I really wasn't sure how this book was going to go but after listening to the audiobook I really really like this author. He is fascinating, witty, empathetic, raw, and so honest. This tells many tales from working at high end New York City restaurants and I had no idea what the restaurant scene was truly like in the city. This was beyond fascinating, exciting, and most of all shocking. I really loved that Michael included so much background around the AIDS epidemic because you really don't hear about this as much as you should. I had no idea it had such an effect on the restaurant industry as well. The stories told in this almost seemed unbelievable except there are so many and he has worked in the city in this industry for so long that it would be hard not to believe it. This was a really great audiobook and I'm glad I listened to it in the author's voice. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy and exchange for an honest review.

This memoir documents the life of an actor that turned the restaurant world into his stage. Set in the restaurants of New York City this documents the changes in the author and the restaurant world. From the wildness and bad behavior of his early career, to run ins with gangsters, to becoming the maître d'hôtel at a James Beard award winning restaurant the book covers it all. Narrated by the author it feels like he is talking just to you. Pull up a chair, pour yourself a drink, and enjoy.

It is not often that I read nonfiction, but I just could not resist Your Table Is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maître D' by Michael Cecchi-Azzolina. I have only been to New York City once, but I absolutely loved it there, and while there are some really shocking stories in the book, somehow, they were almost all easily believable. It is particularly mind-blowing to me how things were back when Cecchi-Azzolina was working his way up in the restaurant world, and I was really glad he touched on the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. It makes sense since this is something that touched his life through people he knew, but I think it is important that he chose to include it. The book is a mix of stories from his time working in various areas of restaurants as well as some ‘insider’ information about how these restaurants operated and were run. I loved Cecchi-Azzolina’s stories and the wilder they were the more entertaining they were. I do recognize that there was a lot of sex, drugs, and name-dropping, but none of these things bothered me and I felt like they were just a part of his truth.

Besides the stories told, my other favorite part of this book is that Cecchi-Azzolina narrated his audiobook. I love that authentic feel you get when the author reads their own story and that really enhanced this book so much. I was honestly surprised by the way the author looked compared to how he sounded, but that isn’t a negative. Cecchi-Azzolina is apparently a man of many talents since I thought he did a wonderful job with the audio. There are plenty of authors that I’ve heard say they wouldn’t want to narrate their own audiobook, but Cecchi-Azzolina seemed born to narrate his. I did think there were some funky parts where it felt like his voice was off, but that may have been due to the NetGalley app or that I was listening to an ALC. While strange, it wasn’t a dealbreaker and I still loved the audio even if that were how it would sound in the finished version. If you are at all interested in what it takes to be Maître D' in NYC, or just curious to hear stories from working in restaurants, I would highly recommend picking up Your Table Is Ready.

This book radiates New York City. We learn a little about Michaels’ childhood, hear his stories spanning mostly through the 80s (including lots of celebrities from this era) and a little into present day. I could vividly imagine the big apple even though I’ve never been there. This memoir delves into the busy, funny, dark, misfit banding together, sex, drugs and rock and roll aspects of working in various NYC restaurants.

If you like rich people behaving badly and celebrity name dropping stories there’s a lot of that in this book.

The audiobook is read by the author, which always adds to the experience. It also provides context and atmosphere to the story, like when he uses accents or intonations to describe varied animated New Yorkers. The chapter breaks are well done, and his voice suits this audiobook well.

And of course, a mention of Kitchen Confidential which I personally appreciated.

As a warning, there is a lot of swearing and adult content.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this advanced listening experience.

Listened to the audiobook.

I received a free Advanced Reading Copy via NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review.

Super interesting!!

This book was fun. The author casts himself as a Forrest Gump-type, placing himself in the middle of the biggest moments in restaurants in NYC, and for the most part, you feel like he’s telling you his real story as he remembers it, even when he’s dropping big names. He also goes pretty deep on his personal life, which sometimes felt strangely out of order with the rest of the story (he jumps hard from 2008 to 9/11/2001 at one point), but did add a lot to deepen a book which was laden with anecdotes from his days dealing with huge personalities.

