Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares 3x1

1. - Geez, the heat's gonna kill me.

2. Chefs say the heat

3. of the kitchen either makes you or breaks you.

4. This week, I meet a chef who it nearly killed.

5. He collapsed in the fucking kitchen.

6. He's just been rushed to hospital.

7. I hope to hell he's okay.

8. Nantwich, a wealthy Cheshire town in the heart

9. of a thriving farming community.

10. Just off the high street is Oscar's,

11. named after Irish writer, Oscar Wilde.

12. - It's been hard work.

13. Like I've put a lot of money into it

14. and I want it to work out now.

15. I'm running out of excuses.

16. - Cathy, your usual without the bath, innit?

17. Thank you very much.

18. Twelve months ago,

19. with the support of her family,

20. Maura put 65000 pounds, her life savings,

21. into opening her dream restaurant.

22. - I like meeting people.

23. I love meeting people and this is what I enjoy.

24. One big happy family,

25. running a quaint Irish restaurant.

26. Perfect.

27. Trouble is, Maura's now losing two grand a week

28. and this place was meant to be her pension plan.

29. - It's just a nightmare.

30. It really, it is a nightmare.

31. It's a panic, especially when I'm on my own.

32. You know I have nobody to go home

33. and say, oh God, do you know, what do you think?

34. Maura can't afford a Head Chef,

35. so her son Lenin's heading up the kitchen for free.

36. - I'm the one that's closest to me mum,

37. so obviously I wanna see her in the large

38. and that's just it, I've just stayed.

39. But even with Lenin's

40. charitable contribution,

41. it seems Oscar's is on its last legs.

42. - Fuck me, it's on top of a butcher.

43. - How've you been? - Are you well?

44. - I am very well.

45. - It's Maura? - Maura.

46. - Good.

47. - (speaking foreign language)

48. - This is cosy, nice.

49. And whose that on the wall down there?

50. - Who do you think it is?

51. - He looks like a fat version of Jonathan Ross.

52. Lenny? - How you doing?

53. - Pleased to meet you. - And you.

54. What's under here?

55. - They're the ribs, which cook in Coca Cola.

56. - Cooked in Coca Cola? - Yeah.

57. - Fuck me, that's a new one. - Honest to God, they are.

58. - They're cooked in Coca Cola?

59. - In Coca Cola. - Okay.

60. Lenin used to be a pub chef,

61. and it looks like he's picked up some bad habits.

62. - And what style of food is it?

63. - I call it a bit of everything,

64. a bit of fish sticks, a bit of pasta,

65. a bit of vegetarian.

66. We try to cover a bit of everything.

67. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Oh dear.

68. I can't wait to find out

69. what Maura's eclectic menu has to offer.

70. - Okay? - Thank you.

71. King prawn wrap, green lip mussels, soup du jour.

72. A little bit of everything.

73. A good restaurant

74. does one sort of food brilliantly.

75. A bad one does 50 badly.

76. - Oscar Wilde buffalo.

77. Buffalo in Cheshire.

78. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Even I'd find

79. Maura's menu a challenge.

80. God knows how her son Lenin copes.

81. - He wants a carbonara for his main —

82. - Ah, the bastard.

83. - What?

84. - He had to pick the thing I'm worst at.

85. - Oh, thank you.

86. My paella starter

87. takes 20 minutes to arrive.

88. - It's a nice psychedelic pink crab stick.

89. It stinks as well.

90. Then, like everyone else,

91. I start waiting

92. and waiting for my main course.

93. - Oh for fuck's sake.

94. - What are they doing in there?

95. Lots of cutlery on the table but no fucking food.

96. Has anyone told them

97. there are 38 customers in the restaurant?

98. Tables three and seven are being cleared

99. for about 20 minutes.

100. With food and service this bad,

101. first time customers will never come back.

102. - Somebody's having a laugh here.

103. - Table one has complained about waiting

104. too long for the food,

105. now they want a bottle of complimentary wine.

106. What can you do?

107. You have to keep the customer happy.

108. Maura's been forced

109. to flush what little profits she could be making

110. straight down the toilet.

111. - Somebody?

112. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] At last,

113. an hour and a half after ordering it,

114. my carbonara finally arrives.

115. - Tastes like there's vinegar there.

116. You don't put fucking vinegar in a carbonara.

117. There's no egg in there, there's no Parmesan in there.

118. It's bland, it's garlicky.

119. Chicken's rubbery.

120. Apart from being crap and really shit,

121. I actually feel really embarrassed

122. because the girls behind me haven't even eaten yet.

123. - We've been in here since eight o'clock

124. and it's now 10 past 10, so we've kind of

125. gone a bit past caring what comes.

126. - Fucking hell.

127. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] I'm amazed

128. they've held out this long.

129. What's going on in there?

130. - Lenin is really fucking embarrassing me out there.

131. Let me give you a hand.

132. So, who's communicating?

133. Who is doing what?

134. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Anyone in?

135. - What's that doing down there?

136. Who put that under there?

137. Obviously, the smouldering

138. 35 degree heat in this kitchen

139. has started to scramble their brains.

140. - Who put it under the grill, guys?

141. - I put it under.

142. - And did you look after it, Les?

143. - No, I just turned it on and put it under

144. because he stood right next to me when I did it, so.

145. - This is like a fucking Lauren Harvey show.

146. This is another fine mess

147. I've got myself into.

148. - Salad for — - Salad for three.

149. - Salad? - Veg.

150. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] It's a farce.

151. - Veg is overcooked.

152. That's overcooked.

153. With mother and son

154. playing the blame game.

155. - Where is it? - What?

156. - There's no where it's going, fuck all.

157. This is the problem we have most of the time.

158. Fucking waitresses.

159. No one is taking control.

160. - Table two is now looking for some discount.

161. - I'd say get fucked.

