Kitchen Nightmares (US) - General Discussion

[Kromm]

Honestly the owners never seem to be aware of how bad the state of their kitchens/refrigerators are. So they don't make the connection that that's why their food is bad. I also think they just want the free dramatic makeover because they can't afford it themselves, but know they could probably use new decor and new equipment. 

I don't see a thread for last night's episodes but the only thing I can really say is- say what you want about Amy's Baking Company. They had batshit crazy owners but their kitchens were spotless and they didn't have freaky mannequins in the entryway. Both episodes last night were enough to make me want to vomit. I felt so sorry for poor Chef Ramsay, having to even set foot in those places. *shudder*

See that makes me think that Amy's never would have gotten on the air if she wasn't cray-cray. I bet if the advance team ever reports back that the food isn't THAT bad, but they just don't seem to be getting business due to a bad location, or something like that, those people never make air.  So even what isn't outright fake is certainly manipulated by the selection process (and what people may do to get noticed).

[Bella]

I will create an episode thread in a few minutes. (I was out having a life last night!) If that ever fails to happen, you can either create one yourself or talk about the episode in another thread.

[Bella]

 

Chef Ramsay heads to Arvada, CO, where owners Alexa and Randy are desperately calling on him to help restore their 25-year-old restaurant, the Old Neighborhood.

 

[Kromm]

This is one of the ones where I don't think much faking had to be involved.  Denying the food quality is one thing.  Denying a messy walkin and bad food storage even worse.  But the way this guy passes the blame to peons?  And just throws up his hands about every problem?  

Some people just shouldn't run anything bigger than a Lemonade stand.

The pre-programmed "miracle turn around" segment was less convincing than whatever faking we often suspect of the part where we see the problems laid out.

BTW: I was NOT a fan of that makeover at all.

[Bella]

Kromm, we were starting this thread at the same time. I'm going to delete mine and add the date to this one.

[Kromm]

Ouch. I think we need a merge.  Also, a clarification on if this is actually season 6 or 7! (wikipedia says 7, but previous episode topics here 6).

 

EDIT - If it's Season 7, don't forget to change the titles for the first few eps of the season (they all say "6" as I type this),

Edited April 19, 2014 by Kromm

[Bella]

Fox is saying Season 7, so that's what I'm going with. There's a merge function, but I haven't used it yet and I just deleted the other thread since it had no comments. We're all still learning here.

[Kromm]

I hated this episode.  If there was ever a clear case of someone not deserving all that they got, it's this place.  The money spent on the kitchen ALONE was outrageous, and I saw nothing in the content of the episode that communicated ANY sense of anyone there deserving any of this.

[Rapunzel]

Anyone who's even seen the show knows that EVERY Ramsay tasting winds up with him slamming every dish.

So true, though there was one restaurant in the British version (I think it may have even been the first season of it) called Mama Cherie's, I believe. It was a soul food place in Brighton in the UK that was owned by an American who was also the head chef. This is the only place that I remember seeing where Gordon actually liked all the food and didn't change her menu/recipes. She even put out a cookbook with his support.

While I believe that they do tend to avoid places with so-so or average food, I think some of the owners are still actually shocked at some of Ramasay's feedback. This is could be because they're slightly delusional and/or their egos and arrogance may lead them to really believe that their place will be the one where Ramsay finally loves the food.

Edited April 19, 2014 by Rapunzel

[TimetoShine]

I kind of have to agree. Also, did they claim to spend 5 days cleaning the place before Grr arrived? Hah.

[Bella]

There are also situations in which the food used to be good and the chef/owner becomes entrenched. Meanwhile, tastes change, competition appears, suppliers don't offer the same products, etc., etc. So the chef/owner isn't completely insane, just stuck in a time warp. And if the food used to be popular, they probably think the problems lie elsewhere.

Still, it's naive to expect Ramsey to come in and say "wow, every you make tastes great, your decor is fantastic, and we just need to focus on marketing." Not gonna happen.

[mlp]

 

If there was ever a clear case of someone not deserving all that they got, it's this place.

I totally agree.  Doesn't Colorado have health inspectors?  Everything about that restaurant was disgusting and the walk in alone should have got it shut down.  And speaking of disgusting............ Why on earth does Ramsay not wear gloves when he's handling revolting things?  I know he washes his hands and carries sanitizer but who picks up a dead rodent like that?  Or rotting meat?  After seeing that place, I would never have put my bare hands under chair cushions.  Bleccch.

