Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

Wow, you haven't seen the UK version?
You really should check that out as it's one of my favorite shows.

I can't wait for the US Fox version, but I'm afraid they'll "amp it up" and make it much more like Hell's Kitchen. If they do, it'll be a shame because some of the best moments from the UK show are when they have Ramsay giving harsh criticisms to the owners, without throwing food in their face or hitting them, etc. it usually the moment when things sink in, and they can learn something. If they do too much physical stuff, it'll be all shtick.

That said, I have it on my Tivo season pass and can't wait.

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

I too am a big fan of the UK version. I will be watching this one for sure.

I would definitely not watch this show if you plan on eating in a restaurant any time soon.

The episode that brought on the lawsuit should be really gross. I don't know when it airs, but I am looking forward to it. LOL

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

You know, if I ever went to a restaurant and an owner/manager dressed down staff publically at my table.. I would never go again.

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

Dillans is the episode that got Gordon a lawsuit (which was thrown out). I guess one of the managers gets fired (rightly so looking at the previews) and he was claiming that the filth was over-blown for tv.

Gordon gets these claims by embarrassed people all the time. Gee, you would think that if your place is this bad, you wouldnt want to invite a tv crew to poke around. How clueless.

They also claim that the shows producers bring in people to be customers. This is correct, but they don't try and hide the fact. In fact, in last night's episode, they explicitly said that Gordon brought in the people. Looking at how bad that place was, it is no wonder you would need to bring people in to fill it up. It wouldnt be a fair test otherwise.

As far as last nights episode goes, it was a good start. I think that is a pretty dis-functional family. Peter needs to get the hell away and let his sister work.

Peter was such a tool. The way he treated that waitress was just pitifully.
It might have just been the editing, but was the customer complaining about his food taking a long time? Wasn't this the dish that Peter picked up and ate in the kitchen? So Peter intercepts the customers dinner, then yells at the wrong waitress when the customers complains about how long the food is taking?

I can't believe that the show bought them a new kitchen. Wow, that must have been over a $100,000 worth of free stuff. I never saw him do that on the British version. I wonder if that will happen on every episode?

The best part of this episode was seeing Gordon put Peter in his place. I loved the looks on the others faces when this was happening. LOL

I am looking forward to next week!

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

I enjoyed the first episode as well, although not as much as Hell's Kitchen. But I will tune in next week.

The only problem for me, is that it is in a busy time slot.

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

You know, I couldn't stand Hell's Kitchen (just seemed to be another reality show at a time when I was up to here with them), but I really enjoyed Kitchen Nightmares last night. Peter...seemed on the verge of Goodfellas parody every other second! And I loved the reaction when Gordon just said: "(bleep) you!" The guy needed a dressing down. Big Time. But it was entertaining, although I had a "bring in the bill collector NOW" vibe. But, man, Wednesday will be packed starting next week, as the wife will be watching that Grey's Anatomy spinoff and wanting to DVR Bionic Woman...will I get to watch this show again?

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

I have very low hopes on the Grey's Anatomy spinoff which seems terrible. I love Grey's but it's a pass.. Bionic Woman's premier ep is decent, I may give it a shot. My DVR will definitely get a workout, I was surprised how much we enjoyed this.. and we went straight from this to "Top Chef" last night

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

Ramsey's great.

I was a little sad to see the US version with such a heavy handed Fox spin, not that I expected anything else. It took most of the real struggle these people face out of the equation. Nice one on one with the sister about how hard she works but we saw nothing from Peter acknowledging how much he dumped on her and bled from the business. What a freak and a joke. Way too much time watching DeNiro & Gandolphini. I loved it when Peter asked Ramsey to get him a drink in the kitchen. "Go f*ck yourself!"

John...if you like Ramsey you'll love the original UK show.

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

Wow, as a HUGE fan of the UK version, I have to say that I hated this first episode of the Fox version. The thing was filled with elements that just ruined the original charm of the UK version.

I was sad they used a Fox narrator instead of Ramsay doing the voice-overs. In the Uk version, Ramsay's descriptions in his own voice gave a much more personal reflection on each restaurant.

This new Fox version also totally dropped the ball in not focusing on THE FOOD. That was also the key draw to me. They barely touched on the quality before/after his visit.

The Fox version also seemed completely staged in parts. Since when does Ramsay spring for all new equipment, and then have all of that stuff installed overnight in just hours? Seemed fake. So did those bill collectors that just magically showed up and happened to be miked up. wtf?

Lastly, another great element of the UK version was his semi-planned revisit MONTHS later. That was lost in this version as the narrator just said everything was going well, but then the video showed clips that you know were taken during Ramsay's original stay. Instead of being an extended follow-up, it was a 15 second, "Everything's now great and the family style has been a hit." Yeah, like that guy Peter instantly stopped buying $3k suits? Riiiiight. The editing was straight out of Nanny 911.

