Reality TV...

Nate and I headed off to South Yarra last night for dinner with a bunch of his work colleagues. The circumstances surrounding the dinner was somewhat unusual....we were going there to make the restaurant look busy for a reality TV show called The Chopping Block. The premise of the program is that two restaurant battle it out for the chance to win a cash prize (and a whole lot of publicity). The show films both restaurants before and after a 24 hour marathon makeover to revamp the venue and the menu. We were there for the 'before' filming. The restaurant was closed to the public and everybody had to sign a release, consenting to a whole list of demands (e.g. being filmed and/or secretly recorded with hidden cameras and microphones). Nate's work colleagues were very nice. I wouldn't class them as adventurous eaters though (half of the group required forks and spoons). We ended up ordering what I would call 'aussie chinese'...dim sims, spring rolls, beef and black bean, honey prawns, lemon chicken and sizzling beef. These are the kinds of stuff I haven't touched since I was a kid. The filming wasn't too intrusive (for us at least)...mostly because the cameramen avoided our table as if we were a bunch of lepers (choosing, instead, to film the pretty people downstairs). Food came out very slowly ... but I guess the program would want something negative to capture on film so that the restaurant can show improvement. I'm not sure the delays were the kitchen's fault since there was a lot of cameras and filming going on.