Table Boss: How to Build a Restaurant When Your Life Falls Apart

by Jen Agg

From the beloved restaurateur behind The Black Hoof, Grey Gardens, and General Public, as well as the bestselling author of I Hear She's a Real Bitch, comes a hilarious, heartbreaking look at love, success, and, most importantly, good lighting.

 Jen Agg had a thriving restaurant group, a beautiful marriage to a handsome artist husband, and extremely good skin. If anyone could give advice on living well in your forties, it was her. Then, disaster struck. As a global pandemic threw the restaurant business into chaos, Jen’s husband, Roland, suffered a catastrophic stroke.  

In her new memoir, Jen captures what it felt like to rethink everything just when she thought it was all working out as she’d planned. Table Boss makes you understand what Anthony Bourdain loved about her—her singular combination of wry humour, unflinching honesty, and real depth. Readers will love the book for its painful rendering of what it’s like to care for a loved one through a health nightmare, its witty analysis of restaurant culture, and its insights into building a business on your own terms.

Genres: Memoir, Biography

328 pages, Hardcover

Published August 18, 2026

About the author

JEN AGG is a restaurateur in Toronto, Ontario (CANADA).

Reviews

[Cyn_miad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unputtdownable!! Thankful to see strong women breaking down the patriarchy. So much insight into all that Jen Agg has went through to open several successful restaurants in Toronto.

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like reading bios/autobios and memoirs. Agg is a Toronto restauranteur, many of her places are nearby, and from her descriptions, it sounds like she lives just north of me. I read her first book when it came out in 2017 and liked it.

This one is a personal account of what happens when life takes an unexpected turn. Agg writes about trying to keep her restaurant business going during the COVID-19 pandemic while dealing with a major personal crisis ... her husband, artist Roland Jean, suffered a stroke.

The book follows Agg as she deals with the challenges of running restaurants while also becoming a caregiver to her husband and adjusting to a very different life than the one she had planned. She explores the impact of his stroke on their relationship, the realities of caregiving and the demands of keeping a business afloat during an incredibly uncertain time.

Along the way, Agg discusses the restaurant industry, running a business, ambition, relationships and the role that food and hospitality play in our lives. She also touches on the challenges women face in the restaurant world and the realities behind building a successful restaurant.

As with her first book, Agg has a mouth and she's not afraid to use it. I think you'd either like her or you wouldn't as she seems to have a strong personality but she also showed her vulnerability in her love of Roland.

I eat out a fair amount and it was interesting to learn about the restaurant industry. I found it especially interesting to read about her views about the expectations as a customer of a restaurant ... friendly engaging staff, appropriate music, delicious food, etc. It does make a difference in the dining experience. When Gord and I were in Saint John last month, we had supper at a fairly nice restaurant and our server could have cared less about us. On the other hand, I had supper at a fairly nice restaurant here in Toronto a couple months ago with a friend and our server went above and beyond with her friendliness and taking care of us.

As a head's up, there is swearing (she likes to use the F-bomb frequently). There are lots and lots of colourful photos of food, her restaurants and more.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jen Agg's second book picks up after she decides to close the Black Hoof and follows the next chapters of her life. Essays on her newer restaurants and the business and of running them sit alongside the bigger stories of these years: the loss of her father, then her mother, and then Roland's stroke at the height of the pandemic.

These stories are vulnerable, a side Agg rarely shows. Then again, when was the last time theToronto public allowed her a moment of vulnerability. She writes with striking precision about grief for the the missed moments, and the grief that blankets ordinary days. Readers who came for restaurant stories may be surprised by how much of the book lives here. There are larger lessons here for all, including making sure accessible restrooms are given equal, if not greater attention ( those who need one deserve beauty too).

Her voice is sharper than ever. The spirit of her debut publication is still here, fiery going down and satisfying all the same. Agg runs restaurants, and she is also something this city has too few of, despite how freely the title is handed out to others: a real tastemaker and critic. She writes in this book about the dying art of criticism and how many true restaurant critics are left, I hope an editor somewhere was taking notes. If she ever steps away from running restaurants, papers across the country should be fighting over her byline.

I could spend days telling you to eat at one of her spots. Grey Gardens to this day remains a standout dinner that surprised and delighted at every turn. Finishing this book felt like a trip home and left me wanting to duck into Cocktail Bar with a friend for a quick drink before a great dinner. Agg has more than earned the right to coast on reputation. Instead, she keeps giving the city beautiful places to gather, that really encapsulate the magic of Toronto done right.

I am ready for book three. Until then, I'll settle for a quick flight home, Bar Vendetta focaccia and a CB Deep Cut.

[Winyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do follow Jen Agg on social media, have visited her restaurants, and did read her first book long ago. The book does reference her first at some times, so if you're not aware of her life story up to this point, it may skip over some aspects.

Notes:
- they do hate outspoken women
- YES restaurant irritations: "do you have a reservation? Have you dined here before? How can I help you?"
- yes I am allowed to hate pouring my own water, thank you for validating me
- Friendly service is not a script
- Wow Jacob Balshin got quoted
- influencer review: "melts in your mouth", damn we're all missing teeth LOL true
- rating with some decimal rating and everything is a hidden gem, all food is seasoned to perfection
- $2.6m for the build out of General Public!!

The strongest point I'll take away is that people really do not like women being confident and sure of their own abilities, as if insisting women must be modest and humble at all points. And it's not even to say that Jen Agg isn't humble! She is!
It's like the new world of how people cannot celebrate their own achievements without calling out their privilege and also this new social etiquette of hiding your wealth.

I do wish there was a bit more detail/reflection on certain aspects like how she handles friendships or specific memories that she learned from.

[Leah Noble · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved her first book and this one was no different. It's like peeking behind the curtain at the restaurant industry. I've never eaten at her restaurants as I am rarely outside of Cape Breton Island, but they look stunning, as should something that has had every detail considered! I like Agg's style of writing, which sounds like speaking, and I love her insights into hospitality, how to welcome people to a space, and more. The thread running throughout of her husband and his health concerns was interesting too - clearly Agg coped with great stress by putting together a masterpiece of a restaurant. Thank you Jen Agg for continuing to contribute to the Canadian literary scene AND dining scene! One day I will come to Toronto and eat at one or several of your spots!

[Raphael · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was prepared to like this book but I did not.
Let me start with a minor annoyance that became a major one: the author puts notes in the margins, written in a tiny font, looking like handwriting. It is a barrier for disabled people like myself and it detracts from the physical presentation of the book.
Second, the book reads like the author is speaking. It's a strange style and I didn't like it.
Third, the author has views on restaurants that are out of step with the rest of Canadian society..I didn't enjoy reading this.
However, the one good part of the book describes how her husband has and recovers from a stroke during COVID. That part was interesting and worth reading.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jen Agg is a restauranteur who has opened a ton of restaurants, mainly in Toronto. In this memoir/collection of essays she shares her thoughts and experiences about running restaurants, and her ideas about food, feminism and working in a man's world. I like Jen's attitude because she takes no punches and is very out-spoken.

This book also deals with her husband Roland's stroke, and how the two of them managed to help him heal, while maintaining their relationship.

[Robert Levitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Jen since discovering the legendary Black Hoof. She has brilliant ideas for restaurants and executes them flawlessly. Reading about these restaurants coming to life, especially amidst the challenges this industry, and life in general, throws at us, was humbling, inspiring, fun, depressing…
If you’ve read the Meyers, Guidaras, Trotters, et all books on hospitality and restaurants, Jen Agg should absolutely be on your bookshelf.

[Scotty · Rating 5 out of 5]

One moment you’re giggling at “one tit wonder” and the next you’re choked up in the throes of a health scare. Then you’re mad at men. And more aware of who to support in our little restaurant community. Equally funny and heartening. There is also a lot of sage advice for business owners here, even if you’re far removed from the restaurant industry. I loved it. God bless Jen and Roland 💙

[Amy Borgstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this but not quite as much as her first outing. I think because I am doing some caring for a friend who recently had a stroke, I would have liked more detail on her spouse’s recovery and less about her restaurant experiences. But I think that’s just me.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book by Jenn Agg!
A personal look into her life as she struggles with opening a new restaurant and the recovery of her husband after his stroke.
She is a strong and resourceful woman who I admire ! What a life and what great accomplishments she has achieved.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

All gas, no breaks read all the way through. I really liked getting an inside view into Agg's world especially the chapters taking about the GP build. She's an icon, a legend, and I will forever be a patron

[Christina Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book feels like I’m having a hang with Jen and Roland is hanging back playing the music. What a great time we’re having!
I’m from Vancouver Island and am seriously considering a trip to Toronto with the goal to dine at all the spots.

[angelofmine1974]

Very interesting book. Love the author narrating it.

For the rest of the review, visit my Vlog at:

https://youtube.com/shorts/V1bEvn35tX...

Enjoy!

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

*audiobook*. I love, love, LOVE Jen Agg! A great storyteller and definitely an icon in TO. One of my favourite memoirs to date.