Ramsay's still talking tough… in someone else's kitchen
Gordon Ramsay's reputation with the nation was cemented after his TV outing, Ramsay's Boiling Point, showed him verbally pummelling anything in whites doing a less-than-acceptable job. Five years on, and he's back - to set the record straight, perhaps?
Not a bit of it. In a new Channel 4 series called Restaurant Nightmares, the only thing Ramsay sets straight are four struggling businesses that have called in the three-Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur for help.
"I've opened up the doors to my kitchens in the past, now there's going to be some serious criticism of how other people run theirs," Ramsay said.
Apparently, Ramsay refuses to break with tradition and takes no prisoners in his quest for success - flying in, exposing the bad and ramming home the good. A restaurant superhero, you might think, except probably not one for the kids.
The four restaurants that have braved the storm were Bonapartes in Silsden, West Yorkshire; the Glass House in Ambleside, in the Lake District; Moore Place in Esher, Surrey; and the legendary Walnut Tree Inn in Abergavenny, now in the hands of owner Francesco Mattioli after long-time owners Franco and Ann Taruschio sold up in 2001. All were losing customers and haemorrhaging money.
Ramsay was given two weeks at each establishment to identify problems and correct them. In some cases he taught the basics to chefs who couldn't cook; in others he just replaced them. Other problems included disastrous decorating, sullen waiters and even service staff with bad breath. The end of each show sees Ramsay revisit his projects to check whether his advice has been adopted and the crisis averted.
Kitchen Nightmares starts on 27 April at 9pm on Channel 4.