The pass, in restaurant terms, is where dishes wait to go out together, where a final inspection is done or a garnish or finishing touch added. It often separates the kitchen and workers from the dining room and the rest of the world. The Pass by Katriona Chapman is an affecting graphic novel about a young chef finding herself.
I was immediately and pleasantly struck by the borderless, full-color pages, softly illustrated, with panels inset against background images. (You can see what I mean in the opening pages on the publisher’s website. This is also called “full bleed” in comic jargon.) I also love restaurants and fancy food, while knowing that the work involved in them is often back- and heart-breaking.
Claudia is a young chef. She runs her own restaurant with her best friend, Lisa. Her father is a famous chef, and she’s been asked to compete for Chef of the Year. Lisa was in cooking school with Claudia, but she’s set aside a lot of her own creativity to make the restaurant successful.
The storytelling develops — I don’t want to say leisurely, because there’s plenty happening as the restaurant closes for Christmas and Claudia goes home to her family — but at a measured pace, giving plenty of room for the small moments that stick with someone as more meaningful in the long run than they seemed at the time.
The women, when we’re introduced to them, right off the bat look exhausted. It’s around the eyes, lines and fatigue, which sets the stage. They’re enjoying what they’re doing, but it takes a great toll on their personal lives; Lisa, especially, as she is married to someone with a medical condition, and they have a young son.
Various events could make or break the restaurant and its workers, but the reserved pacing emphasizes how life continues in spite of time passing and choices and challenges arising. I enjoyed the time I spent with these women, and that the dramatic happenings were presented in a way that made them seem manageable and survivable. It’s clear to me, from this approach, that the author is English, as there’s an underlying theme of life going on, and just getting down to living through it.
An excellent book, with plenty to think about after, and a lovely portrait of the choices women often have to make.
English (US) · 