"The Restaurant" Reality Show Season 1

Rachel Perlow · July 30, 2003

What about Topher (?), the gay blonde excellent waiter?

saucygirrl · July 30, 2003

In addition to a new most-users-at-a-time record this morning, 24 new users joined up today. Is that near a record? Seems high when the all-time total is about 4500.
I suspect it's the creative staff at NBC. Maybe one of them just got a bright idea for a reality show based on an Internet discussion board. Too bad they didn't think of it when sit coms were the rage.
Speaking of NBC, I am so sure that Gideon's experience was nothing but happenstance. Rocco just "happened" to pass by, Mark Burnett just "happened" to find him outside and his five camera assistants just "happened" to be five minutes away.
I.E. Survivorsucks.com. Hello.

And Gideon just happens to be a cousin of Jeffery Chaderow....Hmmmm

saucygirrl · July 30, 2003

Hey all....I am also on the TV show "The Restaurant"...as a line cook. Oh the things we can share with you all. To set a few things straight:
1. There is not a more shameless breed than the waitstaff hired at this place. "Oh!! The camera!! Me Me Me Me!!!! Guests are here? Whatever..."
2. Rocco Dispirito never once picked up a pan in the kitchen. Not one time. Not once. Opening night with the fire, NBC made sure he was filmed running around with the fire extinguisher. The man never cooked a goddamned thing.
3. The food blows. Tony walks around mashing plated dishes with a Peltex saying,"This is not a French restaurant". And the best cooks left because nobody was getting paid and the food sucked. Lots of Drama though, and like NBC told us.."The only real people are in the kitchen". No shit.
You gotta be the guy who said he hated people in his interview - that has line cook all over it. I like your style

I was a line cook in the kitchen as well. I have opened three star restaurants before, working through floods, fires, and blackouts. However, I have never in my life been treated like such shit than at Roccos. Not only was the food on a par with a school cafeteria, there were no recipes, or menu for BOH. We spent a week experimenting at a "tasting", where Roccos 2 winged monkeys Carla Laille and Dave Coleman bitched and moaned eating dish after dish off paper plates. Whatever they asked for...it was "just not it. In Naples...it was more..." Ugh!

Then pick up a pan and make it! Coming in at 9 am to recipe test 2 days before opening is not my idea of a good time. Rocco popped in and out, and ate if he was hungry. And yes, not once did he pick up a pan. Abusive place to work.....glad I am gonnnnne. Can't wait until the hoopla dies and those doors close...my prediction is late January. :raz:

Mark Sommelier · July 31, 2003

I was a line cook in the kitchen as well. I have opened three star restaurants before, working through floods, fires, and blackouts. However, I have never in my life been treated like such shit than at Roccos. Not only was the food on a par with a school cafeteria, there were no recipes, or menu for BOH. We spent a week experimenting at a "tasting", where Roccos 2 winged monkeys Carla Laille and Dave Coleman bitched and moaned eating dish after dish off paper plates. Whatever they asked for...it was "just not it. In Naples...it was more..." Ugh!
Then pick up a pan and make it! Coming in at 9 am to recipe test 2 days before opening is not my idea of a good time. Rocco popped in and out, and ate if he was hungry. And yes, not once did he pick up a pan. Abusive place to work.....glad I am gonnnnne. Can't wait until the hoopla dies and those doors close...my prediction is late January.

Wow, Saucygirl, good for you. I watched the second episode. Between the pig-people customers and the dopey waiters, it was painful to watch. When the first customer asked "what is spaghettini aglio olio" and the answer was "I don't know", I wrote this restaurant off. When the kitchen segment started and there were more bleeps than on the Osbournes, I switched it off.

saucygirrl · July 31, 2003

What about Topher (?), the gay blonde excellent waiter?

You can find Topher happy and healthy, back at work. Where you ask? You'll have to wait and see... :shock:

saucygirrl · July 31, 2003

having opened 6 restaurants (both FOH and BOH), I' say things went a little better than average (with the exception of the fire)

Who is Shane that annoying guu screaming...and why?????

uzayt · July 31, 2003

Hello All,

This is Uzay from The Restaurant. I don't know who this SaucyGirl is but, I am glad she is no longer working with us at Rocco's. With that kind of negative attitude you can't make a place move forward, especially when we are doing 400 covers a night. Just want to clear a few things up here.

First of all, yes I am actor, but I have also been working in the business since I was 13 years old. I am a much better waiter then actor. If any of you actually work in restaurants in NYC, you know that about 70% of all staffs are actors. I wasn't hired for acting skills, I was hired because I had a good resume and people skills.

Never skimmed money off the tip pool.

Did get promoted to Captain.

Still working there and working hard.

