"The Restaurant" Reality Show Season 2

[tan319]

I missed season one but last night was fascinating. What struck me was how self-concious all the "actors" were with the cameras on them. On other "reality" shows, the players are better at ignoring the cameras.

I agree that the intern and corporate chef need to be bitch slapped. Rocco's chef seemed like a nice guy and at this point has all my sympathies.

It's not that Rocco is so nice, in fact, he seems kind of oblivious early in the episode, which isn't super encouraging.

I've worked for some big chefs, and they aren't always there, that's cool. But the 'Rock comes off as "not involved" to the nth degree. Of course, editing probably amplifies whatever the real story is, I hope it's not as bad as it seems.

I can see Chowder's side, a pasta joint should be a bit more profitable then a place like Union Pacific, a lot profitable, it will be interesting to see where they are losing their ass.

The intern seemed like he was spoiling for a fight, the corporate chef, besides looking like an idiot with that dew wrap, was so smirky, he should have some respect for a (formerly) 3 star chef who is the real deal.

[carp]

What about that damned intern?

I hate that kid. He is a gigantic tool.

I like when he said he specializes in making tough decisions on the spot. Where does he specialize in this? He makes tough, on the spot decisions while he's paddling some pledge at his frat house?

I hate that kid and I am also taking to hating Chodorow's wife. Why is she there?

Who is this Tony, the executive chef? Does anyone here know this guy?

[Mabelline]

She may have a load of bucks, but she came across as tacky.

Mama looked shell-shocked throughout. That poor little lady.

[jhlurie]

I like when he said he specializes in making tough decisions on the spot.

That "specialty" is also refered to as "not thinking things through all the way".

[Lesley C]

Boy, I really wanted to like Rocco, but last night he came off as an ass. That book signing escapade with him coming on to that Jennifer girl was sick making. No wonder his girlfriend dumped him. Rocco, I have news for you, you aren't as hot as you think you are. Heck, he doesn't even look like he showers.

Also, who can really blame Chodorow on this one? Hello, the place is hemorrhaging money and Rocco's attitude is "no comment" and "get my lawyer on the phone." Chodorow should have been down his throat Day 1. Rocco just sat there huffing and puffing or storming out of the restaurant in his pink shirt. I gotta wonder, does Rocco mean baby in Italian?

I loved the line when the waitress said, “As far as I’m concerned, I work for Jeffrey Chodorow.” Mama seems to be the only one on Rocco’s side, but I say rename the restaurant Mama’s. At least she’s putting her heart in it and working the room.

[rancho_gordo]

I agree that the intern and corporate chef need to be bitch slapped. Rocco's chef seemed like a nice guy and at this point has all my sympathies.

t's not that Rocco is so nice, in fact, he seems kind of oblivious early in the episode, which isn't super encouraging.

Please note, I said his CHEF seems like a nice guy, not Rocco.

I don't find him charismatic at all. He's not so good looking that a bath and a few grooming moments would be beneath him.

I'm waiting for it to come out that the restaurant paid for that Italian chef to fly out and make a birthday dinner for Rocco. Surprise!!!!!!

[jhlurie]

Boy, I really wanted to like Rocco, but last night he came off as an ass. That book signing escapade with him coming on to that Jennifer girl was sick making. No wonder his girlfriend dumped him. Rocco, I have news for you, you aren't as hot as you think you are. Heck, he doesn't even look like he showers.

I still can't get out of my mind how he had his hands all over that girl from the "24" TV show the other day when they both appeared on Carson Daly's show. It was like he doesn't even realize how icky it looks. So of course he's all over some bink at a book signing who actually wants him.

Mama looked shell-shocked throughout. That poor little lady.

Given that Chowderhead said that one of the biggest expenses was "payroll" you have to wonder where Rocco's claim to the press that Mamma isn't being paid came from. Where else is that payroll money going? Up Rocco's nose?

Also, who can really blame Chodorow on this one? Hello, the place is hemorrhaging money and Rocco's attitude is "no comment" and "get my lawyer on the phone."

