Mario's Restaurant Rookies

[FoodMan]

Did anyone watch this show yesterday? I am not a chef, I just love to cook but IMHO these two were just incompetent. I mean how hard can it be to memorize three recipes over a period of one week. I am not talking about "re-producing" the exact same recipe just the way it is made at Babbo (I know this is hard) but about simple stuff like NOT FORGETTING ANY INGREDIENTS. They were just standing there and looking. What about notes? I don't care how few times you've seen the dish made, TAKE NOTES and memorize the darn thing.

Any thoughts? Am I trivializing the whole thing?

FM

[Schielke]

It is sitting on my Tivo right now waiting for me. I managed to watch about 10 min of it before I left for work though. The boy was annoying, he was trying to pass himself off as some big shot from his neighborhood. Not nearly humble enough.

Ben

[bpearis]

Was this on the Food Network? I haven't heard of it.

[Liza]

Was this on the Food Network?

Last night, 2/2/03.

[guajolote]

Show description

It's on again Saturday at 4pm EST

[rstarobi]

Struck me as a watered down version of Oliver's Kitchen (or whatever it was called), the reality show that Jamie Oliver was doing over in the UK, with less serious consequences, and thus less interest from me, the viewer.

The kids didn't seem to take anything very seriously. Mario seemed to just be going along with the gag.

[TheMan,TheMyth]

I agree, the two young chefs in training they featured were annoying. They had no zest for cooking. They just moped around the kitchen all day.

I also didn't understand why Mario graded the Sweet Bread dish the way he did. He gave the dish a C+, but he described the food as raw and inedible. Shouldn't a raw and inedible dish have received an F.

The Man, The Myth

TapItorScrapIt.com

[FoodMan]

Struck me as a watered down version of Oliver's Kitchen (or whatever it was called), the reality show that Jamie Oliver was doing over in the UK, with less serious consequences, and thus less interest from me, the viewer. 

The kids didn't seem to take anything very seriously.  Mario seemed to just be going along with the gag.

Mario seemed to just be going along with the gag.

Very true, he even said it himself : "No one can blame me for not being able to train them in one week" (or something to that effect)

FM

[Rhea_S]

simple stuff like NOT FORGETTING ANY INGREDIENTS.

I think being in a high end, professional kitchen for the first time might be a bit intimidating and having the cameras and lights in there with you would make it even worse. Also, they had to produce the dishes as quickly as the professionals. I thought the two kids did fine under the circumstances although the guy was annoyingly cocky. I do have a question about the show: people freeze, defrost then use fresh mozarella? I can't even bring myself to freeze hard cheese.

[LESider]

I know Joe, as I go to Cooking School with him. I had him in my Intro to Hospitality class and am now in Culniary I with him. He's a confident young man, but he's not as cocky and arrogant as the show "edited" to be. He's a real nice kid. And I emphasize Kid. He's naive and I'm gonna give him some serious shit about that lame ass"special' he made. frozen mozzarella and tomatoes.jesus.

Joe has sinced worked at Babbo's for some time as a runner after the show. He's basically a simple kid from Queens who dreams of running a banquet hall type restaraunt. He's doesn't strike me as being interested in being a great chef. I don;t think he realizes where Babbo is in the NY dining scene.

Thats said the thing that I noticed is how full of themselves the staff are. Mario seems ok, but the pastry chef (name escapes me)seems like a b*tch. These guys are 19 years old and I'm sure the Babbo kitchen can be an intimidating place. She wants someone with a bit of "snap". I agree that they should have written the recipes down, but knowing Joe, he saw this as some kind of fun thing and didn't probably take it as seriously as the staff at Babbo takes themselves. I mean being a chef is hard f*cking work and they turn out some amazing food nightly. But try to have some humility and perspective. You were 19 once right? If you get the chance to not take yourself to serious at that age, I'd say you were doing the right thing....

[Belmont3]

It was quite amazing that those 2 actually thought that they would be able to compete. They had balls for trying though. Joe just needed to shut up and write something down as did the other one. One of the first things that Mario said was to take some notes, which neither did during the week. I am sure being in that kitchen was intimidating, but there was no excuse not to at least have a cheat sheet in front of them with the list of ingredients and the order in which they were prepared and or plated.

[Craig Camp]

They should have been shot - or at least the show should have been re-shot. Can you imagine being 18 years old and given such an opportunity to touch your dream. They we so cocky they didn't even take notes. They both wasted our time, everyone at Babbo's time and wasted an opportunity that young cooks all over the country can only dream of!

