This study is an autoethnography in which ‘I’, who worked as a reporter in a food service journal as the first work life, depicted the birth and development of the domestic food service industry and stories of the field of restaurants. In this article, I tried to vividly reproduce the culture of the food service industry that I saw and experienced in the journal, and I expect readers to understand the attributes and reality of the food service industry through my autobiographical stories. I divided my experience into three stages. In the first stage, 'time of adaptation', I focused on the difficulties for a non-major to write about food service and in the second stage, 'time of discovery', I focused on a story about my search for a field in which I can be interested and immersed in an awkward environment. Finally, in the third stage, 'time of alternatives', I focused on the 'meaning of the 1988 Olympics', 'meanings contained in the food service industry', and 'insight into food service obtained through observation.' I expect that readers will gain an insight to connect the unique situation of the food service industry to the future through the understanding of the situation.