Ep 7. Heavy Metal Mess

In the seventh episode of season seven, Mystery Diners tackle a case named "Heavy Metal Mess." The scene opens to the Rock N' Roll Diner, a heavy metal themed restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada. With the owner Vinny, a former rock star, the restaurant has been a favourite among metalheads since its launch.

However, recently, Vinny has observed a decline in his restaurant's popularity, and the kitchen staff is not performing well. To investigate the problem, Vinny hires the Mystery Diners team. To achieve the objective, Charles, the manager of the Mystery Diners, enlists the help of Andy, the new waiter at the restaurant, to investigate the issue undercover.

Upon entering the restaurant, Andy introduces himself as an aspiring singer who is trying to find a platform to showcase his talent. He is given a job as a waiter at the restaurant. The first day of Andy's employment at the Rock N' Roll Diner is fantastic. He observes that the staff is friendly and welcoming, and the restaurant is buzzing with a unique heavy metal vibe. Furthermore, customers thoroughly enjoy their food, and everything seems to be going well overall.

However, Andy's suspicious instincts kick in the next day. He observes that the kitchen staff is struggling to handle the orders that they are receiving. The orders are getting mixed up, which creates chaos in the kitchen and delays the time it takes to serve customers. Furthermore, the kitchen staff is entirely preoccupied with cooking the food and is not following sanitary procedures. Andy also notices that the wait staff is getting agitated due to the long delays in food delivery.

In the meantime, the Mystery Diners surveillance team, comprising Deanna and Dave, is busy monitoring the kitchen. They discover that the Chef, Bobby, is not only significantly behind schedule, but he is also cutting corners wherever possible to keep up with the orders and clear the backlog in the kitchen. Moreover, Bobby is overwhelmed with the sheer volume of orders because most of the food is freshly prepared, including sauces and dressings.

To create more chaos in the kitchen, Charles introduces a new character, Harry, as a vendor of custom-made plates that can't be scratched or stained, a necessary addition to the hectic kitchen. Harry is introduced to the Chef, Bobby, who doesn't seem impressed. Charles and the surveillance team watch as Harry begins to inspect each plate and highlight damages; furthermore, he tarnishes the reputation of Rock N' Roll Diner by pointing out to customers that their plates look damaged or filthy.

Harry's presence makes the entire kitchen staff disorientated and unfocused, creating more problems with the food service. Finally, they realize they're all working against each other and the customer service isn't their main priority.

As the days of observation unfold, the Mystery Diners' team discovers that one of the kitchen staff is selling secret menu items that are unavailable to regular customers. Due to this, the regular customers are not receiving speedy service, even when the kitchen is vast open.

At the end of the investigation, Charles sits down with Vinny in his office to discuss the issues he has discovered. The team rolls the surveillance footage, and together they review it to find out what's going wrong. Vinny is surprised to see the footage and confirms that changes must be made to ensure the success of Rock N' Roll Diner.

After the review, the Mystery Diners team organizes a staff meeting for the Rock N' Roll Diner staff to convey their concerns about customer service and food quality. To salvage his business, Vinny implements various changes and alters his menu. He takes all of the Mystery Diners recommendations on board, and his business begins to prosper once again. The team congratulates Vinny on his success and leaves happily having solved yet another restaurant mystery.