It is really hard to open restaurants under normal conditions, but it is almost impossible to do it in 5 weeks with 12 camera crews and limited space, big personalities and the knowledge that all of America will be watching your every move. Some people cracked under the pressure and some people had to be let go because they couldn't handle it, and some of us busted our hump and made iit through and are still busting our humps and not complaining about it.

Come see for yourselves.

As far as what saucyGirl said about Front of house vs Back of house... Listen I saw some of the stupidest things ever done by a kitchen staff and I saw them get fired. Our front and back of house gets along real well and its not just beacuse we have to. We are one team fighting a new battle every night. SaucyGirl , whomever you are, Don't be bitter, because you couldn't hack it, get back to work, somewhere and try to smile.

Enough defense!! Rocco's is great. Come check it out. Watch the show, there is some great stuff coming up.

Check out my website. I write about the show each week and you can learn a little bit more about me. www.uzaytumer.com

inventolux · July 31, 2003

While working at CT's we filmed The Kitchen Sessions while the Restaurant was still open. Very difficult to do. Im with Uzay on this one. Its much harder than it looks. Imagine working on a hot line with a cameraman rolling up and down while you try to perfect every plate that comes out and is served to real diners. Saucy Girl has got to chill out with the negativity. The restaurant reality show is a major leap for restaurants. I think it took a lot of guts for Rocco to agree to go through with it and in the end he has to deal with the criticism the food reviewers (and disgruntled employees) push upon him. What he and his staff have learned from this experience will only make them more professional in their future ventures. It will also encourage more diners to understand the daily aspects of what restaurant professionals have to deal with. Hopefully the viewing public will be encouraged to go out more thanks to Rocco.

Blondie · July 31, 2003

Welcome to eGullet, Uzay! I'm looking forward to your observations. :smile:

Callipygos · August 1, 2003

Hopefully the viewing public will be encouraged to go out more thanks to Rocco.

Hopefully Rocco will now be free to concentrate on hiring quality staff.

I have read Rocco quoted elsewhere as saying that he opened up the hiring to an open call because "it's just hard to find the right people." This is a DERANGED statement to be making in a city with an enormous unemployment rate, especially in the restaurant trade.

And in the talent pool seeking work, you have someone like my SO. He is a sommelier with several years' experience, including a stint at Tavern On the Green. He is gregarious, personable, well-mannered, even-tempered, and knowledgeable in the extreme.

For Rocco to say that it was 'hard to find the right people" when people like THIS are desperately seeking work, was just offensive. And it only raises doubt in my mind that "quality staff" was really what he was looking for.

tommy · August 1, 2003

just because there are a lot of people looking for work, doesn't mean that it's easy to find the right fit. in fact, it suggests quite the opposite to me.

bilrus · August 1, 2003

It's obvious that party of the "Qualities" of the staff needed for this place (at least during the filming part of the show, were quirky personalities and good/interesting looks - at least on the part of the FOH staff.

Think about some fo the "interviews" he had with them - one question (if you can believe the editing) got them hired.

I consider myself a pretty cool and intersting guy (albeit one who weighs 400 pounds), but you didn't see me trying out to be on The Real World, either.

Callipygos · August 1, 2003

It's obvious that party of the "Qualities" of the staff needed for this place (at least during the filming part of the show, were quirky personalities and good/interesting looks - at least on the part of the FOH staff.

Which is precisely my point. The place was not staffed to provide for the highest quality staff. The place was staffed to provide for the most conflict and drama. At the expense of the quality of the staff, it seems to me.

Rocco got the best staff he could in Central Casting Land. But pretending that the same rules apply in the real world is just dishonest. If you wanna do a show about the challenges of setting up a restaurant with all the conflict, WRITE a show and make it FICTION. If you want to actually start a business and contribute to a city's economy and employ people, then DO THAT.

jfd666 · August 1, 2003

pretending that the same rules apply in the real world is just dishonest. If you wanna do a show about the challenges of setting up a restaurant with all the conflict, WRITE a show and make it FICTION. If you want to actually start a business and contribute to a city's economy and employ people, then DO THAT.

I think it's been said here before, but seems to me that the show aspect is a gimmick to get people to eat at Rocco's. They'll end up with a Hard Rock Cafe style clientele (which is probably why the food is so mid-brow), and they'll be crowded for at least a little while. I think it is within their plan to generate the mishaps that make the show interesting just to create the buzz; normally a new restaurant would try to hire the best - in this case "the best" might mean most likely to get yelled at, drop a plate, ect.

I figure by now they have a staff intended to do business.

Callipygos · August 1, 2003

pretending that the same rules apply in the real world is just dishonest. If you wanna do a show about the challenges of setting up a restaurant with all the conflict, WRITE a show and make it FICTION. If you want to actually start a business and contribute to a city's economy and employ people, then DO THAT.
I think it's been said here before, but seems to me that the show aspect is a gimmick to get people to eat at Rocco's. They'll end up with a Hard Rock Cafe style clientele (which is probably why the food is so mid-brow), and they'll be crowded for at least a little while.

