Kitchen Nightmares

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the original UK version of this show, see Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.
Kitchen Nightmares
Genre Reality television
Directed by Brad Kreisberg
Presented by Gordon Ramsay
Narrated by J.V. Martin
Composer(s) David Vanacore
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 10
Production
Executive
producer(s)		 Arthur Smith
Patricia Llewellyn
Kent Weed
Gerry McKean
Curt Northrup
Broadcast
Original channel FOX
Original run September 19, 2007 – present
Chronology
Related shows Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Kitchen Nightmares is a United States reality-television series on the Fox Broadcasting network, in which chef Gordon Ramsay helps failing restaurants. It is based on the Channel 4 show Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, produced in the UK. The US show premiered Wednesday September 19, 2007.

The first season ended in December 2007. Casting for the second season began shortly afterwards [1], and is now complete. In an interview with Conan O'Brien, Ramsay said that shooting of the second season had finished and featured restaurants from Midwestern United States. [2]

In September 2007, a case was filed against Ramsay for allegedly staging some dramatic elements in the second episode. The case was dismissed and sent instead to arbitration.[3] Kitchen Nightmares has been renewed with 10 new episodes and is scheduled to start around September 2008[4]

Contents

[edit] Episodes

# Restaurant Location Original airdate Notes
1. Peter's Babylon, New York Sept. 19, 2007
2. Purnima New York, New York Sept. 26, 2007 Changed from Dillon's during relaunch.
3. The Mixing Bowl Bellmore, New York Oct. 3, 2007
4. Seascape Islip, New York Oct. 10, 2007 Five months after the successful relaunch of Seascape, the owner accepted an offer he could not refuse, & sold the restaurant, according to epilogue on the broadcast.
5. Olde Stone Mill Tuckahoe, New York[5] Oct. 17, 2007
6. Sebastian's Toluca Lake, California Nov. 7, 2007 Revealed on Australia's The Matt and Jo Show on FOX FM, the owner's wife said Sebastian's was sold. He moved to California and started the restaurant again. Sebastian's closed in January 2008 and has been replaced by Robano's as of March 2008.
7. Finn McCool's Westhampton, New York Nov. 14, 2007
8. Lela's Pomona, California Nov. 21, 2007 Due to debts, restaurant closed down soon after taping completed, according to epilogue on the broadcast.
9. Campania Fair Lawn, New Jersey Nov. 28, 2007
10. The Secret Garden Moorpark, California Dec. 12, 2007

[edit] Reception

Gina Bellafante of the New York Times found Ramsay's teaching methods and high standards "undeniably hypnotic" and commented that "the thrill of watching Mr. Ramsay is in witnessing someone so at peace with his own arrogance."[6] Doug Elfman of the Chicago Sun-Times said the show is "a very entertaining public service" that "will make you laugh, make you sick and make you think".[7] Randy Cordova of the Arizona Republic found Ramsay "just as blustery and foul-mouthed here as he is on Hell's Kitchen. But he is also oddly endearing, mainly because he genuinely seems invested in the fate of each restaurant".[8]

Some critics found Fox's adaptation of Kitchen Nightmares strayed from the strengths of the original Channel 4 series. Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune said, "Leave it to Fox to take something the Brits did pretty well and muck it up". She added, "Never mind the cooking; this edition of the show appears to be more interested in playing up the family dramas at the restaurants Ramsay visits".[9] Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times commented, "Whereas the British Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is fundamentally a food show — it has interesting things to show you about how a restaurant runs and a kitchen works, the wonders of local markets and what you can make from them if you're Gordon Ramsay or willing to follow his instructions — the Fox edition emphasizes mishap, argument and emotional breakdown almost to the exclusion of cuisine".[10]

In addition, one review revealed that at least one restaurant featured in the first season did not actually apply as a failing restaurant, but was invited on the show due to the personality of the chef who had previously applied for Hell's Kitchen.[11]

[edit] Ratings

# Original Airdate Restaurant Rating Share 18-49 (Rating/Share) Viewers Rank
1 September 19, 2007 Peter's 4.2 7 3.1/8 6.64
2 September 26, 2007 Purnima 3.5 5 2.4/6 5.41
3 October 3, 2007 The Mixing Bowl 3.8 6 2.9/7 6.29
4 October 10, 2007 Seascape 4.2 7 3.0/8 6.45
5 October 17, 2007 Olde Stone Mill 4.4 7 3.2/8 6.88
6 November 7, 2007 Sebastian's 4.1 6 2.9/7 6.37
7 November 14, 2007 Finn McCool's 4.4 7 3.2/8 6.98
8 November 21, 2007 Lela's 4.4 7 2.3/6 5.34
9 November 28, 2007 Campania 4.3 7 3.3/8 7.03
10 December 12, 2007 The Secret Garden 4.0 6 2.8/7 6.10

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Fox casting call form
  2. ^ Conan O'Brien interview
  3. ^ "TV Chef Out of Frying Pan". New York Post (2007-08-10). Retrieved on 2007-08-14.
  4. ^ Kitchen Nightmares renewed for second season. TVIV. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
  5. ^ Per The Olde Stone Mill official site, citing ZIP Code 10707, Tuckahoe, New York, a village within the town of Eastchester, New York in Westchester County. It is not in the unrelated Tuckahoe, New York on Long Island.
  6. ^ "To Perk Up a Restaurant, Add Luster Where Lacking". New York Times (2007-09-19). Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
  7. ^ "Something's rotten in our restaurants". Chicago Sun-Times (2007-09-19). Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
  8. ^ "Fox cooks up delicious 'Nightmares'". Arizona Republic (2007-09-19). Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
  9. ^ "Another helping of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay". Chicago Tribune (2007-09-17). Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
  10. ^ "'Kitchen Nightmares': Mishaps and emotion are main courses". Los Angeles Times (2007-09-19). Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
  11. ^ Kitchen Nightmare in Westhampton: What Happens to a Restaurant after Chef Ramsay Leaves. New York Post (2007-11-12). Retrieved on 2007-11-30.

[edit] References

[edit] External links