Emily Mortimer was "the world's worst waitress".
Emily Mortimer
The 'Bookshop' actress worked at London's famous River Cafe as a teeanger and though she wasn't very good at her job, she still treasures her time there and is a big fan of their cook books as they bring back fond memories.
She said: "I was a waitress at the River Cafe when I was a teenager. I was the world's worst waitress... I was constantly having to pay for people's dry cleaning bills, but I loved being there.
"I've made recipes from these books my whole life and they just remind me of being young and first being out in the world."
The 46-year-old actress - who has children Samuel, 14, and May, eight, with husband Alessandro Nivola - studied English and Russian Literature at university and though she co-wrote her own TV series 'Doll & Em', she finds the idea of writing a novel of her own "scary" but is very much open to the possibility.
Asked if she'd write a book, she said: "Writing a novel feels very scary... but maybe.
"I do find writing very cathartic.
"It's so hard to sort your way through what you think and feel and by writing things down you magically manage to get a bit of clarity."
But Emily always looks to books when she needs answers.
She told Radio Times magazine: "There's this moral certainty right now that I find really scary.
"But books are where the grey areas of life are examined, which is so important."
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