Kitchen Nightmares - tonight's episode

[maisonbistro]

Thank God they fired the kitchen staff. I don't get though, how a chef can come in and in less than 24 hrs, get the feel of the place, the menu and go for it.

Anyone notice that Gordo's maitre d's all look alike - at first I thought it was the guy from Hell's kitchen - Jean Philippe. Ya think only french blokes can be good Maitre D's?

I really liked this episode - best so far.

[goodhealthgourmet]

did anyone also notice that GR orders crab cakes and salmon at every restaurant he visits?

[Bunson]

Very true...I'm assuming it's because those are two dishes that let him quickly gauge the food quality since they have such a short shelf life and are also two of the more expensive items to source. I see bad/slow restaurants trying to stretch crab cakes and salmon beyond their "toss in the garbage" date because of the cost involved.

[LindaWhit]

And it seems pretty obvious he knows frozen crab cakes from homemade fresh ones.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i assumed the same thing. it's certainly a logical strategy...but i'm curious to see what he'll order when/if he encounters a place that doesn't have crab cakes on the menu.

[Xericx]

crabcakes were the tuna tartare of the 90s!

[Xericx]

That Jean Baptisse...swore he was on a few episodes of BBC's version of the show.....

maybe they're all clones I guess.

That manager, Peter was a total wimp. As mentioned, his mom had his bollocks.

The head chef wanted to be fired. Like that horse that needs and knows he needs to go out to pasture. I can see him manning the fry station at McD's.

The sous chef looks like the short bus dropped him off at the wrong stop.

The mom...didn't mind her. She was essentially correct and needed to ride her son like she did. Her son is a loser and needs to "man up"

[bigmackdaddy]

As most of us know a lot of the story has to do with the editing, my question is what did dear old mother bring to the table besides a big mouth? What was her position in the restaurant? Owner? 1/2 owner? Employee? Emasculating nut job?

[LindaWhit]

I see it as Mama was probably full owner - her husband owned the restaurant before he died a couple of years ago. Her son was probably owner in name only.

[goodhealthgourmet]

definitely entertaining...this episode provided more laugh-out-loud moments than most comedies do. i can't help but laugh my a** off at some of the stuff that comes out of GR's mouth. i'd love to meet that guy.

[maisonbistro]

Yummmmm, me too (don't tell my husband).

The boxing scene was actually quite sad- and what's with the lying: the health inspector was here and we got a 95. Yeah, right. minus 95

[gloriousfood]

Both Peter and Mike the manager from last week's show (was that his name?) need some serious therapy. That boxing scene: good lord.

Mama was all but leering at Gordon. And I, too, was puzzled by what exactly does she do? Oh well, since the restaurant has been sold, that's a moot point now.

[wontonton]

Not surprised the place was sold. There's no way that guy Peter ever wanted to be in the restaurant business anyway. He just inherited it and tried to please his hectoring mother. I hope the schlep took the money, moved out of the house, away from Mamma, and started a business where he looks more at home, like a Radio Shack franchise, or something.

[buenosds]

Gordo was 'gob-smacked' yesterday! LOL!

[orlando1foodie]

loved it I love this show and its my favorite. GR is amazing chef and I cannot believe those two chefs would be so disrespectful of them I'm glad GR got them fired. Sad thing is some sorry sap restaurant owner will hire those two chef rejects.

[bigmackdaddy]

When the chef refused to try Ramsay' sea bass, that was funny. I couldn't tell if GR was vexed at the unprofessionalism or the spurn. Anyway, those two did deserve to get fired. And I'm not surprised that Peter sold the place, if he truly owned it. It was pretty sad when he kept saying that he wanted to get the place running to prove to his mom and dad, two people that if what the picture on the tube says is true are truly hideous, and not himself. He did the right thing. I'm sure there's a clause in the contract where Fox gets money back if they decide to sell right away.

[tachis]

Disrespectful is the perfect word to describe them because they truly lacked respect for the owners, for the customers, and for the food itself! And to think one of them actually (at least according to his on-camera testimonial) graduated or attended the CIA. To not care about what they were preparing and whoever it was being served to is disgraceful. I hope they are not still working in a kitchen somewhere!

[weezycom]

That chef also said he'd been working in restos for 35+ years, so I don't know what the standards were for CIA back then. It may have been more of a basic tech school than what it has become now. To refuse to taste GR's dish -- and refusing to do so in front of the restaurant owners -- was about as unprofessional as it gets.

[Bunson]

The fact that the chef was eating that rotten pork as "his food" speaks volumes on his standards. If he's eating spoiled food I'm sure he has no problem serving it to others. CIA can't correct lazy and ambivalent, that guy has no business cooking food for other people.

[cackalackie]

It was only sour on the outside!!!

[goodhealthgourmet]

that was beyond vile. chef or not, how on earth could he actually eat that...and even worse, ADMIT IT?? and on camera!!

[tachis]

True. I was also appalled when the servers brought food back with customer complaints and he basically insulted the customers. e.g., customer sent back a plate because it was cold, he looks at it and says, "it's not cold" and doesn't seem to care. That's uncalled for!

[shallots]

Mr Shallots missed the previous episode and was looking forward to this one. About 25 minutes in, he said we needed to change the channel or stop eating in restaurants.
We changed the channel.

One thing this show does is inspire me to clean the undersides of everything in the kitchen. (And the next time we go to Long Island, we'll carry a picnic lunch/dinner/breakfast.)