As much as Chowderhead really is a Darth Vadar type, and as wormy as guys like the little intern seem, how the heck does a place hemorage an average of $120,000 a month? ESPECIALLY when so much of the startup costs were subsidized? Many restaurants go under for breaking even or running only slightly in the red, how could Rocco be surprised that management crappy enough to dig the hole THAT deep would go unnoticed?

[Bicycle Lee]

I saw the last five minutes...

all I can think is that Rocco should have found someone with a ton of money and no interest in being IN the restaurant itself to flip the bill....that would have saved him IMO.

[mags]

What I found to be a complete waste of footage in that show last night was the book signings.  Especially that scene when some big titted chippy in a spray on blouse was sticking her tougue in Rocco's ear.  Holy crap!    And I know Rocco is a star and all, but does he always show up at his own publicity events looking like he was just shot out of a canon??  Bad enough that he's looking pretty tired and bloated...a decent pair of slacks and a sweater would have helped.......

But why was that a waste of footage? Clearly -- to me, at least -- it was intended to illustrate that while Rocco's restaurant is imploding, while he is desperately needed to shore up morale and keep the damn thing from being taken over by odious boys in suits, he is, instead, getting his ego stroked in the basement of some suburban bookstore. The subtext is, Ok, Chodorow is a big bad corporate horrible, but Rocco is an irresponsible, self-absorbed flake with an ego the size of Detroit. It would have been very easy to posit Rocco as the hero, the passionate, adorably rumpled artist up against Armani-clad villains who will stick a shiv in while chanting "nothing personal." But by making it clear that he's not a hero, the story gets a lot more layered and interesting, IMO.

Edited April 20, 2004 by mags (log)

[tan319]

Sorry 'bout that, rancho, was reading a bit fast.

[daysee8]

Call me crazy ... I've never worked in the restaurant business. But it seems to me that the biggest mistake being made by BOTH Rocco and Chodorow is that each of them is trying to win this battle by winning the hearts of the employees and public, rather than by working to come up with the best solution to make the place profitable. "If they like ME better, we'll make money" ????? Yeah, that's a business plan to go to the bank with.

[jhlurie]

It would have been very easy to posit Rocco as the hero, the passionate, adorably rumpled artist up against Armani-clad villains who will stick a shiv in while chanting "nothing personal."  But by making it clear that he's not a hero, the story gets a lot more layered and interesting, IMO.

mags, I think in part this is because they TRIED to make him more of a hero last time (remember the heavily edited "Rocco enters the kitchen and saves the day" sequence from last year?) and they failed utterly. So much so, that they kind of shifted things to show him as the heel he is slightly BEFORE the end of the last run (in part, I think, because he'd started spending so much time on talk shows showing his true colors there). To compare him to another Mark Burnett reality star, they must have had something of an "Omarosa" moment with him, where they realized they couldn't possibly hide it... so they went with it.

[JPW]

Quick question for those in the know.

There seems to be a lot of personal antipathy towards Chowderow on the board. The show doesn't portray him in a flattering light, but I tend to see his point of view.

Is the hatred/disdain expressed towards Chowderow because he really is an ass, or is it a general dislike of the money-men and their interference in how a chef wants to run a restaurant?

[Mabelline]

Yep, if everyone in the area wants to go there and eat Mama's Meatballs, what's with the 600k loss? I should think that's a perfect stage for rakin' it in...and a way to make profit, profit, profit!

[mags]

To compare him to another Mark Burnett reality star, they must have had something of an "Omarosa" moment with him, where they realized they couldn't possibly hide it... so they went with it.

To quote my own business partner: If you can't fix it, feature it.

[jhlurie]

Quick question for those in the know.

There seems to be a lot of personal antipathy towards Chowderow on the board. The show doesn't portray him in a flattering light, but I tend to see his point of view.

Is the hatred/disdain expressed towards Chowderow because he really is an ass, or is it a general dislike of the money-men and their interference in how a chef wants to run a restaurant?

It may not be all of it, but go to the bottom of the page linked here (click me).

Of course Rocco isn't much liked here either, I think, and that article dares to call him "likable", which seems like bullcrap to me.

[mags]

Quick question for those in the know.

There seems to be a lot of personal antipathy towards Chowderow on the board. The show doesn't portray him in a flattering light, but I tend to see his point of view.