The only time this Fox version felt even remotely similar to the UK version was when Ramsay had a private one on one with the owner, and it was the best part of the show.

I haven't felt this disappointed in a bastardized repackaging since Robocop 2.

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

I didn't hate it as much as you, but I agree with all of your observations. I think I went into the Fox version with low expectations, knowing it would be more fluff and less substance. From an entertainment standpoint, I got a kick out of it. But I certainly miss the substance of the UK version. I'll give it a couple more chances -- I can see it growing tiresome quickly.

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

The only thing better about the Fox version, was that it was in High Def! Having said that, I still will be watching it. I really enjoy Gordon Ramsey. He was even good on The Home Shopping Network!

The BBC version seemed much more into the food. Cook good food, with good service, and you will have a great chance to be a success. Gordon's love of cooking and sharing great food with people really comes through on the BBC version, not so much on Fox so far. I also missed the part where he comes back to see how the changes have helped or if they went back to their old habits. Maybe they will incorporate that in at a later time, like a whole show dedicated to just going back to the restaurants.

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

I think he claimed the show made things look worse then it was and hung the blame on him.

Here's the reality: he didn't spend weeks planting bugs and waiting for mold to grow. He didn't tell the cooks to do their cooking on the floor. He didn't have them slice a rotten piece of tomato. Those were all decisions of the chef, made possible by the fact the stuff was still there.

He was rightly pissed. Edit: Correction Martin did try to pass the buck to the chefs, and he wasn't having any of it. Look, if you're going to say you're the general manager, then at least one responsibility you could take is to make sure they don't serve rotting food and have tons of health code violations.

The owner talked about losing $30k a month.. good lord. I'd go out and slit my freaking wrists! And I wonder if hearing this Ramsey had the same thought I did.. rent where they are at is spendy.. but still, how can you lose that much money when it's obvious you at least aren't investing in food or expensive chefs, etc.. dude, those chefs looked like they fell off the turnip truck.

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

I liked this episode better than the last one.

That kitchen looked mroe dirty than a typical restaurant bathroom.

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

Dillions was a much MUCH better episode.
At times it actually felt like I was watching Kitchen Nightmares.

That place was a complete shit hole.
I would have liked to have seen the downstairs are AFTER the cleanup crew went down there, but then again, it's probably best for the survival of the restaurant that they didn't show it.

Also, did anyone see the super quick little blurb during the credits that says the producers have paid customers (i.e.actors) with money toward their meal to evaluate the place? Interesting. Never seen that little legalese before.

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

I noticed that in the first episode.

I'm guessing the lawsuit had something to do with the fact that Ramsey straight-up (and on-camera) told the owner to fire Martin and hire his guy (that chef he brought in).

My response: Business is business!

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

He didn't.
This part was totally fake.

If you watch it, that outburst took place when the restaurant was CLOSED. They had a tight shot of them all talking about the night when Mike blew up. But then they cut in segments of people eating and looking over as if they were reacting to the outburst. They weren't. Because when Gordon told him to get out of there, he walked out and you can see that the tables were empty.

That was a weak episode, and the fake editing only made it worse.

They did the same thing when Mike brought out all those signs from the back. As he passed by some tables, they played the sound of a glass breaking, and then a separate cut of some diners looking over as if he just walked by and broke a glass. it didn't happen. They played the exact same glassbreaking audio snipet later on when he was holding a tray of about 6 cokes.

The completely fake Fox editing is soooooooo annoying.

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

And totally illegal. If the house touches the tips, they have to go all or not, and then the tips have to have taxes withheld. If he just pockets the cash, then there is something very amiss.

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

I just don't see how they can get away with it. I personally know of a restaurant that damn near was dismantled because they pocketted tip money and didn't pay taxes after the house touched it.

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

There's a tiny sushi place near here where the owner keeps *all* the tips (or did last I heard). However, he pays the waitresses a lot of money (something like $10/ hour), so they don't complain about it. They actually come out ahead when business isn't brisk.

Still, IMO that's being dishonest with the customers.

People who believe that small cash businesses like local restaurants follow every law to the letter have another thing coming.

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

Mike isn't the "house." He's the manager and works the floor along with the wait staff.

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

As a small business owner, I know the feeling (Cash is King) still if I were to appear on National TV, I'd try my best to not show cash going unreported rather then make a point of it..

Re: Kitchen Nightmares Season 1

I thought it was a bit messed up when Peter ends up selling the place, 5 months after the relaunch. The offer must have been really great, or just a way out for Peter.

I also wonder how the health inspector could give a pass to the place. It looked more like a haunted house.

Good riddance to the cooks.