Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours To Hell And Back - General Discussion

[GHScorpiosRule]

Again, I find myself asking: is Gordon just going to restaurants/bistros that have the same people (servers, chefs) that work all the shifts? Just with last week's, Gordon was talking to only a handful of the SAME people. Every place I've been to where I was a repeat customer, or hell, even on Kitchen Nightmares, you saw that there was the morning, swing and evening shift. You know, where folks didn't work past 8 hours?

[Happy Belly]

In my humble opinion, Chef Ramsey was a spitting image of a current David Letterman in his disguise on the ladt episode.

[mamadrama]

On 7/2/2018 at 1:25 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Again, I find myself asking: is Gordon just going to restaurants/bistros that have the same people (servers, chefs) that work all the shifts? Just with last week's, Gordon was talking to only a handful of the SAME people. Every place I've been to where I was a repeat customer, or hell, even on Kitchen Nightmares, you saw that there was the morning, swing and evening shift. You know, where folks didn't work past 8 hours?

I wondered about that as well. My guess is that they knew someone from the show was coming that day (though they didn't know it was Ramsay) and the restaurant was told beforehand to choose 8-10 workers who wanted to be filmed. Those were the ones they had working on the day of filming. 

[galaxychaser]

Or it takes multiple days to film.  And viewers are being deceived.

im rewatching kitchen Nightmares and am still grossed out by the filth.

[Jamoche]

Oh, Gordon, I loved your UK show, but if I wanted Jerry Springer I'd watch the Whose Line Is It Anyway spoofs. There have got to be restaurants out there that actually deserve your help.

[NowVoyager]

Just watched the Brownstone Bistro episode. Wow, it's really dusty in here. I'm really rooting for them!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Interviews, articles, and other media go here!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Gordon Ramsay discusses 24 Hours to Hell and Back:

[spiderpig]

The July 11 episode about Sherman's, owned by a couple named Nimrod - the jokes write themselves.

At least we were spared Gordon's family counseling sessions.

I wonder what happened to Steve, the burned out head chef.

Why do they display everyone's ages next to their names?

Edited July 12, 2018 by spiderpig
punctuation

[nitrofishblue]

Interesting, now Gordon is telling owners they need to fire the deadwood. The last two were correct decisions.

[aliya]

6 hours ago, spiderpig said:

Why do they display everyone's ages next to their names?

Good point.

I can't believe they were paying the incompetent chef 90K. I bet those black cooks weren't getting anywhere near that. I hope they gave Nicole a raise.  I'm constantly amazed by the owners who know their chefs are killing them, but are afraid to fire them. The customers aren't coming, but you're afraid to get a new chef. 

btw owners - walk around your kitchens sometimes and stop leaving the cleanliness to the discretion of the chef 'cause obviously some of these folks could care less about poisoning your customers. Jeez. 

[Madding crowd]

After seeing how filthy these kitchens are, I would never go to these restaurants. People that let things get that disgusting are not likely to change their ways. The owners, sous chefs and staff all saw that filth and did nothing about it. These 24 hour changes won’t last in my opinion.

It’s the same thing on Bar Rescue. The owners are alcoholics who don’t care and we are supposed to believe they sober up in one day. Almost all the updates on that show indicate the places closed or went back to their old ways. I think it will be the same here. 

[jcbrown]

The owners of Sherman's reminded me of a lot of the people Gordon used to feature on Kitchen Nightmares, in that they were totally unqualified and unsuited to run a restaurant. The husband seemed nice but I got the impression his wife usually steam-rolled him. She was a piece of work who had never learned how to be in a customer-facing position (hint: it's not by berating customers on Yelp). I think the fact that she spent much of the grand re-opening disconnected from the dinner service and wandering vaguely around doing random things until Gordon dragged her back to the kitchen speaks to the likelihood that she has changed.

And I wanted them to tell Nicole they were raising her salary.

[Mystery]

I too was hoping that Nicole got a raise. After she saw this show and saw what Steve was making, I hope she asked. She had almost as many years at the restaurant as he did. 

