Candid cameras on menu at Hollywood haunt

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - One of the most famous restaurants in Los Angeles has a new item on the menu -- video cameras.

Patina, haunt of Hollywood moguls and movie stars, has introduced the cameras to keep track of how fast diners are munching their way through what the Zagat restaurant guide calls the "exquisite works of art" set before them.

The system, thought to be the first in Los Angeles but already at work in some New York restaurants, allows kitchen chefs to monitor progress in the 80-seat dining room on a large screen in the kitchen.

"I know some people are worried about privacy but there is no sound and there is no tape," Christine Splichal, co-owner of the Patina with her chef husband Joachim, said Thursday.

"The cameras are in the four corners of the dining room and they are just an extra set of eyes to improve service and efficiency," she said.

Customers who want to leave their screen performances behind when they eat can ask for the cameras to be turned off.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

See related sites about FOOD

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.