Kitchen Nightmares US & UK Blog

Friday, 31 January 2014

Welcome to the Kitchen Nightmares Blog

The Ultimate Kitchen Nightmares Open or Closed Information site...

Do you love Kitchen Nightmares? Do you want to know what happened when Gordon left to the restaurants both sides of the pond? What restaurants are open and what restaurants are closed. Many restaurants closed in 2012, want to find out which ones? Then look no further you are in the right place for updates of the restaurants featured on Kitchen Nightmares. Each restaurant featured will have it's own post. Included is an episode summary of the Kitchen Nightmares episode and links for further reaing.

General Links on Kitchen Nightmares

Kitchen Nightmares US wiki

Kitchen Nightmares UK wiki

Flop Ramsay left us FF-ing broke!
Owners learn to be careful what they wish for after inviting Gordon Ramsay and his reality TV series Kitchen Nightmares to right their ships.
Bloody Hell's Kitchen

Just For Fun

Kitchen Nightmares Parody Script
CHRIS & GERRY's Kitchen Nightmares Gordon Ramsay Parody

That Mitchell and Webb Look "Kitchen Nightmares"
GORDON RAMSAY GETS SORTED
MadTv- Soup Kitchen Nightmare
Little Gordon

Wednesday, 1 January 2014

Kitchen Nightmares Open or Closed - Full Episode List

UK Season 1 - Bonapartes - CLOSED

Sunday, 19 May 2013

US Season 6 - Amy's Baking Company

Open or closed? CLOSED until 21st May 2013

Location: Scottsdale, AZ

Website: http://amysbakingco.com/

Air Date: May10 2013

Filmed: December 2012

Episode Summary: Gordon visits Scottsdale, Arizona to help turn around Amy's Baking Company. Opened in 2006 by Samy and wife Amy, Samy runs front of house and Amy runs the kitchen. Samy spent over $1 million opening the restaurant for wife Amy with her passion for cooking. Things have not gone smoothly with scathing blog reviews to which Amy says they have lied by saying her food was disgusting and as a result of these reviews she has lost business. Samy is defensive of criticism of his wife's cooking and if a customer makes a complaint Samy asks them to leave and tells them not to come back. Amy's attitude to the customers is that are not always right. The server describes Amy as nuts, she makes pizzas over spicy so it hurts them, she says she will hurt someone if they send back her cake and has regular tantrums and also says Gordon is wasting his time, they will never change.

Before Gordon arrives Amy and Samy prepare for his visit by doing a big cleanup. We discover that Miranda, the only server in the restaurant isn't allowed to input the orders, serve wine or handle the cash, Samy does these. Amy only cooks one ticket at a time so the diners are waiting a very long time to get their food. A pizza is sent back as undercooked and Amy says she will send it back burnt. One customer has enough of waiting for his pizza, goes to counter to ask about pizza, is given a tirade of abuse from Samy and Amy with so many bleeps and tries to leave, Amy threatens to call the cops and Samy tries to stand in their way to stop them leaving! The customers start leaving and Amy has some kind of teary rant as she storms back into the kitchen.

Gordon arrives the next day unaware of the previous evenings disasters. He praises the decor and how great Amy's pastries on display look. He is taken on a tour of the kitchen and sees a clean kitchen and a walk-in so clean it is like a sterile doctors surgery. Gordon sits down with the couple and samples a slice of Amy's cake while they talk about the restaurant, they tell Gordon that they have gone though hundreds of employees, as they can't find staff that aren't dirty and lazy and want to work hard and their problems are from scathing reviews from internet bullies. Amy tells Gordon that she replies to them and are the only restaurant owners to stand up to them calling them morons and more. Gordon asks if they have children and they say no they have cats, Amy reveals she speaks cat and Gordon tells them both that they are nuts.