It looked like, in one of the "hidden camera" shots, one of the servers ate something off a plate waiting to be sent out. Did anyone see that? 

I was wondering why all of the employees, even the ones older than her, were calling the owner "Miss Allison." No one called the chef "Miss Nicole." So it wasn't a matter of respect for age. 

17 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

She was a piece of work who had never learned how to be in a customer-facing position (hint: it's not by berating customers on Yelp).

At the end she said that she hadn't had to answer anyone on Yelp, because there weren't any bad reviews. So she still hasn't learned her lesson. 

[aliya]

1 hour ago, Mystery said:

I was wondering why all of the employees, even the ones older than her, were calling the owner "Miss Allison." No one called the chef "Miss Nicole." So it wasn't a matter of respect for age. 

It's a boss thing, in this instance. The cooks were all on equal footing, so they wouldn't call each other 'Miss.' I let children at church call me 'Miss Aliya,' but not just by my first name because, well, gee, I'm the adult and they aren't. 

[LaChavalina]

What I like about this show is that it's possible to verify these are real places-- though sometimes I think they make the "before" version sound worse than it is. The Brownstone Bistro and Bella Gianna's had pretty good reviews over the past year.

According to Sherman's Facebook page, Steve the incompetent chef got another job in the same town. It sounded like he just came with the restaurant when the Nimrods bought it. I guess if he's been there 30 years and was demanding a raise every year that would pump up his salary. Still, I know people with Ph.D.s and 10+ years experience who don't make close to that kind of money!

ETA: After I posted this I saw another post on their Facebook that looks like it was written by Allison (commenting back again!) and she claims they did not pay Steve $90K. It's not clear if she's saying the show lied. If the restaurant paid Steve's benefits and the $90K represented his "total compensation" (i.e., pay and benefits) that probably meant he made closer to $55-60K. 

Edited July 14, 2018 by LaChavalina
Nimrods update!

[Wings]

On 7/2/2018 at 10:25 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Again, I find myself asking: is Gordon just going to restaurants/bistros that have the same people (servers, chefs) that work all the shifts? Just with last week's, Gordon was talking to only a handful of the SAME people. Every place I've been to where I was a repeat customer, or hell, even on Kitchen Nightmares, you saw that there was the morning, swing and evening shift. You know, where folks didn't work past 8 hours?

This show is seriously flawed.  No, fucked to the edge of the cliff, yet I watch.  It is basically a before and after show much like Love it or List it.  My favorite part is the reveal and the new menu items laid out on the table for all (some) of the employees to taste.  It is highly engineered and perfect to watch in bed with a whiskey before I drop off for the night. 

[funky-rat]

On ‎7‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 10:25 AM, aliya said:

 I'm constantly amazed by the owners who know their chefs are killing them, but are afraid to fire them. The customers aren't coming, but you're afraid to get a new chef. 

In some cases, it could be that they're in a relatively small town, and with the guy having been there so long, rumors spread and people talk.  Maybe they thought it was less hassle to just keep him around.  Or maybe they're just tools.  Either way works.

[Mr. Sparkle]

So I just spoke to my co-worker who was on the first episode. He said he saw a posting on facebook asking for people to come down. He didn't get any money, but the food was free. He noted that Gordon was taller than he thought, and said it was strange to hear Gordon cursing so much without it being bleeped. 

[aliya]

Does anyone here have truck knowledge? Any idea how much GR's truck probably cost?

[Surrealist]

It was nice to see Christina in the Hells wagon. 

Re: La Sereneta

Stone is definitely stoned. Lol.

[stormy]

I don't know why I watch this. I can't stand it.  I'm particularly sick of Gordon playing Dr. Phil in every episode.

[Jersey Guy 87]

I'm not surprised that in the 3 month after segment things had reverted back to where they were.  Junior was in over his head, and Marco Sr. had serious issues that weren't going to be worked out by a quick chat with Gordon.  Although there was a fair amount of rotted food this place didn't seem to have the absolute level of filth of some of the other restaurants Gordon has visited this season.

