''Restaurant Makeover'' is a television series on

HGTV Canada HGTV is a Canadian English-language Category A cable and satellite specialty channel owned as a joint venture between Corus Entertainment (which serves as managing partner and owns 80.24% majority control through licensee HGTV Canada, Inc.) and ...

that currently airs as reruns on the Food Network Canada and ''HGTV Canada'', as well as the Fine Living channel and Food Network in the United States,

DTour DTour (styled as DTOUR) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel was originally established by Canwest in 1997 as Prime, a cable companion to Global with a general entertainment format focusing o ...

and in over 16 other countries worldwide. The

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

starred designer Robin De Groot and chef

Brad Long Brad Long is a Canadian chef. He is known for his appearances on the Food Network show ''Restaurant Makeover'', which is seen in over 16 countries worldwide. For ten years Long worked at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment where he was responsible ...

in the Coco's Cafe. Most of the restaurants involved in the series were located in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...

. The series has been rebooted as '' Restaurant Takeover'' on Food Network Canada.

Synopsis

It is hosted by chefs

, Rene Chauvin,

Lynn Crawford Lynn Crawford (born July 18, 1964) is a Canadian chef and television personality. She is known for her appearances on the Food Network show ''Restaurant Makeover'', which is seen in over 16 countries worldwide. Biography Lynn Crawford was bo ...

Massimo Capra Massimo Capra (born 1960) is an Italian Canadians, Italian-born Canadian restauranteur, restaurant consultant, cookbook author, and celebrity chef. He is known for his appearances on the television shows CityTV's ''CityLine, Cityline'', Global Tel ...

, Corbin Tomaszeski,

David Adjey David Adjey is a Canadian chef known for his appearances on the Food Network Canada show ''Restaurant Makeover''. Adjey appeared on the season 7 premiere episode of ''Iron Chef America'' which originally aired on October 5, 2008. He faced off a ...

, and

Susur Lee Susur Lee (; born December 1958) is a Canadian celebrity chef based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Culinary career Susur was born in Hong Kong, the youngest of six children. He served his culinary apprenticeship at Hong Kong's renowned Peni ...

along with designers Robin De Groot,

Meredith Heron Meredith Heron is a designer and television personality who lives and works in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Meredith has appeared as a host designer on Home and Garden Television's Love by Design and Design Match, and as a guest on House & Home. Most ...

, Cherie Nicole Stinson, Jessica Cotton, Glen Peloso, Brenda Bent,

Cheryl Torrenueva Cheryl Torrenueva is a Canadian designer, best known as a personality on television shows produced by HGTV Canada. A graduate of Ryerson University, Torrenueva started in television as a contestant on '' Designer Superstar Challenge''.

, Lisa North, and Jonathan Furlong, who perform renovation makeovers on restaurants desiring transformation. The premise of the show is to challenge two restaurant professionals, one designer and one chef, to overhaul a struggling restaurant with a very limited budget and time. Originally the show would match funds provided by the restaurant owners up to $20,000; however, that decreased to just $15,000 as the show moved into its later seasons.

Criticism

Although the show's premise is to help struggling restaurants, a number of establishments have failed shortly after their makeover — sometimes before the episode of the show featuring the restaurant had aired, thus not allowing them to reap the benefits of added exposure. Some critics held the opinion that participating in ''Restaurant Makeover'' was a "kiss of death" for failing restaurants. However, it was noted that given the dire condition of some participants' establishments, even a significant change could not salvage the business.Restaurant Makeover
Taste TO

List of renovated restaurants

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

References

External links

* ttp://www.hgtv.ca/ontv/episodearchive.aspx?titleid=86270 Episode list from HGTV* {{Food Network (Canada) series Food reality television series Food Network (Canadian TV channel) original programming HGTV (Canada) original programming 2005 Canadian television series debuts 2008 Canadian television series endings 2000s Canadian reality television series Television series by Alliance Atlantis