Gordon sits down to sample Amy's dishes and is told by the server that she is on a regular hourly wage and doesn't receive tips, Gordon is astounded. Gordon orders the pear and fig prosciutto pizza, blue ribbon burger, salmon burger and red pepper ravioli. There is a doorbell for the potwasher to come collect dirty plates adds to the madness. The pizza is very sweet with raw dough, it's send back and Samy tells Amy that there was nothing wrong with it and after an hour wait he is waiting for the rest of the food. The blue ribbon burger has a soggy greasy bun and is not cooked medium rare, it is overcomplicated and is dripping in liquid. The ravioli smells weird and is the most confusing dish he has ever tried as it is sweet and spicy. It is also not homemade as he was told, it is store bought. The salmon burger is overcooked and like eating dried cat food. Gordon talks to Amy about the food and tells her that it was longer than expected and that after an evening service he will sit down with her and raise all his issues.

Gordon arrives to witness a dinner service, he is in the kitchen and Amy tells him Christine does the salads and she does the pizzas. Amy is in denial that her pizza was undercooked, the combination of flavours on the burger doesn't work and that the burger is not good dry as she claims the customers love it dry.... Real customers love the taste of the frozen ravioli so Gordon takes them into the restaurant and the customers say they are okay for them to be removed from the menu. Amy can't take the criticism and says to 86 the burgers too and people can only order cake. The chaos continues, Samy has left a pasta dish off when he input the order from the written ticket and Amy wants to send Katy home for simply asking a question. Amy tells the staff to ignore everything Gordon is criticizing. A full plate of food untouched goes back to the pot washer and is not taken back to Amy. Amy ignores it and continues on working. A customer leaves a $10 tip and Gordon asks if it is going to go to the server and he says no. Gordon asks the customer if they would leave tips knowing it's not going to the server and only going to the owner. Samy starts arguing with Gordon and Amy closes the kitchen. Amy sacks Katy for no reason at all other than asking a question and Samy tries to stop Amy from firing her, she says she is quitting as she has had enough, Amy calls her a poisonous viper and is totally unfair to her! Gordon sits down with the owners and is astounded by their responses to him and they remain to be in denial about the quality of their food. Amy tells Gordon that she is going to do things her way when he tells her to keep an open mind for change.

Gordon arrives the next morning to start to help them change but when he arrives Samy and Amy aren't at the restaurant. Instead, he goes off to meet former staff members Jessica and Henry. Jessica worked there for a year and a half and was hired as a runner, despite going to culinary school as those who had been to culinary school didn't know anything, she was only allowed to pour glasses of water and begged to go into the kitchen. Henry was a busser and said Samy was always in a bad mood, isn't professional and made him wash his car for him! Despite Henry's obvious poor experience at the restaurant he hopes that Gordon can help them. Gordon returns to the restaurant where Amy wants to clarify a few things. Amy is defensive of her ravioli after Gordon was told it was homemade. She is manically defensive over the burger denying that Gordon had told her anything was wrong with the burger, he told her many times it was soggy. She says he told her the salmon burger was dry but wet, it is unbelievable and he tells her is never confused about food. He also tells her the way he screamed at Katy, or the "kid" as Amy refers to her, did was out of order for firing her for asking if she was sure about something. Amy tells Gordon to prove that over 50 people have been fired, Samy says actually it is over 100. Amy has an explosion about drinking a glass over water and threatens to go home. Amy is insulted and tells Gordon that he disrupted her service and blames everyone else for the problems. Amy tells her she is delusional and that in "Amy's world" everything she sends out and touches is perfect. Amy doesn't want to hear anymore but Samy tells her to listen to Gordon and let him finish.

Gordon tells her she is too far gone and says lets end the show. Gordon tells her that he can't help people that can't help themselves and cannot ever take one ounce of criticism and if they aren't willing to change he isn't going to argue, scream and butt heads. The restaurant is not normal to go through that amount of staff, run such a huge menu from such a small kitchen, the level of animosity in the restaurant and outside. They have the right to run their restaurant how they want but he is going to do what is right and what is right is to walk away. He wishes them good luck and leaves. Amy says she doesn't need his help and things will continue without him. He says for the first time in over 100 Nightmares it is his first to walk away as he cannot help and any changes he would have made they would have undone so there is no point continuing.

What Happened Next? They temporarily closed the restaurant to reopen on 21st May 2013. Miranda was fired for taking a tip that a customer had hidden for her and is now working for Cracker Barrell. The owners have become a social media sensation with internet memes and comedy reviews of the restaurant appearing and then disappearing on Yelp. Negative comments were responded to on the Amy's facebook page, after a tirade of abusive and insulting posts the owners claimed that their Facebook, Yelp and other accounts were hacked. Petitions have also been set up in light of the apparent law breaking involved in withholding tips from the servers. Details of Amy's past including a criminal conviction for using someone elses social security to obtain credit have surfaced. The owners claim they have received death threats and have hired a PR guru Jason Rose to help them with the media backlash.