162. - No, you can't do that.

163. You can't speak to customers like that.

164. - Two bottles of wine?

165. Two of us, that's maybe 30 quid —

166. - Yeah, but you can't speak to a customer like that.

167. - Well, I fucking disagree. - Well, I'll sort it out.

168. - Well, I'm just saying —

169. This kitchen's a pressure cooker

170. waiting to explode.

171. - Anyway, let's not argue.

172. Let's just try and get some food out.

173. Lenin — - Fuck off.

174. Fucking cook it himself.

175. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] A head chef

176. who can't stand the heat?

177. What happened to the quaint family run restaurant?

178. - Fuck me.

179. It's not normal, this, and you know that.

180. This is not fucking normal.

181. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Doing your mum

182. a favour is one thing.

183. Helping to run her business into the ground is another.

184. - You can't be happy with this.

185. - It does hurt to see it because I know

186. that every penny me mum, it's in,

187. her house is in this, everything's in this.

188. It's shit.

189. - I apologise so much.

190. Maura's given away

191. over 100 pounds worth of free drink and food.

192. She'd have been better off closing for the night

193. and saving the restaurant's reputation.

194. - Lenin, stand next to your mum.

195. I actually sat down with a little bit of excitement,

196. you know that, thinking, Christ, this is quaint,

197. this is beautiful.

198. Then when the food arrived, trust me,

199. I don't think quite honestly we need to hear anymore

200. bad comments on the food tonight

201. 'cause I've heard a fucking bellyful.

202. We're in the shit.

203. Morning. - Good morning.

204. It's my second day at Oscar's.

205. Last night, mother and son team Maura and Lenin

206. ran possibly the worst service I've ever seen.

207. - The first thing that struck me when I came

208. to the kitchen last night

209. was the disrespect between mother and son.

210. That was a big shock for me.

211. - Yes, with it being a family business,

212. you know, this is like a livelihood

213. and I walked out and I do know

214. that, you know, that wasn't right.

215. - What the fuck happened last night?

216. You give it to me truthfully.

217. - Truthfully — - And seriously.

218. - And seriously, I, um...

219. I was nervous about the whole thing

220. and I did, and I'll openly admit it,

221. have a few drinks yesterday picking up to it

222. and basically through that I did lose me concentration

223. of what I was doing.

224. Everything just went pear shaped.

225. - If I am going to get involved

226. and start working fucking hard

227. to help get this thing back on track,

228. you've really got to promise me

229. that you're going to concentrate,

230. not disappear, and forget anything about a fucking drink.

231. - 100%.

232. 110%, I promise you that.

233. - I'm really worried about Lenin

234. turning to alcohol every time there's pressure

235. in the kitchen.

236. So many chefs go down that line

237. and if it's not alcohol, it's drugs,

238. and that's the last thing you need

239. when you're under pressure.

240. It's a fucking recipe for disaster.

241. Like his dad before him,

242. Lenin's always wanted to be a chef

243. but so far, I've seen nothing revolutionary in his cooking.

244. It's time to find out just what lights his fire.

245. - I don't cook for myself.

246. - You don't fucking eat your own food?

247. Are you kidding, not anything?

248. - Curry.

249. I just like vindaloo curry for some reason.

250. - Vindaloo? - Yeah.

251. - I know, I'm read, and that's it,

252. I'll sit with a bottle of wine with that

253. and I'm happy enough.

254. - So you eat vindaloos, you smoke 40 cigarettes a day,

255. a bottle of wine?

256. - Sugar sandwiches. - Sugar what?

257. - Sugar sandwiches. - How the fuck do —

258. - Butter the bread and dip it into the sugar bowl.

259. Gorgeous, trust me.

260. - You must have a pant like a cow's backside

261. having diarrhoea, you know that?

262. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Sugar sandwiches

263. and ribs braised in Coca Cola?

264. Lenin's taste buds have clearly lost their Irish roots.

265. I need to inspire them

266. with some good old fashioned ingredients.

267. - Lamb.

268. That could be turned into 300-400 quids

269. worth of turnover.

270. How can you turn that into something delicious, yeah,

271. and sell it on the fucking menu?

272. Think of something for chicken as well, you know that.

273. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Let's see

274. what his vivid imagination can master.

275. - Not out of a cookbook, but off the top of me head.

276. - Okay.

277. Ready?

278. - Yep.

279. Right, the chicken marinated

280. in honey and whole grain mustard,

281. served on a bed of wilted spinach.

282. - Good? - I like that.

283. - Yeah? - Yeah, I do like that.

284. - You had a drink last night?

285. - Last night, yes.

286. - I didn't drink a thing last night.

287. - It tastes like shit. - Yeah, it tastes like shit.

288. Next?

289. - Diced lamb cooked in tomato and basil sauce

290. and just topped with Parmesan cheese

291. put a bit of chilli just to give it

292. a little bit of a bite.

293. - This is why I think you're destroying

294. the majority of the stuff you do

295. because you put all these little bits of shit at the end

296. that just blows it.

297. - I don't think that's too bad.

298. - Almost reminds me of a a stew, like an Irish stew,

299. and if I came to Oscar's I might love to see

300. a real nice Irish stew

301. and if I knew the chef was Irish, bang.

302. - You'd expect —

303. - I'd be over the fucking moon.

304. That one's workable, not bad.

305. - Okay, thank you.

306. - But you can definitely do better.

307. - Yeah.

308. And there's no time

309. like the present.

310. Irish family.

311. - Put the cabbage in, I think we can do it

312. quite sort of rustic, you know?

313. Irish restaurant.

314. Irish stew, here we come.

315. - Shake, shake, shake, so we dry them out a little bit.

316. Create a little bit of fur on the outside,

317. almost a bit like a fur jacket.

318. - That's the way they do it in Ireland.