This was a great inside look at the restaurant industry especially in the very different times of the late 80's early 90's. It is clear the author is a great story teller and I enjoyed learning the ins and outs of how a restaurant is run. It is not what us innocent diners always expect. I already do respect those who work in the food industry. but this really brought to my awareness the challenges, drama and difficulties that they face. I have a whole new level of respect for anyone in the food industry.
The only reason I do not rate this higher is the language was too vulgar for my liking.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy. I was not influenced for this honest review.

As a former worker in the service industry, this book was both insightful and entertaining. Though my experience was at a much different type of establishment (think busy college-hangout bar/grill), there was still so much that resonated with me.

I love New York, so a glimpse into the high-end restaurant industry was very enlightening. The focus on the AIDS crisis in NY in the 80s, and how the author lost many co-workers and friends was hard to hear. It truly felt like I traveled back in time to experience life in a different place and time.

I highly, highly recommend.

This book was a fun and really interesting look into the life and long career of Michael Cecchi-Azzolina. Because I have never worked in a restaurant, I especially enjoyed learning about all the positions he had held over his career and getting an inside view into how restaurants work. He has had so many varied experiences from horrible places to amazing ones and he has great stories throughout his career. I enjoyed listening to it. Word to those that may be sensitive - this is true New York, including language and drugs and sexual content, so if you’re sensitive to that, best to skip this book.

This book is the memoir of Maître D Michael who worked in many world class restaurants in New York City. He discusses his experience from getting into the industry, to working in new restaurants and dealing with customers. I really loved hearing the behind the scenes of the restaurant world. I’ve always wondered what restaurant staff think of different types of customers.

The audiobook is narrated by the author which I always love since it is in fact their story and they have that extra passion about it. I thought this was a great listen and would definitely recommend this to friends and family. I think if you have ever worked in a restaurant you will also love it and probably relate to many of the stories.

I enjoyed this book- especially with it starting out with family mobster ties. I think back of kitchen has been done, so I liked learning about front of house. Also, who doesn’t like a salacious tales of celebrity run-ins?

As someone who has always worked in the service industry, I was super excited to read this memoir about Michael Cecchi-Azzolina’s 30-year career in restaurants in NYC. The craziness and antics he describes are similar to any restaurant although I’m not sure the drug use is as heavy as it was in his story.

I loved all the stories of different celebrities in his restaurants, in particular, my favorite, Leonardo DiCaprio! He was mentioned twice. There’s an interesting story about Winston Churchill and many other celebrities although I did start to feel there was a lot of name dropping.

The middle of the book dragged a bit, but I really enjoyed the ending and his stories of his last restaurant, Le Coucou. I’m glad he mentioned the long hours and low pay because that’s always been an issue in this industry. I definitely could relate to his story, and was glad I got to read it. I read along while listening to the audiobook which the author narrates. You could really hear his passion while telling his story.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press for a #gifted copy and eARC, and Macmillan Audio for and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This book sounded so intriguing to me but as I was trying to reading I was not finding myself paying attention or caring about what was happening. It also was much more crass than I would like.

When I saw this beautiful cover and learned that it's a "Kitchen-Confidential" style memoir, I jumped on it - I enjoy memoirs and I like creative energy of kitchen. The book is indeed a fast-paced backstage view of NYC restaurants. It is insightful and some sections are eye-opening.

I felt overall it is very entertaining and well-written. The author worked in busy NY restaurants, and there are tons of episodes he shares while working there. It is juicy with a lot of sex, drugs, and greasy palms. However, I cannot say I liked this book because there are so many name droppings that it comes across gossipy and backstabbing. Maybe it is one of natures of this industry - if that is the case, I am lucky to have stayed out of it and be on the side of being gossiped. Personally I would give it 2 1/2 stars rounded up to 3 stars.
While I didn't care for this book personally, if you enjoy Bourdain-type fast-living creative types, you might enjoy this book very much.

A copy of this audiobook was provided courtesy of NetGalley and Macmillan Audio. Thank you! Opinions stated herein are my own.

