Ep 10. Off the Menu

In this episode of Mystery Diners, titled "Off the Menu," a fish market and restaurant in California is struggling with a number of issues. The owners suspect that their employees are stealing from them and giving away food and drink to friends and family, hurting their profits. They have also received complaints from customers about food quality and service.

To get to the bottom of what's going on, the owners hire the Mystery Diners to go undercover as customers and see what they can find out. The team sets up hidden cameras throughout the restaurant and sends in two Mystery Diners: Allison, who poses as a customer interested in buying fresh fish from the market, and Danny, who pretends to be an old friend of one of the employees.

Right away, Allison notices that some of the fish for sale in the market is not as fresh as advertised. She also overhears an employee talking about giving away free drinks. Meanwhile, Danny strikes up a conversation with one of the chefs and learns that he has been ignoring customer complaints about undercooked fish.

As the night goes on, more issues come to light. One employee is caught stealing food from the kitchen and another is caught drinking on the job. The Mystery Diners also discover that some of the employees have been using the restaurant's kitchen after hours to cook and sell food for their own personal profit.

With all this evidence in hand, the owners are able to confront their employees and make some major changes to their business. They improve the quality of their fish market offerings, retrain their staff on proper cooking techniques, and install security cameras to prevent future theft. In the end, the Mystery Diners help the restaurant get back on track and give the owners peace of mind that their business is in good hands.