[spiderpig]

La Serenata - this episode was absolutely horrible in every way.

[Colorado David]

Yay on seeing Christina again.

[mjc570]

I have to admit that this wasn't an especially compelling episode, even though they hit the usual revered dead father, family togetherness etc etc    Jr seemed like a very nice guy, but if he's going to be the chef (maybe he doesn't want to do this at all?)  , he needs more than a few hours cooking lesson.  Both he and Marco need some leadership training.  For someone who grew up in the biz, Marco sure seems clueless.

My favorite parts:  Stone (want Chinese?) , Gordon's dining companions catty remarks and obvious enjoyment of the degradation to come. 

[mlp]

7 hours ago, stormy said:

I don't know why I watch this. I can't stand it. 

After the first episode, I decided that one hour of Gordon behaving badly in a formulaic show was all I could stand so I opted to watch GGG and read the comments afterwards.  From what I've read so far, I think I made a good decision.

[stormy]

You did!

I will also be watching GGG next week.

[mjc570]

What's GGG?

[Surrealist]

1 minute ago, mjc570 said:

What's GGG?

Guy's Grocery Games

[aliya]

On 7/14/2018 at 4:51 PM, LaChavalina said:

ETA: After I posted this I saw another post on their Facebook that looks like it was written by Allison (commenting back again!) and she claims they did not pay Steve $90K. It's not clear if she's saying the show lied. If the restaurant paid Steve's benefits and the $90K represented his "total compensation" (i.e., pay and benefits) that probably meant he made closer to $55-60K. 

Fair enough, but I still want Nicole to get a big fat raise!  : )

[nitrofishblue]

That episode last night was sad. It was so easy to know that the makeover wouldn't stick. 

[DoctorK]

Yep, this last one was really lame. The family dysfunction was severe and 24 (like I believe that) hours of GR handholding can't fix such deep problems. He also annoyed me with his assumption that grandma was a sainted person and her son had no business being mean to her. I am pretty sure that the nastiness was not as one-sided as Gordon in his 24 hour deep dive (/sarc) into everything concluded. I have dealt with an elderly and extremely controlling mother and it is hard to assert yourself when the response is always "how can you be so mean to me, I am your mother and I am a sweet little old lady". Those people got what they deserved, sadly.

Edited July 20, 2018 by DoctorK

[Surrealist]

5 minutes ago, DoctorK said:

Yep, this last one was really lame. The family dysfunction was severe and 24 (like I believe that) hours of GR handholding can't fix such deep problems. He also annoyed me with his assumption that grandma was a sainted person and her son had no business being mean to her. I am pretty sure that the nastiness was not as one-sided as Gordon in his 24 hour deep dive (/sarc) into everything concluded. I have dealt with an elderly and extremely controlling mother and it is hard to assert yourself when the response is always "how can you be so mean to me, I am your mother and I am a sweet little old lady". Those people got what they deserved, sadly.

Thank you. I found that annoying too. I didn't see the mother as some saint. There are always two sides to that sort of family drama. 

[hatchetgirl]

There was definitely so many things that made me want to go hmmmm on the la serenatta episode...

1) when they showed the video of elder member, wife, son and grandson didn't have any emotion, but son's wife started crying immediately.  Weird. Blood relatives, no real response. Daughter in law, tears...

2) wife and son of dead owner had a very strange dynamic which culturally did not jive. He was probably raised as the little king especially if he was the only child but it doesn't explain the animosity between them.  I've seen latino males raised this way and when father passes there is absolutely no treating mom like that. 

3) stone was beyond... was he wearing a toupee?

4) what color did Gordon paint that place - sometimes it looked like an odd blue green, other times green and other times teal.

5) not strange but christina got a title card! Wahoo! 