[buenosds]

The follow up at the end of the show mentioned the restaurant was sold...anybody know any details? Didn't KN foot the bill to upgrade it? And the big baby guy get's to sell it right after it was refurbished?

[stellamystar]

I also thought that was odd. I hope the new owner kept the changes they made. But, I thought it was a bit shady - I don't think that Peter ever wanted it "that bad" in the first place.....

[chef chicklet]

I caught that, it was weird selling after the huge effort to bring life back to it.I wasn't shocked though, "Petah" has issues, and one week with Chef R, was not going to cure what ailed him. Mama was creepy and so disrespectful to her son, I was more embarrassed for her. Probably he couldn't wait to get away from her and the memories of a Father he couldn't seem to please.

I know Chef R is a potty mouth but the food that is going out of some of these restaurants for crying out loud! They are getting a break with his help. I wonder how many people get sick in some of these horrible places! I am getting a little grossed out by restaurants and wonder what is the "norm". Exposure its a good thing.

[cackalackie]

I think it's obvious by now that it's part of the US format that they'll get something new out of it.

According to another thread I read, it's currently closed and under renovation....soon to be "The Coast"....and now hiring......

[LindaWhit]

"it's part of the US format that they'll get something new out of it. "
~~~~~~~~~~
Did you notice they now refer to "Chef Ramsay's designers" in the voice-over? So in addition to the steam clean of the kitchens (thank goodness!), a full redesign of the dining area also seems to be in order.

I'm still stunned that the chef "didn't know" the pesto had gone off. My God - every container GR opened had putrid-looking, decaying food! Can that be real?

[MeAndroo]

Given some of the "it's not my responsibility" attitudes I saw, I wouldn't be surprised if those containers and meats (the pork? Blech) were real. I also wouldn't be surprised if he opened 20 containers and they only edited in the really nasty ones.

[bigmackdaddy]

Ya think Norman...I mean Peter made Mama part of the orzo soup yet? A person has to be made out of steel not to go postal from dealing with her.

[Tay]

Funny
I felt the same way....About him!

[maisonbistro]

And what exactly was mamma's role in the restaurant?? That was never made clear. Sonny, do this, sonny you're not a man, sonny, be a boss, sonny fire someone, mamma SHUT UP

[southernitalian]

I liked this episode a lot too. I feel like I've worked with that "chef" a hundred times. How about Mama gushing about Gordon? How tall is he, by the way? He doesn't look that tall.

[weezycom]

Oh my, Mama was a piece of work wasn't she? I think she had Sonny's b*lls in a jar by the cash register.

[coney with everything]

Well, I definitely thought he DID need to grow a pair!

I wasn't clear on why the "chefs" were employed despite their food being bad and kitchen being filty--unless they were family, the owner should have canned them long before GR showed up.

[southernitalian]

Yeah, every time I have had the misfortune of working somewhere with a chef like that (there are soooo many) it is usually because there was family involved. Usually very extended family.

[gridder]

Y'know, I think I have watched the BBC version of the show, which isn't nearly as sensationalistic and bizarre as this one was. It is still Gordon, but I think TLC is over the top with the commentator's comments and the editing. I mean, it is like TLC is trying to further amplify Gordon's demeanor, which really stands on its own.

[Janet]

I thought the Indian place in NYC was nasty dirty. Oh my word, this one was awful. My husband and I gagged watching this. We wondered how many restuarants are out there like that. We had a friend who managed a major sit down chain and he said we didn't want to EVER want to go into a restaurant kitchen.

The poor owner: he needed to kill Mama; have some theray, and grow up. He knew the kitchen was filthy and did nothing about it. This man needed some serious mental help.

We thought the matre d was from Hell's Kitchen also, until we had a front shot.

[Tay]

I think Gordon keeps Jean Philippe as a sort of "Amish friendship bread starter"
and then when he opens a new restaurant he just sort of 'grows' another
Jean Philippe...

[gridder]

Too funny!

[melly]

Like I've said before..I've worked in several kitchens...and we HAD to keep it Clean..very clean. The walk-in was super clean, first in, first out...everything covered and dated. I've visited several kitchens as well...super clean. These were nice places though...they used fresh ingredients, etc.

[Furgs]

Er, uh...isn't the US version broadcast on FOX tv? That would explain a lot of the "over the top-ness" of the show, don't you think?
I have to say that I enjoy the British version because Gordon doesn't go all medieval on the restaurant folks, at least not to the extent he does on the FOX version. I can hardly watch "Hell's Kitchen" anymore because of his screaming and swearing. It fails to be entertaining to me. I gained a new respect for Gordon after watching some of his British "Kitchen Nightmares"...I saw that he could be helpful and encouraging while still maintaining his trademark potty mouth and humor.

[maisonbistro]

I have to say that I nearly didn't watch the latest version of Hell's kitchen, because the first two were all about Gordon getting mad and swearing. But I though HK3 was very different. He was more understanding and well, nice. I mean, the "chef" who kept crying in episodes 1 &2 (I think), he would have chewed him up and spit him out before.

Maybe I'm biased though. I'm like mamma - I LIKE Gordon.

[Furgs]

The "crying chef" was such a joke. How in the world did he manage to get on the show?
However, Gordon totally lost me when he called the female cooks on the show "b*tches."

[maisonbistro]

Well, I thought he was right. They were being total b*tches with each other. As he would say, I thought he was spot on.

(And I am a woman, not a mysoginistic man)