Edited to add:  If I lived in that vicinity, I would never patronize that restaurant no matter how nice it looks now.  It's still owned by people who served food made in filth.  I'd never trust them.

Edited April 19, 2014 by mlp

[BogoGog24]

This episode I think may have been the most disgusting KN episode I've ever seen. I wanted to vomit just watching it. I felt so sorry for poor Chef Ramsay having to deal with that- I don't even know how he managed to set foot in the place. Or how he managed to do anything without vomiting on the spot.

These people better keep Ramsay's standards in place for all the money he spent for them.

As I said in another thread- say what you want about Amy's Baking Company. They have batshit crazy owners but their kitchen was spotless and they didn't have creepy mannequins in the entryway, dead rodents lying around, or dusty antiques near where people are trying to eat. 

[Jamoche]

IIRC the food at Cafe Hon was decent - the problem there was the owner pissed off the entire city by trademarking a local catchphrase. I'd bet the advance team thought Amy was another Cafe Hon, and they'd get to do a show about how social media has changed things for businesses and how to react to it. Which, in a sense, they did :)

I do wish they'd pick places where the food is good but the business is failing for other reasons more often. The dad at Sushi Ko apparently was a good sushi chef - but not head chef, restaurant owner, or anything else his family expected him to do. I want to root for them to succeed, not hope they fail so their employees can move on to better places.

[Kromm]

So true, though there was one restaurant in the British version (I think it may have even been the first season of it) called Mama Cherie's, I believe. It was a soul food place in Brighton in the UK that was owned by an American who was also the head chef. This is the only place that I remember seeing where Gordon actually liked all the food and didn't change her menu/recipes. She even put out a cookbook with his support.

While I believe that they do tend to avoid places with so-so or average food, I think some of the owners are still actually shocked at some of Ramasay's feedback. This is could be because they're slightly delusional and/or their egos and arrogance may lead them to really believe that their place will be the one where Ramsay finally loves the food.

The UK version doesn't count in this respect, I think.  It was before FOX got its hands on it (not that Ramsay's production company and Ramsay himself didn't totally bend over and yell "take me" to everything FOX asked for).

[Kromm]

This episode I think may have been the most disgusting KN episode I've ever seen. I wanted to vomit just watching it. I felt so sorry for poor Chef Ramsay having to deal with that- I don't even know how he managed to set foot in the place. Or how he managed to do anything without vomiting on the spot.

These people better keep Ramsay's standards in place for all the money he spent for them.

As I said in another thread- say what you want about Amy's Baking Company. They have batshit crazy owners but their kitchen was spotless and they didn't have creepy mannequins in the entryway, dead rodents lying around, or dusty antiques near where people are trying to eat. 

I've said it elsewhere.  Amy's never would have gotten on the air if she wasn't certifiable.  The advance team certainly must have told Ramsay the place was clean. And that the food wasn't even that bad (Ramsay admitted as much, with a few obvious exceptions about things being frozen/pre-made, as well as other stuff simply being bought elsewhere and sold at Amys).

On some level this means that Ramsay likely went in there KNOWING she was batshit crazy.

As far as Old Neighborhood went, I think this was an actual failure of their advance team.  Why?  Because as disgusting as the place was, and as shitty as the owners were, there was no real touchstone for a redemption story.  You just know that's part of the investigation.  Looking for the one dedicated family member laboring in despair, or the person who left who if they returned would be a key to a turnaround, the worthy person who invested in the business and will take an unfair loss if it goes under, etc.  There's always something.  Except in this episode there wasn't anyone who felt worthy feeling sorry for,

[MrsSerega]

Loved the waitress who couldn't remember Ramsay's name! And the crazy hair puffing by the owner (with repeating of "I'm so happy!"). It was sooooo fake! 

The daughter seemed nice though. I was surprised Gordon didn't tell her to stick around (though she did). And I'm sure they won't keep it up. The father doesn't seem to be able to stand the pressure at all!

[ottomaddox]

It's as if no one ever cleans before Ramsay shows up, and they are shocked and surprised he snoops around. I think the official term for this is the "60 Minutes Syndrome", lol.  Any business with skeletons in their closet that grants 60 Minutes an interview must be delusional.

The UK version was a completely different animal; they showed Ramsay breaking down costs/profits, and the basics of running a restaurant to a few clueless owners, and bringing them up to speed. The US version doesn't show it, and I don't know if Ramsay covers it with these people; the show seems more like a makeover show than a business show. (The UK version reminds of 'The Profit', without the investment portion,  now that I think of it)

[BogoGog24]

The UK version of Hell's Kitchen is drastically different from the US version as well, so it doesn't really surprise me. The US is all about the drama and they want to see people get into fights. 

