''The Restaurant'' is

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

programme produced by Vision Independent Productions in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The series first premiered on public service broadcaster

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís � ...

where it ran for eight seasons. After a six-year hiatus the show was renewed by the

TV3 Group Virgin Media Television Ltd (formerly known as TV3 Television Network Ltd; previously traded as the TV3 Group until August 2018) is a commercial television company in Ireland, based in Dublin. Launched in 1998 as TV3 Television Network, the ...

. The show aired its ninth season on

Virgin Media One Virgin Media One, also called Virgin One, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Ireland (part of Liberty Global), operated through its subsidiary Virgin Media Television. The channel was known until 30 August 201 ...

(formerly known as "TV3") from January 2015.

History

The show premiered on

in the 2000s. The show ran for eight seasons on the public service broadcaster after a six-year hiatus the show was recommissioned by the [TV3 Group. The ninth season aired on TV3 Ireland from 2015. Each episode features a different head chef, usually claimed to have some sort of celebrity background. Sometimes politicians would participate, among them Enda Kenny, Ruairi Quinn, Michael Healy-Rae and Alan Shatter. When it aired on RTÉ it proved to be a very successful format often beating even the likes of Neven Maguire and Donal Skehan's cookery shows in the ratings.

Format

Each episode sees a celebrity head chef taking on the culinary challenge of producing a full three-course meal with two wines. This meal is then served to the restaurant's customers and the resident critics, Tom Doorley and

Paolo Tullio Paolo Luigi Mario Tullio (; 1949 – 5 June 2015) was a writer and a Michelin star-winning head chef of the former restaurant Armstrong's Barn in Annamoe, County Wicklow. Tullio came to Ireland in 1968 to study English, arts and philosophy a ...

, who are joined each week by a guest critic. The head chef arrives on location at 10:00 on the day of filming and immediately begins working with the team. The head chef's first task is to describe their own menu to the kitchen staff. The head chef works with Workovich on starters, McAllister on the main courses and Lennox on desserts. They prepare their meal until 18:30 and diners enter the restaurant at 19:00. The head chef leaves the kitchen at 22:00 to reveal their identity to the dining room. The chef's identity remains a secret to those being served their food until the end of the show when all has been eaten. The critics give the meal a star rating of between one and five, which is then pulled from an envelope after the head chef joins the critics' table. ''The Restaurant'' is voiced over by

Seán Moncrieff Seán Moncrieff is an Irish broadcaster, journalist and writer. He currently presents the weekday afternoon radio show ''Moncrieff'' on Newstalk and is a columnist for ''The Irish Times''. His television credits include his own Raidió Teilif ...

and the restaurant is manned by John Healy, Maitre'D; the kitchen staff, chefs David Workowich, Stephen McAllister and Louise Lennox and food researcher, Stephen Quin, and waiting staff, waitress, Elaine Normile and waiters, Lee Bradshaw and Vivian Reynolds. During its original run on RTÉ ''The Restaurant'' moved location to

County Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces o ...

, where filming took place at Wineport Lodge overlooking

Lough Ree Lough Ree () is a lake in the midlands of Ireland, the second of the three major lakes on the River Shannon. Lough Ree is the second largest lake on the Shannon after Lough Derg. The other two major lakes are Lough Allen to the north, and Lou ...

, in

Glassan Glassan or Glasson (), also ''the Village of the Roses'' is a small village in rural County Westmeath, Ireland. It is north of Athlone, on the N55 national secondary road, not far from the shores of Lough Ree. History and layout The village w ...

village. RTÉ also published ''The Restaurant – The Magazine'', which included images and recipes from the series. The seventh series began on 16 November 2008, running on Sundays at 20:30. RTÉ had eight series in total.

List of episodes

;RTÉ Series 1–5? ;RTÉ Series 6? ;RTÉ Series 7 ;RTÉ Series 8

2015 revival

The series returned on TV3 on 7 January 2015. The programme was sponsored by

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...

and voiced by Sean Moncrieff. The six-part series was filmed at Wineport Lodge in Glasson, County Westmeath in November 2014, with each episode running to one hour. The regular food critics are

and Tom Doorley, along with a guest critic each week.

List of episodes

* 7 January – Alan Shatter received 4 stars * 14 January – Jackie Lavin received 2 stars * 21 January –

Andrew Trimble Andrew Trimble (born 20 October 1984) is a former Irish rugby union player who played for Ulster and represented Ireland at international level. Club career He attended Coleraine Academical Institution, where he competed in the Ulster Schoo ...

received 3 stars. * 28 January –

Marie Cassidy Marie Therese Jane Cassidy (born 1955) is a pathologist and academic. From 2004 to 2018 she was State Pathologist of Ireland, the first woman to hold the position. She is Professor of Forensic Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons of Irela ...

received 4 stars. * 4 February – Rozanna Purcell received 4 stars. * 11 February –

Sharon Shannon Sharon Shannon (born 8 June 1968) is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, '' Sharon Shannon,'' was the best-sellin ...

received 3 stars. A new season began airing on TV3 on 10 February 2016.

Marco Pierre White Marco Pierre White (born 11 December 1961) is a British chef, restaurateur, and television personality. He has been dubbed "the first celebrity chef" and the ''enfant terrible'' of the UK restaurant scene. In January 1995, aged 33, White became ...

's Courtyard Restaurant in Donnybrook was the new venue for the show, and Marco Pierre White also guested for the series as one of the judges alongside Tom Doorley, replacing

who died in 2015.

List of episodes

* 10 February 2016 – Rory Cowan * 17 February 2016 – Eva Orsmond * 24 February 2016 –

Nathan Carter Nathan Kane Tyrone Carter (born 28 May 1990) is a British-born Irish country music singer based in the UK and Ireland. He has released thirteen studio albums and six live albums as of December 2022, five of which peaked at number one, and four ...

– received 3 stars * 2 March 2016 –

Kevin Kilbane Kevin Daniel Kilbane (; born 1 February 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a left winger or full back. Kilbane won 110 caps for the Republic of Ireland national team, fourth behind only Robbie Keane, Shay Given and John O ...

- received 4 stars * 9 March 2016 – Pippa O'Connor - received 4 stars * 16 March 2016 –

Seán Gallagher Seán Gallagher (born 7 July 1962) is an Irish businessman and former reality television personality. He was a co-founder in 2000 of Smarthomes, which after initial success, failed in 2008–2010, and Gallagher departed in 2010–11. He was a p ...

- received 3 stars

List of episodes

* Maria Walsh *

Ken Doherty Ken Doherty (born 17 September 1969) is an Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter. As an amateur, Doherty won the Irish Amateur Championship twice, the World Under-21 Amateur Championship and the World Amateur C ...

received 4 Stars

List of episodes

Una Healy Una Theresa Imogene Healy (born 10 October 1981) is an Irish singer. She rose to fame in 2008 as a member of five-piece girl group The Saturdays, who are signed to Fascination and Polydor Records. In 2006, she represented Ireland in the Eurovi ...

one star *

Maura Derrane Maura Catherine Derrane (born 8 July 1970) is an Irish television presenter and journalist. She currently works for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), having previously worked for TV3 and TG4. Derrane is a from Inishmore, County Galway. She ...

International versions

The format is sold internationally by Vision Independent Productions under the title ''The Secret Chef''. It has had three seasons in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Restaurant (Irish Tv Series), The 2000s Irish television series 2010s Irish television series Irish reality television series Irish television news shows RTÉ original programming Virgin Media Television (Ireland) original programming