Chapeau Staff Slips Up on 'Mystery Diners'

[Photo: Mystery Diners/The Food Network]

Back in October, film crews at Inner Richmond bistro Chapeau had at least one perturbed pair of diners complaining to Michael Bauer about a ruined anniversary meal. Now, the footage in question has debuted on the Food Network's Mystery Diners, the reality gotcha show which features undercover operatives trying to catch staff in the wrong.

According to the show's narrative, Chapeau chef/owner Philippe Gardelle enlisted the help of host Charles Stiles to uncover bad behavior among his waitstaff. "Lately I've been hearing from my customers that my staff is being rude and arrogant," he says, and his fears are plenty validated when pushy waiter Renaud refuses to serve an undercover diner Sauvignon Blanc with her filet mignon, and insists on bringing red wine against her wishes. And that's not all ...

While Gardelle may have been suspicious of his waitstaff, he was unaware of the behavior of his own son Andrew, who's got a bit of an attitude for a busboy as well a bad case of raging hormones that have him pulling the cute hostess into a back alley to smooch in front of trash bins. For his many infractions, Andrew got a stern talking to (and some French swear words) from his father, but it was the ne'er-do-well waiter who swiped a tip from another server's table who got the boot. As for rude waiter Renaud, Gardelle gave him a pass for admitting that trying to quit smoking had him on edge. Voila!

If you'd like to see some of the dramatized action for yourself, Richmond SF Blog has some footage of the most incriminating moments, or you can watch the full episode for free via Comcast on Demand, via Youtube ($1.99) or iTunes ($2.99).

· Chapeau! staff secrets revealed on episode of "Mystery Diners" [Richmond SF]
· Mystery Diners 'Ruins' Dinner at Chapeau [~ ESF ~]