As a retired restaurant and Hotel worker of over 40 years this book hots home from page one to Authors notes. From the swinging years of the 80's to the sadness of loss due to Aids this book is a memoir of a war won through the success of each battle. The passion and love of service is a message that every patron and industry novice should read, covet and loose themselves in it's pages documenting, enthusiasm, and excitement as well as failure and loss.

WILD… I worked in a restaurant for 7 years when I was younger thus making me a sucker for all foodie books. Especially memoirs. Michael dishes it all!!! This book will leave you wanting to dine at the hottest NY restaurants as well as not wanting to eat at them. I love the tales of his time being a Maitre d’ a position I have never read about before. With nostalgic vibes and and juicy gossip this was a hit for me!

Thank you @stmartinspress for this gifted copy

I am calling all fans of Kitchen Confidential! I adore food literature, especially the gossipy, raw, honest variety. Beautiful restaurants don't always have beautiful behind-the-scenes and I think it's so interesting to learn the front of house's perspective in this new memoir, YOUR TABLE IS READY. In kitchen confidential, we got the kitchen's perspective, in Sweetbitter (fiction) we got the back waiter perspective and now we have the front-of-house perspective, and let me just say... they are all juicy.

I particularly love hearing about the ways in which famous restaurants manage reservations, celebrity, ego, and a chalked-full dining room that needs to turn tables as quickly as possible. I also think that Cecchi-Azzolina's awareness of the woes and problematic aspects of the restaurant world is refreshing. He also touches on the AIDs epidemic and the impacts seen in the restaurant industry. He also has a biting tongue when discussing patrons who were less than gracious to staff. From mobsters to Anna Wintour, he gives his unfiltered opinions, nerves, and fears.

I think food memoir lovers will love this. I also think people who love pop culture and salacious, high-society books will enjoy it. Recommend!

I worked in restaurants at the beginning of my working life and was addicted to the speed at which everything moved. Life is definitely different when you work while everyone else is winding down and it makes you spend more time with those you work with. While this book told Michael Cecchi-Azzolina’s stories in the restaurant industry, it was more about his life after work and how he spent his time and while entertaining, it was a little crass than I want to deal with. Drug use is something I’ve always been uncomfortable with and there was a lot of it in here. Otherwise, the stories were entertaining, there were a few interesting tips sprinkled in but not my cup of tea.

Audio was well done, no issues

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook composed of various tales of someone who has spent a few decades in the service industry. The book is composed of lots of independent stories and is much more about life in the fine dining service side of the house than about food or cooking. While the author acknowledges in a couple of places that "times have changed" and that things were different when many of the stories took place, that didn't soften the blow of how extremely misogynistic his lens is - and was. The few times women are even included in this book, it's almost always in a pejorative or demeaning way. So, while I didn't care for the author or the way he talked about people, I did find a number of the stories entertaining and used this book as a palette cleanser between more serious fare. It is a decent warning for people who are interested in working in fine dining; especially if you are a woman.

I received an ARC for my unbiased review; thank you NetGalley!

✨YOUR TABLE IS READY — MICHAEL CECCHI-AZZOLINA✨

Overall 📚: NR
Genre: Culinary Memoir/Biography
Medium: Audiobook
TW: Extreme vulgarity & Crude language

Posting this on pub day! Congratulations @cecchinyc

📖💭 My summary - WHEW what a life! Cecchi-Azzolina has a wildly entertaining story to share. His life story begins as a teen trying to make it somewhere, anywhere in NYC. He falls in love with the hustle, passion, and absolute insanity of the service industry, and shares the craziest stories he has ever experienced from his time as a server, and finally, as a maître d’hotel.

I chose not to rate this story because I don’t feel I have the right to assign a grade to someone’s life and experience. This was super entertaining, and such a fun audiobook to listen to. Definitely NOT for the faint of heart, Cecchi-Azzolina rips into every curse word and creative insult imaginable with his thick NY accent, making this story continuously interesting and dynamic.

💭Did you enjoy this book?

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