Screenshots of Social Media Outbursts

TV Interviews

Parodies / Funny Stuff

https://twitter.com/AmysBakingCompa

https://twitter.com/AmysBakingCo

https://www.facebook.com/CrazyAmysBakingCompany

Amazing Amy Remix!!

Extra Reading

Yelp Reviews
Urban Spoon Reviews
Trip Advisor Reviews
Amy's Baking Co.review (Jan 2008)

Ouch! Today's Hard Lesson on Yelp (Review and response removed from Yelp)

Customer: Amy’s Baking Company 'more intense' than shown

Amys Baking Company FB Page

Miranda From "Amy's Baking Company" Interview
Fired waitress (Katy) 'dishes' on Amy's Baking Company
Katy Answers Questions

Kitchen Nightmares: Amy's Baking Company plans grand re-opening to address social media meltdown

Amy's Baking Company Freaks Out Online After Epic Meltdown On Gordon Ramsay's 'Kitchen Nightmares'
'Kitchen Nightmare' Contestants Amy's Baking Company Insult Everyone In Complete Online Meltdown
Scottsdale's Amy's Baking Company lashes out on social media
Kitchen Nightmares Restaurant Freaks Out on Facebook
Arizona restaurateurs who were DITCHED by Gordon Ramsay in disastrous show face ridicule for their 'social media meltdown'

Amy’s Baking Company hiring up to 30 workers

Amy’s Baking Company turning into Scottsdale tourist attraction

Amy’s Baking Company Owner Amy Bouzaglo’s Criminal Past Surfaces After 'Kitchen Nightmares'
Court Document

Celebrity chef refuses to help Scottsdale restaurant

Kitchen Nightmare: Gordon Ramsay meets his match in Amy Bouzaglo

Scottsdale restaurant featured on "Kitchen Nightmares" finale

Name-Calling Restaurant Owner Back in Spotlight: Amy's Baking Company in Scottsdale Targeted for Upcoming Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsay

Pizzeria owners wage war of words with blogger who posted bad review (2010)

Sunday, 28 April 2013

US Season 6 - Chappy's - OPEN

Open or closed? OPEN

Location: Nashville, TN

Website: http://www.chappys.com/

Episode Summary: Gordon visits Chappy’s owned by John “Chappy” Chapman and his wife Starr. The couple ran a successful restaurant in Long Beach, Mississippi from 1984-2005 but it was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina and the couple moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Chappy believes the problem is that the customers don’t like New Orleans Cuisine as dish after dish is sent back to the kitchen but the staff and his wife believe Chappy is the problem and that he needs to change. Gordon arrives and finds the New Orleans/Chappy themed décor terrible and meets Chappy who keeps him waiting and then confidently rates his food as 10/10. TJ tells him the servers have 15 specials to recite each evening and that the lunch menu and dinner menu have the same items but the price triples on one dish from lunch to dinner yet the dish remains exactly the same. Starr joins Gordon and tells him that she doesn’t listen to her and is set in his ways. She believes the menu needs to be downsized.

Gordon sits down to taste the huge menu; he orders the fried green tomatoes, chicken and sausage gumbo and steak and lobster rocket. The fried green tomatoes are bland as is the hollandaise sauce, the gumbo looks like “Chappy took a crappy in my gumbo” and it is watery, bland and disgusting and the steak and lobster rocket (at $36.95 a pop) has grissley, chewy steak that has the crap beaten out of it and chewy lobster. When Gordon criticises Chappy, both he and Starr are defensive and make excuses.

Gordon arrives to witness a dinner service and is not pleased with what he witnesses including a pot full of oysters kept at room temperature. He is shocked to see that they fry a beef steak in the same pan as they fried a fish dish which is destined for a pescatarian (no meat but eats fish). Gordon decides to bring her into the kitchen to hammer his point home. Next he inspects the walk-in and finds yellow(!) mayonnaise that expired 3 years ago among other old, mouldy and rotten foods. Gordon brings in Chappy and Starr to explain the mess, Chappy can’t answer any of Gordon’s questions as to how old the food is.

