Ramsay under fire
BITCHIN' NIGHTMARES FOR CHEF GORDON
MORE than two-thirds of the restaurants supposedly saved by TV's Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares have been SHUT or SOLD, we can reveal.
And most furious owners say foulmouth chef Gordon - exposed last month for lying about playing for SPL giants Rangers - took them out of the bleedin' frying pan and into the effing fire.
Just eight of the 22 eateries he tried to turn around on his Channel 4 series remain open with the same owners.
The latest to close is LOVE'S FISH RESTAURANT in Brighton, Sussex, which shut in December. Owner Allan Love said yesterday: "I'm now destitute, I've lost my business, my home and I'm penniless.
"Ramsay leaves a little guy in the s*** and just makes himself look great."
BONAPARTE'S in Silsden, West Yorks, shut just one month after Ramsay stepped in. Owner Sue Ray was left homeless, jobless and saddled with £400,000 debt.
She said: "The programme makers told us the show would put us on the map. Instead it put us out of business. The bookings just vanished."
In Liverpool, the owners of MORGAN'S blamed a backlash against Ramsay for its closure. Laura Kelly, who ran the business with her mum and sister, said: "A lot of people didn't like Gordon so, after the show, they actively avoided our restaurant.
"Many locals felt that because of the programme they didn't need to support us as we obviously had it made - but the reality was very different."
A couple who ran the once Michelin-starred WALNUT TREE in Llandewi Skirrid, South Wales, also blamed the TV show for it going bust.
Francesco and Enrica Mattioli claimed their episode made them look too pricey, leading to fewer bookings.
Enrica said: "We really wish we had not done it. We are very angry."
In Chelmsford, Essex, D-PLACE went bust just two weeks after the cameras left. Owner Israel Pons said: "The menu Ramsay came up with was extremely poor. We dropped 50 per cent in sales. He wasn't the saviour everyone seemed to think he would be."
JACKSON'S in Blackpool, Lancs, lasted six months. Owner Dave Jackson said: "We don't feel that the final edit of the show gave an accurate picture."
THE GRANARY in Titchfield, Hants, was ruined by two arson attacks within a month of being on Kitchen Nightmares in 2007.
MOORE PLACE in Esher, Surrey, was quickly sold by owners Nick Whitehouse and Richard Hodgson in 2006. LA LANTERNA in Letchworth, Herts, was closed by Alex Scott soon after his episode. OSCAR'S in Nantwich, Cheshire, was sold by Maura Dooris eight months after being on television.
SANDGATE HOTEL in Folkestone, Kent, was sold by husband-and-wife team Lois and Peter Hamilton-Slade six months after their episode.
At LA GONDOLA in Derby, once visited by the likes of Brian Clough and Norman Lamont, head chef Steve Straughan quit his job soon after seeing Ramsay dismiss his work on TV. It went into liquidation in 2007.
At ROCOCO in King's Lynn, Norfolk, ex-Michelin star holder Nick Anderson said once the Ramsay honeymoon period was over, bookings disintegrated - and he filed for bankruptcy in 2007.
And at PICCOLO TEATRO in Paris, France, Rachel McNally shut while filming was going on.
Even some of the restaurateurs who hung on to their businesses were scathing of Ramsay's input.
Scott Aitchison of THE PRIORY in Haywards Heath, East Sussex, said: "Trade's been slower. Gordon upset the customer base, calling them the 'blue rinse brigade'."
At MOMMA CHERRI'S in Brighton, Sussex, Charita Jones said: "We're just about breaking even. I wrote to Gordon but I heard nothing back which was very disappointing. His advice would have been very useful."
And Brian Rey of THE FENWICK ARMS in Claughton, Lancs, said: "By changing the menu, we lost a lot of trade."
Restaurant owners grateful for Ramsay's advice include Neil Farrell of the GLASS HOUSE in Ambleside, Cumbria. He said: "Gordon helped me like you wouldn't believe."
And Arfan Razak of the CURRY LOUNGE in Nottingham said: "The experience was really good. We still get new customers on the back of the programme 1½ years later."
Last night a Channel 4 spokesman said: "The show is a well-established format, so contributors - who choose to go on because their restaurants are already in serious trouble - know how it works.
"They also know that once Gordon leaves it's up to them how they implement his advice.
"The first episode was 2003 and considering how tough it is to run a restaurant, the fact so many struggling places are still going is testament to the effectiveness of Gordon's advice."
