Who's Complaining?

[Minnie]

I am. I have sent in my complaint to the BBC.

I am astonished that Raymond Blanc, Sarah Willingham and David Moore had the gall to put their names to the utter abomination that has been this third series of The Restaurant. I can only assume that the BBC wants rid of the series and that this was the last, because it has completely alienated its viewers. It was apparent from the first episode that this series was to be nothing about cooking, running a restaurant, managing budgets - a sort of Apprentice of the food world as it used to be and as all its loyal viewers were expecting it to be again this year.

I presume you do read the message boards, not only your own BBC message boards but other popular boards such as The Internet Forum and Digital Spy, and must therefore be fully aware of the anger and disappointment at the fact that that the BBC has managed to destroy what was once one of their best ever programmes.

I, and many others I know, demand an explanation for this farcical error of judgement.

[Minnie]

The BBC's response:

'The Restaurant' is a competition and as such adheres to the BBC guidelines governing competitions.

The decision to pick JJ and James as the winners was made by Sarah Willingham, Raymond Blanc and David Moore. The three partners were looking for a broad range of skills, not just the ability to cook. The series is an open competition offering ordinary people the chance to open a restaurant and the judges are looking for potential they can develop.

JJ and James were picked as the winners of 'The Restaurant' for reasons shown in the programme; the judges liked their ability to think on their feet, their work ethic and their concept.

 

[jedidjahjulia]

Let me see.
 
1. Thinking on their feet? When they did not have any takers for their cooking demonstration, they halfhartedly treid to get some people off the street and when that did not work they abandoned the idea altogether. Great solution!
2. Work ethic? Most of the time they arrived late. JJ was the slowest person in the kitchen. When things did not work out they just shrugged. See also the answer to 1.
3. Concept? They essentially decided to do some sort of British tapas. What I saw on the plates was miniscule pieces of meat on a stick. Most of the time the amount of plates did not fit on the table. Customers weren't impressed by the concept.

Potential they can develop? it's an insult to hard working people!

[Minnie]

Exactly. And Raymond still hasn't updated his blog with the promised revelations.