Waiters' Race is a race that tests the speed that a
waiter can carry a loaded tray without tipping it.
Origin of the waiters race
It is possible to find
archive footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...
showing a very old waiters race in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
at the beginning of the 20th century. Actually, the origin of the waiters race (the "course des garçons de café"), comes from France.
At their beginning, waiters races started to be organized in order to improve the recognition of the waiter profession in Paris. This is the reason why even today the event has a French Touch and organizers used to schedule races on
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...
for instance.
A real international event
Today, it is possible to find waiters races in more than 53 countries all over the world. From
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
to
Washington DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, from
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
or from
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
to
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, waiters are at honor for a day and make a show in front of thousands of spectators. In 2011, "the course des garcons de cafe" come back in Paris after years. Up-to-date, more than 724 waiters races in the world from the beginning have been listed by the International Waiters Race Community Website WaitersRace. And races are found every day.
Winners of Waiters Races
Winners of waiters races usually receive prizes, but that is not all. Many of them suggest that this victory changed their career. This was the case, for instance, for Bassel Halawani who won the Jerusalem Waiters Race and became manager in his Hotel few days after (watch the interview of Bassel.
[ ]
References
External links
* WaitersRace.com, the International and Officiel Waiters Races Websit
* National Waiters' Day Website in UK (https://nationalwaitersday.com/)
* Video from archive showing old waiters race in Pari
* Link to a documentary on French Television about Waiters Race5 Course des Garçons des Caf
* Old Photo of Waiters Rac
* Courses des garçons de café in New Orlean
{{Authority control
Racing
Novelty running