For those of you who aren't Australian reality-TV addicts, Pink Salt is the New South Wales restaurant in the Channel 7 series My Restaurant Rules.
Basically the concept goes that five couples at the start of the series are given the opportunity to develop and manage their own restaurant vision. Teams had eight weeks to convert squalid dilapidated premises into slick restaurants; build their business strategy and marketing plan; and recruit their own front-of-house and kitchen team--all in front of reality-TV cameras.
The final publicly-voted winning couple gets one years' free lease on the restaurant and all profits (I think).
The restaurants have all been open for business for about three weeks now and although I'm not quite sure whether I'm game to eat there and risk being filmed for the Australian public, I couldn't resist a bit of a stickybeak when I was in the area recently.
The restaurant is a lot smaller than it looks on TV (surprise surprise) and the crowd seemed to be young, cashed-up yuppies when I looked in. Which isn't really surprising given that the mains here cost $33.
It was quite bizarre though to see the Sydney couple Bella Serventi and Evan Hansimikali off the screen and I confess I even got a little excited when I saw the head chef Jean-Francois Salet.
Running a restaurant is no mean feat, particularly when a prime time TV show is recording your every move. The restaurant looks modern and funky though and I thought the pebble-lined staircase was a novel and original way of brightening up an otherwise hidden entrance.
Who will win? I suppose it will be a combination of the whims of the can-be-bothered-voting public based on the network's editing of the show.
And if you are following the show, check out the group My Restaurant Rules blog forum hosted by BHR, Pinkcocoa, Bruce and myself.
Pink Salt CLOSED at this location
Pink Salt is now open at:
53 Cross Street, Double Bay, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9328 1664
Tues - Sun lunch 11.30am-3pm
Tues - Sun dinner 6pm-10.30pm
what!? AG, you were just snooping outside? I thought you have gone and dined there! But it's a job so very well done. I don't think I would have the courage to check out the restaurant and even take photos! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether the food is good though. It scored only 12 our of 20. And at a whooping $33! I dont think we will ever dine there. It's a little too expensive that what we could afford at the moment :-(
hey you realli should try the food! its pretty sexy even if the prices are a tad high... i had the swordfish and bf had the crab pappadelle oh and you have GOT to try the mocktails!
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