The next day Gordon gets the staff together for a meeting to discuss the issues in the restaurant. They air a lot of frustrations about being yelled at, Chappy acting condescending and him taking the criticism of the food badly. They air the frustrations to Chappy and he promises to change. Gordon is not convinced still, he invites the locals to give their opinion with Chappy and Starr listening. The locals have many criticisms saying that the food tasted burnt when they visited, it was not authentic Cajun, the food quality was low, they were overpriced and there was bad atmosphere in the restaurant. Overnight, Gordons team work on the restaurant changing the décor from 80s New Orleans to a more modern dining room. Chappy is not a huge fan of the makeover. The menu has also had a huge revamp, reducing over 100 menu items down to 22 and modernising the recipes. Chappy is not happy with the fried chicken addition to the menu. Gordon also reveals Chris Fox to help implement the menu change and brings in a rail of casual shirts and pants to help make the restaurant more casual. The staff sample the menu and love the new items.

Relaunch night appears and Chris is in the kitchen assisting the kitchen staff by expediting. Chappy is not communicating with Chris and is struggling with the new menu, mainly as he does not like the new menu. Gordon asks Chris to step in as Head Chef after Chappy “butterflies” the meat to serve quicker, lowering the standards. After the change the food makes its way out to the kitchen and the customers are happy with the food. After the service, the servers and customers are happy with the changes and the evening service but Chappy is clearly is not happy. Starr promises not to let Chappy go back to his old ways….

What Happened Next? In the weeks that followed, despite positive feedback about the changes, Chappy went back to his old ways including the hat and temper. He has also reverted back to his old menu. Chappy has since given many high profile interviews including the National Enquirer saying that Gordon has wrecked his business.

Open or closed? OPEN

Location: Everett, WA

Website: http://www.prohibitiongastropub.com/

Episode Summary: Gordon Ramsay visits the Prohibition Grille in Everett, Washington run by belly dancer Rishi Brown who has no restaurant experience and is losing $100,000 a year. She opened the restaurant in 2008 and hired Chef Rocky, with 30 years experience as a chef. He is lazy, has constant cigarette breaks, talks on his phone a lot and the quality of the food is poor. Rishi is naïve and stands by him and trusts him and his ability to cook the food even though the customers say it is bland, disgusting and they send the food back. The servers believe that the belly dancing by Rishi that the restaurant runs for entertainment alongside the food makes no sense and the customers don’t like it. Gordon arrives at the restaurant and is confused with a belly dancing flyer and how it fits alongside the restaurant. He is even more surprised that the belly dancer that greets him is the owner. Rishi tells him that she decided to open the restaurant over a cocktail. She tells him her only experience is 6 months as a server in college and that the main problem is that the Prohibition Grille has no grille…

Gordon sits down to sample the food and notes the big menu. Rishi rates the food as 10/10 and Gordon describes Rishi’s outfit as a Britney Spears party. He orders the Jalapeno Corn Chowder (Soup of the Week and last week), Filet Mignon Medium Rare, Collared Greens, Balsamic Glazed Salmon and Pan Fried Oysters. The owner’s lack of knowledge shows when she does not know what Soup of the Day or even Fresh really means. The soup is slop, not nice and gnarly, the oysters are tasteless, the filet has a horrible greyness as if it’s boiled, the greens were mush and the salmon served in a pinwheel is f*ing disgusting with no seasoning. He rates the food as a 0/10. Rishi refuses to acknowledge that there is a problem with the food.

