Well here I am with my first post, having never done this anywhere before. I've read every post regarding "The Restaurant" and have watched all 4 shows. Wow what a mess. I can't seem to stop watching it in disbelief. Nevermind the constant add placements, how about working in your kitchen Mister. No way is your kitchen staff going to make you look good, when they don't seem to know how to make your food. Then to find out neither do you, bringing in your Mama to try and get the food right. Please. I've only opened 3 restaurants, none of them mine, and I've never seen anything like "Rocco's" mess. I guess the editing of 300 hours per show can be blamed for certain things, but come on, what about the food. What about the kitchen. Anyone who's ever worked in one knows that the FOH and the BOH are like cats and dogs. Not that that's a good thing, but the natural seeming fact. I wish the editers realized that there is probably plenty of good drama going on in the kitchen. The cooks do seem to work slowly, with no sense of urgency. I'd really like to see more BOH in action, say in the middle of the rush, when tempers go off and mistakes are being made. I do feel for the kitchen and the cold food issue. I opened the Houston "Sam's Cafe" in '89, (remember the Mariel Hemmingway spots), there were 2 in NYC. I sat there with Mariel and asked her what the place and food was supposed to be about. I didn't get far. That place was the closest thing to Rocco's for me. The general manager was a catering director, the owner partner was a lawyer. The whole place seemed clueless. It's amazing it lasted almost 2 years. The Kitchen was upstairs, as was the main dining room. There was also a dining room downstairs, and yes the food was served cold most of the time. Hot plates and food that is hot when it goes on the plate can only go so far. I ended up leaving after 7 months as it was too hard to deal with the local owners, and their management ideas. I don't understand why Rocco is spending most of his time out front when his kitchen is always in the weeds. His little demo was cute but did it fix any problems? I think not. It seems when chefs become celebrities they loose focus for what made them. It certainly looks like that for Rocco. Now he thinks he can be a waiter. Come on Rocco. You are making your peers look bad. Are people really going to think this is how their favorite restaurant runs? Will they think this is how a chef should act? Should we even watch reality tv? I normally don't watch network tv, but I have seen the Osbournes and while I find myself laughing here and there, I really feel sorry for Ozzy who seems to be almost incapeable of doing anything. I can now say the same for Rocco. Maybe they could do a show with Rocco and Ozzy, "The Rocbournes", where they sit around drinking talking about when they could still "do it"
