'The Chopping Block' TV Show
Watch and learn about the cafe and restaurant business on Channel 9's new reality TV show. Finished! Not even a 'best of' episode to finish up. The show ended on April 2 with Channel 9 too embarrassed to even say goodbye or thanks to the hosts, the participants and the real stars, the designers who did the makeovers. Add your comments on the whole show to the Facebook page...who was your overall winner?? Next!
Gordon Ramsay's 'Kitchen Nightmares' has some of the very same characters - watch for information about for his new Australian TV show at Gordon Ramsay in Australia.
On the Chopping Block, each week two businesses were given $5,000 for their makeover, and the help of Sydney celeb-chef Matt Moran. An anonymous reviewer judged them before and after the makeover, awarding the better one $20,000.
Eight Sydney and eight Melbourne restaurants were tried and tested over the show's eight episodes - they all have the after-glow of publicity even if only half won the cash. Hopefully they'll be media smart enough to use the opportunity for promotion! Websites and links
The two comperes...
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Official Channel 9 website and the Chopping Block Facebook Group.
>>> Starting a Cafe or Restaurant Workshop - in Sydney every month Sydney cafes & restaurants:
Cafe 43 vs. Cafe Parlo (winner)
Bella Vita vs. Mamma Teresa (winner)
Morris Egyptian Restaurant vs. Dimitri Restaurant (winner)
Sophocles vs. La Bella Vista (winner)
Melbourne cafes & restaurants:
Cafe Burgundy vs. Cafe Matto (winner)
Wild Oscars vs. Grace Food & Wine (winner)
Unwine vs. The Olive Drum (winner)
Zingarella vs. Michelino's (winner)
Know anything more about these restaurants and what they've done after their appearance? If so, please send us the tip!
Question: why don't these restaurants all have decent websites or at least upgrade their listings on Eatability? It's part of the problem - Matt Moran can't fix that, only a shift in attitude...
Latest Updates:
| Matt gets cranky about school education |
Matt Moran had words to say about the experience of culinary education in schools. "A f---ing shocking education" at a public school in Seven Hills, in Sydney's west, has spurred Matt Moran, star of television's The Chopping Block and co-owner of Sydney's glitzy Aria restaurant, into collaborating with a number of hospitality programs at disadvantaged institutions such as Greystanes High School.
"I remember my science teacher [telling me:] 'You're a deadbeat, you're a nobody, you'll never amount to anything," says Moran. "I'd love to tell the prick that I have 250 staff." |
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Tuesday, Apr 29, 2008 04:39
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| Matt Moran to cook at the Good Food Shows - May, June 08 |
 Matt Moran will be presenting half-hour workshops at the Good Food & Wine Show in Sydney and Melbourne - May and June 2008.
More information right here - be quick to book as some sessions will sell out. It's a good show to visit, although very crowded on Saturday and Sunday. |
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Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 05:22
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| Gordon Ramsay the new role model? |
 A head chef I know tells me some young dudes in the kitchen now see the F word as the all-purpose instruction and adjective.
Not that kitchen language was every pure and clean, but Mr Ramsay's bluster comes with the authority of decades of experience. Ranting and swearing can also make you sound like a brat... |
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Thursday, Mar 20, 2008 08:36
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| US version of The Chopping Block coming... |
| To be run on NBC and hosted by UK chef Marco Pierre White:
"The Chopping Block" will feature two teams of four couples who will run adjacent restaurants in Manhattan. The teams will compete in a variety of challenges, from creating an opening menu to demonstrating skill with a variety of cuisines. One couple from the losing team will be sent packing each week, with the winners earning the right to open their own restaurant in the city. White and a panel of judges will determine who goes home each week.
Sounds like it will test the entrepreneur skills of the couples more thoroughly than the aussie version, which leaves them too much in their comfort zone... |
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Thursday, Mar 20, 2008 08:32
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| Unwine vs. The Olive Drum |
| Did the best restaurant win? Debate is raging in this household - Unwine seemed to make a huge improvement, but Matt was obviously impressed by the food at the Drum.
Chef vs Owner at the Olive Drum = ugly, ugly, and I assumed a certain loser - is the chef still there??
And anyone noticed how FAT everyone is on this show? We love to criticise the Americans for their big backsides and over-eating, but aussies have got plenty to worry about. Diabetes here we come! |
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Wednesday, Mar 19, 2008 05:54
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| The chefs are being treated like mushrooms... |
| Kept in the dark and fed bullsh**
 No mistaking it - the poor chefs on this show are abused, starved of information, flattered for food that's no good and blamed for mistakes and menu choices they have no control of. Most should have moved on years ago, but chose to stay where it's comfortable. Quote of the night was the chef proudly announcing a dish was first introduced at the Travelodge in 1974, and showing us the tin of chicken booster. Seriously!
Meanwhile these cooks become unemployable anywhere else, as they're usually doing nothing more than throwing canned tomato in a pan with a piece of meat. If you ever wonder what the difference is between cooking and chefing, it's on display here. It's sad for what it reflects on Australian cooking...I can't bring myself to say cuisine. |
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Wednesday, Mar 12, 2008 08:59
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