Kitchen Nightmares 3x13

1. Tonight on KitchenNightmares, Chef Ramsey, heads

2. across the bayou to Zeke's—

3. —a famous neighborhood jointwhere the current owners

4. have alienated the community.

5. That's just terrible.

6. Everybody here is just kind of waiting

7. for the place to belly up.

8. This husband andwife team seem to be only

9. focused on the bottom line.

10. You're passion's about portioncontrol, measurements— you

11. don't give a shit about food.

12. They have neglected the menu—

13. What the hell is that?

14. —and their loyal staff.

15. We are talked down to like we are dirt.

16. If you don't want to be here, don't be here.

17. Tonight, Chef Ramsay, faces the most

18. deluded owners he's ever met.

19. Restaurants don't run like this.

20. Disagree.

21. I disagree with that also.

22. He confronts them with the cold hard truth.

23. So how the fuck is thatspecial in your tiny mind?

24. When you start dealing with all this crap

25. and you names on that lease then you

26. tell me what you want to do.

27. But will they change their ways?

28. It's us against y'all.

29. That is fucked up.

30. Or will their stubbornness shut

31. down Zeke's once and for all?

32. You are not a fucking restaurateur.

33. That's tonight on Kitchen Nightmares.

34. Located on the Mississippi River,

35. not far from the Gulf of Mexico, is the New

36. Orleans suburb of Metairie.

37. A tight knit community that ishome to Zeke's a neighborhood

38. restaurant opened in 2002 by acharismatic entrepreneur named,

39. Zeke Unangst.

40. Zeke was 6 foot 4— bigand goofy, but you know what?

41. The man knew how to have a good time

42. and he knew how to run a pretty good restaurant.

43. Everyone came to Zeke's when it

44. first opened because there was just a good vibe in this place.

45. Good people, food was always good.

46. You know, we used to do 750people on a Friday night.

47. But in 2005, Zeke, tragically

48. died during HurricaneKatrina and the ownership

49. and the direction of therestaurant was up in the air.

50. After Katrina, this place was in limbo.

51. So the Cortellos bought it and they

52. pretty much took on the place.

53. Hi guys.

54. How are y'all tonight? Welcome to Zeke's.

55. When we bought Zeke's we chose to keep

56. the name because the Zeke'sdid a very good business

57. and that just made business sense to us.

58. All right, guys. First guest.

59. When Darryl first took over, pretty much changed everything.

60. He cut staff, he cut product, he went to a lesser quality.

61. Wouldn't feed that to your dog.

62. And then on top of that, he raised the prices.

63. It's expensive.

64. It's a little over the top.

65. I feel as though I'm completely

66. handcuffed in the kitchen.

67. Dude, I'd love to do like steamed clams.

68. That's not us.

69. I don't think that's us.

70. You know what I am saying?

71. I'm always trying to beg himor plea him, can we try that?

72. Can we do this?

73. And, Darryl, doesn't allow it.

74. Trying to make chickensalad out of chicken shit.

75. I ask myself all the time, why do I even stay here.

76. Uh ah, no sitting on the job.

77. Servers here are alltalked down to or disrespect.

78. People just don't feel appreciated.

79. Darryl cut my pay in the last six months.

80. I can't afford raises right now.

81. He's made me work morehours since he cut my pay.

82. Darryl, we got three orders of green tomatoes left.

83. Cutting them a little thicktoo, I can tell you that.

84. I'm not looking to squeak by.

85. I'm looking for financialrewards in this business.

86. I didn't get any cucumbers.

87. They short changed you.

88. That kind of offendeda lot of Zeke's regulars.

89. And business just steadily declined.

90. Meatball was plain and bland.

91. Unless he's got a potof gold stashed somewhere,

92. there's no way this restaurantwould last, you know, a month.

93. All right.

94. Payroll was today.

95. How did we do?

96. That's not a good question.

97. Financially we are not doing great.

98. Well, we've got to catch-up somewhere.

99. It's not happening.

100. We're not going to make it if we don't have Chef Ramsey come

101. in and tell us what he thinkswe can do differently to change

102. this, because obviously what we're

103. doing is not really working.

104. Physically, emotionally it's been hard.

105. I have put everything I canpossibly put into Zeke's, but

106. seats aren't full.

107. So something is going on.

108. And we are killing ourselvestrying to find out.

109. Before heading to Zeke's, Gordon

110. has arranged to meet some Metairie

111. locals to gain someinsight into the restaurant

112. - and the neighborhood. - Ah, doing good.

113. How we doing this morning?

114. Very well indeed. Thank you.

115. - Morning. - Morning.

116. How are we?

117. Now, tell me about the area, Metairie, what does it—

118. what does it stand for?

119. Well it's a town on the East Bank.

120. They got a lot of people— theygot some good restaurants out

121. there.

122. And have you heard of arestaurant called Zeke's?

123. We used to go there quite a bit.

124. I haven't been there in a while.

125. But before Katrina we usedto go there quite a bit.

126. Before Katrina we would go like every Friday.

127. It was great.

128. But after Katrina we've probablyonly been there once or twice.

129. What was the difference in food?

130. Got pricey in average.

131. - Oh really? - Yeah.

132. The quality has gone down quite a bit.

133. Yeah.

134. And the atmosphere wasn't the same.

135. They lost the magic—the feel of the restaurant.

136. Right.

137. It just changed.

138. Thank you.

139. Thank you.

140. After hearing unfavorable reviews,

141. Chef Ramsay heads over to Zeke'sto continue his investigation.

142. And there is nothing more telling than lunch.

143. Hello.

144. Well, hello Chef Ramsay.

145. - Welcome to Zeke's. - I'm glad to be here.

