America's Next Great Restaurant (2011)
America's Next Great Restaurant is an NBC reality television show featuring contestants pitching restaurant ideas to a panel of judges, where the winner receives financial backing for their restaurant concept. Three locations were opened across the nation — Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York—on Monday, May 2, 2011, the day after the May 1 season finale. The judges included chefs Curtis Stone, Bobby Flay, Lorena Garcia, and Chipotle Mexican Grill founder Steve Ells, who were the investors in the winning concept. The production company behind the show was Magical Elves, the same company that produces Top Chef. The show, which has been described as a cross between The Apprentice and Top Chef, premiered on March 6, 2011. The first season finale aired on Sunday, May 1, 2011, with Jamawn Woods' concept, a soul food restaurant concept called Soul Daddy, judged the winner. The season finale, which drew a 2.0 viewership rating, was rebroadcast on May 6, as viewers in the Pacific Time Zone did not learn the winner during the original broadcast, due to the breaking news of the death of Osama bin Laden. Due to low ratings, on May 13, 2011, NBC cancelled the show after the first season.
Country: US
Language: En
Runtime: 60
Season 1:
It all starts with a dream of building the great American success story! In 1952, Harlan Sanders drove cross-country, selling his revolutionary chicken frying equipment. Today, KFC pulls in over $7 billion annually, and has 5200 restaurants in the U.S. In 1965, Fred DeLuca borrowed $1000 from a friend to open his sandwich shop, and now there are over 28,800 Subways worldwide. Steve Ells borrowed $83,000 from his dad in 1983 to open one of the first fast casual chains in America. Today, there are over 1000 Chipotle restaurants, which earn $1.5 billion in annual revenue. Now, one lucky person will have the chance to open a new fast casual chain in three cities. So who has the next billion-dollar idea?
The Top 10 contestants enter Restaurant Row to meet with Bobby, who lays out this week's culinary challenge. It's time to get ready for their first big lunch rush - the players will present their food to 1,000 very hungry and discerning customers at Universal CityWalk. They'll also need to create brand awareness for their restaurant concepts by working with a graphic designer to create a mouthwatering, eye-catching logo. As judged by the American public at Universal CityWalk, the most popular restaurant concept will be safe from elimination. But first, there are 17 chefs waiting in the kitchen. The contestants will interview them and decide amongst themselves which chef they want to work with.
The remaining nine contestants arrive at a Chipotle restaurant, not sure what to expect. They're met by Bobby and Steve; clearly, this isn't a lunch date. Steve, the founder of Chipotle, explains the vision behind his restaurant chain, "food with integrity." Steve believes that just because food is served fast doesn't mean it has to be a "fast-food experience." In addition, Steve notes that all restaurant owners should have the experience of working behind the counter, and should be able to deliver top-notch customer service. To illustrate his point, today's challenge is handling the lunch crowd at Chipotle. The investors are keeping an eye out for the contestants who can work effectively in a high-pressure environment.
The eight restaurateurs must design and construct a miniaturized layout of their proposed eatery while also creating a complete meal. They then unveil their mini-design and meal at a food event in Los Angeles.
The seven remaining restaurateurs design uniforms, and create their restaurant's image in a photo shoot.
They're creating their own food trucks and taking them to the streets of Los Angeles
The five remaining contestants create kid-friendly meals, and toys to go with them! On hand is their toughest critic yet, Bobby's daughter Sophie.
The four remaining contestants travel to Las Vegas where they must hire two employees to help them serve their dishes to a couple hundred diners.
The final three restaurateurs create minirestaurants for their soft opening; investors Bobby Flay, Steve Ells, Lorena Garcia and Curtis Stone offer advice; the winner is chosen.
