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

[galaxychaser]

Gordon you are not Dr. Phil.  I gave up after 20 minutes. Too much counseling from a non doctor.

[Mr. Sparkle]

49 minutes ago, 12catcrazy said:

Is Gordon Ramsay really a serial cheater?  I've never read much scuttlebutt about him, and everything I have read made him seem like a devoted family type of guy.  

A google search indicates he has had a least one long-term affair, assuming you believe the sources. 

I don't care so much about that, but I'm getting a little tired of this show. Same exact thing, over and over, and Gordon can be a bit mean-spirited. I know that's his schtick, but it's kind of wearing on me. 

40 minutes ago, galaxychaser said:

Gordon you are not Dr. Phil.  I gave up after 20 minutes. Too much counseling from a non doctor.

Exactly. Show more cooking and less criticizing the marriage. 

[seacliffsal]

I just loved that Gordon dressed as a female senior citizen.  It seems to me that he can laugh at himself a bit (yes, and at other times take himself seriously).  This restaurant had an amazing view and if I lived in the area I would most definitely go there.  Several of the dishes sounded appealing to me.  I hope that the owners keep up the menu and improved service.

[mjc570]

Not a bad episode - I did like all the family, although I don't understand why Gordon was so brutal with dad Peter - he's obviously a decent person, who I think just is the kind of person who doesn't show his feelings.  That doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings, though.  I wonder if there was a lot of editing.

I would have liked to see more about the show people getting food poisoning - why didn't Gordon tell the health authorities, so that other people wouldn't be exposed.  I did think Peter must have a really poor sense of smell, although not being able to smell rancid food does seem extreme.  Again, why hadn't anyone mentioned that?  The staff was given a chance to talk without the family, but not one of them said anything about that.  That's an actual health hazard.  Again, unless there was some heavy duty editing, I didn't get the feeling that they were too intimidated to speak up to the owners.  Of course, I could have just missed that dynamic.

The new menu items looked so delicious.  The redecorating also was great, especially the wood chandeliers.  I wonder how the restaurant is doing now. 

[NowVoyager]

I tend to look the restaurants up on Google Maps to read the comments & look at pictures. (Please don't judge me.) The show barely made a blip for Stone's Throw, meanwhile it was going down in the comments for Catfish Cabin! High comedy!

[Mr. Sparkle]

I do the same with Yelp, so I cannot judge. 

[Colorado David]

I try to ignore comments so I can judge the first visit on a clean slate. 50/50 success rate so far 

case in point: total mexican dive 1/2 block from me, fugly exterior, but best mex food since i left texas.

Edited February 1, 2019 by Colorado David

[Colorado David]

lol omg i need to see Hell's Kitchen with Samuel L Jackson as one of the chefs. EPIC screaming back n forth.

[WendyM]

Who were the "golden girls" Gordon arrived with? Does the location scout find these dining companions? 

[Toaster Strudel]

Gordon seems more effective than Dr Phil LOL. I do love this show. I check the yelp reviews in the hope of seeing pictures of dishes featuring the new menu items but no luck so far!

[BogoGog24]

I found it irritating how when the chefs were making the new food just before they opened, Peter clearly said they were going to get it ready in 5 minutes, Gordon said get it to me in 4, then he complained nothing was cooked right.... No kidding, dumbass!

I also hate how Gordon has to always go for the gross-out in each kitchen... I get it's part of the entertainment value but the cooks were clearly telling him it was making them sick to smell/hear/look at that rotten food and he's there making them smell it and squeezing out the slime... like stop dude. You've made your point! And no one was saying anything when he asked 'cause they were all trying not to throw up....

My boyfriend and I watch the show together and we live in CT, so it was cool to see 2 restaurants featured. We decided to try Vassi's from the previous episode and we're going Valentine's weekend.

Edited February 2, 2019 by BogoGog24

[threebluestars]

I would totally watch a show with Mrs DoubtRamsay and her Golden Girl friends driving around critiquing restaurants.

[NowVoyager]

Bayou on Vine: looks like they didn't keep the name change.

The head chef daughter suffers from a bad case of resting bitch face.

Glad Uncle drummer was able to make the trip. His wig tho. As Grr would say: "Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear...!"

Edited February 7, 2019 by NowVoyager

[spiderpig]

Carl and Eartha seemed like such a sweet couple, but were their two restaurant daughters pieces of work.  I don't for a second believe in magical transformations.  I think they went right back to the ugly once the cameras were gone.

