There is a great new show on the Food Network you need to check out if you haven’t seen it yet. It’s called Restaurant Stakeout. Instead of being just another show with a restaurant consultant telling people their food sucks and their menu is too big, Willie Degel’s show is an original and really interesting to watch.
During the course of this show, a consultant sets up multiple hidden cameras throughout a restaurant to observe the restaurant while no one knows he is watching. After finding numerous problems that are costing the owner money, he invites the owner to watch the footage with him. The owner is appalled at what really goes on in their restaurant when they aren’t there and the consultant beats them up over how much money they are losing. By the end of the show, the consultant is making recommendations to the restaurant owner which, by this point, seem like no brainers.
Besides the fact this show is much more original than any restaurant improvement show anywhere on television, this show is a great eye opener for restaurant owners. You never know what is going on in your restaurant when you aren’t there unless you have surveillance, or truly responsible leaders in the restaurant at all times.
Check out the TV show website here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/restaurant-stakeout/index.html
You can get a free 30-minute telephone consultation with Brandon O’Dell from O’Dell Restaurant Consulting to see if there are improvements that can be made in your own restaurant too.
Call (888) 571-9068 to set up a time.
www.bodellconsulting.com
O'Dell Restaurant Consulting's Blog 
Great show? Not to my way of thinking. First, it appears to be heavily staged and scripted. Second, continuity is way off (look how the outside light shifts back and forth between light, dusk and dark), making you question if it is truly “reality.”
Maybe if Willie changed his clothes once in a while I’d be more forgiving, but the two episodes I watched already are likely to be the only two I see.
I think this is one of the worst “reality” shows I’ve seen yet. Food Network screwed the pooch mightily on this one, and I can’t help but think this doesn’t do anything for legitimate restaurant consultants except throw up an additional barrier to have to overcome.