Quid Pro Quo?
April 10, 2013 10:36 PM Subscribe
When a food and/or cooking show goes into a restaurant, who pays for the dishes shown?
I like food and cooking shows. I was watching one last night and the Australian hostess was going in and around Sydney to see the best Chinese restaurants and markets around. So when she goes into a dim-sum place and orders huge portions, who paid for them?
On the one hand, advertising like this must be worth far more than the dishes for the restaurant in question.
On the other hand, when somebody like Andrew Zimmerman is in Uzbekistan the restaurant probably isn't going to see an uptick in business because it's so far away from the viewers, geographically speaking.
tl;dr: Is there a standard protocol for when TV cameras come to a restaurant? If I have a food show and come to your place can I safely assume I'm not going to have to pay for anything?
I like food and cooking shows. I was watching one last night and the Australian hostess was going in and around Sydney to see the best Chinese restaurants and markets around. So when she goes into a dim-sum place and orders huge portions, who paid for them?
On the one hand, advertising like this must be worth far more than the dishes for the restaurant in question.
On the other hand, when somebody like Andrew Zimmerman is in Uzbekistan the restaurant probably isn't going to see an uptick in business because it's so far away from the viewers, geographically speaking.
tl;dr: Is there a standard protocol for when TV cameras come to a restaurant? If I have a food show and come to your place can I safely assume I'm not going to have to pay for anything?
I would think at least part of it would depend on who organised it. Eg if there is a well-known food/cooking show and restaurant X lobbies the producers hard to be featured in it, the meal might well be gratis. Otherwise yes, I agree that the cost of the meal would be a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of the show.
FWIW, I used to work in the media (street press) and one of the deals cafés made when they advertised in the paper was that they would get a restaurant review as well. The reviewer + 1 guest ate for free, but the reviews tended to be pretty favourable. Only once did I have a restaurant actually charge me and my employer kindly reimbursed me. OTOH, these weren't places like the Flower Drum or Quay.
posted by Athanassiel at 12:35 AM on April 11, 2013
FWIW, I used to work in the media (street press) and one of the deals cafés made when they advertised in the paper was that they would get a restaurant review as well. The reviewer + 1 guest ate for free, but the reviews tended to be pretty favourable. Only once did I have a restaurant actually charge me and my employer kindly reimbursed me. OTOH, these weren't places like the Flower Drum or Quay.
posted by Athanassiel at 12:35 AM on April 11, 2013
Best answer: I have been involved (on the restaurant side in New York) in setting up location shoots for exactly those types of shows.
In my experience, all of these shows did follow pretty much the same protocol, because they all used the same small group of production companies. They don't work in a vacuum.
For small crews with little or no impact on service, they paid for their food bill which usually included a few duplicate dishes. Larger crews that required closing a section of the restaurant or needed time-shifted service (like having "lunch" served at 7:30 AM so they could make it to another location in the afternoon) paid an hourly filming rate as well as the food bill. Sometimes they also picked up the checks for a few neighboring tables if anyone was bothered by the filming. Usually they also bought lunch for their crew in lieu of having craft services.
Shutting down the entire restaurant for filming required an additional day rate that was based on equivalent food & beverage sales.
None of these crews asked for or expected anything for free. This includes shows on the two cable food networks, non-food network television location shoots, and regional/international news.
In our case, the hosts and the producers generally returned to the restaurant several times afterwards, were friendly with the owners and staff on those return visits, and often received complimentary meals or drinks. Maybe the location scout got a free lunch when s/he came to take pictures ahead of the shoot. None of them were mooching or looking for freebies, they just became industry friends and that's what industry friends get. All of them tipped extremely well (I assume because anyone working in television in New York was probably waiting tables six months earlier).
posted by bcwinters at 5:22 AM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
In my experience, all of these shows did follow pretty much the same protocol, because they all used the same small group of production companies. They don't work in a vacuum.
For small crews with little or no impact on service, they paid for their food bill which usually included a few duplicate dishes. Larger crews that required closing a section of the restaurant or needed time-shifted service (like having "lunch" served at 7:30 AM so they could make it to another location in the afternoon) paid an hourly filming rate as well as the food bill. Sometimes they also picked up the checks for a few neighboring tables if anyone was bothered by the filming. Usually they also bought lunch for their crew in lieu of having craft services.
Shutting down the entire restaurant for filming required an additional day rate that was based on equivalent food & beverage sales.
None of these crews asked for or expected anything for free. This includes shows on the two cable food networks, non-food network television location shoots, and regional/international news.
In our case, the hosts and the producers generally returned to the restaurant several times afterwards, were friendly with the owners and staff on those return visits, and often received complimentary meals or drinks. Maybe the location scout got a free lunch when s/he came to take pictures ahead of the shoot. None of them were mooching or looking for freebies, they just became industry friends and that's what industry friends get. All of them tipped extremely well (I assume because anyone working in television in New York was probably waiting tables six months earlier).
posted by bcwinters at 5:22 AM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
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One thing to consider is that, from a production/legal standpoint, you are not allowed to just walk into a restaurant and start filming. Typically, that has to be arranged in advance (i.e. you don't hire an entire film crew and walk into a restaurant just to hear a "no"), written consent has to be given, and in semi-public situations, signs will be posted that say something like, "By being at this restaurant at this given time, you consent to your image and likeness being used for this particular show without compensation."
My understanding is that this represents an inconvenience, and that most shows would include the cost of the food in their budget. When you think about the costs of paying actors, writers and set designers on a scripted show - then you'll appreciate how insignificant the cost of an extravagant meal is, relative to the content it's generating. But it is entirely possible that this could be played in the other direction, especially if its a show that guarantees to shower restaurants with unending compliments. Either way, in terms of production, I can guarantee you there is an arrangement happening behind the scenes, otherwise the show would be open to lawsuits.
COPS, for example, is known for offering non-minor alleged criminals money to show their faces on the show. The reason this works so well is that most people that are being filmed could use the cash to post bail. (Otherwise, who the fuck wants to be on that show.) The police departments, as far as I know, do not get paid. They use it as advertising. I'm not sure if advertising is the right word to use here, but it's pretty clear that the series typically shows the police departments in the best possible light.
posted by phaedon at 10:56 PM on April 10, 2013 [1 favorite]