[srhcb]

I guess it didn't surprise me that the two kids featured on this show proved to be considerably less clever and sophisticated than the Posters to this Board.

However, I am amazed to learn that so many people must have television sets in their wine cellars. Otherwise I can't imagine they would condescend to emerge and watch common cable television with the rest of us?

Lighten up! It's a tv show. Entertainment is the point, not culinary exactitude or history!

[Belmont3]

They should have been shot - or at least the show should have been re-shot. Can you imagine being 18 years old and given such an opportunity to touch your dream. They we so cocky they didn't even take notes. They both wasted our time, everyone at Babbo's time and wasted an opportunity that young cooks all over the country can only dream of!

I am with you on this one. I sat there with my mouth open, thinking these 2 just blew the oppurtunity of a lifetime and it seemed as if they did not even care. I do not know if that is reflective of youth today or just those 2 but it was amazing.

[ChocoKitty]

They should have been shot - or at least the show should have been re-shot. Can you imagine being 18 years old and given such an opportunity to touch your dream. They we so cocky they didn't even take notes. They both wasted our time, everyone at Babbo's time and wasted an opportunity that young cooks all over the country can only dream of!

I am with you on this one. I sat there with my mouth open, thinking these 2 just blew the oppurtunity of a lifetime and it seemed as if they did not even care. I do not know if that is reflective of youth today or just those 2 but it was amazing.

Did they know it was an opportunity of a lifetime? I don't know. I am pretty sure, however, that the folks on that show are not as up on what's hot/what's not on the restaurant scene as the people on this board are.

From what I understand, C-CAP is a non-profit program to help inner city students get training for the culinary field (someone please confirm if they know for sure?). So no, I don't expect them to view this as a "touch your dream" event or even know that this is an opportunity that other culinary students would kill for. Hey, at 18/19 I thought I knew everything too! Oh well. It's easy for us to second-guess everything from the comfort of our sofas and from the vantage point of our *cough* extra years.

More on C-CAP:

C-CAP info

Edited February 3, 2003 by ChocoKitty (log)

[LESider]

They should have been shot - or at least the show should have been re-shot. Can you imagine being 18 years old and given such an opportunity to touch your dream. They we so cocky they didn't even take notes. They both wasted our time, everyone at Babbo's time and wasted an opportunity that young cooks all over the country can only dream of!

I am with you on this one. I sat there with my mouth open, thinking these 2 just blew the oppurtunity of a lifetime and it seemed as if they did not even care. I do not know if that is reflective of youth today or just those 2 but it was amazing.

Did they know it was an opportunity of a lifetime? I don't know. I am pretty sure, however, that the folks on that show are not as up on what's hot/what's not on the restaurant scene as the people on this board are.

From what I understand, C-CAP is a non-profit program to help inner city students get training for the culinary field (someone please confirm if they know for sure?). So no, I don't expect them to view this as a "touch your dream" event or even know that this is an opportunity that other culinary students would kill for. Hey, at 18/19 I thought I knew everything too! Oh well. It's easy for us to second-guess everything from the comfort of our sofas and from the vantage point of our *cough* extra years.

More on C-CAP:

C-CAP info

that's it exactly. they don;t know the differnece bewteen Peter Lugers and Daniel. Hell, they might walk into Otto and wonder why a place that bills itself as a pizzeria gets by serving such sh*tty pizza?

[s'kat]

I am with you on this one. I sat there with my mouth open, thinking these 2 just blew the oppurtunity of a lifetime and it seemed as if they did not even care. I do not know if that is reflective of youth today or just those 2 but it was amazing.

I was wondering if there would be a thread about this, today.

To say that Mario appeared skeptical of these two is an understatement. And I don't think that their tender ages justify their flippant and nonchalant attitudes. Even a very limited foray into the world of food should have given them some idea of what this could have been, or done for them.

Very sad.

[Jinmyo]

ChocoKitty, thanks for the C-Cap link. Very interesting.

