Heather and Rose MacDowell are identical twins who were born in New York and grew up in Colorado, the site of their early food service education. As teenagers, they bussed tables, scooped ice cream, manned drive-up windows, and learned that the customer is always right. Their restaurant careers began in earnest when they returned east to attend college, which they funded with loans and low-paying service and retail jobs. Armed with excellent educations but with no idea how to use them, they spent the next eight years supporting their writing habits by waiting tables at some of the best and worst dining establishments in Manhattan, Nantucket, and San Francisco.