[mjc570]

Probably my least favorite episode.  I just don’t believe that happened in 24 hours, it takes longer than that to recover from personality transplants (daughters) or a spinal infusion dad).  The name change was unrealistic, and apparently just for the show - really bayou on vine is more descriptive.  Who cares about the wife’s family.  Couldn’t they have sprung for a new wig for the uncle, the shows budget could have stretched to $5    For that matter, didn’t care about the dad or the mom, who created those appalling daughters   

that menu was totally unsuited to what they want.  I think people who go there want basic Cajun;, with large portions.  While the renovation cleaned up the place, it didn’t look very practical with those large chairs and stage.  If I were the owner, I’d want to cram in as many people as possible.   

The only part of the show I liked was the complete disrespect shown to chef Ramsey, and his amazement that they called his palate and credentials into question  I would have liked an hour of him and the daughters screaming at each other  

[galaxychaser]

On 1/31/2019 at 12:03 PM, 12catcrazy said:

Is Gordon Ramsay really a serial cheater?  I've never read much scuttlebutt about him, and everything I have read made him seem like a devoted family type of guy.  

Sarah Symonds claims she was Gordon’s mistress.  Who knows if he has been faithful to his wife?

[Mystery]

Wow, this forum wasn't easy to find. And it's not easy to read with all the ads. I'd pay for an ad-free version of the website, but I'm not sure how often I'll come back and try to find things. 

Bayou on the Vine. Is there anyone who couldn't see a mile off that Sharekka, 27 and calling herself the "owner," wasn't going to be just plain trouble? With her "I'm made to work for somebody, so WE need to figure out another option for me" talk? Figure out your own dang option, woman. I don't know if we've seen a more entitled person on this show than her. At least the father realized that he created the monster: a person who was unemployable by anyone else. Maybe she could have been saved if she'd HAD to work for someone else. There's something to be said, in every line of work, for having to report to someone else at some point in your life. 

The second daughter didn't seem any better, but she was better at the pass. That seems like a very hard job. 

It seems that the restaurant went back to its original name Bayou on the Vine, despite all the talk about the family's musical history. If it had been older than a year old, it might make more sense to me that they kept the old name, but whatever. 

[NowVoyager]

4 hours ago, Mystery said:

Wow, this forum wasn't easy to find. And it's not easy to read with all the ads. I'd pay for an ad-free version of the website, but I'm not sure how often I'll come back and try to find things. 

Bayou on the Vine. Is there anyone who couldn't see a mile off that Sharekka, 27 and calling herself the "owner," wasn't going to be just plain trouble? With her "I'm made to work for somebody, so WE need to figure out another option for me" talk? Figure out your own dang option, woman. I don't know if we've seen a more entitled person on this show than her. At least the father realized that he created the monster: a person who was unemployable by anyone else. Maybe she could have been saved if she'd HAD to work for someone else. There's something to be said, in every line of work, for having to report to someone else at some point in your life. 

The second daughter didn't seem any better, but she was better at the pass. That seems like a very hard job. 

It seems that the restaurant went back to its original name Bayou on the Vine, despite all the talk about the family's musical history. If it had been older than a year old, it might make more sense to me that they kept the old name, but whatever. 

Nope. & I can't get it to show up on my customized home page either. I don't have problems with ads tho.

Oh, got it! Just had to click on that "is this a tv show" thingie.

Edited February 9, 2019 by NowVoyager

[galaxychaser]

Shareka has a bad attitude. She is right that she would never be able to have a boss. What a troublemaker and her parents are to blame.  Anyway anyone notice that she was cooking wearing a street jacket? Unsanitary to boot. 

Uncles wig made me laugh. Dude looked awful.

[OnceSane]

19 hours ago, galaxychaser said:

Uncles wig made me laugh. Dude looked awful.

Uncle's wig looks like one Dave Chappelle would have used in one of skits.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Saw that ending coming a mile away. When they go out of business or get sued for sexual harassment, at least Steve will know why. 

[Broderbits]

40 minutes ago, Superclam said:

Saw that ending coming a mile away. When they go out of business or get sued for sexual harassment, at least Steve will know why. 

Yeah, if Steve the Putz just wanted to have a boy's club why did he hire those women in the 1st place. And why are those women staying? Former GM Cat has been demoted twice; why on earth is she putting up with that bull.

[Yeah No]

Shock, surprise that Steve didn't keep any of Ramsay's changes.  Who couldn't see that one coming a mile away?