146. I'm, Ellen Cortello. Nice to meet you.

147. Definitely.

148. Come right this way.

149. All right, guys.

150. I think we got a special guest.

151. Heard that.

152. Heard that.

153. Help me get up to speed.

154. You are the owner.

155. Yeah.

156. You run the business with Zeke?

157. My husband.

158. No, my husband is Darryl.

159. Darryl. And where is he?

160. He's in the kitchen.

161. So who is Zeke?

162. Zeke was the original manwho opened the restaurant.

163. Passed away right after Katrina.

164. Damn.

165. And we purchased it from his estate.

166. So we've had it for almost five years.

167. What did you change after you bought it?

168. The menu items are similar.

169. OK.

170. Good.

171. We've definitely taken someoff and changed some recipes.

172. And the chef is the same?

173. Emil is the kitchen manager.

174. Emil?

175. Yes.

176. Whose decision is it with the new dishes?

177. My husband, Darryl.

178. He's got a couple of his recipes on the menu.

179. And where did he train as a chef?

180. He's never trained as a chef.

181. If you're not a chef, why would

182. you put dishes on the menu?

183. Being in the business I guess.

184. OK.

185. Does the chef agree with those dishes,

186. or is it just because he's the owner

187. that's why he gets them on?

188. I guess talk to him about it.

189. OK. Let me look at the menu.

190. OK.

191. Thank you.

192. Uh huh, you're welcome

193. Wow.

194. - Hello. - Hi.

195. How are you today?- I'm very well, thank you.

196. - How are you? - I'm well, thank you.

197. I'm so happy to be here in Louisiana.

198. - My first time. - Good.

199. - Welcome. - Thank you.

200. - And your first name is? - Candice.

201. Candice.

202. I saw the menu the oyster—

203. Oysters Cortello.

204. It's an invented dish for our restaurant.

205. The Cortellos is Darryl and Ellen.

206. So they made it up.

207. So the owners have namedan oyster after them?

208. Yes they have.

209. You bought the restaurant nowyou want your name on the menu.

210. Yes.

211. Sounds like someone is struggling for power.

212. - I'm going to try one. - OK.

213. Yeah.

214. And I must have some boiled shrimp.

215. Boiled shrimp.

216. And what special do you have my darling?

217. We have a chicken fried steak today.

218. Let's go for it.

219. We do have, also, traditional bread pudding.

220. Let's go for that. And I think we're done.

221. OK.

222. Thank you.

223. - Look what I got. - All right.

224. Here we go.

225. When Darryl got here he kindof implemented his own menu.

226. It really gets frustratingbecause Darren really

227. has no idea, culinary wise, what he's doing.

228. Candace, you're ready.

229. I'm going to take outthe boiled shrimp to him.

230. Chef Ramsay is going to love this food.

231. It's simple food, it's basicfood, it's feel good food,

232. but it's done very well and fresh.

233. OK.

234. Boiled shrimp.

235. Thanks, Candace.

236. My first Louisiana shrimp.

237. Yeah, everything is soft.

238. They should peal easily andsort of pop out of the shelf,

239. but I'm struggling to peel them.

240. I mean, that is nasty.

241. What I'm struggling for hereis the lack of freshness.

242. They feel and taste slightly mushy,

243. which is a big disappointing.

244. Candace, were the shrimps fresh?

245. They're fresh frozen.

246. Fresh frozen.

247. I know it's kind of an oxymoron.

248. But you can buy fresh shrimpwithin a mile from here.

249. Yes, yes.

250. The frozen shrimp tastes like shit.

251. Sorry, crap.

252. He wanted to know why we would get frozen shrimp

253. when you can go to like themarket and get them fresh

254. every day.

255. All right.

256. It's not uncommon to have frozenshrimp because some things are

257. OK frozen.

258. How do we look on the oysters?

259. Coming right now.

260. All right.

261. Wow.

262. That back wall is a hideous.

263. What a mess.

264. Do you got two seconds, please?

265. Yes.

266. And what's with the swamp decor?

267. Who's idea was that?

268. Mine and my husband's.

269. To eat in a swamp?

270. For children or for adults?

271. For both.

272. For both.

273. For both.

274. Oysters Cortello That's my worst thing.

275. All right. Here we go.

276. OK. Thank you.

277. All right.

278. What the hell is that?

279. These are the oysters Cortello.

280. Oysters Cortello.

281. So suppose you go like that.

282. Wow.

283. They are dreadful.

284. Oysters named after the owner.

285. I certainly wouldn't put my name on that.

286. I wouldn't even put my enemies name on that.

287. - Take it for you. - Mmm Hmm.

288. OK.

289. Thank you.

290. That's depressing, isn't it?

291. No.

292. Just terrible.

293. Oysters Costello, I don'tknow what to say about that.

294. I eat them myself.

295. I think they're delicious—

296. absolutely delicious.- Darryl, what did he say?

297. Oysters Cortello just ain't working.

298. It's just killing me notto know what he is saying.

299. This is the fried chicken steak, right?

300. Correct.

301. Thank you.

302. You're welcome.

303. Bland as anything.

304. No seasoning, no care.

305. Look at that.

306. Ugh.

307. Candace, what the hell is that?

308. It looks like it's just hada giraffe's tongue cut out

309. and deep fat fried.

310. People complain that the quality of the food

311. here is horrible.

312. Unbelievable.

313. Darryl is not listeningto the feedback that he gets

314. and he's going to do what he wants to do.

315. Darryl.

316. He said that it looks like somebody

317. cut out a giraffe's tongueand battered and fried it.

318. I'm not going to agree with that.

319. It didn't look that way to me.

320. I mean that's what normally goes out.

321. It's a good product.

322. He said it looked like wecut out a giraffe's tongue.

323. - Here we go. - Wow, wow, wow.

