'Restaurant Impossible: Back in Business': Here's why Robert Irvine discourages cooking while wearing gloves
The pandemic has slowed down business and one of the worst-hit sectors is restaurants. Soon after the Covid-19 crisis took over, cafes, gymnasiums, shopping malls, basically any place that would encourage public gathering, were shutdown. When the impact of the deadly virus began to slow down, governments around the world drew rules so that people can get back to their daily grind, albeit with safety measures.
Restaurants opened with 50% seating capacity and most were depending on go-to meals to make money. However, even then there's a sense of fear that has been working among consumers, resulting in them not trusting in any kind of food served outside of the comfort of their homes.
But chef Robert Irvine wanted to change that for Andrew and Mary Loyd of Loyd Have Mercy restaurant in Titusville, FL. On 'Restaurant Impossible: Back in Business,' Robert returns to the outlets and owners he has worked with earlier. The pandemic has fiercely impacted the numbers and the idea of the show is to find ways in which the business can be improved. Robert will help make the owners make slight tweaks here and there to get their business up and running like before.
This week, he chats with Andrew and Mary to understand why they were not able to make money from their to-go menu. He used a clever method to determine the to-go food quality. As the read-to-be-delivered food arrived on his table, he set his phone's timer to 20 minutes (this is to factor in the travel time from the restaurant to the consumer's home), after which he compared the food he got on his plate to the ones that were in those boxes. The pork chop was soggy and not as fresh.
Robert showed Andrew a few methods, using which he and Mary can serve fresh food to their take-out customers. However, before he worked his magic in the kitchen, the celebrity chef pointed out that wearing gloves while cooking is a fire hazard. Gloves are made of plastic, hence, not advisable while making the food. But, he stressed that gloves must be worn while preparing it.
Andrew and Mary were also encouraged to stick social distancing labels at the take-out counter and ensure that the server serving food never takes the finished plates back into the kitchen. Andrew and Mary have had to run the restaurant at 50% seating capacity but the business has gone up 65%. Loyd Have Mercy is on top of all Covid-19 safety rules, which makes it a safe place to enjoy a meal.
Catch all the new episodes of 'Restaurant Impossible: Back in Business' on Food Network every Thursday at 9/8c. For more information, check your local listings.