A review by paulasnotsosecretdiary
Your Table Is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maître D by Michael Cecchi-Azzolina

dark informative sad tense medium-paced

3.5

This memoir of a career as a front-of-house staff and restaurant manager offers readers insight into the social history of New York from the 1980s and the AIDS crisis through the COVID pandemic. There are numerous anecdotes about outrageous behavior he witnessed and participated in as staff, and abusive conduct by customers. The author highlights his brushes with celebrities and those famous customers who are just as awful as one might imagine. He describes the intricacies of setting up a restaurant for service, the physical demands of food service, and how the best tables are reserved. With fine dining and the restaurant world forever changed by the COVID pandemic, this book may serve as a historic document of how things used to be, including the proper way to tip the Maitre d'Hotel to secure the table by the window. There is a lot of ugliness engaged in, by management, staff and customers that may turn some readers away.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment and Sexism

Readers should be aware of the author's use of homophobic and sexist terms, and his criticism of Human Resources as an obstacle in firing staff (even when warranted). He does point out how conduct that was acceptable when he started in the 1980s is no longer tolerated, and workplaces are better for it.