Kitchen Nightmares (US) - General Discussion

[rmontro]

3 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I think Gordon pushed out the wrong person.  For all of her statements about being such a good front of house person, service certainly fell apart on opening night and it can't be blamed on the back of house as they were all from Gordon's restaurant(s).  For whatever reason, Gordon seemed really fond of Kelly. 

Well, he couldn't really have pushed out Kelly, because she was the one who had the money invested.  That would have been a villainous move.  Can't help but notice Gordon usually favors the ladies though.  When he went out to talk to the female influencer food critic, "Introduce me to your dad".  Lol, he said he was kidding, but I wonder how many times he's used that line. 

[vibeology]

Why does Kelly co-own a restaurant? She admitted to knowing nothing about inventory or food pricing or much of anything related to the business, she doesn't cook and the restaurant concept came from Ray. Why did she decide to open a restaurant? And how did she and Ray connect in the first place to come up with this plan? I feel like so much backstory is missing. I think I'll just never be satisfied with what we get in 42 minutes.

I assume the sous chef quit because Kelly announced the restaurant would likely close. Get out and away from the drama and get a new job before the money runs out. The servers should be doing the same.

[jcbrown]

2 hours ago, vibeology said:

Why does Kelly co-own a restaurant? She admitted to knowing nothing about inventory or food pricing or much of anything related to the business, she doesn't cook and the restaurant concept came from Ray. Why did she decide to open a restaurant? And how did she and Ray connect in the first place to come up with this plan? I feel like so much backstory is missing. I think I'll just never be satisfied with what we get in 42 minutes.

Agreed that it would have been good to get answers to these questions. The main thing I learned in this episode is never to go into business with Kelly. Or Ray, for that matter, he was certainly a jerk. But what on earth would make you decide to invest a bunch of money into something you know absolutely nothing about and just leave it in a black hole where you can't tell what is happening to it? And why did she keep snivelling to the staff about her bad financial decisions? I found that quite off-putting and I would have bailed with so much boundary-crossing. Her bad financial choices are not their problem and after she made them public, it would have been more prudent to leave and find more stable employment.

I think this episode tried to center the relationships while giving us hardly any information about them so that was kind of a frustrating waste of time.

Edited November 29, 2023 by jcbrown

[NJRadioGuy]

I don't see this one lasting for the long-haul. The relaunch sequence was ridiculous since it was Gordon's menu and Gordon's chefs executing it. Of course everybody would love it. The whole business with a co-owner "walking away," even though he had zero invested made no sense, especially since he had control of the bank account.

[lavenderblue]

Haven't posted in this thread before, but I was a couple eps behind so watched Love Bites last night, then read the truth about the restaurant backstory here. With that in mind I tried the El Cantito episode and turned it off after the bloody chicken incident, which was so patently staged. Gross as raw chicken would be, salmonella wouldn't have set in within minutes of consumption, if that's what we were meant to assume, and the likelihood of this whole vignette unfolding while Gordon's there and has just talked with the guys is ludicrous. I've always taken elements of this show with a grain of salt but I don't think at this rate I can take any of it even as entertainment without being annoyed.

Edited November 29, 2023 by lavenderblue

[rmontro]

13 hours ago, vibeology said:

Why does Kelly co-own a restaurant? She admitted to knowing nothing about inventory or food pricing or much of anything related to the business, she doesn't cook and the restaurant concept came from Ray. Why did she decide to open a restaurant? And how did she and Ray connect in the first place to come up with this plan? I feel like so much backstory is missing.

Yeah, it does seem like a lot of backstory is missing, and/or maybe they told us and I just missed it.  I don't think they said it, but Kelly and Ray seemed to have some sort of relationship going on.  Maybe Kelly had money to invest and depended on Ray to run the business, that was their partnership.  She brought the money, he contributed the know-how.  He just apparently didn't know quite as much as he thought, or he didn't care.  Funny how he jumped back in when the restaurant started to become more successful (if we're to believe what we're told).

I know Ray was cast as the villain in this, but I can empathize with him a little.  Especially if he didn't agree to having the show come in.  I know if I was trying to do my own thing, and Gordon Ramsey was coming in, I don't think I'd care for it either, unless I specifically wanted his help.  Because you just know he isn't going to like anything you cook, and he's going to pick it apart like it's garbage.  

[seacliffsal]

Gordon referenced how much Ray was paid, but never mentioned how much Kelly paid herself.  There may be a lot more to the debt accumulation than we have been told.  Especially considering that she may have pulled money from the business to pay for her own expenses.  Kelly never really explained why Ray took (and she gave it to him) financial control.  Maybe he found out she was mismanaging the money.  Gordon really tried to make it seem like big bad Ray was taking advantage of Kelly, but Ray had a competent chef (Daniel) in place for when he wasn't there and took over the finances after Kelly accumulated a huge debt (which she told everyone about in order to create a poor pitiful me story).  I think both of them are to blame for their mess of a business, but Gordon took it out on Ray and not Kelly with all of her other endeavors (Botox Tuesday...). 

[12catcrazy]

Would somebody please tell me what the point of this show is?  It appears more and more fake and it's not even entertaining.  You'd think that Gordon Ramsay would have enough on his plate (pun intended) rather than waste time on this crap.  The show has become more "Iyanla Fix My Life" and less about trying to keep potentially good restaurants from closing down.  

Kelly in this episode was a hot mess and yeah, it really begged the question what her and Ray's actual relationship was to where they were "partners" in this place.  And you have to ask yourself, what kind of job did she have before this to where she had all of that money to invest and that she didn't even have access to the business bank accounts boggled the mind.   I kept thinking "Lady, you don't need Gordon Ramsay, you need a really good lawyer and accountant".  