324. Jesus.

325. Thanks, Darling.

326. Doesn't look fantastic.

327. But it tastes delicious.

328. Who made that?

329. Emil makes it.

330. I'm just so happy that ChiefRamsey likes the bread pudding.

331. It feels great to end on a good note.

332. Loved the bread pudding.

333. He liked the bread pudding.

334. There we go.

335. Loved it.

336. I took full responsibilityfor the bread pudding.

337. That is all me.

338. Darryl, doesn't really have influence on that.

339. Thank, God.

340. Thank, God he liked he liked something I did.

341. I'll take that any day.

342. Hello.

343. Hello, Chef.

344. And this is?

345. Darryl Cortello.

346. Darryl, the owner.

347. Yes, chef.

348. Introduce me to your brigade.

349. Chef Emil Marcos.

350. - Emil, good to see you buddy.- Nice to meet you.

351. - Likewise. - Jason Carpenter.

352. Jason, good to see you.

353. Thank you, chef.

354. There's a lot of things thatneed changing and you know,

355. Darryl, is one of them.

356. Can I talk about lunch?

357. Yes.

358. My God, what a disaster.

359. The food is below standard.

360. Why wouldn't you buy fresh shrimp?

361. Simply don't have the time to go to market.

362. Excuse me.

363. Where are we?

364. We're in New Orleans.

365. Come on.

366. Come on big boy.

367. The chicken fried steak—

368. disaster.

369. What cut of meat was that?

370. Not a very good cut.

371. Are you proud to serve out food?

372. No sir.

373. Was that the same qualityof steak that you we're

374. using years ago?

375. No sir.

376. Then why have you changed the standard?

377. It's up to, Darryl.

378. Is that a cutting cornermethod to save money, or?

379. No, no, no.

380. Chef, everything is shit to you but we

381. had diners eating alllunch— full dining room,

382. but nothing sent back.

383. Do you honestly think just because they

384. don't send back that yourfood is fucking amazing?

385. That's good enough for you to continue?

386. Now you can't be that fucking stupid.

387. Point taken.

388. If they want to be thatstupid you've got no chance.

389. I don't buy the factthat it's bad quality food.

390. That's bullshit.

391. Hard to believe this was once a great place.

392. Coming up, while Darryl and Ellen

393. continued to be defensive—

394. We don't feel like itputs out an awful product.

395. You don't give a shit about food.

396. It's bullshit.

397. —the staff goes on the offense.

398. You talk to us like dirt.

399. Then, at dinner service,

400. Chef Ramsay makes a shocking discovery.

401. So how the fuck is thatspecial in your tiny mind?

402. I don't have a tiny mind.

403. I'm telling you, you have a tiny mind.

404. And makes an announcement

405. that could be the beginningof the end for Zeke's.

406. How would you feel if I told you all that—

407. After receiving someharsh words from, Chef Ramsay—

408. The food is bellow standards.

409. —Darryl has some words of his own.

410. You know chef says everything is shit.

411. It's embarrassing.

412. Says nothing good about the menu.

413. You know, I don't buy that shit.

414. I will never believe the food is shit.

415. You're not going to conv—

416. I've been eating this food all my life.

417. Chef Ramsay doesn't own the world on food.

418. That's it.

419. You can cut all the food downyou want, you can't break me.

420. It's an hour before dinner service

421. and Chef Ramsay hopes a privatemeeting with the two chefs,

422. Emil and Jason, can shed somelight on the restaurant's

423. main issues.

424. OK.

425. So I don't get it.

426. Some of the things I countedthere today were just awful.

427. That can't be your wish tocook with frozen ingredients.

428. We talk about it everyday and it just

429. gets swept under the table.

430. I tell him the second he starts cutting costs

431. your getting a cheaper product.

432. You know it's going to taste like shit,

433. and trying to explain thatto him you know it's like—

434. It's like talking to this wall right here.

435. Yeah.

436. And how long has it been going on like that?

437. Since right around the time he took over.

438. The only thing Darryl and Ellen see

439. is money and that's what scares me.

440. Their whole purpose is money, money, money, money, money.

441. We feel like our hands are so tied,

442. as far as ordering goes— everything goes,

443. the only option was to leave.

444. Me and him both go.

445. - Yes.- You know, what do you do?

446. Just walk out of the place?

447. I mean we've got a lot of personal memories

448. in this place, just to walk out of it.

449. Granted.

450. I get that, but it doesn't stopyou from having your voice.

451. Everybody here is just kind of waiting

452. for the place to belly up and gofind a new job somewheres else.

453. I'm here to help put thisfreaking place back on the map.

454. Yes sir.

455. You're absolutely right.

456. We have only twooptions, Chef Ramsay or God

457. and I don't think the second coming

458. is happening anytime soon.

459. Thanks for the catch-up.

460. After gaining someinsight from Jason and Emil—

461. Hey, I need shrimp portioned.

462. —Chef Ramsay iseager to see how this restaurant

463. functions in a dinner service.

464. How does this work?

465. Uh, Emil.

466. When were these done?

467. Um, last night.

468. Why are they bagged?

469. He portions them out to order.

470. Really?

471. What's the idea ofputting everything in bags?

472. Portion size.

473. Portion size.

474. Like and everything inquantitative perspective.

475. If I give too much youget a happy customer here.

476. You don't get a good customer.

477. They're happy because they're getting

478. three times what they should begetting, I'm getting nothing.

479. I don't make money on that.

480. It's food. It's food.

481. You know we're not cutting, uh, piping for the bathroom.

482. Hi. Welcome to Zeke's.

483. How many do we have in the party?

484. Four.

485. It's, Chef Ramsay's, first time in Louisiana.

486. Come right this way, please.

487. And not surprisingly, Zeke's is completely booked.

488. And tonight our specials are lasagna.

489. And lasagna sounds good.

490. I got a seafood platter.

491. No oysters, sub shrimp.

492. I'm at the expo station.

493. I like to see all the food go out.

494. Side of new potatoes, Darryl.

495. I make sure every dish goesout like I want it to go out.

496. Can I run anything?

497. Nope.

498. Shrimp platter.

499. Can any of that go?

500. I'm waiting on dishes to complete their order.

501. It doesn't concern you that food

502. is just dying in the window?