And what's up with one cook telling the other on the so-called "secret footage" that their cursing was not "TV appropriate" or something to that effect?  Gordon has said they film that stuff without their knowledge.  Haha, even that is fake.

[GrannySmith]

Isn’t this the exact same show every week?  Couldn’t They taste something without spitting it out or find a clean kitchen, just once?

[spiderpig]

This is the first ep I remember where the 3-month follow-up was entirely negative.  That owner was the jerk of all jerks and he got a refitted kitchen and remodeled dining room out of the gig.  I'd say I'd eat at 7Eleven before patronizing his dump, but that would be an insult to 7Eleven.

[Zoe]

2 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Shock, surprise that Steve didn't keep any of Ramsay's changes.  Who couldn't see that one coming a mile away?

And what's up with one cook telling the other on the so-called "secret footage" that their cursing was not "TV appropriate" or something to that effect?  Gordon has said they film that stuff without their knowledge.  Haha, even that is fake.

There are camera crews around and they're mic'ed up in many shots. It's just the stationary shots that are "secret".

[Pepper the Cat]

I don’t get why people appply for these shows , be it Kitchen Nightmares, 24 hours of Hell, Bar Rescue etc if they are just going to ignore the help and revert back their original ways which weren’t working. Why ask for help the ignore it?

and a little off top8c if you think Ramsey yells you should watch Bar Rescue! That guy makes Ramsey look calm!

[12catcrazy]

Wow, this last episode was almost painful to watch.  I wanted to smack that stupid look off the owner's (Steve?) face.  And I agree, why do the women who work there put up with that crap?  Why is the now former chef allowing herself to be "front staff" after the owner removed her from the kitchen, and the other woman (Ms Blue Hair/Blue Lipstick) still working there?  Must be tons of places to work in LA - why stay in that place where you're badly treated???

[walnutqueen]

2 hours ago, Pepper the Cat said:

I don’t get why people appply for these shows , be it Kitchen Nightmares, 24 hours of Hell, Bar Rescue etc if they are just going to ignore the help and revert back their original ways which weren’t working. Why ask for help the ignore it?

For the free upgrades/remodel and the publicity - people will go to a spectacular failure just to see how bad it really is.  (Anyone remember Amy's Baking Company - pre shut down?  Quite the buzz.).

[mjc570]

I couldn't even watch this - what was the point?  There was no drama, once past the required gross-out.  They should have just given him a check.  I felt sorry for both women, don't understand why they stay there (especially Kat the chef).  That smirking owner was so obviously just having it on - were the various people "fired" rehired the minute Gordon left?

There should be some kind of legal or other consequence for kitchens with that level of unsainitariness (sorry, not sure of the right word).  That was actually a health hazard. 

I wish they had just spent the show showing the cooking lessons - I've actually learned a lot watching this. 

Added:  I watched the end, no surprise the guys were rehired and the women demoted.  I don't know how their contracts are written, but I would have liked to see Gordon say they are in breach (since didn't act in good faith) and instead of providing the new equipment etc., report them to the health dept.  That's a show I would have enjoyed. 

It was pretty clear that since the owner was half-assing it, so did the show.  That was a pretty minimal makeover. 

Edited February 14, 2019 by mjc570
further thought

[Hellohappylife]

I’m not the type of girl that gets overly offended by stupid immature jokes/comments that guys make towards women rights, or their idiotic opinions on women in the work place. I easily just ignore those people.  

Even if they are just joking, there is a hugeeeee difference between immature jokes & jokes that reach a sexual level

No woman or Man should ever feel uncomfortable and have to put up with that in the workplace.  One of these days they’re gonna have some angry husband or father to deal with. . 

[DropTheSoap]

There has to be other restaurants to work in in the area, right? I can see the people in small towns being stuck, but if I was one of the women working there, I’d be looking to move on. 

Maybe they should hit up the owner’s dad for a job. He seemed successful. 

Edited February 15, 2019 by DropTheSoap

[mjc570]

6 hours ago, Hellohappylife said:

No woman or Man should ever feel uncomfortable and have to put up with that in the workplace.  One of these days they’re gonna have some angry husband or father to deal with. . 

Or an angry woman herself

[funky-rat]

As predicted, Yelp (not my favorite site, but still....) is full of reviews from people who only watched the show.  I reported a few - some of the worst ones who flat-out said they'd never been there.

Bad reviews are likely deserved, but not if you've never set foot inside the place.  Can't stand that crap.

[galaxychaser]

I wasn’t going to watch, but now I will.

