When we watch Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsay, we have high hopes that he is going to be able to help restaurants turn their business around. Very rarely do we see him get so upset that he walks away from one of these projects. And yet that’s exactly what happened in episode four, ‘Kindred.’
And we totally understood where he was coming from, because the owner wasn’t taking accountability for what was going on in her restaurant and she was making excuses for a chef who clearly did not care. However, it really felt like she did come around after some of the other people in her restaurant talked to her about trying to move forward and finding success.
This led to her calling Chef Ramsay back to the restaurant and letting him know that she would do whatever he thought was best for her success. And what did Gordon Ramsay suggest? He told her she had to let go of her chef. And so she does.
Kitchen Nightmares gave us an episode that showcased what can really happen with a restaurant in trouble
The problem is that perhaps this restaurant wasn’t really her dream anymore. And even with Gordon Ramsay coming back to the restaurant, helping them create a new vegan menu, and even giving her some advice from a former NFL player, it was not meant to be.
When chef Ramsay was doing his update at the end of the episode, he revealed that after a few months of continued assistance from the Kitchen Nightmares team, the owner decided to shut down her restaurant. And it’s always sad to get that kind of news after the level of work that Gordon Ramsay and his team puts into these makeovers, but at the same time it’s better that she shuts her doors, rather than go further into debt.
I have to say that I really appreciated this episode for multiple reasons. I really like that we actually got to see Chef Ramsay walking away. He was not going to allow these people to lie to him or pretend like they were willing to change if they weren’t. He took a stand and left. And we like seeing that. It means that he is not just going to pretend like someone is going to change for the sake of the episode.
The other thing I really appreciated about this episode was that it proved that even with his help, not every restaurant is going to succeed. And even within a few months of them coming to help, some restaurants have to shut their doors. This is real life, and this episode reminded us that these are real businesses, with real money on the line.
Sometimes Kitchen Nightmares can feel a bit forced as we watch this quick turnover of a restaurant. And the question becomes, how can a person change overnight? It doesn’t feel like they can. So having this episode is a reminder that sometimes the takeover and makeover doesn’t really change the end result.
This was definitely an interesting episode of Kitchen Nightmares. And we can’t wait to see what happens next. Will there be other restaurants that Gordon Ramsay simply isn’t able to make a difference with? Hopefully not, but this is real life and things happen.