Restaurant: Impossible

Restaurant: Impossible
Chef Robert Irvine
Starring	Robert Irvine
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	18
Production
Executive producer	Marc Summers
Producers	Cyndi Butz, Paul Perrymore, Jodi Goren-Rode
Editors	John Gerbec, Bryan Monzella, Scott Markowitz
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Marc Summers Productions Shooters TV
Original release
Network	Food Network
Release	January 19, 2011 (2011-01-19) – Present

Restaurant: Impossible is an American reality television series presented by the Food Network. It stars British chef Robert Irvine and is jointly produced by Marc Summers Productions and Shooters Productions (credited as Shooters TV). The premise of the series is that within two days and on a budget of $10,000, Irvine renovates a failing American restaurant with the goal of helping to restore it to profitability and prominence. He is assisted by a rotating cast of designers from HGTV: Taniya Nayak, Vanessa De Leon, Krista Watterworth, or Cheryl Torrenueva. General contractor Tom Bury oversees the crews implementing the changes.

The series premiered on January 19, 2011. Currently, second season episodes are airing.

Introduction

Robert Irvine is a fearless chef and top restaurateur. He's never met a challenge he wouldn't take. Robert's new mission: fix America's most desperate restaurants. With limited time and few resources, this may be ... Restaurant: Impossible!

Changes

Robert Irvine enters a restaurant, assesses the issues, and confronts the owners with the problems. He begins outlining the changes he intends to make. He typically reduces the size of the menu and frequently adds simple dishes which he believes will sell; changes the décor to make it more appealing to customers; oversees cleaning; trains the staff (sometimes changing the staff's duties, e.g. making one person an executive chef or making one person a host or hostess); and gives the restaurant's owners the practical tools and suggestions to succeed.

Each episode ends with a group of new customers being invited to the new-look restaurant. Occasionally, selected items from the new menu are prepared and samples are presented to the public to advertise the restaurant.

Allegations against production staff

In January 2011, Steve Kledaras, the owner of Rascal's BBQ & Crab House in New Castle, Delaware accused Restaurant: Impossible's production staff of dishonesty by creating a dirty restaurant.

Kledaras said they moved bags of garbage onto the restaurant's patio, sprinkled caraway seeds to simulate rat droppings, and overheated a cup of coffee in the microwave oven and left it in a dirty condition and wouldn't allow him to clean it. Kledaras said his father was upset over the episode, which aired on February 2, 2011: "My father was ashamed. He said, ‘They’re going to make you look like the filthiest guy in Delaware'".

Kledaras claims that Rascal's had passed previous inspections; a minor problem was corrected immediately to the satisfaction of the inspectors. Food Network has denied the allegations. "The situations that viewers see are not manufactured and are exactly as the production experienced them.”

Another restaurant, Dodge City in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has received some criticism for some new items on the menu and the higher prices. Owner Doug Krick says Robert Irvine instructed him to wear a sheriff's uniform, which he did not want to do, and feels that Irvine humiliated him. The reception to the new menu additions has been mixed.

Episodes

Season One (2011)

Ep. #	Restaurant	Location	Original airdate
1.1	Villari's1	Palmyra, New Jersey	January 19, 2011 (2011-01-19)
1.2	Mainelli's	Providence, Rhode Island	January 26, 2011 (2011-01-26)
1.3	Rascal's BBQ and Crab House	New Castle, Delaware	February 2, 2011 (2011-02-02)
1.4	Salt Works II	Wilmington, North Carolina	February 9, 2011 (2011-02-09)
1.5	Meglio's	Bridgeton, Missouri	February 16, 2011 (2011-02-016)
1.6	Secret Garden Cafe	Jacksonville, Florida	February 23, 2011 (2011-02-23)
1.7	Flood Tide	Mystic, Connecticut	March 2, 2011 (2011-03-02)

^1 Chef Michael G (Giletto), who turned down the head chef position at Villari's, previously appeared on Food Network's Chopped and as a sous chef on Iron Chef America.

Season Two (2011)

Ep. #	Restaurant	Location	Original airdate
2.1	Dodge City	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	July 6, 2011 (2011-07-06)
2.2	La Stanza	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	July 13, 2011 (2011-07-13)
2.3	Sweet Tea	Chapin, South Carolina	July 20, 2011 (2011-07-20)
2.4	Country Fare	Stafford, Virginia	July 27, 2011 (2011-07-27)
2.5	Snooty Fox	Indianapolis, Indiana	August 3, 2011 (2011-08-03)
2.6	Pastori's	Ellington, Connecticut	August 24, 2011 (2011-08-24)
2.7	Scrimmages	Wilmington, Delaware	August 31, 2011 (2011-08-31)
2.8	Mamma D's	Pipersville, Pennsylvania	September 7, 2011 (2011-09-07)
2.9	Off Street Cafe	Cerritos, California	September 14, 2011 (2011-09-14)
2.10	The Trails	San Diego, California	September 21, 2011 (2011-09-21)
2.11	Cap'n and the Cowboy	Port Charlotte, Florida	September 28, 2011 (2011-09-28)
2.12	Mad Cactus	Strongsville, Ohio	November 2, 2011 (2011-11-02)
2.13	McShane's	East Syracuse, New York	November 9, 2011 (2011-11-09)
2.14	Coffee's Boilin' Point	Madisonville, Louisiana	November 16, 2011 (2011-11-16)

See Also

• Restaurant Makeover
• Kitchen Nightmares

External links

• Restaurant: Impossible at FoodNetwork.com
• Restaurant: Impossible at IMDb