John Oliver is using kitchen equipment that used to belong to Red Lobster as a bargaining chip to get his face on a cake.

On the June 2 episode of Oliver's HBO show "Last Week Tonight," the host announced that the show had bought the contents of a shuttered Red Lobster location in Kingston, New York amid the company's bankruptcy filing. The show then rebuilt the restaurant inside the studio, serving only the restaurant's famous Cheddar Bay biscuits.

Eric Deising, the owner of Deising's Bakery & Restaurant in Kingston, had taped a note to the front door of the closed restaurant asking if he could buy some of the equipment, according to News 12 Westchester, a news outlet based in Yonkers, New York. "I'm one of the vultures who was circling around Red Lobster," he told the outlet.

"I need a 36-inch flat grill/oven and a commercial kitchen convection oven if you have them," Deising's note read.

“I got into this because I was looking for a piece of equipment,” Deising told News 12. “If you don’t need that — because I don’t think you need it for biscuits — let me know,” he said, addressing Oliver.

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'I’ve got good news and bad news'

Oliver responded to Deising on his show, saying: "OK, first, with all due respect, if you wanted equipment from that Red Lobster, leaving a note on the door is a weird way to get it. The restaurant just closed down. It's like going to a cemetery and leaving a note on a tombstone that says, 'Hey, can I have your socks?'"

Deising was shown watching "Last Week Tonight" on his cellphone during News 12's news segment, which prompted Oliver to take a jab at his own show.

"I do love that he's watching our show the same way everyone else does – on a phone in the middle of a work day without even a hint of enjoyment on his face," Oliver said.

Oliver says he was planning to ignore Deising's request for the kitchen equipment until he saw positive reviews of Deising's products. One review that really stood out to Oliver was one containing a photo of the bakery's cake-shaped bears.

“I’ve got good news and bad news for you,” Oliver said, addressing Deising.  

“The bad news is we actually already donated the Red Lobster kitchen equipment. And even if we hadn’t, it didn’t have the 36-inch flat-top oven/grill or kitchen convection oven that you were looking for," Oliver said. "The good news is, though, we’re willing to buy those items for you on one condition. All I want in return is a baked good with my face on it on sale in your bakery, specifically a cake bear with my face on it. I wanna be a cake bear.”

Oliver said he would prefer if the cake had a decent-size tush, however he wouldn't be picky about how it looked.

"I trust your vision. As long as it fits the general description of 'John Oliver Cake Bear,' I'll be more than happy," Oliver said.

'I want a cake bear'

“So that is my offer. And because I know that the normal way of asking for things isn’t really your style, I’ve written this offer on a piece of paper like this that is currently taped to the door of your bakery,” Oliver said, addressing Deising.

“So what do you say,” Oliver continued. “Please say yes. Please do say yes because we’ve already bought the equipment. It is right here waiting to be delivered to you,” he said, walking from his desk to show two pieces of cooking equipment with big red bows tied to them.

“Just look at this convection oven,” he said. “It’s raring to do some convecting. All you have to do is simply start selling John Oliver Cake Bears. And all of this is yours. The bear is in your court, Deising’s Bakery.… Make me a cake bear. I want to be a cake bear.”

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.

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