Eh, I know...at some level, I do know this.

I think part of this is motivated by my general ire towards the very notion of reality shows in general.

Sorry. As you were.

Grillboy2k · August 1, 2003

It's obvious that party of the "Qualities" of the staff needed for this place (at least during the filming part of the show, were quirky personalities and good/interesting looks - at least on the part of the FOH staff.
Think about some fo the "interviews" he had with them - one question (if you can believe the editing) got them hired.
I consider myself a pretty cool and intersting guy (albeit one who weighs 400 pounds), but you didn't see me trying out to be on The Real World, either.

Oh man, I could not agree with you more. Thank you.

treqx · August 1, 2003

Life Network here in Canada has a similar show called Opening Soon that's been picked up by Food TV Canada. It's actually quite interesting...

http://www.foodtv.ca/tv/shows/titledetails...title_55202.asp

http://www.lifenetwork.com/tv/shows/show_d...p?titleID=55202

treqx

zenial · August 1, 2003

It's obvious that party of the "Qualities" of the staff needed for this place (at least during the filming part of the show, were quirky personalities and good/interesting looks - at least on the part of the FOH staff.
Think about some fo the "interviews" he had with them - one question (if you can believe the editing) got them hired.
I consider myself a pretty cool and intersting guy (albeit one who weighs 400 pounds), but you didn't see me trying out to be on The Real World, either.

"if you can believe the editing" is right. I'll mention this again all the servers with the exeption of a couple had lot of waiting expirence. Most of you say how fake the show is yet you believe it when it comes to the portrayl of the waitstaff being un-expirenced. You are watching snippets of the whole interviews, come on.

zenial · August 1, 2003

Also the people that were fired were not necessarily fired because they were not able/expirenced. The fact is many nicer restaurants do not want personality AT ALL you don't actually get to talk to the costomers, you are essentially an order taker, which is what the staff at Rocco's has become. Some of the people that were fired simply did not "fit the mold" how ever good they were at doing their jobs. It is one thing to say they are quirky or to call them "wanna-be" actors whatever that is (if you act your an actor), but to call into question their serving ability when you clearly do not see the whole picture is just foolish.

Later,

FOH/BOH at heart

bilrus · August 1, 2003

Zenial, I'm sure that that is the case, but can you tell us that a number of the people (at least the ones featured on the show so far) weren't "cast" to make the show more interesting (at least to those who don't know and respect the restaurant business, like most of us here) as opposed to being "hired" for their abilities.

zenial · August 1, 2003

Zenial, I'm sure that that is the case, but can you tell us that a number of the people (at least the ones featured on the show so far) weren't "cast" to make the show more interesting (at least to those who don't know and respect the restaurant business, like most of us here) as opposed to being "hired" for their abilities.

Here's what I believed happened NBC got a buch of "their personalities" together. We were then shoveled into to Rocco, out of all those characters Rocco picked the ones with restaurant knowledge and expirence (I personally had to role play as a waiter him as the guest, but they didn't show that). Almost all of us had both expirence and interestingness it's just that for now they are only showing you the later. What bothers me is that all the people know what editing can do but will still complain about the incompetant staff.

theminx · August 1, 2003

What bothers me is that all the people know what editing can do but will still complain about the incompetant staff.

The proof is in the pudding -- folks have to go to Rocco's and experience the staff for themselves.

At this point, the incompetents should have all been canned anyway. No excuse to have poor service once the filming stopped.

zenial · August 1, 2003

What bothers me is that all the people know what editing can do but will still complain about the incompetant staff.
The proof is in the pudding -- folks have to go to Rocco's and experience the staff for themselves.
At this point, the incompetents should have all been canned anyway. No excuse to have poor service once the filming stopped.

LOL. I must admit I am one of the so-called incompetents that was let go.

zenial · August 1, 2003

What bothers me is that all the people know what editing can do but will still complain about the incompetant staff.
The proof is in the pudding -- folks have to go to Rocco's and experience the staff for themselves.
At this point, the incompetents should have all been canned anyway. No excuse to have poor service once the filming stopped.
LOL. I must admit I am one of the so-called incompetents that was let go.

Mabye I am incompetent, but I have waited tables for many a year in many a restaurant and recieve nothing but praise. Also the fact that myself and the others that were fired had NO warning of the impending doom, other than people getting fired (in fact the night before i was let go my manager recieved a customer compliment on my behalf) leads me to believe there were other reasons behind the involentary mass-exodus.

Edited August 1, 2003 by zenial (log)

zenial · August 1, 2003

Oh yea. If anyone knows of a restaurant in Manhattan looking for a server, there is a server in Manhattan looking for a restaurant.

Sorry about the self-whoreing, we all have bills.

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