On the heels of Balthazar restaurateur Keith McNally blasting James Corden as the “most abusive customer,” he’s ever had, more celebrities are being called out for their awful restaurant behavior! Who are they? None other than Meghan Markle, Naomi Campbell, and Anna Wintour.
According to the New York Post, former maître d’ Michael Cecchi-Azzolina recalled his experiences with the ladies in an upcoming book, Your Table is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maitre D. Starting with the Duchess of Sussex, he claims that in 2017, she arrived 20 minutes early for a reservation at New York City’s Michelin-starred eatery Le Coucou and demanded special treatment. You probably can guess what Meghan allegedly did considering she was dating Prince Harry, who she later went on to marry. But in case you have no clue, the former actress allegedly pulled the royalty card! Michael said her handler asked for a private table immediately, saying “it’s for someone who is dating a prince.” He told The Post that he replied at the time:
“I said, ‘I still don’t have a private table for you.’ They came in with an attitude.”
Related: Restaurant Owner Keith McNally Fumes At ‘Lying’ James Corden!
However, they kept pushing the matter! In his book, Michael claimed the handler questioned:
“Are you aware my guest is dating Prince Harry and about to be a duchess? Don’t you have a private area for us to wait?’ My first impulse was to laugh. I could give two s**ts about Prince Harry’s date, and by the attention, the escort was drawing from the crowd at the bar, nor did anyone else.”
While Michael spoke with the handler who was complaining about a table not being ready before the reservation time, he claimed the Suits alum “didn’t say a word” and described as “aloof” during the moment. He went on to say:
“We get the most powerful people in the world that come here — no one really cares about you.”
Meghan wasn’t the only celebrity who left a horrible taste in Michael’s mouth! The former waiter also recalled how Naomi and Anna would often show up unannounced and repeatedly send back food while he was working at Raoul’s in Soho. In the book, he alleged that the 52-year-old model, who frequented the restaurant in the early 200s while she was dating U2 bass player Adam Clayton, “would come, be rude and complain about her food almost every time.” In fact, Michael told The Post that everyone often “dreaded” whenever she came into the place. Yikes!
“She was someone we dreaded coming in. She needed a lot of attention. She sent back her food quite a few times. I want to say it was the rack of lamb.”
As for Anna? Michael shared that the editor-in-chief of Vogue was “absolutely horrid” as she often would “march in with no reservation and demand a table.” He wrote that she ordered a steak “very rare” and always demanded that the staff serve it to her “immediately.” Michael added:
“God forbid it was the least bit overcooked. She’d look at the server as though he’d just served her rat and have it sent back and redone. You’d think the raw meat would make her less sanguine. She’d just walk in or call and say, ‘I’m coming.’ One time she came in and we were closing the back room and she insisted on sitting in the back room and we had to keep a waiter there and give her own waiter. Boy, was that waitress pissed. She doesn’t really talk to the staff. She’s like, ‘I’m having this, and that’s it.’”
Oof! The whole drama just serves as an important to everyone — no matter who you are, don’t be a d**k to restaurant workers! Reactions to the allegations, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments!
[Image via MEGA/WENN]
