For the most part, I enjoyed this memoir told from the POV of a career maître d'hôtel who worked at some of the most popular and highly sought after restaurants in NYC. Some of things the author talked about were not surprising at all, but other tid bits of information were quite shocking and pretty disgusting. The author talks very candidly about his first-hand experiences--good, bad and ugly.

My husband has a culinary degree and has tales to tell that are very similar to some of the author's experiences. It is very well known that sex, drugs, alcohol, crime and abuse are very present in this industry. These service workers work long hours for little pay and put up with a lot from their supervisor and restaurant patrons. It is not uncommon for these industry workers to burn out over time and seek alternative careers later in life like my husband eventually did.

One of my favorite things to do is enjoy a nice evening out at a high end restaurant. You often overlook all of the work, attention to detail and behind the scenes workers that make your evening a memorable experience. This memoir will tell you exactly what goes on behind those closed doors.

I thought all of the name dropping in this memoir was excessive and didn't lend much to the story. I knocked off a star for that reason. Overall, I think someone in the industry or someone who appreciates this industry would enjoy this memoir.

Special thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an AL C of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Your Table Is Ready was just a great book and loved listening to Michael tell the tails of being a Maître’d.

One of my fav stories of his was “Fat Anthony” and the fear he had and thoughts of having to move away.

My eyes were opened to a whole new world and made me think of things as a diner I would of never even thought about before.

I love memoirs as they give you a glimpse into other peoples lives and you can always learn from them.

If you are a fan of Anthony Bourdain or books like Sweet Bitter that expose the often gritty, sexy and chaotic behind the scenes world of the restaurant industry than look no further.

Michael Cecchi-Azzolina doesn’t hold back much from his history of working in some of New York’s top restaurants through the 80s and 90s as a front of house as a Maître D’ , he drops names but doesn’t over indulge, holding some things sacred, something indoctrinated in him from the start, this is where all the fun is that kind of mystique of working for some of the best restaurants in the world, the answers to all our secret inquires. There a reason reality shows are so popular we want to know what really happens behind the scenes.

At times I did find the stories redundant and repetitive, and the content did tend to air on the side of vulgar more times than I wanted to learn about, but it does feel honest and does almost parallel the lifestyle of a rock star without all the glam and for that it reads like movie theatre popcorn.

Michael narrated the audiobook version himself and has a flair for the dramatic and really brought his stories to life very reminiscent of Kitchen Confidential.

Big thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC all opinions are my own.

Your Table is Ready by Michael Cecchi-Azzolina is a saucy deep dive from an insider in the NYC restaurant scene. Michael's memoir takes us through the good, bad, and the ugly and if you are familiar with restaurant kitchens you know that there is a lot of all of that. It takes a certain type of person to survive in the restaurant business, especially in a city like New York, and Michael's perspective dials right in to this. This book takes you back to a New York of a different time and it is filled with glamour, chaos, and mischievousness. Would highly recommend to readers who love that look under the hood.

The audio version is narrated by Michael himself and the grit in his voice lends perfectly to this story.

Thank to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC - Your Table is Ready will be out 12/6/22 and is the perfect end of year read.

This was a fun memoir with good stories. Anyone who has worked in the restaurant industry can attest that his descriptions are true. Half the staff is sleeping together, your back of the house staff is obtaining drugs for front of the house staff to use in the bathroom while working, and there are enough good and bad guest stories to entertain for a lifetime. The author shares his stories and experiences with humor. and authenticity. 4⭐️
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy. I’m giving my review voluntarily.

I was given access to this audiobook in exchange for a review, if that was not the case I would have stopped reading after the first couple chapters. I love books about cooking and restaurants and shows about cooking. I thought this would be right up my alley, but it was not. I really enjoyed the end of the book when he talked about contemporary restaurants. I especially loved the stories about Stephen Starr. Living in Philadelphia I have eaten at many of his restaurants and am familiar with most of them. It was really interesting to read some behind the scenes stories.
I found the beginning of the book so crass. So many of the stories were from the restaurant business back in the 80s. It was a different world back then and so much has changed. I hated the way the author spoke, many of the stories were just off putting and obnoxious.

"Your Table is Ready" by Michael Cecchi-Azzolina is an engaging story about life in the NYC culinary and restaurant industry that calls to mind Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. I found the author's background stories less interesting than his exploration of the industry but overall it was a worthwhile listen.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: December 6, 2022

I devoured this audiobook in one day—I just couldn’t stop listening. Michael Cecci-Azzolina is author and narrator of this gem and I highly recommend listening to him tell these tales. WHAT a storyteller—he really brought it to life for the listener and for fans of Kitchen Confidential, this will fill your cup. Michael comes into this with decades of fine dining experience at some of the most notable spots in NYC—and as a patron of many, with friends who have worked at many—I ate this up. If you’re into the NYC food scene, chef/restaurant culture, celeb name dropping, or just seeing behind the curtain…you can’t pass this one up!

This book is such a fun read. It is more of a memoir and reminds me a lot of Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. The epilogue was a great ending to the book and I can’t wait to figure out what restaurant is his in New York. I know the pandemic changed the restaurant industry but this book really highlighted how it ended and era.

I enjoyed this, but wanted it to be more of a dish (ha!) on the ins and outs of the NY restaurant scene. Anyone who's worked in a restaurant has some similar experiences, and I was looking for a bit more gossip.

Totally not what I was expecting, but an interesting listen. Lots of behind-the-scenes stories that were entertaining and surprising.

