone's romantic approach
副厨当众讲述，三年前主厨追求她，被她拒绝。
She refused his advances and was moved to another team.
Also in this scene
- leave you to it
to let someone handle it alone
- ties everything together
to connect all parts into a whole
- look me in the eye
to face someone directly, usually implying honesty or courage
Everything marked in this scene
55 notes across 103 lines
liaison
Please, sir. Come on. Outside, everyone. Regulars too. Come on. ELSA: Please follow Chef.Guests first.Don't be frightened. Nothing to be frightened of.So maybe there's a spare boat somewhere and we can get out of here. 19945606So maybe there's a spare boat somewhere and we can get out of here. 19945606What? Get out of here to what? What the fuck are you talking about, bro?We're dead. It's okay.No. We're gonna die tonight.Our next course will be presented by sous chef Katherine Keller.Three years ago,Julian Slowik tried to fuck me.turned down someone's romantic approach
I refused his advances.A week later he tried again.But he didn't fire me.He kept me in his kitchento face someone directly, usually implying honesty or courage
and refused to look me in the eye or speak directly to me for eight months.and refused to look me in the eye or speak directly to me for eight months.refuse to do
and refused to look me in the eye or speak directly to me for eight months.He can do that.Because he's the star.Our next course is called Man's Folly.To our male diners, we now offer you the chance to escape.at which point members of my staff will try and catch you. If they do catchForty-five seconds starts now.I'm sorry. Come on. You know I'm awful. You're a wonderful critic. [KISSES]I'll... I'll send for help. First thing.I'll... I'll send for help. First thing.to let someone handle it alone
I'll, uh, leave you to it.It's getting chilly.This is fantastic.liaison
This is fantastic.The tartness of the umeboshi and the waves of ferment. It's rich and yet it's clean.It's delicious.Yes, well, there was a time that would have meant a lot to me, Ms. Bloom.Yes, well, there was a time that would have meant a lot to me, Ms. Bloom.You're very talented. KATHERINE: Thank you.Are we all really dying tonight?It doesn't work if you live.if-clause
It doesn't work if you live.It needs an ending.to connect all parts into a whole
That ties everything together conceptually.Otherwise it just tastes good and who cares.Otherwise it just tastes good and who cares.I mean, really, you should have your own place.Right. And I could help you with that.The dying thing.Oh, everyone dying was my pitch, actually.I'm super proud of it.A little play on the Passard egg with creme fraiche and maple.Not that you guys give a single flying fuck, but my name is not Margot.Not that you guys give a single flying fuck, but my name is not Margot.not that ... but
Not that you guys give a single flying fuck, but my name is not Margot.liaison
Not that you guys give a single flying fuck, but my name is not Margot.So there's that.The Guest Reveals Her Real Name, explained
What's really going on
She came as Tyler's date and spent the evening being called Margot, a name she never chose. Now she takes it back in front of everyone, and the confession keeps going: years earlier she refused Slowik's advances, and he answered by keeping her in his kitchen while refusing to look at her or speak to her for eight months. Slowik's reply is colder still. All night he has insisted that food only matters if it means something, and he closes with a line that leaves no room for comfort: "Otherwise it just tastes good and who cares." The escape course and the reveal are the same move — the menu needs an ending, and he has already decided that the guests supply it: "It doesn't work if you live." Beneath the fine-dining talk, the real question is whether anyone at the table ever saw her as a person rather than a guest.
Theme
IdentityThe guest refuses the name she was handed and insists on being seen as a person rather than Tyler's plus-one.
PowerHer story shows a man who could not be refused gracefully: he kept her close and froze her out for eight months.
What you'll learn
- Notice how "gentlemen for" changes the exchange.
- Listen for the attitude carried by "gentlemen for".
- Try the phrase in a comparable conversation.
Listen for
- Come on — liaison
- This is — liaison
- name is not — liaison
It doesn t work if you liveSlowik's line about the menu: the whole idea falls apart if anyone survives it, which is why the night cannot end with the guests simply going home.
Not that you guys give a single flying fuck but my name is not MargotThe guest's blunt announcement that the role she was given is false; she says it knowing the others do not care, and says it anyway because it matters to her.
Yes well there was a time that would have meant a lot to me Ms BloomA compliment from the critic is answered with old hurt: the praise would once have mattered, and now it comes too late to count.
Otherwise it just tastes good and who caresSlowik's test for the meal: food that is merely tasty has no meaning, and a dinner nobody thinks about might as well not have happened.
Questions about this scene
Why does the guest say her name is not Margot?
She was introduced as Margot, a date Tyler brought. At this point she refuses to keep playing the role and tells the room her real name matters, forcing the others to see her as a person.
What does she mean by refusing Slowik's advances?
She says that years earlier Slowik pursued her and she turned him down, after which he kept her in his kitchen but would not look at her or speak to her for eight months.
Who is Ms Bloom and why does the reply sting?
Lillian Bloom is a food critic at the dinner. When she offers praise, the guest answers that there was a time that would have meant a lot to her, turning a compliment into a rebuke.
What is the point of the escape course?
Slowik offers the guests a way out only to make the choice part of the menu: the course is about seeing who will try to leave and who has already accepted what is coming.
The Menu · 13 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 12swore you to secrecyThe Chef Confronts His Devoted Fan
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
Watching · 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 11 of 13 · about 8 min to go