319. In Ireland when they boil the spuds and drain them —

320. - Welcome back.

321. - They go back on until they just start to fluff out.

322. - Why the fuck are you telling me this, yeah,

323. in your own restaurant,

324. when you produce the shit you produced,

325. and now you've just opened up

326. and hit the nail on the head?

327. You've fallen out of love with food, haven't you?

328. - A lot of people have said that, yeah.

329. I don't know why, there's no reason why.

330. - You've got to get it back.

331. So, what does Mum think?

332. - I'm ashamed to say I'm Irish

333. and I couldn't make Irish stew like this.

334. It's lovely.

335. - You, you're Irish, for fuck's sake.

336. You should be, you know, renowned in this town

337. for your Irish stew,

338. walking around like proud cock.

339. - I mean, yeah, and it's simple, it's basic, it's cheap.

340. Yeah, okay.

341. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Mother and son

342. are starting to see eye-to-eye.

343. Now it's time to get mature trainee chef Les

344. up to speed.

345. - And did you not want to be a chef

346. early on in life or?

347. - No, it never really occurred to me.

348. I mean, when I left school it was just

349. take what job I could get at the time, really, money-wise.

350. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Les has had

351. 21 jobs in 21 years.

352. Everything from gas man to bingo caller.

353. - Give me a call. - Eyes down.

354. Here we go, so it's on the blue, four and two, blue 42.

355. Two fat ladies, 88, all the sevens.

356. A pair of crutches, 77.

357. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] If he can cook

358. as well as he can call,

359. then job 22 could be the winning number.

360. - Six and two, clickety dot, 62.

361. Red over ones, legs 11.

362. - Do you want a whistle? - Oh, they whistle, do you?

363. - Of course, yeah, I do whistles.

364. The chefs may be on side

365. but if Oscar's is empty midweek,

366. it doesn't matter how much we improve the food.

367. - How much do you need

368. to take a week to break even?

369. - To break even, about three and a half.

370. - Thousand? - Mm.

371. - And what are you taking?

372. - On average at the minute, it's two.

373. - 2000? - Mm.

374. - Relationships are frail, business is down the pan.

375. How long can you continue surviving like this?

376. - Oh, I'm at the end now.

377. I just can't carry on like this much longer.

378. It's a nightmare, I'm getting worried.

379. My dream has just gone down the shoot.

380. - Where's the butcher, Craig?

381. Maura's never run

382. a restaurant before

383. and upstairs establishments are the hardest to fill

384. so she's got to get her business head on.

385. - Your windows, they're fucking amazing.

386. I've never seen such phenomenal space

387. in all my life, you know that?

388. She's been ignoring

389. a tailor-made marketing solution

390. that's right on her doorstep.

391. - Walking down here, Craig, you're totally oblivious

392. that there's any restaurant.

393. Chinese next door, fine, but bloody hell.

394. I want to know what's going up in there.

395. Does any customers ever tell you that

396. they don't know where the restaurant is?

397. - Yeah, didn't know you were here.

398. - I think you know what's coming.

399. What I want to do is pull those beautiful big blinds down

400. and just stick Oscar's, classic Irish cooking upstairs,

401. telephone number, and what I'd like to do

402. is try to come to some arrangement

403. where you can bring your family for a little bite to eat.

404. Maura will host the table and we can have that bit

405. of sort of working relationship together.

406. Be brilliant for us, yeah?

407. - Be brilliant for both of us.

408. - I'm just trying to think of ways

409. that we can have us a bit of a marketing tool

410. without having to spend shit loads of money.

411. Thank you.

412. Butcher's handshake, solid as a rock.

413. Building a reciprocal

414. relationship with a butcher is key to Oscar's success.

415. - Normally we're using upstairs your fillet steak.

416. Rib eyes?

417. - The rib eyes, the chicken.

418. - The chicken? - And the ribs.

419. - And the ribs.

420. - And is it local lamb?

421. - Local lamb, all local produce here.

422. By making full use

423. of his local suppliers, Lenin and his customers

424. will be getting a better deal.

425. Fresh food on the day.

426. - New menu?

427. - It's going to be a new menu on there.

428. - And with Craig's name all over it?

429. - Yes, so well put your name on our menu,

430. this is where we get our meat.

431. So we need a good discount.

432. I don't know what you're laughing at, I'm serious.

433. He's getting the hang of this

434. so I'm going to push him even further.

435. I want Lenin to buy lunch for 15 surprise guests.

436. - 30 quid. - On 30 quid?

437. - On 30 quid, so I want two pound a head.

438. - A fiver for that, go on.

439. It's outrageous, cheers.

440. If he can stick to a budget,

441. he'll make more profit for the restaurant.

442. - How much are the potatoes?

443. - A pound. - A pound?

444. I'll give you 60 pence for them.

445. 'Cause then I'm taking the mud off them.

446. He's definitely got

447. the gift of gab.

448. - You're good at this, you know that?

449. But he can he transfer

450. some of that energy into the kitchen?

451. - Are you lazy?

452. - Yes, I'd say that, yes.

453. - You are?

454. Why have you turned lazy?

455. - I don't, I can't, I don't know.

456. - Probably because no one's driving you behind

457. and telling you what to do?

458. - Yes, uh-huh.

459. Maybe you've just hit the nail on the head.

460. - Your mum is a weak lady. - I know that.

461. - She's not going to be there for fucking caning you

462. and fucking telling you off.

463. - No, I get annoyed with her

464. and that's when the arguments start.

465. They say never work

466. with children or family.

467. Today, they're all here,

468. but I'm keeping Lenin in the dark.

469. My little surprise.

470. - Let me just say this is one table

471. right now, Lenny, you can't afford to fuck up.

472. - Right. - Yeah?

473. - It won't be fucked up.

474. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] It better not be

475. because his family are his harshest critics,

476. especially his younger brother, Gilly.

