The Restaurant (Irish TV series)
| The Restaurant | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Reality television |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 9 |
| No. of episodes | 45+ |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes (RTÉ) 60 minutes (TV3) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel |
RTÉ One (? - 2011) TV3 (2015 - present) |
| Original run | 2000s – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Restaurant is reality television programme in Ireland. Originally broadcast on RTÉ One—where it premiered in the 2000s—as of 2015 the series had moved to TV3.
Each episode features a different head chef, usually claimed to have some sort of celebrity background. Sometimes politicians would participate, among them Enda Kenny, Ruairi Quinn, Michael Healy-Rae and Alan Shatter. The show returned in January 2015 after a six-year hiatus, this time on TV3.[1]
The most successful Irish food programme broadcast on RTÉ One (beating even the likes of Neven Maguire and Donal Skehan), the state broadcaster still repeats episodes for daytime viewers.[2]
Format
Each episode sees a celebrity head chef taking on the culinary challenge of producing a full three-course meal with two wines. This meal is then served to the restaurant's customers and the resident critics, Tom Doorley and Paolo Tullio, who are joined each week by a guest critic.[3]
The head chef arrives on location at 10:00 on the day of filming and immediately begins working with the team. The head chef's first task is to describe their own menu to the kitchen staff. The head chef works with Workovich on starters, McAllister on the main courses and Lennox on desserts. They prepare their meal until 18:30 and diners enter the restaurant at 19:00. The head chef leaves the kitchen at 22:00 to reveal their identity to the dining room.[4] The chef's identity remains a secret to those being served their food until the end of the show when all has been eaten.[4] The critics give the meal a star rating of between one and five, which is then pulled from an envelope after the head chef joins the critics' table.
The Restaurant is voiced over by Seán Moncrieff and the restaurant is manned by John Healy, Maitre'D;[5] the kitchen staff, chefs David Workowich, Stephen McAllister and Louise Lennox and food researcher, Stephen Quin,[6] and waiting staff, waitress, Elaine Normile and waiters, Lee Bradshaw and Vivian Reynolds.[7]
During its original run on RTÉ The Restaurant moved location to County Westmeath, where filming took place at Wineport Lodge overlooking Lough Ree, in Glassan village.[4]
RTÉ also published The Restaurant - The Magazine, which included images and recipes from the series.
The seventh[8] series began on 16 November 2008, running on Sundays at 20:30. RTÉ had eight series in total.[2]
List of episodes
- RTÉ Series 1-5?
- RTÉ Series 6?
| Head chef | Details | Rating | Date of transmission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gerald Kean | Details (archive) |   |
|
| Ray D'Arcy | Details (archive) | |
|
| Pamela Flood | Details (archive) | |
|
| Keith Barry | Details (archive) | |
|
| Kevin Myers | Details (archive) | |
|
| Mary Wilson | Details (archive) | |
- RTÉ Series 7
| Head chef | Details | Rating | Date of transmission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Healy-Rae | Details (archive) | |
16 November 2008 |
| Jessica Kürten | Details (archive) | |
23 November 2008 |
| Des Cahill | Details (archive) | |
30 November 2008 |
| Dominic Mafham | Details (archive) | |
7 December 2008 |
| Ciara O'Callaghan | Details (archive) | |
14 December 2008 |
| Dermot Bannon | Details (archive) | |
21 December 2008 |
| Tracy Piggott/Kevin Myers 5 Star Cook-off[9] |
n/a | n/a | Christmas special 28 December 2008 |
| Frank McNamara | Details (archive) | |
??? |
| Kate O'Toole | Details (archive) | |
??? |
- RTÉ Series 8
| Head chef | Details | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angeline Ball[2] | [2] |
Last RTÉ episode | |
2015 revival
The series returned on TV3 on 7 January 2015. The programme was sponsored by Aldi and voiced by Sean Moncrieff. The six-part series was filmed at Wineport Lodge in Glasson, County Westmeath in November 2014, with each episode running to one hour.[10] The regular food critics are Paolo Tullio and Tom Doorley, along with a guest critic each week.[11]
List of episodes
- January 7 - Alan Shatter received 4 stars[12]
- January 14 - Jackie Lavin received 2 stars[13]
- January 21 - Andrew Trimble received 3 stars. [14]
- January 28 - Marie Cassidy received 4 stars.
- February 4 - Rozanna Purcell received 4 stars. [15]
- February 11 - Sharon Shannon
International versions
The format is sold internationally by Vision Independent Productions under the title The Secret Chef.[2] It has had three seasons in Italy.[16]
References
- ↑ "alditherestaurant.com".
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "A taste of what's to come: TV3 leaves RTÉ with plenty to chew on as it pinches hit show The Restaurant". Evoke. 9 October 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
- ↑ "Critics". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Frequently Asked Questions". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
- ↑ "Maitre'D". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
- ↑ "Kitchen Staff". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
- ↑ "Waiting Staff". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
- ↑ "Star of the Day". RTÉ Guide. 15 November 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
- ↑ "Tracy is ready to crack the whip in busy Christmas 'cook off' with chef rival Kev". Evening Herald. 11 December 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
- ↑ "TV3 is calling out for diners to take part in ‘The Restaurant’". TV3.ie. 22 October 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ↑ "Something's cooking in 'The Restaurant' on TV3". Irish Independent. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ↑ "7 of the weirdest moments from Alan Shatter’s appearance on The Restaurant". Daily Edge. 8 January 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ↑ "Ambitious Jackie bites off more than she can chew in The Restaurant". TV3.ie. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ↑ "'I've no idea how I spoofed three stars' - rugby ace Andrew Trimble gives cooking a try on The Restaurant". The Herald. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ↑ "Roz Purcell falls short of full marks on ‘The Restaurant’". TV3.ie. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
- ↑ "The Secret Chef" (PDF). Eyeworks. p. 2. Retrieved 18 April 2010.