8/17 Show Discussion *Spoilers*

[Diana]

Maybe I am watching a different show. This episode exemplified Rocco's failures as a manager, and as a person.

The "captain" system works well at a place like La Cote Basque, but is a tip-killer for waiters. That is why you find very few American waiters who will work in a classic french-style restaurant (usually either Frenchmen from poor areas of France, or as is the case nowadays in NYC, Central Americans). Thankfully, Rocco is a adequate chef, and doesn't have to wait tables. If he did, the restaurant would go bankrupt--how many meals did he "comp" that night? Being a waiter means apologizing, and taking criticism, not giving away free food to keep people from telling you the truth--the service and food sucks.

Generous with mom? Other than setting him mom up in a $2,500 a month apartment in Manhattan (her salary would be maybe $35k a year if she was a real assistant sous-chef, so Rocco is losing money on mom), I find that while he does show affection for her (note cameras are on him at every moment with mom), he talks to her like she is an employee. I'm surprised he needed cooks to tell him his mom was sick, since his relationship with her is reputed to be so tight.

And finally, even when faced with three employees who "lied" about Hospitalgate, Rocco turned out yet again to be the ass. When you pay cooks $10 an hour (which is all they make per hour when you factor they work 60+ hours a week), and there are 20,000 restaurants in NYC, you have to do something to make it worth their while to show up to work. Turnover is a fact of life in a cruel, pressure-filled business. These three cooks were sold a bill of goods--work with a celebrity chef, and cook top-flight food. Neither turned out to be true. These cooks could work at Le Cirque, Lespinasse, or Union Square Cafe, so why would they work at Rocco's? Rocco didn't need, nor require, a reason for not showing up at work. They were honest with him--they did not feel they would learn what they needed to learn from him to further their career. They want to be executive chefs one day, and they won't be making 1 star spaghetti and meatballs when their peers are cutting it up at Lespinasse and Aureole. Rocco, the egotistical man he is, couldn't stand for the notion that his restaurant "is not good enough for them". The truth is, it probably wasn't good enough for their talents. Cooking is a craft that requires working with a master to improve--you can't do that when Rocco is feeling up girls in the dining room. The three cooks who quit didn't act equally immaturely and get involved in a "Rocco your a conceited pig" venom match. They just walked out, which showed alot of class. Whether they just didn't show up for work, or made up a story for why they didn't come to work, isn't relevant. Rocco didn't seem all to concerned for the health of the poor hospitalized cook--he seemed to dispair because he didn't have grill coverage as a result, not because someone was hurt. I'm sure he was crushed!

Thank you for that. I am one of the "lying" cooks from the last episode. Although NBC did not show exactly what happened, and the editing was done in very broad strokes, we all stand by our actions. The fight that night was an unfortunate and traumatizing experience. And a large group from the restaurant was there and witnessed the entire thing. Curiously enough, it was instigated by other cooks from a nearby, seafood restaurant who just happened to know where Rocco's staff would be, as well as the NBC cameras. No one at the restaurant was ever told that Tim was admitted into Lenox Hill or any other hospital here in New York. On $10 per hour, who had health insurance? They were told that we waited in the emergency room to be looked at for a concussion, and then left. And while that did not happen during that timeline, it happened afterwards. We had valid reasons for leaving, and felt that we did so in a respectful manner. When we finally picked up our checks, they were for a fraction of the amount due us, and were cut, also curiously enough, from Jeffrey Chodorow's other restaurant. The insane goings on at that point were part instigated drama from the powers that be, and part gross mismanagement. In any event, we were tired of being manipulated. Add this to the reasons we gave Rocco for leaving, and there it is.

[roccolover]

r u seriuously diana?
kool!

[Diana]

It is I...

[Linc]

Thank you for that. I am one of the "lying" cooks from the last episode. Although NBC did not show exactly what happened, and the editing was done in very broad strokes, we all stand by our actions. The fight that night was an unfortunate and traumatizing experience. And a large group from the restaurant was there and witnessed the entire thing. Curiously enough, it was instigated by other cooks from a nearby, seafood restaurant who just happened to know where Rocco's staff would be, as well as the NBC cameras. No one at the restaurant was ever told that Tim was admitted into Lenox Hill or any other hospital here in New York. On $10 per hour, who had health insurance? They were told that we waited in the emergency room to be looked at for a concussion, and then left. And while that did not happen during that timeline, it happened afterwards. We had valid reasons for leaving, and felt that we did so in a respectful manner. When we finally picked up our checks, they were for a fraction of the amount due us, and were cut, also curiously enough, from Jeffrey Chodorow's other restaurant. The insane goings on at that point were part instigated drama from the powers that be, and part gross mismanagement. In any event, we were tired of being manipulated. Add this to the reasons we gave Rocco for leaving, and there it is.

Hey Diana, I'm glad you stood up for yourself. Working at Rocco's in the kitchen must have been hell. Why stay in a place that is hopelessly disorganized, horribly mismanaged, gives only negative feedback to it's employees, and from which you are learning nothing?

[roccolover]

hey diana
as u probably noe i love rocco and the show
i thought it was really entertaining
was it fun being around the cameras?
do u think that "the restaurant "shows wat its really like working in a restaurant

[Diana]

Hey Diana, I'm glad you stood up for yourself. Working at Rocco's in the kitchen must have been hell. Why stay in a place that is hopelessly disorganized, horribly mismanaged, gives only negative feedback to it's employees, and from which you are learning nothing?

Thank you. I must tell you that we were thrilled and excited from the outset with this opportunity. As cooks, we never could have known what to expect from a TV series, but the idea of working with Rocco Dispirito was enough for all of us to put our trepadations aside. We were and are accomplished cooks who have worked with some of the top chefs in the country. I met some wonderful people and able cooks in the kitchen there, and most of us still hang out together, and only a few still work there.
I am still uncertain as to if the working conditions were contrived to create drama, or were just naturally abomidable. We stayed as long as we could without pay, days off, and inspiration. I appreciate your questions, and lack of judgement. Thanks again.

[Diana]

hey diana
as u probably noe i love rocco and the show
i thought it was really entertaining
was it fun being around the cameras?
do u think that "the restaurant "shows wat its really like working in a restaurant

I have read that you love Rocco, and if I weren't on the show, I would probably watch it as well.
Being around the cameras was surreal. While working, we stopped noticing them and concentrated on getting the food out. But after hours, it was jarring.
I have worked in many restaurants, and cannot say that the show is a good representation of that experience. The waitstaff is not usually given the voice that they've been given here, and the kitchen staff is normally hired on ability alone. A lot of the hustle and bustle is indeed real though. Thanks for asking!

[roccolover]

thanx for answering my questions
are you working as a chef at another restaurant?
do u think rocco's will be successful after the show is over?

[John]

Roccolover, please check your e-mails, or read one of the many requests throughout this forum to not use "lingo". Thank you.

[Diana]

We all continue to work in New York City, despite the weakened economy and restaurant closings.
I honestly hope for the sake of Mama, Tony, and the handful of other gems who depend on Rocco's for their livelyhood, that the restaurant remains open and profitable. But I cannot predict what will happen to the future of Rocco's. I suppose that with "Bravo" replaying the series, that public interest may continue, but it's a guess.