Recently I’ve started watching a few TV reality shows. I watch them intermittently, but they still hold that staring-at-a-car-wreck fascination.

The first one that got me hooked was Restaurant: Impossible. Chef Robert Irvine swoops in with $10,000 for a 2-day makeover of the decor, the menu, the wait staff, and the owners. Chef Robert finds dangerous kitchen environments, equipment that looks like it has never been cleaned, wait staff who ignore their customers and owners who are afraid to say “Boo!” to anyone. Those restaurants need miracles to stay in business and Chef Robert and his team deliver.

One day, out of inertia, I kept the TV on and watched the show that followed, which turned out to be Restaurant: Stakeout. My, my, my. Willie Degel comes in with hidden cameras and catches the staff goofing off, eating, drinking and carousing. When Willie confronts them with their unacceptable behavior, that’s when it gets interesting. They deflect, they rationalize yelling at customers, they lie. Willie sits them down, gives them a Good Talking To and most come around to embrace professional behavior.

Then there is the show Mystery Diners. Charles Stiles and crew also go in with cameras, only they are called in when there is some monetary discrepancy, maybe a business is losing $4,000 (or more) per month and the owner doesn’t know where it’s going.

The cameras record employees putting money in their pockets, leaving the business unattended, drinking on the job, fighting, serving alcohol to minors, and so on. And when the owners confront these employees, they also deflect, lie, deny. Some are fired right on the spot, rationalizing their actions all the way to their car with the cameras following them.

The restaurant world is a rough one.

However, with all those uncleaned appliances, dangerous food handling, and cocky waitstaff, one might get a little leery of going out to eat. Maybe I should change to the Travel Channel and watch shows where they spotlight restaurants in a good way. Or better yet, cook my own meals and read a good book instead of watching TV.

Last night I made vegan mashed potatoes and read part of The Sea Road by Margaret Elphinstone. It’s a start.