503. Look, we're pushing as hard as we can.

504. Bloody hell.

505. Been here a long time.

506. Expediting is one thing, butstanding here and say nothing

507. is another.

508. Wow.

509. Fucking hell.

510. It's an hour into dinner service

511. and the first wave of food is finally making

512. its way out to the customers.

513. Sorry about the wait.

514. They were backed up.

515. Everybody's food on the table is cold.

516. Let me get your server.

517. My apologies.

518. And the foodisn't the only thing that's

519. getting a chilly reception.

520. Can I ask something?

521. Do you mind not standing there like that.

522. It's so dower.

523. You know I think you could be more proactive.

524. I don't want to hover, you know.

525. But you could make yourself busy.

526. OK.

527. I got it.

528. I'm already.

529. Good.

530. Thank you.

531. All right look what I got.

532. What's that one?

533. Lasagna.

534. Lasagna.

535. When was the lasagna made?

536. Last Thursday.

537. Last Thursday.

538. And today's Thursday right?

539. Serving the stuff from a week ago.

540. Help me to understand that stupidity.

541. Well, we made the pan we did the sauce,

542. it's wrapped up inportions and then frozen.

543. Not that that's a band thing.

544. Lasagna it's all done fresh and cooked.

545. And we'll wrap the portions up separately

546. and we'll put them in the freezer.

547. It works.

548. It is the best lasagna you're going to get.

549. It's the special right?

550. - Yes it is. - OK.

551. So how the fuck is thatspecial in your tiny mind

552. when it's cooked a week ago?

553. Whoa.

554. I don't have a tiny mind.

555. I'm telling you, you have a tiny mind.

556. It can't be that special if you're going to stand here

557. and tell me that it's special.

558. This— the product is good.

559. Darryl runs his kitchen with90% bravado and, you know,

560. the other 10% he just wings it.

561. This is a good product.

562. This is good food.

563. Fuck me.

564. My God.

565. It's getting worse.

566. Yeah, he is a tough nut your expediter.

567. So we have a special today.

568. When do you think that lasagna was made?

569. - Today. - Homemade lasagna.

570. Right.

571. Last Thursday.

572. How can it be that specialwhen it's from a week ago?

573. Well you know it's frozen, so it's not like sitting

574. there getting mildew on it.

575. And our customers— You're missing the point.

576. —absolutely love the lasagna.

577. I don't think that's ourbiggest issue is lasagna.

578. I mean that's absolutely incorrect.

579. What do you think they would feel

580. like if you told them today's special

581. was cooked a week ago frozen.

582. I don't know.

583. I mean I'm sure they wouldprobably be surprised

584. that it was so good and that itwas made last week and frozen.

585. Shall I ask them all?

586. Would you like me to walk with you?

587. I am not going to walk, I'mgoing to stand up and shout.

588. Oh really?

589. Yeah.

590. When you come out to arestaurant and you read today's

591. special for instance, abeautiful homemade lasagna.

592. Would you expect thatlasagna to be made today?

593. Yes!

594. All right, ladies and gentlemen, how many of you

595. have ordered lasagna?

596. How would you feel if I told you all

597. that today's lasagna that isbeing served was made a week

598. ago.

599. This is humiliating.

600. After making a shocking discovery

601. about today's special—

602. When was the lasagna made?

603. Last Thursday.

604. —Chef Ramsay made that announcement—

605. Today's lasagna that is beingserved was made a week ago.

606. —that is notsitting well with customers.

607. My apologies to those thathave ordered the lasagna.

608. Have a look at thepotential other specials.

609. Bon appetit.

610. Thank you.

611. Thank you.

612. This is humiliating.

613. Right it's absolutely better, of course,

614. when it's fresh and servedright out of the pan.

615. But it's not horrible.

616. I just told the customersthat today's lasagna

617. was reheated from a week ago.

618. The feedback was shock horror.

619. 86 the lasagna.

620. - Yes sure. - Yeah.

621. With Chef Ramsay's announcement

622. fresh in the minds—

623. Just get uh, get the check.

624. Get the check.

625. OK.

626. Customers have seemedto have lost their appetite.

627. Fuck me.

628. Did you all eat already?

629. Yeah, I had the lasagna.

630. After witnessing a dinner

631. service full of problems—

632. You got two seconds please?

633. Yes. Absolutely.

634. —Chef Ramsay is anxious to have

635. a chat with the owners.

636. Oh, deer.

637. Do you hear the customerstonight when I told them

638. the lasagna was a week old.

639. Did you hear?

640. Here's what happens, cook thelasagna and it doesn't sell.

641. Do you throw it away?

642. No we don't throw it away.

643. We wrap it.

644. I'm here to help, but Itell you what I can't help you

645. when you're standing there andtrying to come up with excuses

646. to why customers pay good money for frozen shit

647. that is cooked a week ago, and you call it a special.

648. We don't feel like itputs out an awful product.

649. You don't give a shit about food.

650. That's not true.

651. Your passion is about portion control,

652. measurements, frozen foodsreheated in a microwave.

653. Restaurants don't run like this.

654. I disagree.

655. I disagree with that also.

656. Definitely.

657. Trust me, you are not a fucking restaurateur.

658. You the owner?

659. You paying rent here?

660. When you start dealing with all this crap

661. and your name is on that lease, then you

662. tell me what you want to do.

663. After being stonewalled

664. by owners in denial— - Morning.

665. Good morning, sir.

666. —Chef Ramsay hascalled a staff meeting—

667. Two minutes please.

668. —hoping to bringall of the restaurants issues

669. into the open.