And can somebody please answer why in God's name do people who have never worked in a restaurant want to open one?   Work in a good place for a while and find out how damn hard it is and get a clue.  At the very least read Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential" . 

[Tango64]

The show's promising concept is ruined by sticking to a strict, never wavering formula. We can all recite it ourselves and we know what scene is coming up next as we watch. I'm sure the formula makes production and editing very efficient but it makes every episode feel like the last one. Just change the names, force some emotion from the owners and staff, and move on to the remodel and new menu. End with Gordon outside summarizing and walking off as he mutters about something he couldn't beleive.

Throw in what we now know is a lot of fakery, and you've wasted a good premise for the sake of churning out episodes. I guess they're counting on us to hang on in hopes of seeing something genuine. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

 Okay, color me surprised, but the second show, “Diwan” took me back to the show I enjoyed. Bobby was a stubborn old goat, but in the end, he came around.

When Bobby said the “clientele had changed” I knew what he meant-for example, there’s a restaurant in DC-The Bombay Club that used to have authentic Indian dishes. President Clinton, who loves Indian food, ate there regularly. Which of course, had a lot of non-Indians going there to eat. But their palates couldn’t handle the spicy dishes-the thing that made them authentic. But to keep them coming, they changed the recipes-making some of the dishes so bland, you might as well just buy a frozen meal. Only a couple of dishes has the kick and authenticity. 

Did Bobby do that with his inane attempts at Mexican-Indian, middle-eastern fusion?

I absolutely adore Fernandes! If I ever find myself in Port Washington, I may check it out. Maybe.

I covet that painting Gordon put in of the Indian woman! And draping all those saris! That’s something I haven’t seen before. 

And now we had Mehreen show up.🙄 Is this Gordon’s way of helping out those who got booted from Next Level Chef?

Who will show up next week? Or is it two weeks?

[vibeology]

So I don't believe for a second that Bobby really changed. He played along for the cameras but I bet if someone went to Diwan today, he'd be in that kitchen. I just don't believe Gordon making him sit down to one dinner with his wife changed him. 

Gordon should have scooped up Fernandes and ran out the back door. Fernandes is the only positive about that restaurant and his rough edges could be smoothed out.

The hot dog restaurant was a more fixable mess. Jen, her ex husband who was so bland and quiet that I've already forgotten his name and MK all need to work in separate restaurants. And Jen is a bad owner. MK was right about so many things. The restaurant should use a rotation so that all the servers have roughly the same number of people in their section and all have the same opportunity for tips. Payroll shouldn't be done on paper in 2023! And yes, if you're scheduling yourself a shift as a server, you should be wrapping your silverware! Jen acted like she was above that but I do wonder if Jen was above the tips she got while filling that position or whatever it was she said. But MK was wrong for taking the job in that environment, she's wrong that it's Jen's job to build the ex up when he's fucking up basic cooking and her tone was at times so passive aggressive that I wanted to smack her through the screen.

Jen is a restaurant nepo baby who seemed to skip out on so many lessons along the way. She doesn't know the food, she doesn't know how to do payroll, she doesn't understand how to be fair to her servers. She probably had a theft issue if she had to fire several people suddenly but she should be able to hire someone who isn't the younger girlfriend of her ex husband. And her logic that she'd rather pay her ex than a chef who would run the kitchen is very dumb. With the amount of food that we saw go in the garbage because he can't cook it he's costing her money.

[jabRI]

Watched the 'Max' show last night.  How the heck do you cook a hot dog for half an hour?  And I watched him, the heat was not that low.

[rmontro]

4 hours ago, jabRI said:

Watched the 'Max' show last night.  How the heck do you cook a hot dog for half an hour?  And I watched him, the heat was not that low.

Crazy.  Gordon did say it was rubbery and blistered.  Is there anything worse on the planet than an overcooked hot dog?

[jabRI]

My favorite line last night was Gordon saying you can get a better hot dog at 2 in the morning in Times Square.  My son swears NY street hot dogs are the best in the world.  Don't think too much about where they come from, how long they've been sitting in water... just enjoy!

[jabRI]

On 12/5/2023 at 7:55 AM, vibeology said:

And her logic that she'd rather pay her ex than a chef who would run the kitchen is very dumb

So she's essentially providing the child support payments?  He needs a  job, he can't cook, and take MK with him.  What a toxic environment all around.

[NJRadioGuy]

On 12/6/2023 at 4:05 PM, jabRI said:

My favorite line last night was Gordon saying you can get a better hot dog at 2 in the morning in Times Square.  My son swears NY street hot dogs are the best in the world.  Don't think too much about where they come from, how long they've been sitting in water... just enjoy!

Your son is absolutely right. NYC street meat is legendary, although I personally prefer a trip down to Nathan's in C.I., just outside the BMT subway station.

Soft pretzels are also the best hot off a cart. The halal carts do a huge business too but that's not my cuppa. 

[jcbrown]

On 12/4/2023 at 7:29 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

 Okay, color me surprised, but the second show, “Diwan” took me back to the show I enjoyed. Bobby was a stubborn old goat, but in the end, he came around.

Same here--I was surprised at how much better that episode was than anything else we've seen this season.

[MyMaui]

The owner of Max's should have let the husband go and get a chef. He did nothing and then take the girlfriend too. He was lazy and didn't care. How stupid to hire her.  I would have fired her in front of Gordon with her talk back. 

I found it funny after the remodel they showed two Jersey show castmates and then Joe and Melissa from RHONJ except Joe and Melissa got one shot lol.    Funny how that whole MK scene of her on her knees pleading is just like what Melissa did.....staged much?

[TV Glotzer]

Throughout the Max’s episode all I could do was scream at the TV every 30 seconds—in response to every ridiculous revelation—“but you’re running a hot dog restaurant!!”