477. - There have been a few times where I've come.

478. I haven't been overly impressed.

479. I'm not sure that repeating the same dish constantly

480. he can do at the same sort of level.

481. I think that is his biggest issue.

482. - This is a chance for you to show me

483. that you can cook and control something from scratch

484. and create something which is not on the menu,

485. something completely different,

486. and something a little bit inspirational.

487. - Right. - Excite me.

488. Light my fucking fire.

489. - Everything is fresh, cooked fresh,

490. all bought locally, it's —

491. Write me a fucking storyline or something

492. 'cause I have no idea what you want me to say.

493. - What I'm trying to get out, Lenny,

494. is some fucking passion.

495. Some fucking care and attention and love for food.

496. Blow me away.

497. - Deep fried local mushrooms,

498. stuffed with mature cheddar cheese.

499. - Good.

500. - Slow roasted pork finished with sage.

501. - Sounds nice.

502. - Dessert is fresh local strawberries

503. served on a bed of cream.

504. - Very good.

505. What was different with that?

506. It's all that bullshit you're telling me that was so hard.

507. That sounded fantastic.

508. - Right, so that's got to work.

509. - But the penny's just dropped with me

510. because that's what you're lacking in, confidence.

511. A chef without confidence

512. is like a car without wheels

513. and Lenin's got to get in that driving seat.

514. If he can woo the family with a simple roast dinner,

515. that's half the battle.

516. - See this rock salt right here?

517. Rub it in here like that.

518. It takes all the water out of the fat.

519. What happens to the fat?

520. It goes nice and —

521. - It'll crisp it up. - There you go.

522. The other half of the battle

523. is making full use of his assistant, Les.

524. - You're an important member of this team.

525. We need you here!

526. And you're going to feel a lot safer

527. when this guy's connected to you.

528. The minute this guy's not by your side,

529. your mind's fucked, you know that.

530. You definitely need help.

531. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Maybe this'll be

532. a turning point for Lenin

533. and with his confidence boosted,

534. we can concentrate on his cooking.

535. - Good? - Good.

536. Hey, hello, three and a half minutes

537. for 15 main courses, yeah, fucking well done.

538. Do me a favour and fuck off out there.

539. Go on.

540. It's time for Lenin

541. to meet his surprise guests.

542. So how has he fared?

543. - Lenin, this is gorgeous.

544. This is absolutely gorgeous.

545. - What's the meat that's in with the cabbage?

546. - Bacon, onion, black pepper. - Nice.

547. - Well, he does have a connection with food.

548. Unfortunately he just lacks the confidence,

549. that's the real sad thing about this guy.

550. Cooking for your family is fucking difficult

551. because they've been criticising for a long time.

552. I just wish he could actually do the same now

553. for his customers because if he gets that right

554. we've got a chance at getting this place

555. back on the fucking map.

556. It's Saturday night

557. and Oscar's is fully booked.

558. - I want you to make it here for five up.

559. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Lenny's working

560. with Maura's expansive menu

561. but to give him a fighting chance,

562. there has to be a system.

563. - So that's nice and clear.

564. Table seven, four customers.

565. Communication between

566. front of house and kitchen must be seamless.

567. - Time's on there so we can really concentrate

568. on getting the food out

569. and there's no one's arguing then

570. because you're saying it's 25 minutes

571. and he's saying, no, bullocks, there's only 10 minutes.

572. There, look, it's on the ticket, seven o'clock.

573. Now, for me the first ticket is absolutely crucial.

574. Start off the evening with the first ticket going out,

575. flying out, hey, is an indication

576. that we're going to get off to a really good start, yeah.

577. - Right. - Let's go, wakey wakey.

578. I'm putting the disasters

579. of my first night down to Lenny

580. having a nerve-steadying drink.

581. Tonight, I'll be watching him like a hawk

582. to see where he's going wrong.

583. - Table 11, got us two, one soup, one rib eye.

584. Extra portion of chips, 7:35.

585. - Mm, not bad,

586. and he's actually sounding like a proper chef.

587. - Can I go with these? - Yes please.

588. - Thank you.

589. - And that has been the best eight covers

590. go out of this kitchen, you know that?

591. But after 40 minutes

592. of faultless control in the kitchen,

593. Lenny mysteriously loses it.

594. Big time.

595. - This was cold and a bit tasteless.

596. I thought we'd made

597. good progress cooking for the family.

598. - Basically just apologise for the —

599. How come we're back

600. at square one?

601. - What table's this for?

602. Kitchen's gone silent.

603. Just like being in a church.

604. One, two, three, four, five, six tickets on board.

605. Les is wandering around looking for something to do.

606. If you don't open up and tell me

607. what you're thinking I can't help you.

608. - No, no. - Yeah, gotta open up.

609. - It's pretty pants, really bad.

610. - I'm really sorry about your delay.

611. - Between our charm and the drink

612. it's about the only thing that's holding it up, so.

613. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] I've never seen

614. so much food come back.

615. Something fishy's going on here.

616. - What's that there?

617. What's in there?

618. - I don't know, I got Cathy to deliver it for me.

619. - No, no, tell me the truth.

620. You said you were going to be honest this morning.

621. - Rye bean and water and vodka at the bottom.

622. - When you started off service

623. at 7 o'clock tonight,

624. yeah, it was going well, you know that?

625. It's nine o'clock and they're starting to complain.

626. Is that because of that?

627. - No, that's the first one that's come in the kitchen.

628. And that is the truth.

629. - Then why did you tell me

630. you weren't going to drink?

631. - Because I've sitting up here all day

632. and I just wanted one drink, so I got Cathy involved.

633. I do apologise for that, fair enough, sorry.

634. - Service.

635. - Fuck.

636. It's all becoming

637. seriously clear.

638. This is not just about Lenin's lack of confidence.

639. - You let me down fucking big time.

