Welcome to The Receipt, a series documenting how Bon Appétit readers eat and what they spend doing it. Each food diary follows one anonymous reader’s week of expenses related to groceries, restaurant meals, coffee runs, and every bite in between. In this time of rising food costs, The Receipt reveals how folks—from different cities, with different incomes, on different schedules—are figuring out their food budgets.
In today’s Receipt, we follow a 43-year-old server and drag queen in Toronto, Ontario. Keep reading for his receipts.
The finances
What are your pronouns? he/him
What is your occupation? Server, Drag Queen
How old are you? 43
What city and state do you live in? Toronto, ON
What is your annual salary, if you have one? Girl, I have no idea. Waiting tables brings in around $60K CAN, and performing in bars, nightclubs and drag brunches probably makes me another $3K, but all those sweat and glitter covered bills get stuffed under a mattress, so who knows?
How much is one paycheck, after taxes? Let’s call it an even thousand dollars.
How often are you paid? (e.g., weekly) Weekly or bi-weekly
What are your approximate fixed monthly expenses beyond food? (i.e., rent, subscriptions, bills)
- Rent: $1,200
- Rental utilities: $135
- Wifi: $42
- Apple Music: $11
- Crave, Prime Video and Disney+: $40
- Credit Cards: $550, and yes, it’s entirely for restaurants, groceries and wine.
The diet
Do you follow a certain diet or have dietary restrictions? I avoid salt and gluten as much as possible
What are the grocery staples you always buy, if any? Eggs, gluten-free pasta, bananas, bone broth, greens, yogurt. I almost always have boiled eggs ready in the fridge, a tub of yogurt, some dark berries, and bananas to keep me fueled up. If I’m going to cook, it’s pasta or meat and veggies.
How often in a week do you dine out versus cook at home? I work in an upscale Italian restaurant and the food is exceptional. I eat there 3 or 4 times a week and have the cholesterol levels to prove it. At 50% off any menu items (minus the $128 porterhouse steak) it’s a bargain to eat delicious, mostly healthy cooked meals. I love going out socially or alone, and do so almost weekly.
How often in a week did you dine out while growing up? Once a month? Rural Alberta didn’t have a ton of dining out choices