[Mr. Sparkle]

The son (Junior) seemed so defeated in the 3-month video. I felt bad for them all. I'm no psychiatrist (but neither is Gordon) but I got the feeling Marco had no interest in the restaurant business and did it out of family obligation. I also felt that if the mother stepped back and let Marco run the business his way, a lot of their problems would go away. 

[DoctorK]

36 minutes ago, Superclam said:

The son (Junior) seemed so defeated in the 3-month video.

Agreed, actually he looked pretty beaten down and exhausted from the beginning. He was living a nightmare, having to watch his father and his grandmother constantly fighting while he was pretty much pushed off to one side (or exiled to the kitchen?). For him, this restaurant and family are huge mill stones around his neck. If he could cut himself loose, get away from this restaurant and his dysfunctional family, he would be much better off. Get a gig in a different restaurant (even better a different state) and get a few years better experience, he might be able to do well in the restaurant business, if that is actually what he wants to do; maybe he would rather be an engineer or truck driver.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Yes, and I add that 23 is probably too young to be a head chef. Certainly is in this case. 

[Jersey Guy 87]

2 hours ago, Superclam said:

The son (Junior) seemed so defeated in the 3-month video. I felt bad for them all. I'm no psychiatrist (but neither is Gordon) but I got the feeling Marco had no interest in the restaurant business and did it out of family obligation. I also felt that if the mother stepped back and let Marco run the business his way, a lot of their problems would go away. 

The dynamic between Marco and his mother (and his wife) was very weird.  She said she told him to run the business, then seemed to disagree with how he ran it.  His wife looked like she was beaten down and given up.  I'm not sure that if mother stepped out of the way Marco would run things right but I'm in definite agreement that the two of them together was toxic for whatever reason.

1 hour ago, Superclam said:

Yes, and I add that 23 is probably too young to be a head chef. Certainly is in this case. 

Junior had no experience to be a head chef.  I think he had some desire, perhaps, but he needed to learn.

[Surrealist]

11 hours ago, Superclam said:

The son (Junior) seemed so defeated in the 3-month video. I felt bad for them all. I'm no psychiatrist (but neither is Gordon) but I got the feeling Marco had no interest in the restaurant business and did it out of family obligation. I also felt that if the mother stepped back and let Marco run the business his way, a lot of their problems would go away. 

I also wondered whether Marco really wanted to run that restaurant. I imagine being part of a family that has a family business might be kind of stressful in the sense the parents expect their child to run it some day, even if the kid has other aspirations. The family business turns into an heir's (undesired) obligation. That was my feeling when Marco was talking to Gordon.

Marco is going to have his own ideas about how to run the business that might not gel with his mom's, but if she wants him to take over, she has to trust him and take a backseat and keep quiet (harsh as that is to type).

Marco Jr. seemed more interested in the business than his father, but was caught between two toxic relatives. It was difficult to watch, especially the update. 

Edited July 21, 2018 by Surrealist

[Yeah No]

On 7/19/2018 at 10:30 PM, DoctorK said:

Yep, this last one was really lame. The family dysfunction was severe and 24 (like I believe that) hours of GR handholding can't fix such deep problems. He also annoyed me with his assumption that grandma was a sainted person and her son had no business being mean to her. I am pretty sure that the nastiness was not as one-sided as Gordon in his 24 hour deep dive (/sarc) into everything concluded. I have dealt with an elderly and extremely controlling mother and it is hard to assert yourself when the response is always "how can you be so mean to me, I am your mother and I am a sweet little old lady". Those people got what they deserved, sadly.

Thank you, I saw it the same way.  It has to be extremely difficult to basically have your elderly parent as your boss in your mid 50s even if you have a great relationship.  It mist be a nightmare if the parent is difficult to deal with.  I'll bet the dynamic was very different when the father was alive.  It wasn't clear from the show but I'll bet the mother was never the person in charge of that place and she really isn't up to handling it even as she makes it difficult for her son to take any real control.  When her husband was alive he probably set the rules and she probably just complied.  It was no surprise that things went back to the way they were.  She probably rejects any and all changes, even those that everyone else sees as positive.  I feel for her son, really.