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This article has 20 comments
Restaurants fail because of a lack of management skills and capital, more than anything, coupled with a poor location. Then, when you through in an inability to cook, and a lack of devotion to the business, you are set up to fail. When someone said 80% of all restaurants fail within 5 years, they were being optimistic. My impression is that it is higher than that. A quarter of new restaurants don't last a year. Unfortunately, there are people who say those figures are inflated. But, they are not taking out the statistical effect of franchises, which have a higher success rate for many reasons...national exposure, owners with lots of cash, experience, etc.
The problem with the kitchen nightmare places is that they all, without exception, were buried in debt by the time Ramsay got there. Even if the business turned around immediately, digging yourself out of hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt takes awhile. Most probably could not last that long...especially when purveyors start insisting on cash on delivery! You can't keep a restaurant going if you don't have the money to buy food and pay staff.
By Olen.. Posted April 12 2010 at 12:29 AM.
If you are approached by dreadfully failing businesses, and you are able to turn 36% of them around, that is an absolutely terrific success rate. He should be applauded for that rate, not villified.
By Rorshoq.. Posted November 16 2009 at 9:37 PM.
Dr Gonzo
Ok I have one problem with all blah blah...
The punctuation content of your paragraph contains just 2 full stops. This shows you aren't entirely ignorant of the existence of commas and full stops but few more in the obvious places would have made all the difference. No-one's expecting a masterclass in grammar but that kind of scribble dribble is just unreadable. Why should anyone bother reading the opinion of someone either too thick or too lazy to bother making it intelligible?
Similar would go for the whiny failures 'quoted' in the article - except that it stinks of some NotW phone hack quote mining, selective editing, twisting comments out of context, winding up and generally make a 'story' out of nothing. Which is exactly what the producers of the US Fox TV version of Gordon's show thrive on. Off you go then.
By Topov.. Posted September 27 2009 at 12:24 PM.
Its sad to see businesses fail, but considering how close to their last legs most of them were, its not a surprise. Does anyone know if the Fish and Anchor was one of the lucky ones
By David.. Posted August 11 2009 at 5:48 AM.
The fact that a restaurant is sold doesn't necessarily mean it was a failure. After months of being on the verge of bankruptcy, it is reasonable that some would prefer to sell the place once they had paid their debts than living in agony and anxiety
By Dr. Gonzo.. Posted August 6 2009 at 11:07 PM.
Ok I have one problem with all of this the fact of the matter is if these restaurants needed help then why did they call Gordon. Hes going to be harsh hes going to tell you what to do and not to do most of these people dont listen or they do some turn around some will prevail because they listened and some have failed because some ignored the problem for way too long like The Priory Scott was so moronic for listening to old people because they wanted the carvery back and he was dumb enough to give it back so he drove away his young hip crowd because he didnt want to market his restaurant thats why that place closed Morgan is another example they were being cheap and not wanting the guy to come in and do prep work and they were shopping in a grocery store and Gordon tried to give them a concept and a menu that was workable just like when he tried to change the carvery because scott was a tool and listening to the blue hair brigade and just dumping money. These owners who think theyre going to be successful think they can do anything like open a restaurant its sad to see those places shut down but some deserve some dont
By Rick.. Posted July 31 2009 at 12:54 AM.
80% 0f restaurants close within five years. That's a success rate of only 20%. Ramsay's success rate is 36%, so I would say that he is doing a great job and beating the odds.
By Sophie.. Posted July 17 2009 at 7:41 PM.
If toby's information is correct for the States, I'm sure there is a very similar rate in the UK as well. So if Ramsay is able to take these failing restaurants and help them along to a 36% success rate, he would be doing an above average job. I agree with the majority of comments in that it's probably just sour grapes and looking for a source of failure in someone else instead of yourself.
By Spencer.. Posted June 25 2009 at 7:47 PM.
Watch again the series and you'll understand why the restaurant didn't went well. They never learn and even if they did, they're too lazy to implement it.
It's easy to blame Ramsay because he's not going to respond to each accusation.
Take easy example, PICCOLO TEATRO in Paris, India is absolutely talented and hardworking. If you give me someone like that, it's impossible for me to fail the business.
By Jimi.. Posted May 26 2009 at 10:17 PM.
It's been 4-5+ yrs since some of these restaurants were first visted by Ramsay. It's ridiculous to blame (or even credit) Ramsay for having an effect so long after the show's filming. Ramsay's one week of troublehsooting can only result in short-term gains... anything beyond that is in the hands of the restaurateurs.