670. OK.

671. I want you to tell me the frustrations,

672. the anger, and the things thatreally upset you the most.

673. Emil.

674. Um.

675. I just feel as though I'mgetting pounded with the mallet

676. constantly when I walk into this place.

677. I went from working 40 hoursto working about 50 for $400

678. a week.

679. That pisses me off.

680. I feel that we don't get any respect.

681. I'm here all the time.

682. I don't get to eat lunch.

683. I should have a meal—

684. I should have a shift meal.

685. This is messed up.

686. We are talked down to like we're dirt.

687. And it's not right.

688. Listen, I really appreciatethe openness and the honestly.

689. I knew it was bad but I didn't quite understand

690. it hit that level of hurt.

691. I think it's just sadthat we're all sitting here

692. and that we actually aren't even be at this point.

693. I think we all—

694. the whole group of us here—are pretty much struggling.

695. No one is getting that message across.

696. I need to get through to them.

697. Darryl and Ellen are about to arrive.

698. I want you to tell them.

699. Everybody was saying what they wanted to say

700. and getting it off their chest, but it's

701. kind of different from telling Chef

702. Ramsay versus telling Darryl.

703. Don't be nervous, I don't need to be afraid.

704. I've got your back.

705. OK.

706. And here they are.

707. Good morning.

708. Good morning.

709. I've been here having a staff meeting

710. and we've gone through some issues this morning

711. that's been bothering them.

712. But rather than me tryingto tell you how they feel,

713. I think they should speak.

714. Certainly.

715. Who's going to go first.

716. I'll go first.

717. I don't feel as though we allgain much respect around here.

718. And I don't think that youas our owner have our back.

719. Candice, Ashley is that how you feel?

720. You really do talk to us like dirt sometimes.

721. My intent is not to talk down to somebody.

722. But that's how it comes out.

723. Jason, talk to Darryl please.

724. My biggest problem that I have is just I

725. don't think you have a clueas to how this place runs.

726. - Me? - Yeah.

727. Wow.

728. I think that you're so stuck on the numbers,

729. the actual essence of having a restaurant

730. and serving good food and giving customer

731. service and happy employeesthat, that's gone.

732. I don't understand.

733. We hear it every singlenight and every single day

734. from our customers what needs to be changed

735. and why they don't come back.

736. We let you know these thingsand you don't give a shit.

737. Nothing is done.

738. You don't care.

739. Wow.

740. Pay— pay is just ridiculous here.

741. I really don't want to breakdown because I —

742. I've been here a long time.

743. And I'm not getting paid Jack shit.

744. For somebody to be here that long.

745. I've been here since 2006, why haven't I

746. never got a pay raise?

747. OK.

748. Let me say something real quick since we're

749. all telling the truth.

750. First of all Darryl and I havetaken thousands and thousands

751. of dollars out of our personalaccount to pay your paychecks.

752. So why not just close the place down?

753. We're not giving up. We don't want to give up.

754. If you want to give up that'sfine, this isn't your business.

755. We don't want leave each otherbecause we all love each other.

756. We don't want to leave, not at all.

757. But I need to make money to support my family.

758. You know what so do we.

759. Y'all are acting like it's usagainst y'all, and it's not.

760. This is a business, we have cost and expenses.

761. I asked you to take that pay cut.

762. It's either that or laborcosts get so high I'm out.

763. But you can go on five vacations in the summer.

764. And you're struggling for money.

765. Right.

766. That is fucked up.

767. Period.

768. If you don't want to be here, don't be here.

769. After, Chef Ramsay, arranged for the staff

770. to air their grievances—

771. I don't think you have aclue as to how this place runs.

772. —the defiant ownersare not having any of it.

773. If you don't want to be here, don't be here.

774. If I were piling up money back there,

775. then I could see you being pissed off.

776. But we are not piling up money back there.

777. I can't show appreciationin dollars at this point.

778. They maybe have this pictureof me with this pile of money

779. going, "Ha, ha, ha. Nobody is going to get it."

780. We don't have the money.

781. I'm accepting the truth fromyou guys, except that from me

782. please.

783. Things aren't going well, I understand that.

784. But in terms of moralthere's an air of discontent.

785. They feel abused and I'm notsaying the staff are perfect,

786. but you are the owners and you set an example.

787. We have to fix what's broken within.

788. So how about starting overagain and turning the page and

789. the beginning of a new chapter.

790. I understand those frustrations.

791. You're wonderful people.

792. So I want you all here and you will have my respect.

793. I guarantee you that from me.

794. And there is a lot of lovefor you guys from Ellen and I.

795. - And I truly mean that. - Good.

796. We did make some progress.

797. The air is clearer.

798. OK.

799. It's a new day here at Zeke's.

800. I've got some ideas that I need to put

801. into place to really start putting

802. this place back on the map.

803. Thank you.

804. Honestly I don't think that Darryl and Ellen

805. heard what we were saying.

806. He was just saying what was right just to get

807. Chef Ramsey off his back.

808. We'll see what happens.

809. Oh, Lord.

810. After attempting toopen Daryl and Ellen's eyes

811. of the staff morale problems, Chef Ramsay

812. has devised a plan to test the chefs

813. and showcase their abilities.

814. OK.

815. It's been so obvious that you'vebeen handcuffed by Darryl.

816. And here is what we need to do.

817. Show Darryl how creative, how inspirational,

818. how exciting you can be with seafood.

819. There's a grocery store literally

820. two miles away from here.

821. OK.

822. Have a look at theingredients, get inspired,

823. come back, get creative.

824. I want to see that on a plate. Yeah?

825. - Thank you, Chef. - Good.

826. Right now I'm pretty jacked up.

827. Gordon Ramsay himselfsaid, "Jason, time for you

828. to be inspired.

