Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares

Summary: Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares features the popular BBC star, Gordon Ramsay, a renowned restaurateur, chef and author. The premise of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares is Gordon Ramsay helping failing restaurants to reinvent their image and their menu, to bring in more business. Ramsay is invading restaurant kitchens all around Britain and helping owners see everything they are doing right, and more importantly, everything they are doing wrong. Along the way Ramsay insults, ridicules and inspires owners and staff to make the changes necessary to keep the doors open.

Show Time: Thursday 8:00 – 9:00 PM on BBC America (check your local listings)

Why It’s good for a Restaurateur: Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmare’s shows the gristly details behind failing restaurants. Bad food, Bad service, Bad management. He points out every flaw and shows owners how to fix them. If you own a restaurant, work in a restaurant, or are thinking of opening a restaurant, this is one show that can help you avoid a lot of common (and some not so uncommon) mistakes. A bonus is that the show is just plain fun to watch. As a restaurant owner I found myself yelling at the people on TV almost as much as Gordon did in some cases.

What You Can Learn From It: One of the key parts of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant intervention is updating the menu. Many places he visits feature old fashion, out dated or just plain bad menus. Often he helps the kitchen simplify dishes, going back to the basics. He also shows owners how to save money through menu changes (throw out your microwave, please.). Ramsay owns several top rated restaurants both in Great Britain and the United States, so when it comes to restaurant management, he knows what he’s talking about. His style is a bit unorthodox compared to common restaurant consultants. He doesn’t hold back on the insults or vulgar language. But it gives him credibility- he talks exactly the way most cooks talk in a restaurant kitchen. Just don’t let the kids listen.