[Bella]

I think we have a forum for the UK version (I think I'm moderating it if it ever gets any action) and I agree, it's very different. But it seems like Ramsey has ramped up the tension in the most recent couple of seasons, almost as if he's trying to bring it closer to the US version. Either that, or I just caught a couple of repeats in which he was very tough with the restaurant owners.

It would not surprise me if the advance crew for the US version told the restaurant owners not to clean up for a week or so. But even then, some of the baked in grease and gunk reminds me of the kitchens in the hoarder shows. Eww.

[Kromm]

I think we have a forum for the UK version (I think I'm moderating it if it ever gets any action) and I agree, it's very different. But it seems like Ramsey has ramped up the tension in the most recent couple of seasons, almost as if he's trying to bring it closer to the US version. Either that, or I just caught a couple of repeats in which he was very tough with the restaurant owners.

It would not surprise me if the advance crew for the US version told the restaurant owners not to clean up for a week or so. But even then, some of the baked in grease and gunk reminds me of the kitchens in the hoarder shows. Eww.

The UK show has been off the air for years.  It ended, I think, before the US version even started (other than one special apparently he did a few years later).

[Dishin]

The food was average.I just had a salad, didn't want to deal with pizza or a burger. It was super expensive, though. I took a ( yeah,right) "house made" dessert with me, it was ok. I am a retired pastry chef, and can say unequivocally, that one person cannot make all those desserts and work lunch and dinner.

Anyway, once I asked them about Ramsay, the floodgates opened, and they were EXACTLY like they appeared on tv.

Amy even said she was going to challenge Ramsay to a burger cook off, but I guess that will never happen, darn the luck. It would have been television GOLD.

Edited April 23, 2014 by Dishin

[BogoGog24]

That's interesting Dishin- thanks for sharing. Yeah it turns out the desserts are bought from another company.

[Sonja]

Have we seen what I like to call "Asshole meets Assholes" (Dr. Phil Meets Amy & Sammy):

I think he seems to validate them--even with his "advice" and "criticism".  Sure he tries to call them out on a few aspects, but at the same time he seems to take their "bullies" angle seriously.

Here's the bits the show has posted (the entire episode is probably up there somewhere else but these bits are actually on the official channel).

Dr. Phil Gives Amy and Sammy Advice for Dealing with Critics

Dr. Phil Asks Amy and Sammy About Their Behavior on "Kitchen Nightmares"

 

Did they sedate her before the show? She actually let Dr. Phil talk for 1min 40sec in the first clip before butting in, that must have been a record for her.

[BellaLugosi]

Just starting the thread for these episodes.

 

Chef Ramsay heads to Woodland Park, CO, where he attempts to save an Italian joint with an identity crisis. But the atmosphere, food and service prove to be the least of its problems, as tension flares and the morale among owner Julie and her staff is at an all-time low. The restaurant has an incompetent head chef and fiery staff with a myriad of their own problems, bringing everything to a boil. Julie is driven to her breaking point, and with everything on the line, she looks to Chef Ramsay as her last resort. Can he get through to these warring personalities and wake Julie up to make the dramatic changes needed for success?

[BellaLugosi]

I can't believe that she couldn't find  another person to cook. I wouldn't call him a chef (I noticed Ramsay called him cook instead of chef at least once). He threatened to punch her daughter! And who does she attack? The only person other than her daughter who seems to care, Chris, the server. She only fired him because it was all brought up on camera.

 

I was kind of surprised Ramsay didn't offer to pay for Trevor's treatment. I know that's not what this show is about, but I've seen it on other shows. Judge Mathis offers to pay for people to get treatment. They don't often follow through after they agree, but it's offered. I was surprised when Ramsay said she should consider re-hiring him if he gets clean. He threatened her daughter. Even if it's because of drugs, why would he suggest bringing him back? I didn't like that, at all. He should never work there again. Why bring back the person who was the poison even if he's now clean, I don't get that.

 

Julie is a liar. I can guarantee that she tells them to do what they can to save on costs, re-using the bread crumbs, etc. Those guys were arrogant but they aren't the ones buying the frozen food. She is. The food isn't frozen.....it starts off frozen. Is she for real? Everything she was saying made no sense, she contradicted herself in the same sentence! She claims that she beleived a drug user when he said that he only used once every couple of months? What?? I really think that the owners are encouraged to act like they don't know what's wrong. I don't think they are all so clueless. They can't afford or don't want to spend the money to make it what it should be.