829. Go let it happen.

830. Let's see what you got."

831. All right.

832. Let's see what they got fresh.

833. How may I help you?

834. Red fish fresh?

835. Just put it out hour and half ago.

836. That's what we're looking for.

837. It's extremely liberating tohave this freedom to showcase

838. and do what we want to do— cook good food.

839. Very nice to meet you.

840. Thanks guys.

841. I am looking for red onions with asparagus.

842. Just get a red pepper.

843. This will be the last thing I get.

844. And we are ready to rock. There it is.

845. There it is.

846. Showcase the skills.

847. So happy.

848. Think of something creativeand really let it go, yeah?

849. Yes, Chef.

850. Off you go guys, yeah.

851. I'm going to do chickenfried steak at the same time.

852. OK.

853. Brilliant.

854. - Own it, yeah. - Yes, Chef.

855. You going to put a little lime juice in there?

856. Yes.

857. Well, I'm not done yet with it.

858. OK.

859. Good.

860. I love the idea of bacon and—

861. Cheddar grits.

862. —cheddar, nice.

863. So in terms of the inspiration, tell me what it is.

864. Try to keep it southern with the grits,

865. fresh with the salmon, andclassic with the capers

866. with on with the tomatoes.

867. Good.

868. Keeping it with the New Orleans theme.

869. Red fish and then grilled vegetables,

870. fresh rice, freshingredients, just a fun dish.

871. Pretty good job.

872. The difference in night andday let me tell you that.

873. Beautiful.

874. Now, say nothing.

875. You didn't cook them.

876. I cooked them. Do you understand?

877. - Yes. - OK.

878. Let's go.

879. Come over guys.

880. Please.

881. Wow, look at that.

882. You think of Louisiana the first thing

883. you think of is freshness.

884. But when I walked into yourrestaurant what I didn't expect

885. was frozen seafood.

886. So I got my team to getsome ingredients from me.

887. I'd like you both just to have a little taste.

888. Taste the freshness.

889. A beautiful char-grilled salmon done with grits.

890. Creamy, tasty, it's absolutely phenomenal.

891. And I got ahold of some red fish.

892. Marinated zucchini with some rice

893. and a really nice mango salsa.

894. Oh my gosh.

895. This red fish is delicious.

896. It's phenomenal.

897. It's absolutely phenomenal.- Phenomenal?

898. Absolutely.

899. Watching them eat my dish andnot knowing that it was mine,

900. and to say that— you know it looked

901. like it was from their heart.

902. I'd like you to have a little taste

903. of that chicken fried steak.

904. I just lightly pounded itand then fried it twice.

905. So it should just melt in your mouth.

906. It does melt. Literally, literally melted Chef.

907. And couldn't believe how good it was.

908. The presentation was beautifuland it was fresh ingredients,

909. and they tasted wonderful.

910. They're all absolutely phenomenal.

911. You can taste the difference?

912. Absolutely.

913. There's something you need toknow about the seafood dishes.

914. I didn't cook them.

915. The two chefs put those dishes together.

916. Wow.

917. The seafood dishes are your boys.

918. Delicious, absolutely.

919. They really are.

920. They are Phenomenal.

921. It really opened my eyes towhat I wasn't letting them do,

922. honestly.

923. Food is art and I was notletting them create their art.

924. These aren't just delicious.

925. They're beautiful and theycome from right inside of you.

926. I know that. You did a fantastic job.

927. It feels really good thatDarryl and Ellen recognize

928. my potential and I think thatmy abilities have been shown

929. and hopefully this is the first step forward.

930. This is the new Zeke's.

931. I can see that's what we're looking for.

932. And all I can really think to myself was

933. about fucking time you see it.

934. Really good job.

935. Well done.

936. It's incredible.

937. Coming up—

938. Oh my gosh!

939. —it's the biggest restaurant

940. redesign in the history of kitchen nightmares.

941. This has surpassed anythingyou could possibly imagine.

942. But it all could be for nothing

943. if Daryl can't stick withChef Ramsay's new plan.

944. How we looking, three chops and alligator.

945. Slow down for one minuteand let us catch up.

946. Everybody stop.

947. Just stop.

948. After finally havingat least a small breakthrough

949. with the owners, Chef Ramseydecides to have his team work

950. through the night on the biggest restaurant

951. makeover they have ever done.- All right.

952. Good morning.

953. Morning chef.

954. Excited?

955. Are you ready to see the new Zeke's?

956. - Yes. - Let's go.

957. Welcome to the new Zeke's.

958. Here we go. Come in please.

959. Oh wow.

960. In you go.

961. - Oh my gosh! - Are you kidding me?

962. In, in, in.

963. Oh nice.

964. Oh my gosh.

965. Oh, that's nice.

966. Look at that.

967. Oh my God.

968. Let's start with the walls.

969. Gone is the swamp.

970. Look at all that the old doors.

971. Reclaimed doors.

972. It's got that nostalgia and it;sgot that comfort feel, right?

973. Feels like home.

974. Look at this.

975. You've got the most amazingchair.s Brand new chairs.

976. It just feels authentic.

977. Let me say this, please.

978. Please.

979. You have found our identity.

980. Wonderful. Wonderful.

981. This is us. I'm astonished.

982. I mean truly.

983. I didn't really have any expectations,

984. but this has surpassed anythingyou could possibly imagine.

985. There is one more thingl would like to show you.

986. You're going to start peeing your pants.

987. Oh man that's good.

988. Oh, that's nice.

989. There we are.

990. Our boil house.

991. Oh my gosh!

992. From shucking your oystersto cooking your shrimp,

993. this is going to be asubstantial part of the menu.

994. And Emil, it's going to take so much

995. pressure off of you and Jason.

996. This should just run on its own and it should

997. almost double the turnover.

998. Did I see you smile again?

999. That's the second time in 24 hours too.

1000. They are going to arrest you for being too happy.

1001. Chef Ramsey has given this staff,

1002. this place, my family, our friends,

1003. our customers a new beginning.