By Me.. Posted May 25 2009 at 6:01 AM.
Some of the restaurants in the show are given new equipment, is that for free or are the owners charged for something they did not order?
By Alexander.. Posted May 13 2009 at 11:17 AM.
It is so easy to blame somebody else for our own mistakes isnt' it ? Those people call a TV show for help, they got the help but they still couldn't manage so it's Ramsay fault. People need to grow up, instead of being thankfull that somebody cared in the first place to help, they are ungrateful. It is not the supernanny show is it ?
By angie.. Posted May 12 2009 at 11:23 PM.
Having been first exposed to Gordon Ramsay via the US Hell's Kitchen, I was surprised to see how quickly I grew to appreciate his insights and business savvy. I personally believe he is on a one man mission to ensure that those in the restaurant business belong there. Given how dreadfully some of these restaurants operated before he arrived it is little wonder they had to shutter operations. He tries to give them CPR, not perpetual life support.
By Brent Nelson.. Posted May 9 2009 at 5:21 PM.
I'm sure Gordon Ramsay would not be able to cause £400,000 worth of debt in one week, Frank Spencer, but not Gordon. If he didn't go anyway, the places would go bust, so its just a case of him not doing enough, but he didn't cause problems and its not his fault
By toby.. Posted April 28 2009 at 1:57 PM.
I have worked with architects who design restaurants and they have told me that in the States, the rate of failure for restaurant is HUGE, about 75% of restaurants will be closing six months after they are opened.
I have seen the show and most of the business were going to fail anyway, because they had lost the locals, when Gordon insists that they have to cater to their neighbours.
A lot of owners are people who made money in other business and they believe they can do the same in the restaurant business, when it is a completely different business. They believe that they can make a 90% profit in any plate, when they can't even cook.
By CowboyZZ.. Posted April 21 2009 at 1:20 AM.
i think it takes more than one week of gordon ramsay being in a restaurant to create 400 000 pounds worth of debt!! they are looking for a scape goat for there lack of buisness skills and about 50% of these idiots are not even been in the restaurant buisness before one of the hardest trades to be ini think it takes more than one week of gordon ramsay being in a restaurant to create 400 000 pounds worth of debt!! they are looking for a scape goat for there lack of buisness skills and about 50% of these idiots are not even been in the restaurant buisness before one of the hardest trades to be in..
By chris robb.. Posted April 19 2009 at 10:40 PM.
I think Gordon Ramsey is doing a great job from what I see on the show. The restaurant owners cannot expect him to rescue their buisness after years of being run poorly!
Some people hate to see others who are succesful for some reason. Gordon Ramsey started out no different from the rest.
By james.. Posted April 17 2009 at 1:34 AM.
There is one thing i find incredulous about this.
If I owned a restaurant that was failing and I was so desperate for help that I would contact a TV show, wow would I do everything he said... no-one can say Gordon doesn't know his stuff.
But that wouldn't make good TV, would it?
By Danni.. Posted April 9 2009 at 3:11 AM.
This article is very one sided and unfair to the Kitchen Nightmares TV show. It ignores the fact that most of these restaurants were on the verge of closure when they were visited by Gordon Ramsay to begin with. While Gordon is able to provide some ideas, publicity and advice for them to turn around their businesses, in most cases the cause of their business struggles remains after Gordon leaves their restaurants. Many of the people quoted above are shown to be unwilling to adopt many of the changes suggested by Gordon on the show...so I find it quite rich that they now turn around and blame Gordon for their demise.
Given the desperate situation many of these businesses find themselves in when they bring Kitchen Nightmares onboard, I think a 36% success rate is pretty good for the show!
By Jimmy.. Posted April 6 2009 at 3:00 AM.
This article is very one sided and unfair to the Kitchen Nightmares TV show. It ignores the fact that most of these restaurants were on the verge of closure when they were visited by Gordon Ramsay to begin with. While Gordon is able to provide some ideas, publicity and advice for them to turn around their businesses, in most cases the cause of their business struggles remains after Gordon leaves their restaurants. Many of the people quoted above are shown to be unwilling to adopt many of the changes suggested by Gordon on the show...so I find it quite rich that they now turn around and blame Gordon for their demise.
Given the desperate situation many of these businesses find themselves in when they bring Kitchen Nightmares onboard, I think a 36% success rate is pretty good for the show!
By Jimmy.. Posted April 6 2009 at 2:40 AM.