Is the hatred/disdain expressed towards Chowderow because he really is an ass, or is it a general dislike of the money-men and their interference in how a chef wants to run a restaurant?

I think it's possible to see someone's POV while simultaneously finding them loathesome. Yeah, if Chodorow has lost $600K on this venture, that's a lot of change, and it calls out for a major intervention. But I'm not charmed by the whining that HE has done in the press. For example, he's bitching that Rocco demanded -- and apparently got -- sterling flatware, despite selling fried scallops in paper cups. Well, SOMEBODY signed the bill for the sterling, Jeff. And if you allowed major expenses like that to be racked up without saying boo, than you bear some of the responsibility.

Also, I find Chodorow's apparent need to surround himself with the most obvious and odious of sycophants to be no less repulsive (and in fact, rather similar to) Rocco's apparent need to surround himself with cooing chicks. Then there's the transparent manipulation of Chodorow's machinations vis a vis the staff -- making sure they're all signed up for their insurance and 401(k)s not because it's the decent thing to do but because -- as he makes clear -- he wants to appear to be doing the decent thing. I think he comes across as a totally repellent person, even though in the over-arching scheme of things, he may be in the right.

Again, this makes it a lot more interesting to me than if you had -- as one usually does, on tv programs -- one saintly, perpetually charming good guy, and one irredeamable villain.

[Mabelline]

My, my, is that not interesting. I don't think Roc is likeable, but then I require my friends to be spontaneous in their feelings, and cut the crap. I'm still steamed about Mama. She has no clue about what Roc's up to.

Just one question regarding the frozen pasta...didn't Roc's uncles make the pasta??

[David Leite]

Boy, I really wanted to like Rocco, but last night he came off as an ass. That book signing escapade with him coming on to that Jennifer girl was sick making. No wonder his girlfriend dumped him. Rocco, I have news for you, you aren't as hot as you think you are. Heck, he doesn't even look like he showers.

The guy has lost it. There is nothing wrong with selling out—as he says he has done in the New York article—if that's your goal, which it is with him. But what makes me cringe with embarrassment is that he's constantly pouting and giving the "poor me" victim speech everywhere. You can't have your meatballs and eat them too, Rocco.

I attended the taping of Lynne Rossetto Kasper's radio show last fall that featured Gourmet's special culinary NY weekend. Rocco was a guest and was trying to suck sympathy from the audience. He ACTUALLY said something like, "Don't you feel bad for me?" Uh, no. He shilled himself, whored his mother (who I genuinely think wants the place to succeed), slithered up to anything in a skirt, and he wonders why people don't like him. He comes across as a petulant, spoiled child who can't get his way. His absolutely voracious need for the spotlight and fame is overriding all common sense (and baser urges, as seen in the Jennifer section. Ick!). Too bad he'll end up being a humorous footnote in the burgeoning chef-as-celebrity phenomenon—he is a talented chef. Or was.

[ronnie_suburban]

Boy, I really wanted to like Rocco, but last night he came off as an ass. That book signing escapade with him coming on to that Jennifer girl was sick making. No wonder his girlfriend dumped him. Rocco, I have news for you, you aren't as hot as you think you are. Heck, he doesn't even look like he showers.

The guy has lost it. There is nothing wrong with selling out—as he says he has done in the New York article—if that's your goal, which it is with him. But what makes me cringe with embarrassment is that he's constantly pouting and giving the "poor me" victim speech everywhere. You can't have your meatballs and eat them too, Rocco.

I attended the taping of Lynne Rossetto Kasper's radio show last fall that featured Gourmet's special culinary NY weekend. Rocco was a guest and was trying to suck sympathy from the audience. He ACTUALLY said something like, "Don't you feel bad for me?" Uh, no. He shilled himself, whored his mother (who I genuinely think wants the place to succeed), slithered up to anything in a skirt, and he wonders why people don't like him. He comes across as a petulant, spoiled child who can't get his way. His absolutely voracious need for the spotlight and fame is overriding all common sense (and baser urges, as seen in the Jennifer section. Ick!). Too bad he'll end up being a humorous footnote in the burgeoning chef-as-celebrity phenomenon—he is a talented chef. Or was.

Yep, and not an ounce of charm (left?) in the guy.