640. Half past eight inside that fucking cup.

641. You sneaking vodka in?

642. And I don't mind having a beer after fucking service,

643. I don't care what you do after service

644. but in service, from seven o'clock to 11,

645. you fucking stay away from that

646. and you put your pressures on me.

647. You give me the pressure.

648. And it's not just the kitchen you're fucking, you know that.

649. You're screwing your mum. - I'm screwing the restaurant.

650. - It's going to be on food now.

651. - Jesus.

652. We've hit rock bottom

653. but Lenny's proved to me he's got talent

654. when he's not drinking

655. and he must care for his mum and the business

656. if he's here every night for nothing.

657. - Why does he drink?

658. - He really gets stressed

659. and I often wonder, am I putting him

660. under too much pressure?

661. - You've got to be very careful with that

662. because he's lost his motivation

663. and he has lost his direction

664. so you're the only person who can turn that around,

665. you know that?

666. Every time you give him a drink

667. in the middle of service,

668. you're pushing the destruct button.

669. It's you that's gonna close the fucking door.

670. You can't allow him another drink.

671. - Yeah.

672. Day three at Oscar's

673. and the writing's on the wall.

674. Like many chefs, Lenin finds it difficult

675. to cope with the stress of a busy service

676. unless he's had a drink.

677. - When you're in the middle of service,

678. that's the last thing you need is a fucking drink

679. and I've seen my chefs trying to do it as well

680. in the middle of service by using alcohol

681. to get them through a very busy night

682. and if you haven't got your fucking wits

683. about you in the middle of service

684. then you've got no chance.

685. They can be the most disastrous,

686. the most dangerous place to be.

687. First thing with Lenny

688. is to take the pressure away,

689. starting with his mum's deranged bit of everything menu.

690. - I was trying to cover everybody,

691. from number 16 up really, and I made a pig's ear of it.

692. - Can I just say, a menu that big

693. even I wouldn't attempt to cook.

694. You're putting a noose around his neck

695. because he's not capable of doing it.

696. I think you're more capable of doing

697. four, five starters, four, five mains,

698. four, five desserts, fuck all else,

699. but for God's sake you're both Irish

700. so I want to have a big of an influence on there.

701. From the trout to the potatoes to your Irish stew

702. and make it sort of become a hallmark.

703. I want to get Lenin excited

704. about a new Irish themed menu.

705. - Let's get this fishcake together, shall we?

706. Garlic butter.

707. And show him that food

708. can give him his kicks instead of the booze.

709. - Come here, Les, blow on the fish.

710. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] And hopefully

711. they can taste the difference between his cheap

712. brought-in cod and pancetta fishcake —

713. - Chilli sauce, get it on there, big boy.

714. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] And my fresh

715. homemade alternative.

716. - The first one that went in your mouths was what?

717. - That one, homemade.

718. - And the second one

719. that went in your mouths was what?

720. - That shite there.

721. - You cut into it, what's the first thing

722. the customer sees? - Colour.

723. - It's fish.

724. Tails of salmon, smoked haddock, little bit of mustard.

725. - That's lovely.

726. - That really was nice.

727. - And this place becomes renowned

728. for the most amazing homemade fishcakes, Christ almighty.

729. - They're a good size.

730. - Go in the bin.

731. The menu's starting

732. to come together.

733. I just hope I'm not putting too much pressure

734. on Lenny too soon.

735. - Are you struggling today without a drink?

736. - No, I'm not doing too bad, no, I'm all right.

737. - When you're cooking and the fucking shit hits the fan

738. again and you're under pressure,

739. I don't want you going out there —

740. - No, no, no, I can guarantee you that.

741. The restaurant relaunches

742. in two days' time but tonight

743. I'm trying to break Lenny in gently.

744. We've got just 15 people booked

745. and it's a chance to try out some new specials.

746. - Push that, and push the Irish stew,

747. and push all the specials.

748. - Who's in charge of the dining room?

749. - I am.

750. - You? - Mm.

751. - I didn't feel that the other night when I sat in here.

752. I didn't feel like there's one person

753. actually controlling it.

754. I think there's two or three things

755. that are going wrong in the service

756. that you really have to be strong enough

757. to tell them off about it.

758. They'll respect you more.

759. One final thing, under no circumstances

760. does anyone give this man a drink

761. in the middle of service, is that clear?

762. Mum? - I'm no one to object!

763. - Yeah, okay, good, put your foot down.

764. - I'm sick of putting my foot down with him on it.

765. - Your restaurant, yes? - Yes.

766. - Your son? - Yeah.

767. - You fucking tell him. - Yes, he'll get a kick.

768. - Good, here we go.

769. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] The aim tonight

770. is to teach Lenny some control and discipline.

771. - We've got 10 minutes before the first customer

772. comes in, you want to nip off for a cigarette?

773. - Do you mind?

774. You wouldn't be telling me if you did.

775. - Hey, yeah, I do, come back.

776. This is a challenge, you little fucker.

777. Okay, every time you want to go

778. and leave this kitchen and disappear outside

779. for a cigarette, you put a pan in the box.

780. Every time I swear, I put a pan in the box.

781. Here, and that stays on there.

782. No smoking or drinking

783. for Lenny, no swearing for me.

784. - One lamb, medium to well, one chicken and ribs,

785. one portion of chips, time 8:15.

786. You sort the pasta out, Leslie,

787. Rich here can tidy up, he can chop them for you.

788. - That's it, now we're working

789. like a kitchen, guys, there you go.

790. I don't know how well

791. Lenny's going to fare in this challenge.

792. - What's in the glass, vodka? - Water.

793. - Fucking hell, shit.

794. Hold on, hold on, have we started?

795. - Start getting that full.

796. - Are we started yet? - Yes you did.