[Court]

I felt terrible for Junior. He seemed like he was doing it to fix things between his grandmother and dad. He seemed very beaten down. I knew this one wasn't going to turn around.

[galaxychaser]

Fetch bistro is a cute idea. I don’t have a dog though. 

Raw burgers eeek. I like mine well done.

i prefer to cook at home thanks to these shows!

[LaChavalina]

I'm pretty shocked that a restaurant like Fetch is allowed to exist, to be honest. I've lived in about a half-dozen states and I've seen a lot of patios with dogs allowed outside and some tap rooms that don't serve food and allow dogs inside, but this is a first. I still can't imagine they get through service every day without tons of dog hair. 

The redecorate looked really nice. This story says the remodel was done in late 2017 but the owners are still struggling and looking for a boost from the airing of the show. I hope they can make it--they definitely got a substantial investment from the show in new equipment, that dog yard, etc. 

I say this as a big-time dog lover, but I laughed at a few of the post-reno Google reviews from people who were upset that there are now "only" two dog food options on the menu. Like, you know your dog doesn't care, right? Even scarier that they were serving dogs very hot foods and things like onions before. Would've been nice for them to bring in a vet to explain to that owner why she can't just feed dogs any old thing that they had on the menu for humans.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

On 7/21/2018 at 9:07 PM, Court said:

I felt terrible for Junior. He seemed like he was doing it to fix things between his grandmother and dad. He seemed very beaten down. I knew this one wasn't going to turn around.

Junior said he had to take a second job because they can't afford to pay him.

So since the patriarch passed away, they've sold two out of the the three restaurants and the grandmother had to sell her home, and now they're not paying the staff?

No way does this end well.

[Toaster Strudel]

Technical question here, does the show supply all the participants cocaine in order to stay up for 24 hours?

[Wings]

44 minutes ago, Toaster Strudel said:

Technical question here, does the show supply all the participants cocaine in order to stay up for 24 hours?

I think so because dexadrine is impossible to find anymore.  :>

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

7 hours ago, Toaster Strudel said:

Technical question here, does the show supply all the participants cocaine in order to stay up for 24 hours?

Not to mention: wouldn't you want your chef and waiter and others who handle your food to have at least showered and changed their clothes in the last 24 hours?

[Jersey Guy 87]

13 hours ago, LaChavalina said:

I'm pretty shocked that a restaurant like Fetch is allowed to exist, to be honest. I've lived in about a half-dozen states and I've seen a lot of patios with dogs allowed outside and some tap rooms that don't serve food and allow dogs inside, but this is a first. I still can't imagine they get through service every day without tons of dog hair.

That was my thought the entire time - what board of health is allowing this to exist?  I love dogs, I have dogs, I would never go to a place like this.  Too great a chance of dogs getting into a dominance fight, peeing/pooping on the floor, etc.  It's just not a good idea, IMO.

[DoctorK]

Gordon Ramsey spends minutes yelling at everybody "Stay in your lanes, Do YOUR job, Stay in YOUR lanes". Then he almost immediately jumps out of his lane a restaurateur and becomes a marriage counselor. Not much self-awareness there.

Specifically regarding Fetch, I didn't see any signs posted advising dog owners that they were bringing in their dogs at their own risk, like a lot of dog parks have. Dogs will be dogs, it is inevitable that fights (major or minor) will occasionally erupt, how are they going to handle that? It was nice to see a staff member telling someone that the dog has to stay off the table and get down off the chair. How will that work out when they tell someone with a self determined "service" dog that she takes "everywhere" that she can't put it on the table? Then the customer makes a scene screaming "SERVICE ANIMAL, HOW DARE YOU!".. The only service animals I have been around were fully trained seeing eye dogs and they never got up on tables or chairs while they were working (The owner may have different rules when they are at home, but the rules when out in public seem clearly defined).

Edited July 26, 2018 by DoctorK
added thoughts and corrected spelling