Gordon arrives to witness a dinner service after taping over the word grille on the window. Gordon is surprised to see Rishi performing a belly dance during the dinner service and hides in the freezer to avoid it. The customers are confused and mortified to see the belly dance; the common theme is that they are not impressed. The food is sent back as undercooked, the steaks are coming back raw instead of medium. Rishi is in denial about the food and does not know what to do when a customer complains about the gravy and Gordon has to assist her. Upon tasting the pot of gravy they discover it has gone sour. Gordon inspects the fridge and the sin of raw and cooked food next to each other is discovered. Gordon tells the customers to stop eating the food and shuts down the restaurant. Rishi makes more excuses for Rocky and still believes he can run the kitchen. Gordon tells her that Rocky has her hostage. The next day they have a staff meeting and the staff reveal that Rocky is the problem and an ongoing problem. He goes outside during a busy service and has to be text to come back to do his job, his food is constantly sent back. The staff also revela that he takes 3% of the wait staffs tips as Rocky had told her this was an industry standard and with her naivety she believed him. The wait staff believe the kitchen can go on without Rocky. Rishi breaks down and admits she is scared to make changes especially with regards to Rocky. Gordon promises to help her find a new chef. When Rocky arrives for work that evening and Rishi lets him go, he admits that he understands as he has gotten complacent and is sorry it had to come to this. Gordon gives Rishi a cooking lesson so she feels more comfortable in the kitchen. The restaurant is given a makeover, changing the restaurant from a Grille to a Gastropub. The décor is modern and the bar brightens up the room. He also brings in a new chef Tyler to relaunch the menu and to help recruit and train a new chef to replace him. Gordon reveals the new simple menu and the staff are impressed with the new menu items. Rishi is also given a makeover, gone are the skimpy outfits and she is dressed in a smart suit.

For relaunch night, Gordon has invited local influential bloggers to help spread the word about the new and improved Prohibition Gastropub. The customers love the food and he makes Rishi promise to put on no more dinner belly dance shows!

What Happened Next? In the weeks that followed, the new improvements are a big hit and Rishi feels in control of her restaurant again. The new changes have been met with a mixed response, reviews on Yelp and Trip Advisor show regulars preferring the old menu as well as customers loving the new look and new menu items.

Extra Reading

Prohibition Grille Yelp ReviewsProhibition Grille Urban Spoon
Prohibition Grille Trip Advisor Reviews

Nation to see what Gordon Ramsay did to Everett eatery
Gordon Ramsay Transforms Prohibition Grille into an Everett Gastropub

TV chef keeping tight lid on Everett grill's makeover
Gordon Ramsay's 'Kitchen Nightmares' films in Everett

Saturday, 27 April 2013

US Season 6 - Yanni's Greek Restaurant - OPEN

Open or closed? OPEN
Location: Phinney Ridge, WA

Website: http://www.yannis-greek-restaurant.com/

Episode Summary: Gordon visits Yanni’s in Phinney Ridge, Washington run by Peter Augustio and his family. The restaurant was opened by his father in 1984 and was passed to Peter in 2007. Initially the business was a success but now the customers are dwindling due to changed in the neighbourhood and potential customers. Peter refuses to see this and refuses to change. Peter yells a lot mainly arguing with Alyse and Tariya is prone to bursting into tears when the pressure is high. They believe the main problem is that Peter refuses to change. They have no medical insurance, they are in debt and the bills aren’t being paid. Before arriving at the restaurant, Peter asks to meet him. He tells him that the customer base has changed and that they aren’t willing to give the place a try. He also admits he is losing $8-10,000 a month. He tells Gordon that all his family work there but have no dedication to the restaurant and don’t listen to him. He believes his food to be a 9/10. Gordon is greeted by Karen and daughters Alyse and Tariya, Tariya bursts into tears hearing of her parents struggle. They believe everything is outdated but Peter is too stubborn to change. Gordon sees Peter disrespecting his family and the way he talks to/about them is rather disgusting. He tells them that he can’t change.

Gordon sits down to sample the food. He says the menu is like an encyclopaedia with 9 specials. Gordon orders the pumpkin hummus, moussaka and the house gyro. He says the décor is hideous and it feels like you are back in the 80s with a kids bedroom on the ceiling. The hummus is hideous with a lot of garlic, the mousaka has sweet meat, bitter undercooked eggplant and is greasy and the house gyro looks like a plateful of puke and he does not try it. Gordon confronts Peter and Alyse about their food and they are very defensive of their food.

Gordon arrives to witness a dinner service. The kitchen is in chaos with Peter barking orders at Alyse and they are arguing constantly. Customers send back a lot of food, the meat has gristle and the orzo is overcooked. Peter shouts at everyone. Gordon inspects the walk in and discovers that nothing is dated. The food is mouldy and rotten and the cardinal sin, there is cooked meat next to raw meat. There are tubs full of disgusting meat that they “aren’t using” in their cooking stored in the fridge. Gordon shuts down the kitchen and reduces Alyse to tears. Peter goes off in a shouting tirade refusing to see that ultimately the problem is his responsibility.