1004. It's unbelievable.

1005. Honestly, when people would ask

1006. me where I work I would never say Zeke's, I just

1007. say I am a cook.

1008. Now I'm proud to say that I work here.

1009. A new beginning and a new identity for Zeke's.

1010. Along with makingthe decor more inviting,

1011. Chef Ramsay as replacedZeke's outdated stale menu

1012. with a modern update ofclassic New Orleans cuisine.

1013. Oh my gosh.

1014. My goodness me.

1015. This was going to put Zeke's back on the map.

1016. Be careful, it's fresh.

1017. Every dish is absolutely beautiful.

1018. OK.

1019. Let's start off top of the table.

1020. Zeke's house boil, yes.

1021. Bucket of shrimps, yes.

1022. Bucket of blue crabs.

1023. A great sharing, festive, localized bucket.

1024. Push them, OK.

1025. Back at the menu the entrees.

1026. Pecan crusted catfish, so with a classic tartar

1027. sauce and a herb salad.

1028. Country fried steak, big hit.

1029. Say no more southern gravy.

1030. Delicious, slightly heated in that gravy.

1031. So you got a nice little burnin the back of your throat.

1032. Blackened alligator, wonderful creole sauce.

1033. Absolutely delicious.

1034. Because this has now become notthe old Zeke's, your Zeke's.

1035. Thank you.

1036. Indeed.

1037. You've got your identity, now make it yours.

1038. Absolutely incredible.

1039. Beautiful.

1040. Come here.

1041. Come here.

1042. The way chef createdthe menu and the dishes—

1043. they don't have a menu like that around here.

1044. Dig in.

1045. Enjoy.

1046. So not only do we have something

1047. great to put on the table, but it's not anywhere around.

1048. - No one else has it. - Oh my gosh.

1049. Did you taste the cornbread?

1050. The menu is phenomenal.

1051. I am proud to have it and excited

1052. and can't wait for everybodyelse to come in and try it.

1053. It's delicious.

1054. I feel right now we have the most diverse

1055. Louisiana southern menu.

1056. I mean we very well may have the best menu.

1057. Rich in flavor, rich in texture.

1058. Wow.

1059. Hi, guys.

1060. Welcome to Zeke's

1061. The community of Metairie

1062. had a love affair with thisrestaurant that went sour.

1063. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

1064. The shrimps are amazing.

1065. Chef Ramsay'srevamp and tonight's relaunch

1066. will be a strong indicator if it's possible for this love

1067. affair to resume.

1068. I'm going to try the smothered prokchops.

1069. I'm going to try the blackened alligator.

1070. And with so many changes in place

1071. and so many people in the dining room,

1072. Chef Ramsay is hoping the boil house

1073. will take some of thepressure off the kitchen.

1074. Any um— any orders on yet in the boil house?

1075. No.

1076. Nothing in the boil house already.

1077. So get ahold of the waitress, call them in and say,

1078. all right start pushing them.

1079. We got to use that place.

1080. We got to get used to that.

1081. Let's go.

1082. Rachel, sell boiled food.

1083. - I'm trying. - Sell one, OK.

1084. Sell one to a big table, please.

1085. Tonight We have a special, it's boiled lobster for two.

1086. I don't know if you saw it on the menu,

1087. but we sell it by the bucket.

1088. Just bring us two.

1089. Coming right up.

1090. Two buckets of lobster for table five.

1091. Two buckets of lobster?

1092. Can I get two buckets of lobster, please.

1093. Let's go.

1094. Put a little bit of butter on there,

1095. give it a nice little glaze, OK. Good.

1096. That's it.

1097. Two lobsters, let's go.

1098. Look what I have for y'all.

1099. Y'all enjoy.

1100. Looks good. Look at this.

1101. Wow.

1102. With the boil house now being utilized

1103. and satisfying customers, it'sclearly allowed some breathing

1104. room for the kitchen.

1105. You're eight minutes on baked crab at 33.

1106. However, it's now up to Darryl

1107. to manage the time wisely.

1108. I worked hard today, let's make it happen.

1109. You've got to focus on that window,

1110. communicate with these guys.

1111. One table leaving, one tableworking so we don't get

1112. bogged down, yes?

1113. Yes, Chef.

1114. I need an alligator, I need a strip.

1115. - Give me three minutes on that.- Let's go.

1116. We need to push food out thereand cook it as fast as we can.

1117. Three tomatoes, char-grilled oysters.

1118. I need it fast.

1119. Let's work one at a time.

1120. - It's not a race. - How we looking?

1121. Three chops and alligator.

1122. Hold on one second, Darryl.

1123. Smothered chop, how we looking?

1124. Darryl, slow down for one minute.

1125. Let us catch up, huh.

1126. Fucking hell.

1127. With, Darryl, calling multiple tickets

1128. at the same time—

1129. Grits, mashed, sweet potatoes.

1130. —and more focusedon speed than anything else—

1131. What ticket is it for?

1132. —the kitchen isnow completely confused.

1133. How's my pecan catfish?

1134. Where's my New York strips?

1135. Got to go.

1136. Just put them in the window and we'll

1137. figure out how to plate them.- Yes.

1138. Whatever you got.

1139. Make sure it's done.

1140. I was being told that I needthis, this, and this right now.

1141. And I just try and move as fastas I can and get the food out.

1142. I'm saying, it just looks like crap.

1143. Do you agree?

1144. Yeah.

1145. No garnish?

1146. No.

1147. Goes in the window like that.

1148. Darryl has managed to get

1149. the cooks producing thefood at a much quicker pace.

1150. That looks really raw.

1151. I don't think this is cooked all of the way.

1152. But the dishes are not at the level

1153. that they should be.

