Service Ready - by Molly Irani (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Molly Irani, the visionary cofounder of the James Beard Award-winning restaurant Chai Pani, shares her passion for hospitality and story of building a thriving business that puts people first.

Growing up with parents who owned a restaurant, Molly understood the power of service but also had a keen understanding of the industry's challenges. When her husband Meherwan wanted to open a restaurant that would serve the Indian street food of his childhood, Molly thought he was nuts. And yet, the couple turned this unlikely dream into a vibrant reality. Chai Pani would eventually win the James Beard Award for Most Outstanding Restaurant in America, and be named one of 50 Favorite Restaurants in America by The New York Times, and one of Southern Living's 20 Friendliest Places in the South.

In Service Ready, Molly takes readers on their inspiring journey to the heights of culinary and professional success. While she and her husband learned their way into running a restaurant, Molly created a groundbreaking work culture with industry-leading retention rates. They have fostered a loyal team and legions of fans, and have since launched multiple Chai Pani locations, the fast-growing spin-off, Botiwalla, and the popular spice business, Spicewalla.

Molly shares the ten core principles that have shaped their path, offering essential lessons for any industry. She opens up about the challenges and rewards of being business partners with your life partner and shares how she and Meherwan learned to merge their strengths in order to thrive. Her story celebrates the power of female leadership in a traditionally male-dominated field and is a testament to the essential impact these strengths bring to businesses. As she reflects on navigating a recession, a global pandemic, and the devastating floods in Asheville, she explores resilience, innovation, and how to create a strong culture in any workplace.

Review Quotes

"Service Ready is a love story. Love of food, of course, but also love of one another-- the people we work with and the people we serve. To me, the moral of this story is that in addition to grit, all of us need a place in the world where we can do something we love, with our whole hearts, and in serving others discover our very best selves." --Angela Duckworth, New York Times bestselling author of Grit

"Molly and Meherwan, and everything they've built, are proof that you can both feed the few and feed the many, and take care of everyone while doing it. Service Ready is not just a fascinating read, but a guide for chefs and restaurateurs to build businesses with empathy and pragmatism--a lesson that you don't have to sacrifice your humanity to be successful." --Chef José Andrés

"In Service Ready, Molly Irani distills her inspiring mid-life pivot and journey from the brink of failure to the pinnacles of success into fundamental principles. The lessons in this volume about building teams with care, attention, and empathy are as applicable to day-to-day relationships as they are to the hospitality industry. This is a book for everyone readying themselves for service: to a job, a creative partnership, a friend, spouse, family member--to LIFE!" --Matt Lee and Ted Lee, authors of The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen

"Molly Irani embodies hospitality, grit, and grace. In Service Ready, she reminds those of us in the industry of the beauty, connection, and impact found in the world of hospitality, and offers others a glimpse behind the veil. This book is hard to put down--it pulls on your heartstrings, makes you reflect, and is a must-read." --Chef Maneet Chauhan, restaurateur/TV personality/author of Chaat

"Oh, I loved every page! Molly Irani is both a big-hearted storyteller and a brilliant leader, and reading this book made me want to book an immediate flight to Asheville to taste Chai Pani's food and to experience the hospitality and generosity of spirit. Service Ready is a must-read for anyone in the hospitality industry and a delight for those of us who love peeking behind the curtains of restaurant life." --Shauna Niequist, New York Times bestselling author of Present Over Perfect

"Service Ready is both a beautiful memoir and smart business guide that chronicles Molly and Meherwan's trials and triumphs into their successful mini-food empire. Their attention to detail, unique management style, and transformative hospitality have redefined the restaurant industry." --Steven Satterfield, chef/owner of Miller Union and Madeira Park and author of Root to Leaf

"Service Ready is a generous and witty guide to all that is possible in the multifaceted world of restaurants. This is a story about the love between two people, and about the love of a shared career that became a calling and formed a community. Molly Irani takes us behind the curtain and beyond the spreadsheet to witness the absolute magic that beats in the heart of hospitality, both in the gift of receiving it, and in the art of sharing it." --Chef Ashley Christensen, author of Poole's

"In her remarkable book, Service Ready, the marvelous and inspiring Molly Irani has given the world a great gift. Finally a business book that shares stories of love, generosity, kindness, and dignity, in which the money has to work out, but money is not why Molly, her husband Meherwan or the team at Chai Pani work so darned hard every day, and a restaurant book that really gives an honest--and loving and effective--look at what life in the food world is really like." --Ari Weinzweig, co-founding partner, Zingerman's community of businesses and author of A Revolution of Dignity in the Twenty-First Century Workplace

About the Author

Molly Irani is the cofounder and Chief Culture Officer of the James Beard Award-winning Chai Pani Restaurant Group in Asheville, North Carolina. She manages hundreds of people across a growing restaurant group and a spice company, and is responsible for the business's groundbreaking culture, management style, community engagement, and "mindblasting" hospitality. She lives in Asheville with her husband and business partner, Meherwan Irani, where they raised their daughter, Aria, and her siblings (a.k.a. two goldendoodles).