The next day Gordon sits the family down and Peter says that the refrigerator wasn’t as bad as Gordon made out and that the food he served was fresh. Gordon tells them to take responsibility of he is outta there. Gordon tells him that he needs to stop being so negative and to respect his family. The first challenge to the family is to change the menu and cut out the dishes that aren’t selling. At first Peter refuses to remove anything but in the end realises the menu is too big. They cut 64 dishes down to 21 menu items. Gordon works on revamping the menu items and his team give the dining room a makeover with all new china and most importantly ditching the 80s interior! Tariya is crying again but this time tears of joy. They also have a new POS system so they can monitor what is selling. Gordon spends time in the kitchen with Peter and Alyse teaching them how to cook the new menu.

On relaunch night, Alyse is running the line and she begins the clash with Peter but Gordon steps in and helps them to work the new system. The customers love the new food and say they will come back to the restaurant. The family is peaceful.

What Happened Next? In the weeks that follow, Peter adapts to the changes made by Chef Ramsay, Peter and Alyse continue to work well together in the kitchen and Tariya is smiling rather than crying. The menu changes haven't gone down well with some loyal customers, see Yelp reviews, so they have added some old favourites alongside Gordons menu.

Extra Reading

Yanni's FB Page

Yanni's Yelp Reviews
Yanni's Zagat Reviews
Yanni's Urban Spoon

Yanni's Greek Restaurant - After the 'Nightmare' - The Fledgling's Gourmet's Blog Review with Pictures

How did Yanni’s wind up on Kitchen Nightmares?

‘Kitchen Nightmares’ is a dream for local restaurant
‘Kitchen Nightmares’ crew descends on Yanni’s Greek Restaurant in Phinney Ridge

Sunday, 24 March 2013

US Season 6 - Mill Street Bistro - OPEN

Open or closed? OPEN

Location: Norwalk, OH

Website: http://www.millstreetbistrobar.com/

Episode Summary: Gordon visits Mill Street Bistro in Norwalk, Ohio ran by Joe Nagy, a very pretentous chef who is in denial about his restaurant. Joe opened the business with no restaurant experience after losing his job in food sales. His staff aren't happy about the way he treats them or the food they are serving. Joe claims it is fresh, farm to table but it is actually frozen, freezer to table. Joe talks down to his staff and blames them for problems that arise in the restaurant. The comment cards focus on Joes poor customer service skills and the way he talks to the customers. He believes he is a kitchen nightmare as he has no bums in seats.

Gordon invites Joe to his farm to show off his ranch where the produce from the restaurant allegedly comes from. Joe tells Gordon that people think he is pretentious but he isn't he is just passionate. Skinny the goat tries to butt Gordon, hahahahaha. Gordon is excited after visiting the farm and is excited to taste his food. Gordon isn't impressed with the name badges that the staff are wearing as it is not a chain restaurant and asks his server to take hers off. The server says the problem is the way Joe interacts with the staff. He asks for the "specials" and is told that they are refered to as "features". Gordon order the elk feature, the fish trio, scallops en croute, vegetarian ravioli primavera, onion soup, oyster rockefeller and the elk quesadilla. Gordon asks the staff to introduce themselves to him and ditch the name badges. The french onion soup is greasy, watery and short on cheese and onions, the oyster rockefeller has bitter oysters and the oil garnish is all over the oysters, the scallop en croute has micro carrots as a garnish, the scallops are like bullets and the pastry is raw the quesadilla is chewy and tough, the vegetable ravioli is covered in the same oil garnish and is ice cold, the fish trio is dry, rubbery and greasy and tastes if out the freezer and finally the elk feature is tough as old boots and impossible to chew. Gordon describes the food as farm to garbage can and is shocked to hear the elk feature costs $35. Joe shows his true colours and believes that some things in the restaurant are below him and should be handled by staff and not the owner of the restaurant. Gordon leaves the restaurant to grab a bite elsewhere and Joe is not impressed.