 

I loved Ramsay polling the customers in the restaurant to ask how much of their food should be fresh!

 

My favorite part of the episodes is the decor makeover, I always love to see that dramatic transformation. 

 

Here's a link about Don Warfe, the chef that Ramsay brought in to help them.

 

Can someone clear something up for me? I deleted the first episode before I could go back and check. Did she say Trevor had been working there for 10 years, and he was 22?

Edited April 26, 2014 by Bella Lugosi

[lazylump]

I believe it was 4 years Trevor had been there- since he was 18.  My husband and I watched the episodes and were entertained.  Julie certainly made herself look bad.  The spinach was bad- and it had never happened before- she orders ALL the produce and meat and all that and I believe she would yell at them to use it anyway.  If your restaurant is failing and you can't afford to throw out stuff, you have a problem. 

My favourite was the cross contaminated bread crumbs. I like how Kevin says, "Honestly, I'd never thought of that."  It showed the lack of knowledge that EVERYONE in that kitchen had regarding food and running a restaurant.  I thought that Steven server was going to step up and cook when he sent back that steak and said it needed a thin red line in it to be considered medium, or whatever.  I'm betting not one person employed by that restaurant knew that.

It always makes me wonder when I go to a restaurant that is local- what is really going on in the kitchen...

[MrsEVH]

Does anybody know what type of fast food restaurant it used to be? Was it chain or local? It was hard to tell by the style of the building.

[MrsEVH]

I don't care for this new 2 hour format because it bores me. One hour of this show  is enough.

[maggie263]

I read somewhere it used to be an Arby's.

[BogoGog24]

Every time Chef Ramsay said "I know you're not stupid" to Julie I kept thinking "No I think she actually is stupid." Her answers to his questions could only come from a stupid person. It's no wonder her restaurant was failing. Also, the cook tries to punch your daughter and you still don't fire him because you're worried you won't be able to replace him? How about being worried your daughter is going to get her head beat in? Sorry but this woman is/was obviously an idiot.

[Rapunzel]

Gordon really needs a thesaurus.

 

In the minute or so long segment where he's discussing how they changed the décor he couldn't seem to stop using the word "beautiful":

"Beautiful! wooden chairs which dramatically opens up this Beautiful! room."

"Now that we have Beautifully! made it blend right in."

"With full length wooden blinds draped with wonderful taupe curtains it's absolutely Beautiful!"

 

At least he only said "stunning" once or twice in that segment.

[Kromm]

Every time Chef Ramsay said "I know you're not stupid" to Julie I kept thinking "No I think she actually is stupid." Her answers to his questions could only come from a stupid person. It's no wonder her restaurant was failing. Also, the cook tries to punch your daughter and you still don't fire him because you're worried you won't be able to replace him? How about being worried your daughter is going to get her head beat in? Sorry but this woman is/was obviously an idiot.

 

Yes, on some level it's actually cruel of the show to air episodes starring owners who appear to be borderline mentally handicapped (or at the very most clearly only have double digit IQs).

[mlp]

I keep wondering what these people agree to when they sign contracts.  I can't imagine why anyone would allow herself to look that bad on national TV.  Is a free makeover worth letting everyone including your family and potential customers know how bad you allowed your business to get and how dumb and badly behaved you can be?  Surely they know how things will go once Ramsay arrives.

 

Julie didn't look like she'd even bothered to wash her hair before filming.  She had no problem using foul language in front of her daughter although, as she hadn't fired a drug-taking kid who'd threatened her daughter, I guess that shouldn't be surprising.  At the beginning, the screen showed her previous occupation as "realtor."  I find that hard to believe.

 

I wish someone who lives in the area would ring in and tell us if that place is still in business and how it's doing now if it is.

 

I lost track of how many times Gordon said "Wow" with various inflections.  Must have been dozens.

[BellaLugosi]

 

Chef Ramsay travels to Redondo Beach, CA, to visit Zayna Flaming Grill, a Mediterranean restaurant owned and operated by aunt-and-niece duo Faye and Brenda. Faye believes she has the weight of the entire restaurant on her shoulders, while Brenda does not feel she is treated as an equal in the partnership. With tensions rising, the food not up to standards and everyone playing the blame game, Chef Ramsay is faced with one of the stickiest situations he's ever encountered.

