Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares

Only weeks before the more mainstream 'Hell's Kitchen' came along, this one-hour, 4-part documentary series on Channel 4 was a real unexpected treat for viewers, particularly for jaded ones such as myself, tired at the whole cringe worthy "celebrity chef" genre.

Grizzly chef Gordon Ramsey travelled around Britain, each week visiting a different restaurant that was struggling to make money, serve decent food etc. In his now-famous way, Gordon would shout, swear & threaten the incompetent chefs at the restaurants, warn the restaurant owners that they will go out of business if they don't put their foot down & try & turn their fortunes around, help out in the kitchen, & promptly criticise anyone who had the guts to disagree with him on any sort of decision he made.

Seeing Mr. Ramsay tear into young upstarts, arrogant owners & generally anyone who got in his way, made for fascinating television, but it was also pleasant to see that, more often than not, the help Gordon had provided made a lot of difference, & that the restaurant began attracting more customers & serving better food.

No doubt there will be a second series of 'Hell's Kitchen' on ITV1 next year, but I would also like to see this show recommissioned as well. Not as glamorous as seeing celebrity chefs whinge at each other in a glorified TV studio, but 'Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares' was the best cookery-related show to come out in a long, long time

This possibly the best , most watchable reality series that came out of Britain at the turn of the century . It came late to the party but actually brought a lot to television and one that has a high rewatchability . The premise is simple: a restaurant business is failing and Gordon Ramsay arrives as a troubleshooter and get the business back on its feet

I have some professional kitchen experience myself and the three golden rules to a successful kitchen are

1 ) Team work

2 ) Communication

3 ) No skiving

Obey these three golden rules and things should work out . Watching the series it becomes very clear that the problems of the failing business are often caused by a lack of team work and communication and an excess of skiving or lassie faire attitude by the management who leave everything to the head chef who is as passionate as a week old rice pudding

The very first episode sums this up with Tim a head chef who is 21 years old and in charge of Bonaparte's restaurant . " He's either a great chef or he's a bullsh*tter " and you don't need multiple choice to find out the answer . As someone who has worked in a kitchen I was actually shocked at the state of the kitchen with mouldy food clogging up the fridges

" What do you do with mouldy food ? " asks Ramsay

" Throw it in the bin ? "replies Tim nice but dim as if he's asked a question on quantum physics

Long pause from Ramsay " So you're going to put it back in the fridge for two days then throw it out ? Can you see the point I'm making "

Tim starts nodding as the penny finally drops " Yeah yeah "

Ramsay goes out of his way to get the business back on its feet and what the programme does very well is show how much dire straits the owner is in . If the business goes under that's it - they lose everything , their restaurant , their home and possibly their marriage which comes as a shock when Ramsay returns a few months later unannounced only to find things were as bad as they were mainly down to the manager not sacking the head chef and employing competent professionals who have a pride in their work and a loyalty to their employer

There is a danger of the show becoming repetitive but a short season of four or five episodes is probably the most effective length and an angry Ramsay is always good television . Anyone with any military experience will recognise how similar Ramsay is to a sadistic drill instructor carrying out a kit inspection as tries to separate the men from the boys . It's also a superior show to the American spin off as the focus is very much on Ramsay rather than the slightly larger than life American managers

Every, (mostly) episode is the same. We see a restaurant in chaos, Ramsay turns up, orders, some slip arrives as his criticises everything and sends it back.

Then he goes into the kitchen, shouting and swearing at everyone. Looking for dirt, mouldy food etc.

Quite often someone gets fired, he observes a service and the chaos, exasperated by the pressure of him being in the kitchen, one again raising his voice causing more mistakes and anxiety.

He normally then shuts the place down, giving the restaurant a free makeover worth thousands - is that the hidden motive of these restaurants?

It's always the same, simplify the menu as he slaps his palm on his hand, "Simple, beautiful food". I think I've only seen one that he walked away from?

I'm sure he's got into a proper fight and been knocked out, or at least a bloodied nose. Shouting through his hands at owners, he bullies and abuses the owners of failing restaurants before turning into the nice guy, only occasionally being called out like Amy in the bakery

It's an hour of guilty pleasures, but if you have seen one, you have mainly seen them all.

I don't usually watch "reality" shows, because quite frankly, they are not real. I have enjoyed this one though, I'm sure there is some staged stuff in it, but it seems to be minimal. I work in the restaurant business myself, so I really appreciate all the things Gordon Ramsay is saying and trying to get these people to do. Once again, I could be completely wrong, but I get the impression that he really does want these places to succeed. Also, I even find myself rooting for these chefs and restaurants that he is working with, to succeed. Overall, a very good watch, I would say.

Ramsay's kitchen nightmares is a British reality TV show that features chef Gordon Ramsay that attempts to save restaurants from going out of business because of poor teamwork, poor food quality, poor hygiene or Bad customer service. His rude personality is a laugh as he attempts to save the battling restaurants from closure. The show appears to be aimed at reality TV fans that may have an interest in food and beverage and the Hospitality Industry.

I think the show provides an interesting insight into what happens behind the scenes at restaurants including the stress on the staff and the common mistakes made by the kitchen staff particularly. I feel that the show expanded my knowledge by highlighting the importance of teamwork in a restaurant and what can happen if this is not done. Since a lot of the show is filmed during busy hours of the restaurant the viewer gets to see how the kitchen operates and how fast passed everything is.

We Lent about the importance of communication within the workplace in class and Ramsay's kitchen nightmares provided an educational link by showing students how any restaurant could be a disaster with out efficient communication. My conclusions of the show are very good. It's great to see a new type of TV chef that doesn't just stand in front of the camera cooking meals all the time. Gordon Ramsay has a very rude personality that is stereotypical or the "grumpy chef", but it makes for a very entertaining show.