Gordon returns for dinner service and to give his opinion of the food, he wasn't impressed with anything and did not take more than 2 bites of anything. Joe reveals that he fresh catch of the day is actually frozen. Joe is defensive of his food and Gordon tells him he is in denial. Gordon tells Joe to prove him wrong at dinner service. Gordon notices the huge Quiet sign in the kitchen and Joe tells Gordon there is to be no talking in the kitchen. The food leaves the kitchen at a reasonable pace and the food leaves without Joe telling them where it is going. The food does not go down well with the customers and many dishes are returned to the kitchen. A diner finds a stone in her ravioli and Joe tells Gordon he is over critical. Gordon had reached out to an ex employee and she calls to say she is outside. She quit a month ago after being constantly criticised. She has a catalogue of photos on her phone of old, terrible food and the packages of bought in meat. Gordon decides to investigate the food storage and finds frozen out of date food, half frozen food and the frozen oysters served to him at lunch. Gordon and Joe descend into a massive yelling match and Joe throws Gordon out the kitchen.

Part 2

The second part of Mill Street Bistro returns to Gordon and Joes argument over the onion soup continuing. After the argument, they agree to draw a line in the sand and make things better in the restaurant. The next morning, Gordon calls the staff into a meeting, they let out their frustrations about Joe, who is secretly watching the meeting in another room. The staff are fed up and all admit to being on the edge of quitting the restaurant. After they have got all their frustrations off their chests Gordon reveals that Joe has been listening to them and brings Joe out to face his staff. He realises he needs to soften up with the staff and tells them he is 100% committed to change but they don't believe he can. Gordon tells Joe that he thinks the prices at the restaurant are too high. To demonstrate he brings out bags of fresh groceries with enough fresh food to cook five meals a week and compares the value to a meal at the Bistro. Joe agrees that the restaurant is too expensive. Gordon meets with Joe and Tom to show them some new affordable dishes including a burger and a walleye dish.

Gordon arrives for a dinner service, testing the new dishes to see how the locals react to them. The kitchen however cannot cope and it falls apart as the communication breaks down and orders get muddled. Gordon encourages Joe to bounce back from it but instead they break out into another heated argument. Gordon shouts at Joe to get out of the kitchen so that he can help Tom to recover and finish the service while an agitated Joe shares his complaints with the customers. After the service Gordon tells Joe that he can no longer be in the kitchen. The next day, the revamped menu is revealed to the staff and he brings in consultant chef Brian Goodman to help. The new menu features confit duck, seasonal fish, elk sausage burger and an elk chilli.

On relaunch night, the kitchen runs smoothly with Chef Brian expediting and the customers love the new menu and the quality of the new food. Joe serves a fish dish to the wrong table causing confusion but the food is returned to the kitchen, new dishes cooked and a complimentary dish served to compensate for the error but other than this the relaunch is a great success and food is returned to the kitchen.

What Happened Next? In the months that followed, the menu has been slightly changed, keeping most of Gordons menu and there has been some staffing changes, servers Jen, Kayleigh and Rebecca are gone as is Chef Tommy. Joe is back as Head Chef.

Extra Reading

Mill Street Bistro theft resolved
Can Mill Street Bistro owner survive round two on "Kitchen Nightmares'?
Mill Street Bistro Bar - History

Can Chef Ramsay revive Mill Street Bistro?
'Kitchen Nightmares' to be filmed in Norwalk
'Kitchen Nightmares' coming to Norwalk

Mill Street Bistro Yelp Reviews
Mill Street Bistro Trip Advisor Reviews
Mill Street Bistro Urban Spoon Reviews

Mill Street Bistro FB Page

Friday, 31 January 2014

Welcome to the Kitchen Nightmares Blog

Wednesday, 1 January 2014

Kitchen Nightmares Open or Closed - Full Episode List

Sunday, 19 May 2013

US Season 6 - Amy's Baking Company

Sunday, 28 April 2013

US Season 6 - Chappy's - OPEN

US Season 6 - Prohibition Grille - OPEN

Saturday, 27 April 2013

US Season 6 - Yanni's Greek Restaurant - OPEN

Sunday, 24 March 2013

US Season 6 - Mill Street Bistro - OPEN