English Translation
I wasn’t ready.
Could this also be fertig?
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It is only a slight difference:
“Ich war nicht bereit” = “I wasn’t ready”
“Ich war nicht fertig” “I wasn’t ready” but also “I hadn’t finished”
E.g.
I wasn’t ready for dinner = Ich war nicht bereit/fertig für das Abendessen.
I hadn’t finished dinner = Ich war nicht fertig mit dem Abendessen.
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So, the waiter would say: “Bist du bereit?” when sit down, and “Bist du fertig?” when the plate is empty?
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I don’t know if a waiter would say that 
, but yes, the principle is correct.
Basically “bereit” means “ready for what’s to come”, while “fertig” means “done with a task”.
The double meaning of “fertig” stems from the fact that, many times, in order to be ready for something, you need to complete something else first, be it some unrelated task or preparations for said something.
One example would be “Auf die Plätze, fertig, los!” (“On your marks, get set, go!”). Here, the “fertig” refers to the athletes being done taking up their starting positions and ready for the race.
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