As some of you will know, I’ve been a huge fan of The Restaurant (BBC Two, Wednesday and Thursdays, 8pm). It’s a cracking mix of heart and tension which makes for completely compelling TV. It’s realty TV, but not as we know it. How so? Well, it’s actually enjoyable to watch.
Adding greatly to the enjoyment of the show was Martin and Emma who were the proprietors at Bravo! Martin and Emma’s down-to-earth approach and sense of fun arguably made them the most loved couple on the show with a TVScoop reader imploring the couple to open up a prison themed eaterie (to find out what I’m talking about, click here and read the comments accompanying the article). Well, I caught up with Martin to talk about the inspirational Raymond Blanc, eels, snakes, pints and what is happening next for the dynamic duo.
Read over for the interview
Hello, how the devil are you? Cut any eel heads off lately?
No! I’m not in to executing innocent creatures but I wouldn’t object to decapitating a journalist!!!
Cheek! Anyway, we’ve recently seen you on The Restaurant. How was it for you?
Where do we start? It was bloody hard work and a very stressful number of weeks, with very long days but we learned so much and met some lovely people. We experienced situations and visited places we would never of had the chance to and are inspired greatly by our adventures! We consider ourselves very lucky that the BBC included us in the project
You were voted off quite close to the end of the show… how pleased are you with how it all went?
I think we buggered it up from the off really. We didn’t really know what we were getting into and were vastly under prepared… and in this game if your not ready to rock and roll you’re up shit creek. We began to find our feet towards the end but it was too late by then… but we’re not bitter about the timing of our departure!
How did it feel going from prison chef, dealing with dangerous people, to meeting Raymond Blanc?
It was almost a role reverse for me really, going from a position of power and respect, to being placed in front of the Godfather… but it wasn’t a difficult transition to make. I have always had great respect for Raymond Blanc and that has only grown in the past few months. He is vastly knowledgeable in this field, a tremendous motivator and a hugely passionate and inspirational man.
Good stuff. So… who wins the show then?
Do you seriously think that if I knew I would blab to a snake like you!?!
I thought it was worth a try. Back to the show. We saw some of the couples having near nervous breakdowns in the show. You didn’t seem to flap once. How did you and Emma cope as a couple?
We have been through tough times before and our relationship came under no strain at all really. If anything it brought us closer, though the stress was there and it was a very demanding.
You both defied Raymond on a few times. On one occasion, you decided not to do specials on the dessert menu. Just how much did you fill your pants when you told him?
I didn’t fill my pants at all basically because I made a conscious and balanced decision not to do the eel task or the dessert task for the simple reason I was running on very low staffing levels with only myself and another chef… whereas some other kitchens had brigades of 5 or 6 and although I was one of the more experienced chefs it doesn’t buy you more hours in the day and fulfilling the tasks would have seriously affected the service we were giving to our guests.
Do you remember me from school?
Of course I remember you from school! You haven’t changed a lot really. In fact I’m surprised that all those years of bullying and berating from the other kids that you have still come out the other side a balanced adult.
You won’t mind telling me who won then will you?
Piss off
Fair enough. Emma, on the show, we saw you discovering the joys of cocktails. Is it all Harvey Wallbangers and Sex On The Beach now? Or is it back to being a ‘pint girl’?
I will always be a pint girl! You can take the girl out of Bolton, but you can’t take Bolton out of the girl as they say!!
With the show being based in the South, how did the famous Bolton hospitality go down? What was the feedback like from the customers?
The feedback was great! We didn’t encounter anybody in Banbury who was adverse to our welcome we really enjoyed having them and the majority left happy!
Have you stayed in touch with any of the other contestants? What did you make of them all?
The sameheads Jess and Laura are fantastic what you see really isn’t what you get. They’re really tough feisty ladies with elegance and charm… they seriously are the real deal and we will both be disappointed if they don’t go on to win! We have stayed in touch with the majority of couples… for a diverse bunch it was amazing how well we all got on!
What has the response been like at home? Is it free pints all the way, or have people been sniping?
No nearly everyone who has approached us has been nothing but complimentary. I’m sure there are equally as many people slagging us off but nobody really knows us so you’re best to not to listen to any of it… although we did get bought a few drinks in London recently which was nice
Who won?
Whatever, next question!
You’re not for budging are you? Okay. Raymond advised that you shouldn’t go into the restaurant business…
That is not precisely true… he said don’t open up somewhere “on your own” and if we were to venture into the restaurateur game it would certainly be in association with someone with a bit more business sense than us! There are a few offers on the table at the moment and we are considering them all… but don’t be surprised to see us out of our current jobs and in a restaurant again soon!
Has The Restaurant been a life changing experience?
Without a doubt it has! Just how life changing it is is really up to us now. We can really push on from here and make something for ourselves and thats exactly what we intend to do!
[Mof Gimmers]
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Great interview! Glad to see my favourite couple from the show live up to expectations in banter and Northern sensibilities.
I hope the show continues to be as much fun, even without them.
Not exactly a major surprise this week that these two left, but disappointing; I’m sad to see Martin and Emma go. Genuine nice people whose passion I feel was let down only by lack of confidence.
But, I need to rant.
I started viewing this program and commenting on my blog because I wanted to pass comment on the series and relate it back to my own experiences from when I was running my own (and unfortuanely failed) restaurant. But I’m beginning to struggle to find any coalition: Microwaves? Or more to the point microwave food? What the hell has that got to do with running a restaurant business? I take my toque off to Jeremy for having the balls for telling the buyers that he didn’t believe in microwaves and that they went against his concept. Too bloody right. These were just smug people that commented that the food didn’t quite look like it did on the packaging – where’s the shock there? Never since the dawn of nuclear cooking has any food even slightly resembled the photo on the packaging. God help these people if they ever visit a McDonald’s and discover that actually Big Macs aren’t in fact 12” in diameter, and stacked 6”s high with a fresh green salad. And what’s their point any way – people who eat microwave meals obviously have no concept of taste so what makes them think their eyesight is going to be any better?
The idea of the challenge was to identify and establish their brands – Jeremy already had a clear understanding of his – one that you aint going to see vacuumed sealed with instructions to “pierce and cook on full for 2 minutes or until piping hot”. I’m totally with Jeremy – I don’t like my food to be preceded with a ‘ping’. Of course they have the uses in a professional kitchen – we had one microwave oven which was used for precisely three things, steaming (they are actually very good for that, especially fish), melting (butter, chocolate, plastic kitchen utensils etc), but primarily, as a book shelf.
Then there’s the twins, winning hands down I’d say. Their idea for children friendly microwave dinners must surely be a contender for the ‘I wish I’d thought of that’ award; it can only be a matter of time now before we see Funny Face Fish Pie on our supermarket shelves. But what was any of this to do with running a restaurant? Many of the contestants are still struggling with the day to day basics and is this really any wonder when they are taking day trips to London to flog fictional microwave meals?
Let’s get back to the original concept: cantankerous customers, staffing problems and supplier issues – real issues that affect real restaurants. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still loving the series. But then again I loved The Apprentice, so I guess I would.