Episode 211: Michael Cecchi-Azzolina (author, Your Table is Ready)

12/12/22 • 66 min

New York City listeners will no doubt recognize Michael Cecchi-Azzolina's face, if not his name. For several decades now, he's run the dining rooms of some of the most popular, acclaimed, and influential restaurants in Manhattan, including Raoul's and Le Coucou. Michael's first book, Your Table is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maître D', which debuted just last week, is a no-holds-barred account of life in the front-of-house trenches, with all the vivid, sometimes lurid detail you'd expect. Andrew and MIchael sat down recently to discuss the book, its themes, and tangential issues such as guest etiquette (or lack thereof) and the most effective way to convey customer feedback.

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THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

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Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

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Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

Previous Episode

Episode 210: Daniel Garwood (S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition regional winner, United States, and sous chef at Atomix)

Daniel Garwood is an ambitious and strikingly humble young chef whose career we look forward to following. The winner of the US regional finals of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition, and a sous chef at Atomix restaurant in New York City, Daniel has cooked in his native Australia, South Korea, and other culinary capitals, before coming to the United States in July. In this episode, Daniel and Andrew discuss his training, fascination with Korean ingredients and techniques, obsession with live fire, and concept for a future restaurant of his own. (Oh, and he also owns a brewery.) A rare chance to hear from a budding chef at this stage in their development.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

Next Episode

Episode 212: Marc St. Jacques (Bar Bête & Ruthie's--Brooklyn)

In our humble estimation, the food Marc St. Jacques and his team serve at Bar Bête, is some of the very best not just in Brooklyn, but in New York City, especially in such a relatively casual bistro setting and at a relatively gentle price point. Marc recently opened what's shaping up as an American answer to Bar Bête, Ruthie's, just a block up Smith Street in Cobble Hill. The new restaurant has undergone a few significant tweaks in just its first few months; in his conversation with Andrew, Marc opens up not just about his Canadian roots and culinary training, but also about launching a new restaurant, acknowledging and correcting mistakes, and the challenge of getting the word out if you don't have a PR firm or social-media manager. He also discusses the workplace culture that's helped Bar Bête retain many of its original employees since opening three years ago.

photo by Evan Sung

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!