797. - Fuck it. - I don't know the —

798. - Les, you happy? - Yep.

799. - Les, be happy here.

800. Nice, and you check, you check, we've sent out

801. three tables beautifully, don't start fucking up now.

802. It's hard to break

803. the habit of a lifetime.

804. - You have an awful start, please, Lana?

805. - Les, how far are you away now?

806. - About two minutes. - Two minutes, okey-doke.

807. Thank you.

808. - And it's eight o'clock, so you must be ready

809. for your next cigarette.

810. - I'm not going for a cigarette.

811. - Thank fuck for that.

812. - You've gone through a fiver in two minutes!

813. Jesus, that thing, it'll take the two of us to lift it.

814. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] So far, so good.

815. No drinking, no smoking, and the fresh fishcakes

816. are going down a stall.

817. - That's nice, they're nice and light.

818. - All clean! - Aw c'mon, seriously?

819. - Yeah, lovely!

820. - One smoked salmon pate, two fishcakes,

821. one cod and pancetta, fuck that.

822. Go and send out the decent fishcakes

823. with one of them cod and pancettas.

824. - And that's a big move for you

825. and I'm not trying to make you look fucking stupid,

826. but I think you should go and tell them that!

827. I don't think it's something your mum should go and do.

828. - No, no. - That's your fucking kitchen.

829. Yeah, okay, okay, come back and sell the fishcake.

830. - The actual special fishcakes are homemade today

831. and they're beautiful and I'll be honest,

832. the other ones are frozen.

833. Try them, please. - We'll have those.

834. Pride and confidence.

835. - Thank you.

836. - All right, that is the homemade.

837. - Oh! - To die for.

838. - And you've spoken more here

839. for the last two hours

840. than you did do for three days last week.

841. - Yeah.

842. - And it sounds fantastic. - Right.

843. - And you sound in control and you look bloody good.

844. - Thank you.

845. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Lenin's proved

846. he can get through on a quiet night

847. without his usual distractions.

848. - I can smoke now, can't I?

849. - Smoke some fennel seeds or...

850. Here you go, just try it, try it.

851. This is therapy, go on, try it.

852. There you go. - It's not bad, actually.

853. - I'm now smoking asparagus and it tastes fucking delicious.

854. - I enjoyed it, it's nice to see

855. that standard of food going out

856. and it's nice to see it going nice and smooth

857. and not coming back, so I'll sleep tonight this time.

858. I'm sure I will.

859. All right, let's get tidy down here.

860. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] We're making

861. great headway in the kitchen.

862. Now I can work on Maura and making it perfect

863. for the customers.

864. First problem, finding the place.

865. - That looks fantastic, huh?

866. Lovely. - Oh yes.

867. - Lovely, lovely.

868. You'll never get a better advertising space than that.

869. Fresh home cooking with an Irish flavour upstairs.

870. That's lovely.

871. I'm glad you got the flower boxes done as well.

872. It looks like there's something up there now.

873. Hopefully that should help

874. get some more bums on seats upstairs.

875. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Second problem,

876. to win back Oscar's reputation

877. by creating a midweek bargain.

878. - This is small, close-knit town here, Nantwich.

879. So you've got to instal confidence

880. back in the locals and now is the time

881. to turn it around.

882. 14 pounds, not too cheap.

883. You can make money on 14 pounds for two courses.

884. And if we can do that Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,

885. with 30 customers a night,

886. 90 covers at 30 quid a head,

887. that's four and a half thousand pound in the till.

888. - No, I like that. - And everything's fresh.

889. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Next problem,

890. good food at a bargain price isn't worth anything

891. without good service.

892. - We have to bond, we have to gel.

893. There's not enough teamwork going on in here.

894. Work with your customers and work with your chef,

895. stagger the tickets coming through,

896. great understanding,

897. and make sure we got great communication.

898. If they get it right,

899. then they're also help to take pressure

900. off the kitchen.

901. - One lamb medium to well, one chicken and ribs,

902. one portion of chips.

903. Lenin gets off to a good start

904. but he seems a bit more stressed

905. and sounds less confident.

906. - You all right, Lenny?

907. You've gone quiet on me. - Hey, no, fine.

908. But evidently, he wasn't.

909. Later that evening, events took a terrible turn.

910. - Lenin collapsed.

911. He's been rushed to hospital in an ambulance

912. and I hope to hell he's okay.

913. It was a fucking shock.

914. I need to know what's going on.

915. It seems Lenin's drinking

916. has aggravated his health problems.

917. And I wish that I got told the truth when we first met

918. and I felt he's put an amazing, brave face on

919. and he's stuck in there

920. but when I heard the problem last night

921. with the drink and his medical condition

922. and the problem with his liver,

923. you know, I was shocked

924. on the back of trying to deal with that.

925. - I thought Lenin had told ya.

926. - I feel like you're not being honest with me.

927. - But I am, Gordon, everything's hid from me.

928. I don't know. - Yeah.

929. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] I didn't know

930. and it seems even Maura isn't aware

931. of the extent of his problems.

932. - Lenny? - Hello?

933. - Fucking hell, how are you?

934. - Not too well. - Yeah?

935. Am I pleased to see you.

936. How are you feeling?

937. - Better than last night, anyway.

938. - Well, you scared me last night.

939. I'm just amazed that you didn't want

940. to sort of share it with me early on

941. because I would've rather known.

942. - Yeah, it was more embarrassment —

943. - You have nothing to embarrassed about.

944. I just wish I knew when we first met

945. that you had that problem.

946. You've got nothing to be embarrassed about.

947. I'm sorry, fuck all to be embarrassed about.

948. Your health and your condition

949. makes far more important than that restaurant,

950. you know that?

951. - Yeah, I can't go round like this, I know that.

952. - All right, before he goes anywhere near a kitchen

953. he's got to get himself better

954. and clearly start looking after himself

955. and before any of that takes place,

956. the family have got to start talking to each other

957. so they can fucking help him.

958. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Using alcohol

959. as a crutch in the kitchen is a problem

960. that can't be ignored.

961. To better understand Lenin's problem,

962. I've contacted pioneering chef Michael Quinn.

963. - Thanks so much for coming over.

964. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Michael set up

965. the Art Foundation to tackle the industry wide

966. problem of alcohol and drug abuse

967. after he himself was toppled by the demon drink.

968. - You had the perfect job, for fuck's sake.

969. The first ever British chef to be crowned

970. the chef de cuisine at the Ritz Hotel.

971. - Absolutely.

972. When I left the Ritz, I was at the top of the tree

973. and alcohol just completely took over my life.

974. - Yeah.

975. - I went from the Ritz eventually to living on the street.

976. I slept under bridges, in doorways.

977. You know, I was hospital with liver failure.

978. I had the last rites from a Catholic priest.

979. When that priest — - That close?

980. - Yeah.

981. - Why do chefs today think

982. it's part of a fucking rock and roll image to drink?

983. - Our business as chefs is a tough business.

984. The immensely long hours we do, the heat,

985. and also you're almost part of an SAS squad in the kitchen.

986. It's that work hard, play hard,

987. we'll show the rest of the bastards how good we are.

988. But one in 10 cross that line

989. and if you cross that line into addiction,

990. into becoming an alcoholic, you can never go back

991. to social drinking.

992. - Can this guy continue to cook

993. and deal with the problem at the same time?

994. - No. - No?

995. - He needs to be separated.

996. Willpower doesn't get you well.

997. In order to recover, you need to surrender

998. and admit defeat, and that is the step forward to freedom.

999. Michael's an extreme case

1000. but Lenin needs to take a lesson from this

1001. and nip his drinking habit in the bud

1002. before it's too late.

1003. We're all upset about Lenin,

1004. but tonight sees the launch of our new menu

1005. and the show must go on.

1006. - Everything on this fucking menu here is fresh

1007. and the sad thing here is I wish Lenny was here

1008. to cook it but I think what we do

1009. for tonight's service is owe this one to him.

1010. I think that sounds like the first customers, let's go.

1011. With Lenin out of action,

1012. it's bingo caller Les to the rescue

1013. and he's nervous as hell.

1014. - Right, Les, how are we doing?

1015. - Eh, not so bad, not so bad.

1016. - Good, you're sweating, yeah?

1017. - Yes.

1018. - Good, it's a healthy sign when you sweat.

1019. So, you stand on the hot plate,

1020. and you call out, and you tell me

1021. what you want doing.

1022. Gordon Ramsay's going to be your fucking commie.

1023. Go easy on me, I'm a little bit fragile.

1024. - Okay. - Yeah.

1025. Put it through your mind first.

1026. And bingo. - Bingo, yeah.

1027. Eyes down for a full house.

1028. - Table six, cover seven.

1029. Three pate, three ribs, one broth, one asparagus.

1030. - Yes, chef.

1031. Gently, nice and gently.

1032. Careful when you put it in the bowl, please.

1033. You know the idea is not to splash it everywhere, yeah?

1034. - Yeah.

1035. - Every time that's staying there, Les,

1036. you just fuck it up by letting it get stone cold.

1037. He's off to a shaky start

1038. but this is his first time running a kitchen

1039. - Stop, stop, come on, Les.

1040. Fuck it, what do you want them

1041. to floss with the fucking cling film, come on.

1042. Go, please, give it a little a toss.

1043. I'm sure he's good at tossing, come on.

1044. Watch those eyebrows.

1045. - Gordon shouts too much at me.

1046. - One more dumplings, go.

1047. Maura's still not leading

1048. her team in the dining room.

1049. - Shit food doesn't get tipped, good food always get tipped.

1050. They need to be inspired.

1051. - Work the table, charm them.

1052. Come on, Les.

1053. Happy? - Yep.

1054. - Good, there you go,

1055. cross them off, please, table nine.

1056. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] In the kitchen,

1057. things are looking up.

1058. - Three fishcakes, two cabbage, one peas, three mash.

1059. - Yes, chef.

1060. This is fantastic, this is absolutely fucking amazing.

1061. Well done.

1062. But the one thing

1063. letting Les down is Maura's lack of discipline

1064. front of house.

1065. - The last order, one of the girls forgot

1066. to take the main course out.

1067. And that's what I said earlier

1068. about how the dining room's

1069. really got to fucking wake up a little bit.

1070. It's not funny, sweetheart.

1071. What I'm trying to say — - Yeah?

1072. - We have got to get it together, end of story, yeah?

1073. - Service!

1074. The numbers are really

1075. coming in for Les tonight.

1076. - Everybody okay outside?

1077. - Everybody's enjoying the food.

1078. - Great.

1079. - Plates are coming back clean.

1080. You're doing a good job, Les.

1081. - Thank you very much.

1082. - I'm not a great meat eater but this is brilliant.

1083. It's lovely.

1084. - I went for the rib eye steak

1085. which was cooked superb.

1086. - Food tonight was gorgeous, really, really nice.

1087. - He's done a fucking good job.

1088. Everyone was expecting him to sink

1089. and to crack or to disappear and fuck off back to college

1090. but he did himself proud

1091. and I think more importantly he's done Lenny proud.

1092. - The fact that everything's gone out brilliantly

1093. and smoothly, you know,

1094. and the fact that I've spent all day

1095. preparing it from fresh,

1096. it's why I became a chef, really.

1097. - Good feedback, customers?

1098. - The last tip I got was 18.50.

1099. - 18 pound 50? - Yeah.

1100. - Fantastic.

1101. - Some mistakes tonight that were really a problem

1102. but they were so easily sorted, so.

1103. - That's just communication.

