Restaurants on the Edge

You could do a restaurant rescue program by humiliating the owners, cursing a great deal, abusing the staff and insisting that you, the host, have the final answer on everything.

Or you could do it this way: empathize with committed, hard working restaurateurs that need a boost. Understand their aspirations and what makes them tick.

Then take a look at local food options, renovate in line with local colour and culture, and take the viewer on a mini-travelogue while doing so.

Sure, it's low intensity television, but it's incredible fun to watch, and the vibe is very positive.

Really enjoyed the show and very inspired by the cast. Love the design and how they tackle each restaurant differently to make them shine. The places, the people and the restaurants are brimming with characters. Not sure why there are so many bad reviews. Out of jealousy?

I expected some imrpressions of different countries, cultures and food - and I wasn't disappointed. I loved the variety of countries the restaurants they filmed in. Every episode was different thanks to that. The hosts are likable, a little over-excited tho and I wish they showed and involved the restaurant owners more. The show sometimes seems staged making it cringy - but it's entertaining and gives some valuable information about local costums. It's also filmed beautifully.

Entertaining, shows the locations well , but cringing at the food

but my biggest qualm is with the chef. This is a cookbook writer who has no restaurant experience trying to teach people to cook dishes for their culture?

In the HK episode they tasted the dishes and was like 'erm, this is not Asian enough' dafuq

I wish they went to a African American owned eatery and tell them their food is not 'Black' or enough

The ones where they go to Hong Kong and come up with dishes with 'Asian flavours' as interpreted by a foreigner or to South America and giving their take on a their culture is just cringe

What should I say? This show is basically everything what is wrong with food journalism! It is shallower than puddle of gravy...

Let's start with the restaurateur: I don't say, that he doesn't have good ideas. But it seems that the solutions what he has, is short-lived.

The designer - wow - she is more interested in showing how beautiful she is (she is cute) - and pushes her taste on everybody around. While she is incorporating some designs and decorations from the respective regions, the changes are just skin-deep not really.

Same applies to the chef. I actually really enjoyed his experiences with local cuisine and food culture. But then he is just curating a menu, which again is shallow and doesn't really incorporate an important aspect of the culture.

Further I have got the feeling, that every single restaurant will fail (again) after just a short while. Because I don't see a lot of training or some changes. A lot of restaurateurs are really frustrated, that they have no clue how to manage a restaurant - but these guys coming in and just bruise up the restaurant make a new menu and calling it a day.

It seems, that this program is a total rip off of Kitchen Nightmare featuring Gordon Ramsey. I always thought, that it is not possible to turn a restaurant so quickly around - but Ramsey did a far better job than those 3.

The tragedies and failures of the restaurant owners seem to be just a prop for this show and it really seems, that these 3 protagonists are more interested to have their own fun - than really caring for the restaurants.