By Frederic Germay
Although I am quite impressed with world renowned Chef Gordon Ramsay’s other critically acclaimed brutally cruel reality show competition, “Hell’s Kitchen,” I was worried that “Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares” would fall a bit short against its competition. Namely, I believed it would suffer primarily because of its lack of competition. One of the engaging aspects of “Hell’s Kitchen” that kept viewers coming back each week was the suspense of who was going home. Sure, Ramsay’s behavior makes him one of the most compelling characters in reality television, but it was the competition that made “Hell’s Kitchen” soar.
Fortunately, I needn’t have worried since “Kitchen Nightmares” not only royally compliments its predecessor, but it also rivals it in style. The show essentially revolves around Ramsay visiting various restaurants in need of drastic repair, and he chisels the restaurant into near perfection with his trademark tough style. Apparently, Ramsay more than capable to carry a show on by itself. However, a striking difference between the two shows is that Ramsay no longer has a group of aspiring chefs willing to go through hell for his approval…in fact, it’s quite the opposite.
This particular episode felt as though it had been ripped right out of “The Godfather.” In the city of Babylon, there is a family owned Italian restaurant owned by what appears to a mafia family. Even Ramsay remarked on a few occasions about how he felt as though he was being introduced to the mob. The co-owner and host of the restaurant, Peter, acts and behaves as though he is God’s gift to mankind (the fact the restaurant is named after him probably didn’t lessen his ego).
After being picked up by Peter 59 minutes late, Ramsay remarks on how Peter is able to afford his expensive car and fancy suits while the restaurant is suffering financial problems. Ramsay’s mood is made worse when he is served dish after unsavory dish. The problems keep on coming – putrid salad, cold crab cakes, disgusting ravioli, and way too much parsley. The head waiter, Angelo, starts yelling at the Sous chef, John, who is personally offended by Ramsay’s complaint the parsley. Then the headstrong Peter attempts to diffuse the situation by rearing his angry head and joining into the argument, which obviously makes things worse.
Then during the dinner service, Ramsay sees what was increasingly evident from the beginning – Peter is the main cause of the restaurant’s decline. Peter not only refuses to do any real work yet continues to pick up massive paychecks, but he also allows free meals, drinks, and personal favors to his favorite guests. Ramsay attempts to teach Peter a lesson by forcing him cook in the kitchen for the next dinner service. I honestly believe that the dishes could have cooked and served themselves better than Peter could. Even though barely any dishes were leaving the kitchen, Peter helped himself to some of the clams that were supposed to be for the guests.
At this point, if anyone still didn’t believe that ‘Peter’s’ had no mob connection, the whole subplot with the ‘bill collectors’ should effectively dispel those notions. I have never encountered any ‘bill collectors’ that have been so insistent, rude, and violent. I’m guessing that Peter must’ve borrowed some money from certain unsavory groups. Whatever the case was, Peter was definitely not intimidated by these mobsters. I have heard allegations against Ramsay stating that certain aspects of the show were staged or fabricated, and I have to admit that I now believe that there might be a shred of truth to those claims. Peter’s violent temper and all of the “Godfather” similarities were just a little too much for me to swallow.
In the end, Ramsay radically renovated their kitchen which boosted the chefs’ morale and cooking. Ramsay also confronted Peter, and had a Dr. Phil moment where he convinced Peter to see the errors of his ways. Ultimately, this episode was wrapped up a little too neatly to be believable, but the drama and the intensity of the episode were undeniably strong and captivating. For that, I give this episode a 7/10