 

[In Pog Form]

Is a free makeover worth letting everyone including your family and potential customers know how bad you allowed your business to get and how dumb and badly behaved you can be?  Surely they know how things will go once Ramsay arrives.

I'd say it absolutely is for a failing restaurant. Not only do they get tens of thousands of dollars worth in the makeover, they also get a huge amount of free publicity, and in this case, the services of a real professional chef for a month. Not to mention the valuable kick up the bum from Ramsay (as well as his emotional support).

 

That seems to me like it's worth a lot more than some easily-forgotten short-term embarrassment.

Edited April 30, 2014 by In Pog Form

[BellaLugosi]

Plus they claim editing like every other person who's ever looked bad on reality TV. 

[Lillybee]

I do like Ramsey so much better than I like Robert Irving who copycatted this show.

[mlp]

I like EVERYBODY better than Robert Irvine.  Now Kerry VIncent is doing the same show with bakeries which Buddy Valastro over on TLC has already done.  Oh, and there was a bar rescue show that didn't make it also.  I almost always end up feeling that undeserving people were rewarded for bad behavior so I'm not too sure why I keep watching these shows with the exception of Irvine's.  I can't tolerate watching him at all.

[Julia]

That poor little waitress.

[Kromm]

So are bloated 2 hour episodes going to be the "new normal' for this show?  I'm tired of them already.

[Julia]

I think they always gave two hour episodes to restaurants with really awful owners (the mother and son team here reminded me of the sisters in Boston from last season). I'm worried that the new normal is weekly really awful owners.

[BellaLugosi]

 

Three years ago, Rosaria and her two sons moved from New York to Easton, PA, to open an Italian restaurant called Bella Luna. Rosaria bought the restaurant to fulfill son Gianfranco's dream of becoming a chef. But the restaurant is failing. Find out if Chef Ramsay can save Bella Luna and restore this family's dream, in the Season Finale.

 

[BellaLugosi]

The finale is on the 16th and it's one episode. I think they just didn't have enough and stretched it out. I was hoping we'd get a Revisted episode with a couple of restaurants but that isn't going to happen. 

[Kromm]

The finale is on the 16th and it's one episode. I think they just didn't have enough and stretched it out. I was hoping we'd get a Revisted episode with a couple of restaurants but that isn't going to happen. 

Hmm. If next week is also a 1 parter, that's a 10 episode season (since the two parters technically count as 2 episodes).  That's really a burn-them off season, isn't it? Unless they're doing a split season with another part later in the year (and if so they might just refer to it as another season anyway).

[BellaLugosi]

There isn't an episode next week, Fox is showing the premiere of 24 again on Friday night. So there's actually only 9 episodes this season, with only 6 restaurants. 

Edited May 3, 2014 by Bella Lugosi

[In Pog Form]

So, at the end, it says that "Faye's stubbornness led Vanessa and Amel to leave the restaurant" -  I wonder if that means they voluntarily left or got kicked out by Faye?

 

But yes, I agree that these episodes are way over-padded. We don't really need to see endless loops of people screaming. It would be a much better show if they spent more time on the interesting things that happen - such as Ramsay serving the store-bought hummus.

 

I'd say that this show is becoming the televisual equivalent of the lazy restaurants serving frozen, un-fresh, pre-packaged food. It's lazy editing delivered hardly warmed over by a production team that has lost its passion and hasn't updated its style in years.

 

Coming up next on Kitchen Nightmares Nightmares - the shocking twist of a TV producer who won't communicate with his production team, and the drug-addicted editor who is constantly on smoke breaks, and substitutes repeated loops for editing fresh content. Chef Ramsay investigates his festering clip bin.

Edited May 3, 2014 by In Pog Form

[DoctorK]

 

Chef Ramsay investigates his festering clip bin.

And don't forget Ramsey picking up unedited tape and shouting "IT'S RAW!!!"

[In Pog Form]

And don't forget Ramsey picking up unedited tape and shouting "IT'S RAW!!!"

You put edited footage right next to unedited footage! Do you KNOW what that does!? You could kill someone!

Edited May 3, 2014 by In Pog Form

[Bella]

I just did some housecleaning (because that's what Saturdays are for, right?). I merged Season 7 anticipation with General Discussion to make Season 7 Discussion.

 

So far, I'm not seeing any talk about previous seasons, so I'm not starting a thread for that. If anyone here wants to discuss previous seasons, you can start the thread yourself. Please use the format "Previous Seasons: Something Witty." If you can't come up with something witty, just call it Previous Seasons. Thx.