[knews9]

i watched it, too, and my initial reactions were similar to most of those posted here--cocky kids, missing a huge opportunity, no note taking, etc.

however as i've thought about it more, i find that my distate is reserved more for batali and the food network people than the kids. the show has at its core the same wonderful mix of shameless humiliation/voyeur appeal that many of these newfangled reality shows (don't watch 'em, but, say...joe millionaire).

i agree with the posters who noted that these kids probably had no clue what babbo is; they are straight out of high school--i'd hate to see what i would have done in that situation. moreover, the cook off is simply a set up--if the reviewers had been "fooled," they'd have lined up the babbo chefs, the reviewers, possibly even batali (despite his protests) for the firing squad.

a much better show would be mid-career foodies who wonder what it would be like to become a chef...and i think i can recommend at least one contestant (me!).

[spqr]

however as i've thought about it more, i find that my distate is reserved more for batali and the food network people than the kids.

I'm with you. This was clearly a setup, and I couldn't help feeling that Batali and co were just toying with these two kids like a cat toys with its mouse before it kills it. What's the point of that?

I'd have liked to see Mario take these kids under his wing and teach them something and help them along, rather than using them to get a couple of cheap laughs.

This is probably the lowest point the Food Network has sunk in its long decline.

[Craig Camp]

They should have been shot - or at least the show should have been re-shot. Can you imagine being 18 years old and given such an opportunity to touch your dream. They we so cocky they didn't even take notes. They both wasted our time, everyone at Babbo's time and wasted an opportunity that young cooks all over the country can only dream of!

I am with you on this one. I sat there with my mouth open, thinking these 2 just blew the oppurtunity of a lifetime and it seemed as if they did not even care. I do not know if that is reflective of youth today or just those 2 but it was amazing.

Did they know it was an opportunity of a lifetime? I don't know. I am pretty sure, however, that the folks on that show are not as up on what's hot/what's not on the restaurant scene as the people on this board are.

From what I understand, C-CAP is a non-profit program to help inner city students get training for the culinary field (someone please confirm if they know for sure?). So no, I don't expect them to view this as a "touch your dream" event or even know that this is an opportunity that other culinary students would kill for. Hey, at 18/19 I thought I knew everything too! Oh well. It's easy for us to second-guess everything from the comfort of our sofas and from the vantage point of our *cough* extra years.

More on C-CAP:

C-CAP info

You would have thought with all the cameras and lights they would have picked up on the fact that this was something special - even if they never heard of Babbo before.

C-cap sounds like a great program - there had to be two other kids that would have at least tried.

[Craig Camp]

however as i've thought about it more, i find that my distate is reserved more for batali and the food network people than the kids.

I'm with you. This was clearly a setup, and I couldn't help feeling that Batali and co were just toying with these two kids like a cat toys with its mouse before it kills it. What's the point of that?

I'd have liked to see Mario take these kids under his wing and teach them something and help them along, rather than using them to get a couple of cheap laughs.

This is probably the lowest point the Food Network has sunk in its long decline.

The people in the kitchen of Babbo worked their butts off to get where they are. There is a long line of people willing to work in the kitchen of celebrity chefs just for the exposure and the item on their resume. I don't blame them for holding these cocky kids in a bit of contempt. The kids certainly did not respect their talents and made it clear that they thought it would be easy (“I don’t need to take notes – I can remember most of the things”) to do what it took the chefs at Babbo years of sweat to learn.

I am willing to bet if they had come in with the right attitude (those of a student given the opportunity to work with a master) they would have been treated differently.

[spqr]

The people in the kitchen of Babbo worked their butts off to get where they are.

The point has been made before that these kids are not professional chefs, and the hardworking pros in the Babbo kitchen should not be evaluating them as if they were. This is what made that show a blatant setup. That there are many others who would kill for a chance to cook at Babbo is very irrelevant to the point that this show set up these unwitting kids for failure for the TV audience's entertainment. I wonder what the kids took away with them from this experience. It surely couldn't have encouraged them in their pursuit of culinary education.

[Jinmyo]

This hasn't been broadcast in Canada as yet so I haven't seen it. I'm typing blind.

But it seems that kids given an opportunity to work in a famous kitchen (if they don't know about Mario or Babbo, um, there are these TV cameras on you?) had better get their wits about them. If they didn't then witless is as witless does to the end of their days.

A success story would have sold better for FN and Mario.

If they weren't coddled, well, they weren't eggs.

But I haven't seen the show.

[FoodMan]

I am willing to bet if they had come in with the right attitude (those of a student given the opportunity to work with a master) they would have been treated differently.

My point exactly, if they had showed willingness to learn, discipline (That guy -Joe- was more than an hour late to show up on his second day!!!) and respect to the profession they would've been treated with more respect. Since they both did not seem to care much, why should he?

FM