=R=

[David Leite]

But I'm not charmed by the whining that HE has done in the press.  For example, he's bitching that Rocco demanded -- and apparently got -- sterling flatware, despite selling fried scallops in paper cups.  Well, SOMEBODY signed the bill for the sterling, Jeff.  And if you allowed major expenses like that to be racked up without saying boo, than you bear some of the responsibility.

Ah, but then where's the drama [read: new season and hundreds of millions in advertising] if he actually kept close tabs?

One does have to wonder, though, how much Mark Burnett has kept the players in the dark so that there is conflict. No conflict, no show. No show, no gonzo sales for Rocco and no promotion of Chowderow's other two dozen restaurants as promised by Burnett. I don't trust the premise at all; it's too easy to editorialize and lead the viewer simply by inserting one clip instead of another. Still, no amount of editing can hide the character of both Rocco and Chowderow.

Edited April 20, 2004 by David Leite (log)

[JPW]

Quick question for those in the know.

There seems to be a lot of personal antipathy towards Chowderow on the board. The show doesn't portray him in a flattering light, but I tend to see his point of view.

Is the hatred/disdain expressed towards Chowderow because he really is an ass, or is it a general dislike of the money-men and their interference in how a chef wants to run a restaurant?

It may not be all of it, but go to the bottom of the page linked here (click me).

Of course Rocco isn't much liked here either, I think, and that article dares to call him "likable", which seems like bullcrap to me.

Thanks for the link.

Unfortunately it's a little too "Cindy Adams"ish and doesn't really say much other than he spent time in jail (for the exact same thing they are putting Martha away for) and definately runs with an unsavoury crowd). But then again that tends to happen on the money side of things.

However, I don't see any proof offered for the claim that he is "among the least agreeable people in food service."

Frankly, if I found myself in business with either of them, I'd keep both hands on my wallet and my ass to the wall. I'd probably be less wary of Chowderow because his ambitions seem more naked, where Rocco is always covering up and looking for an angle to prove he's smarter than everyone else.

I agree with mags, hopefully they'll keep the ambiguity as to who the "good" guy v. "bad" guy going as the season rolls on. My feeling from the first episode is that Rocco is definately starting off as the bad guy.

All in all, I found it to be pretty good TV.

[jersey13]

What I found to be a complete waste of footage in that show last night was the book signings.  Especially that scene when some big titted chippy in a spray on blouse was sticking her tougue in Rocco's ear.  Holy crap!    And I know Rocco is a star and all, but does he always show up at his own publicity events looking like he was just shot out of a canon??  Bad enough that he's looking pretty tired and bloated...a decent pair of slacks and a sweater would have helped.......

But why was that a waste of footage? Clearly -- to me, at least -- it was intended to illustrate that while Rocco's restaurant is imploding, while he is desperately needed to shore up morale and keep the damn thing from being taken over by odious boys in suits, he is, instead, getting his ego stroked in the basement of some suburban bookstore. The subtext is, Ok, Chodorow is a big bad corporate horrible, but Rocco is an irresponsible, self-absorbed flake with an ego the size of Detroit. It would have been very easy to posit Rocco as the hero, the passionate, adorably rumpled artist up against Armani-clad villains who will stick a shiv in while chanting "nothing personal." But by making it clear that he's not a hero, the story gets a lot more layered and interesting, IMO.

oops! I forgot. It's "reality" TV. Actually I was more bored by those scenes than any thing else. Bored and nauseated. I just find watching people behave like that in inappropriate situations sickening. And given what we've already seen of Rocco in the past, I really wanted to hurl. Maybe they could have shown him brooding some more..... I guess since he doesn't even see fit to cook , there was no other way to portray him...

[David Leite]

  My feeling from the first episode is that Rocco is definately starting off as the bad guy.

Has to. Otherwise there no way that Rocco can overcome the obstacles, run the gauntlet, and rise to the occasion to be the hero in the end. (Cue "Climb Every Mountain" from The Sound of Music.) If it's true he's getting a five-day-a-week cooking show contract, it's not because NBC looked at the entire second season of the "The Restaurant" and decided he was a total ass. He has to come out of this triumphant in some respect.

[stephenc]

I wish I had a trophy wife like Chowdurhoy