[tinkerbell]

Ramsey really LOVES the whole schtick where he stands up, announces " ladies and gentlemen,  stop eating," while he takes off his disguise and the crowd  gasps.

[aussieinsydney]

On 2/15/2019 at 2:59 AM, 12catcrazy said:

Wow, this last episode was almost painful to watch.  I wanted to smack that stupid look off the owner's (Steve?) face.  And I agree, why do the women who work there put up with that crap?  Why is the now former chef allowing herself to be "front staff" after the owner removed her from the kitchen, and the other woman (Ms Blue Hair/Blue Lipstick) still working there?  Must be tons of places to work in LA - why stay in that place where you're badly treated???

OMG I so agree. Steve is an arrogant, cunt rag of a little man who obviously thought Gordon knew nothing. The female head chef (her name escapes me) should have told him to stick his job up his vagina and left to look for another job, once she was relegated to wait staff. The disgusting, mysogynistic, excuse for a man who got fired by no nuts Steve, was re-hired when Gordon left? Steve my girl, you deserve every bad thing that comes your way, you fucktard.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

And we have our first casualty of the series: The Old Coffee Pot (aka The Toasted Mouse Corpse) has gone out of business.

https://nola.eater.com/2019/2/15/18226552/french-quarter-icon-old-coffee-pot-closed-100-years-gordon-ramsay-takedown

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

On 2/13/2019 at 9:00 PM, Yeah No said:

Shock, surprise that Steve didn't keep any of Ramsay's changes.  Who couldn't see that one coming a mile away?

IIRC, This is partly why Ramsay quit doing the original Kitchen Nightmares: he tired of putting time and energy into reviving a dying restaurant only to have dipshit owners ignore all his changes. Can't fix stupid.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

IIRC, This is partly why Ramsay quit doing the original Kitchen Nightmares: he tired of putting time and energy into reviving a dying restaurant only to have dipshit owners ignore all his changes. Can't fix stupid.

Agreed, but I also don't think it's a good idea to take on restaurants that are 3 months from closing.  It's probably too late to rescue it at that point even if they keep the changes.

[Yeah No]

On 2/14/2019 at 1:06 AM, Zoe said:

There are camera crews around and they're mic'ed up in many shots. It's just the stationary shots that are "secret".

So I guess they may think they're only being filmed when the camera crew is around but there are "secret" cameras too. 

[galaxychaser]

The entire show is being filmed and the winners know they are on camera. I’m sure to appear the winners have to sign release forms.  Winners know about the secret cameras.

By winners I mean willing participants.

[WendyM]

1 hour ago, galaxychaser said:

The entire show is being filmed and the winners know they are on camera. I’m sure to appear the winners have to sign release forms.  Winners know about the secret cameras.

By winners I mean willing participants.

My understanding was they know they're being filmed but they think it's just because they're auditioning for a makeover show. (I can't imagine they know the rat shit, dirty grease, etc. are being filmed.) And I'm sure they're pressured quite a bit to sign releases because I don't recall many--if any--blurred-out faces, even as far as customers are concerned.

[DoctorK]

8 hours ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

IIRC, This is partly why Ramsay quit doing the original Kitchen Nightmares: he tired of putting time and energy into reviving a dying restaurant only to have dipshit owners ignore all his changes.

If this is the case, why is he doing this show which follows the same script every week that we saw every week of Kitchen Nightmares? In KN, he pretended to do the makeover in a few days, now he pretends to do the makeover in 24 hours. Not that he is the only one - although in different venues Bar Rescue, Hotel Hell, etc. all use the same script.

Edited February 16, 2019 by DoctorK

[hookedontv]

The producers probably won’t think it’s good TV, but I wish they would find a restaurant for the show where the kitchen is clean and the decor isn’t completely horrible, and the people are hard working, and the food isn’t half bad, but for some reason, business isn’t going as well as it should. 

Now that would be a nice change-and a bit more work from Ramsey as it would require something more than a bucket of bleach, an exterminator, and a bitch out session with the owner. We could see an overhaul of the menu, perhaps showcasing the food that they know how to cook best. 

I don’t know, I’m just rambling now. Guess I’m tired of the same episode/different town. Maybe it’s just me but there have to be failing restaurants out there that aren’t disgustingly dirty and completely disfunctional. 

[queenanne]

On 2/1/2019 at 3:01 PM, WendyM said:

Who were the "golden girls" Gordon arrived with? Does the location scout find these dining companions? 

I feel pretty sure that's how it works; or casting.  

