'Reality' TV show is deceiving

For those of you who haven't heard or don't know, Michel Bardavid from Secret Garden was on "Kitchen Nightmares" on Fox this Wednesday night. Here's what you should know.

Michel's contract with Fox allowed them to completely defame him and show him in whatever light they chose, whether it is true or not. They could completely lie, and get away with it because it is a "creative" or "dramatic" decision.

Most of the beginning of the show was false and staged. They bussed in "actors" to play the real customers in a lot of the scenes. This show was filmed in February of this year. Anything in the promos happened a long time ago.

Michel's kitchen is spotless, and has won many awards in the county.

Please know that there is nothing "real" about "reality TV." It is all about editing, all about drama, and all about ratings. On the show, Gordon Ramsey, the host of the show, went into Michel's freezer. He started talking about how disgusting it is. He put his in hand in something green. He pulled it out and suggests it is mold. It's not. It's wasabi.

For those of us who love and support Michel, regardless of the ending, it was very disturbing to see his restaurant portrayed in such a false light. There's even a scene in the show where the restaurant is closed down. This never happened.

We can only hope that viewer paid attention to the end of the show and that it will drive the entire nation to come eat at the best little gourmet restaurant in our wonderful town. The Secret Garden is a wonderful restaurant, and if you can, stop by for lunch, dinner or a holiday party. We are lucky to have a place like this in our town, and we need to show Michel how much we appreciate and support him.

And for you cynics out there, no, I was not paid to send this out. Michel didn't even ask me to do it. Michel is my friend, and I'm a big fan of the restaurant.

Have a great holiday season, and visit the Secret Garden soon. Douglas H. Ridley Agoura Hills