1154. Sir, is that cooked?

1155. It's not is it?

1156. Excuse me, can I get you another one sir?

1157. Yeah?

1158. Guys, the fish is raw. Not tonight.

1159. - Oh, man. - Just stop.

1160. 24 is out.

1161. Everybody stop!

1162. What a joke.

1163. It's relaunch night at Zeke's—

1164. Smothered chop— how we looking?

1165. Darryl, slow down for one minute.

1166. Let us catch up, huh.

1167. —and with, Darryl, pushing the cooks, food

1168. is leaving the kitchen quickly.

1169. Can I get you another one sir?

1170. Unfortunately it'salso coming back quickly.

1171. Guys the fish raw. Not tonight.

1172. - Oh man. - Just stop.

1173. Fuck.

1174. Everybody stop.

1175. Emil, Jason come around.

1176. I would rather be three or fourminutes later than rush food

1177. out there, and the shit is coming back.

1178. Not tonight.

1179. An expediter should definitely set the tone

1180. for the rest of the kitchen.

1181. I think Darryl lost control today.

1182. It's just a big catastrophe.

1183. What we've got to do isfocus on one table at a time.

1184. We've got to communicate.

1185. Darryl, talk to me.

1186. Don't get slum, where you at?

1187. Darryl, what table are you on?

1188. Darryl, take responsibility.

1189. I have to stop, refocus, let's get these tickets

1190. out one at a time.

1191. I need to do a better job ofcommunicating, very simply.

1192. All right, guys let's focus.

1193. Where you at now, Darryl?

1194. Pecan catfish and blackened alligator.

1195. I his hand, Darryl.

1196. Table one, let's go.

1197. Move to the next ticket.

1198. I got 33—

1199. blacked alligator, pecan catfish.

1200. Coming right now, Darryl.

1201. Let's go.

1202. Following, Chef Ramsay's,

1203. advice of focusing on one table at a time—

1204. What table are you on?

1205. Table 10. Yeah, I got—

1206. Mac and cheese, grits is up.

1207. —Darryl and the chefs are now in sync.

1208. Please, let's get this to 31.

1209. - Blackened alligator. - Awesome.

1210. Thank you.

1211. Shrimp and grits.

1212. —perfectly cookeddishes are leaving the kitchen.

1213. That's very good.

1214. —and are beingenjoyed by thrilled customers.

1215. That's delicious.

1216. Fox news are here.

1217. Now that this restaurant is on its way

1218. to a successful relaunch—

1219. Hi, nice meeting you.

1220. —Chef Ramsay isready to spread the word.

1221. What happened with the restaurant before?

1222. Why did you come here?

1223. This place was legendary.

1224. It lost it's way, it's now back on the map

1225. with two new owners that are going

1226. to start their ownbeginning of a new chapter.

1227. What is the feedback you'realready getting for tonight?

1228. That the food is fantastic.

1229. I mean, the menu is— it's fabulous.

1230. I highly recommend that you come in and try it.

1231. Let's finish, let's finish.

1232. Somebody get this to 14, please.

1233. Is there no more tickets coming in?

1234. Let's get this stuff out of here.

1235. Definitely going to order this again.

1236. It's delicious.

1237. That's a wrap, Jack.

1238. At the end of the night, theway it ended made me feel good.

1239. I think, Darryl showed more personality tonight

1240. then he's shown in the last few years.

1241. We still have some improvements to make,

1242. but you can see it's on the right track.

1243. - Nice job. - Goodnight ladies.

1244. Thank you.

1245. Thank you so much.

1246. OK.

1247. Tonight was about establishing anew Zeke's and you achieved it.

1248. Yes, yes.

1249. It's my first time in New Orleans.

1250. Fuck me did you give me a challenge.

1251. If, Chef Ramsay, told me aweek ago that all these changes

1252. were going to happen—

1253. Well done my darling.

1254. I don't think I would have really believed it.

1255. Can I just have a quick word with you two.

1256. Amazing.

1257. Look at this place.

1258. The potential is huge.

1259. I know.

1260. Fantastic.

1261. It is now your Zeke's.

1262. Run with it.

1263. And, Darryl, you do care.

1264. And you do have a heart— a bigheart, show it to your staff.

1265. Indeed I will.

1266. Don't hide that.

1267. I'm ready to do things the right way.

1268. Ready to get moving, into it's new life.

1269. - It's a new energy. - Good job.

1270. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

1271. - Good night. - Thanks, Chef.

1272. Good night, good night, good night.

1273. We had a lot of issueshere when I first arrived.

1274. The staff were at war with theowners, the food was miserable,

1275. and the restaurant was seriouslystruggling for an identity.

1276. But what I witnessed was aphenomenal comeback and how

1277. fitting is that, that took placehere in the most resilient city

1278. across America, New Orleans.

1279. Week old lasagna, not so special.

1280. In the weeks that followed, a glowing

1281. report on the local news—

1282. As a family, as a restaurantit's back on the map.

1283. —brought a surge ofcustomers to the restaurant.

1284. Hi. How are y'all?

1285. —Darryl andEllen are doing their best

1286. to raise staff morale.

1287. You all did an excellent job.

1288. I can't do this without you guys.

1289. And a reaching out to the community—

1290. And we really thank you all for coming in.

1291. It means a lot to us. Thanks.

1292. —put Zeke's back on the map.

1293. Next time on Kitchen Nightmares, Chef Ramsay,

1294. heads to Bourbon Street to a restaurant

1295. run by two brothers, Mo—

1296. You're the one who'ssupposed to be all over this.

1297. —and Romy.

1298. Just support what the fuck I am telling you.

1299. —who use theireatery as a battleground.

1300. Gordon is completely disgusted.

1301. And totally appalled andchallenge by the management.

1302. Punch me, do what the fuck you want to do.

1303. That's next timeon the most explosive kitchen

1304. nightmares of the year.

1305. We should shut down thefucking restaurant tonight.