[WendyM]

20 hours ago, hookedontv said:

Now that would be a nice change-and a bit more work from Ramsey as it would require something more than a bucket of bleach, an exterminator, and a bitch out session with the owner. We could see an overhaul of the menu, perhaps showcasing the food that they know how to cook best. 

I don’t know, I’m just rambling now. Guess I’m tired of the same episode/different town. Maybe it’s just me but there have to be failing restaurants out there that aren’t disgustingly dirty and completely disfunctional. 

I agree! My favorite part of these is when he gives those quick cooking lessons to the downtrodden (or disengaged) chef. How awesome would it be if Gordon Fucking Ramsay showed you how to make a pork chop?

I know he sometimes gives those "master classes" during The Most Important Cooking Competition IN THE WORLD (aka Masterchef) and often that's the part I enjoy most. So find a restaurant that just needs a leg up and some minor adjustments. But that's not Gordon's "brand," I guess.

[BogoGog24]

My boyfriend and I went to Vasi’s in Waterbury today. That was the one where the mom invested a quarter of a million dollars into it. The dining room is really beautiful with the Mediterranean and Greek decor and it has a nice atmosphere with light music playing. 

My boyfriend and I both loved the food! We got a free appetizer of chick peas and pita bread, which was really good, then we decided to try the meatball appetizer. It was 2 giant meatballs served in marinara sauce and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. We both loved it and thought they were some of the best meatballs we’d ever tasted. Our entrees included soup and salad, my BF got a standard Caesar salad and I had this chicken and rice soup with a creamy lemon sauce, it was delicious! For entrees my BF got cavatelli with sausage and broccoli, I got chicken parm. My BF really liked his. The chicken parm was quite standard. I didn’t eat much of it because I was pretty full by then (we took home the leftovers) but we saved room for dessert - we shared a strawberry gelato which came with almond cookies. 

Our waitress was also excellent and she even offered to take our picture together. We also saw Vasi himself briefly and he asked how everything was, though this was before we got our meals. We mentioned to the waitress we had seen the show and we rewatched the episode after but I don’t think she was in it. 

Vasi’s is on the pricey side but I highly recommend it for a special occasion and if you’re in the area sometime. The meatball appetizer in particular was a hit with us. The food and service were both excellent. 

[funky-rat]

On ‎2‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 7:15 PM, hookedontv said:

The producers probably won’t think it’s good TV, but I wish they would find a restaurant for the show where the kitchen is clean and the decor isn’t completely horrible, and the people are hard working, and the food isn’t half bad, but for some reason, business isn’t going as well as it should. 

Now that would be a nice change-and a bit more work from Ramsey as it would require something more than a bucket of bleach, an exterminator, and a bitch out session with the owner. We could see an overhaul of the menu, perhaps showcasing the food that they know how to cook best. 

I don’t know, I’m just rambling now. Guess I’m tired of the same episode/different town. Maybe it’s just me but there have to be failing restaurants out there that aren’t disgustingly dirty and completely disfunctional. 

The original Kitchen Nightmares - the one that aired on BBC - was more like that.  There wasn't the constant drama and shocking stuff.  He went to dysfunctional restaurants that served outdated or ridiculous food, and generally had iffy staff (inept, not disgusting), but I don't recall the kitchens being a biohazard, or servers dropping food - at least not constantly (it's been a number of years since I saw it).  I recall one restaurant where they fired the head chef because everything came out of microwaves, one where the equipment was largely broken and the chef was relegated to using mostly a flat-top grill, and a few chefs with way inflated egos, but not drama galore.  I also don't recall many of the restaurants being weeks away from total collapse, but more like "We used to be good but can't understand why no one comes anymore".  I recall him telling a server once "Don't be offended, but your breath stinks", and him telling some sous chefs that they'd be stupid to continue to work for their respective head chefs (and he offered one or two to come work for him).

[Zoe]

On 2/14/2019 at 4:25 PM, mjc570 said:

It was pretty clear that since the owner was half-assing it, so did the show.  That was a pretty minimal makeover. 

Now that you mention it, that makeover was awful.  Whoever thought 70's wood panels was a good idea?  Maybe they did sandbag it.

On 2/16/2019 at 6:15 PM, hookedontv said:

The producers probably won’t think it’s good TV, but I wish they would find a restaurant for the show where the kitchen is clean and the decor isn’t completely horrible, and the people are hard working, and the food isn’t half bad, but for some reason, business isn’t going as well as it should. 

The last one with a clean kitchen in the US was Amy's, so...