Warning: Spoilers follow
CNBC’s investment in repeats of ABC’s “Shark Tank” has reaped handsome ratings dividends — so there’s no reason to think that its new reality series, “Restaurant Startup,” will fare any differently.
“Restaurant Startup” incorporates “Shark Tank’s” element of having investors — in this case successful restaurant moguls Joe Bastianich and Tim Love — choosing whether or not to put their money into a startup eatery.
All the usual elements are here — semi-snarky, all-business hosts, wide-eyed contestants, quick-cut editing, overly dramatic music and (possibly) contrived kitchen mishaps — but, overall, “Restaurant Startup” will appeal to anyone who’s not only interested in the food business but in cheering for the underdog.
The setup, which the show takes much too long to explain, has Becco founder Bastianich (also a judge on Fox’s “MasterChef” and “MasterChef Junior”) and Texas-based Love (Lonesome Dove Western Bistro) meeting two groups of entrepreneurs and, after a quick on-camera interrogation, choosing one group in which to possibly invest (amount to be determined).
I say “possibly,” because whoever is chosen then has 36 hours, and a $7,500 budget, to establish a one-night-only “pop-up” restaurant (the opener is set in LA) — with input from “culinary consultant” Waylynn Lucas — hoping to impress Bastianich and/or Love into forking over some dough so they can open their own place. (Like “Shark Tank,” the caveat here is that the judges will own a piece of the pie — if they decide to cough up the scratch.)
In the July 8 premiere, three line cooks from Seattle, who call their business “Kraken Congee” (“a hip new twist on rice porridge”), win the preliminary round, then meet with Lucas and a graphic designer to set the things in motion.
Naturally, there’s a lot of “drama” here, though how much of this is real or fabricated (by the producers) is hard to tell. (Let’s face it, you wouldn’t watch if everything went smoothly — too boring.)
These three guys do a copious amount of weeping (enough already) and snapping at each other while Bastianich and Love, seated in the pop-up restaurant, assess the situation and sample the fare — even visiting the kitchen to lay down the law à la “Hell’s Kitchen” host Gordon Ramsay (no f-bombs here, but it’s an awfully familiar reality trope).
Anyone who’s watched any of the 346 restaurant shows on Fox, Lifetime or Bravo knows the drill, but Bastianich and Love are fun to watch and the pacing is snappy. Something to put on your summer viewing menu.