Your Table is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maître D’ by Michael Cecchi-Azzolina is a good memoir offering a behind the scenes look into the restaurant business and his time working his way up. The book begins with his childhood and upbringing to his first restaurant job then to working in fine dining. It’s fun to hear some of the stories about celebrities but I didn’t care for the way he described some of his coworkers. This book is very much in the vein of Kitchen Confidential so I think if you enjoyed that book you’ll enjoy this one too. He definitely got into some wild situations at work. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author and that was great since he’s telling his own stories.
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Thank you to Macmillan Audio via NetGalley for my ALC!

Author Michael Cecchi-Azzolina pens a books that gives readers everything they hope for and more. Beginning with a brief background on the author, his upbringing and his family's mob connections, readers can't help but ask when this book is going to get to the juicy stuff, and juicy it does deliver. Eventually diving into the shenanigans behind the scenes, name dropping some of the most famous and detailing some of the more difficult "Your Table is Ready" holds no punches.

For someone who has not worked much in the restaurant business, it was very interesting and eye opening. The book is raw and vulgar. I was hoping for something a bit more funny, but this was not that. It went into graphic details of drug abuse and sex behind the scenes. This book was not for me but I could see the appeal for someone in that crowd.

This was absolutely not for me. If you want to read a book about how raucous the 80s were, full of vulgar and graphic descriptions of sex, drug addiction, alcoholism, and loads of inappropriate workplace behavior - sprinkled liberally with obnoxious name dropping - this is the book for you.

I felt I was done when the author described a staff member at the (apparently famous, though I didn’t recognize a single restaurant he name dropped in this book) Water Club, who would take his penis out to show “anyone who wanted to see it, and many who didn’t want to see it too.” This person cut a hole in his pants pocket and tricked a fellow staff member into touching his exposed penis in his pocket in order to find a supposed corkscrew in there. The author follows this anecdote with a disclaimer that reads like it was forced on him by legal - essentially saying, “Oh, this probably sounds horrific to anyone reading this today, but no one complained and I think it was all consensual! It’s not an excuse, it’s just the way things were!” Yeah, come on - we’ve heard this “boys will be boys” rationale before. This is all part of the massive cultural problem the restaurant industry has, and it certainly felt like the author did no reflection on how he may have been complicit in perpetuating a culture that was toxic for anyone not in the white male majority. The author’s vibe was not for me either - the way he talked about women and LGBTQ people smacked of misogyny and homophobia.

I’m not the kind of person who is particular interested in celebrity gossip or anecdotes, and this book is chock full of them. I swear, there are two entire pages dedicated to name dropping all of the celebrities who came to eat at the Water Club. And for what purpose? Just so he can brag about his proximity to fame?

When there are so many other stories to read - by women, of people of color, of marginalized voices - and even all of these in the restaurant industry - I don’t want to spend any more time reading this one. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley.

Your Table is Ready by Michael Cecchi-Azzolina is an inside look at the ins and outs of fine dining in NYC. It is a memoir of the author's experiences at numerous restaraunts as well as how his life was impacted by these experiences. Narrated by the author, it was a great listen! Although I really enjoyed many of the stories, I felt like the middle got a little long. I loved the ending and how the memoir was wrapped up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Your Table is Ready was a really fun insight into the New York City restaurant industry. I really liked learning about Michael's background and various careers

Well, I loved that so much.

I love a good memoir, especially when it touches upon some of the most relatable struggles and qualms within the food service industry. Michael Cecchi-Azzolina narrates and writes the heck out of his tell-all if you will, and serves as the perfect vessel for a glimpse into the hardships, the shitty days, the bad management, the triumphs, and the rewards that come along with being a Maître D' Hotel!

We get a chronological retelling of Michael's come-up in New York, from the bookie bets on sporting events, taking work wherever he could find it, to mopping up piss and shit and barf if it meant he could make an income. We get a look into the fanciful life of fine dining, from every angle of it, and I will definitely continue to respect my food and Bev workers who work tirelessly to deliver exceptional service to my husband and me went we dine out on the town.

I highly recommend this book for its unhinged honesty and the accent that kept me coming back for more, and sincerely craving this area's finest Italian cuisines.

I had the opportunity to review an ARC of the audiobook provided by NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio. The author, Michael Cecchi-Azzolina, narrates and let me tell you this was a riotous romp of a listen. If you’ve spent anytime in the industry, this is a must read. Though some of the scenes may give you flashbacks to your worst moments of being “in the weeds,” it’s worth it to revel in debaucherous tales of Manhattan restaurant life from the 70s to the present. I loved it and think this will be a much talked about memoir - especially on the heels of the headlines of celebrities behaving badly (ala James Corden in Balthazar). Cecchi-Azzolina names names and spills about who was a bad tipper, who had odd requests etc…but for me the tales from the back of house were even juicier.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Your Table is Ready is a entertaining memoir about the career of Michael Cecchi-Azzolina from waiter to maître d’hotel in some of the hottest and upscale restaurants in New York City. From sex, drugs to the James Beard awards he recounts stories of the wild antics he experienced in these restaurants in the 80s and 90s. This was an interesting inside peek into a world most are familiar with on the per ferial but rarely see the inner workings that it takes to keep a the guest experience top notch. Cecchi is a born showman and is comfortable preforming for his audience with entertaining stories. He does do a lot of name dropping and some antics became repetitive. The timeline is loose and he adds random facts or relationships with little to no context (a Harvard degree and a teaching gig) that needed to be better flushed out. True to his skills as a front of the house ambassador he did make me want to visit the restaurants he named and worked in. Overall this was as good memoir. I had the audio version read by Cecchi who did an excellent job and his acting abilities shinned. I think having the story told from him helped me to connect more to the material.