1104. You know that? - Yeah.

1105. - You're not good at disciplining staff.

1106. - Is that what you think?

1107. - You've proved to me.

1108. I've never heard you shout,

1109. never heard you tell anyone off,

1110. because when this business closes

1111. they all go off and look for new job.

1112. And if you're going to maximise on your dreams, sweetheart,

1113. and keep this place open, you so, so, so

1114. have to get on top your business and your money.

1115. Before I go, I just want you all for 30 seconds

1116. to close your eyes and Les is just going

1117. to read off some numbers.

1118. Give it to me, big boy!

1119. - Eyes down, no looking.

1120. Les is dead, number 10.

1121. Two fat ladies, 88.

1122. All legs, 11.

1123. Anyway around, 69.

1124. All credit to him,

1125. Les has pulled it off tonight.

1126. But he's only a novice and Lenin needs rest

1127. and time to recover before he even considers

1128. stepping foot in a kitchen again.

1129. If Maura's going to stand any chance

1130. of getting Oscar's back on track,

1131. she needs to find a new chef and fast.

1132. It's been a month since I spent a week at Oscar's

1133. and it was one hell of a week.

1134. - What table is this for?

1135. The food was so bad

1136. the customers came once but never returned.

1137. - Somebody's having a laugh here.

1138. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] The head chef

1139. lacked respect for the place.

1140. - I'd say get fucked.

1141. His mum, the owner,

1142. was at her wit's end.

1143. - I just can't carry on like this for much longer.

1144. Lenin smoke and drank

1145. on the job.

1146. - I'm in here all day and I just wanted one drink.

1147. But we worked through it.

1148. - We've sent out three tables beautifully,

1149. don't start fucking up now.

1150. And the new Irish menu

1151. was looking great.

1152. - The food tonight was gorgeous, really, really nice.

1153. But Lenin wasn't.

1154. He collapsed.

1155. - He's been rushed to hospital in an ambulance

1156. and I hope to hell he's okay.

1157. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] After a break,

1158. Lenin's back in the kitchen

1159. and I'm here to find out how he's doing.

1160. - You got some colour on your face,

1161. you look brown.

1162. - I feel a lot better now.

1163. - Drink-wise, are you seeing someone?

1164. - Yeah, I am, actually.

1165. I've been to me doctor

1166. and everything's sorted out.

1167. Couple of bad days here and there

1168. but the majority good.

1169. - The most important thing then

1170. is you're doing something about it,

1171. you know that, because that's not fair on you

1172. and that's not fair on mum

1173. and it's not fair on the restaurant.

1174. When are you having a drink?

1175. After service, before service, what are you doing?

1176. - Before, any time, now,

1177. 99.9 after service,

1178. last week, sometimes don't even bother,

1179. I just go home and get in me bed

1180. and I'll sip right now some menus

1181. and just a bit of home, really.

1182. - Are you eating properly?

1183. - Oh, God, yeah, I'm eating.

1184. I can't stop eating at the moment.

1185. - Well, you're not exactly fucking fat, are you?

1186. Len, turn around, let me show a proper tummy.

1187. That's what you call a fucking triplets, big boy.

1188. He's fucking eating properly.

1189. - Hello, Gordon. - How are you, darling?

1190. - I'm all right, thank you.

1191. - Good to see you.

1192. How are you? - Not too bad.

1193. - Yes?

1194. - Yes. - And how's business?

1195. - Well, me quiet twos tonight are coming on now.

1196. Midweek it's getting better.

1197. - More importantly, Lenin, is he up to the job

1198. of actually running full time?

1199. - I have my fears, I have my fears.

1200. - Not so? - No.

1201. - He's all right but it's...

1202. drinking and kitchens and stoves don't go together, do they?

1203. - No, a lethal combination.

1204. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Maura's keen

1205. to take the burden away from Lenin.

1206. She's lined up a potential new head chef

1207. but Lenin's not happy about it.

1208. - I mean, I've wanted me own restaurant

1209. since I was a child.

1210. I wanted to be me dad.

1211. And now that it's here,

1212. I do have that fear

1213. that it's going to be taken away from me.

1214. - No one's getting rid of you.

1215. - No, I understand what you're saying.

1216. - Fuck's sake.

1217. We're trying to think of a way forward

1218. so we can benefit — - Keep this place alive.

1219. - Keep this place alive and keep your mum's dream

1220. and her ambition.

1221. You cannot continue like this, you know that.

1222. It's gonna kill you

1223. and a new chef I think is a breath of fresh air.

1224. So can we kiss and make up

1225. and let's meet this fucking chef, huh?

1226. Thank you.

1227. - I love him to bits.

1228. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Mark Warrington

1229. is a fully trained chef with an impressive CV.

1230. - Oven's on.

1231. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] But can he cook?

1232. - Can cook anything you wish.

1233. One dish is fine, yeah.

1234. Come through.

1235. Well, it looks a little bit

1236. more fucking Chinese-y then it does Irish to me.

1237. - Well, the fish is but the rest of it...

1238. - But the potatoes are Irish.

1239. The fish is cooked nicely.

1240. - I do like it. - The fish is lovely.

1241. - It's quite interesting seeing you guys bond in there.

1242. - Good work, Mark, no problems.

1243. - Lenin and me basically,

1244. we can bounce ideas off one another

1245. from what I've seen in the kitchen.

1246. Looks like we found our man.

1247. Mark starts his new job at Oscar's next week.

1248. But tonight is Lenin's chance to shine.

1249. - I can't fucking do anything in there

1250. if you still come and talk to me.

1251. Everything that you know is fresh,

1252. it's got to go out.

1253. - Bit of a surprise tonight I hadn't told any of you.

1254. - Oh bollocks what's coming now?

1255. - Yeah, I've got 10 very important customers coming.

1256. It's the 10 customers that were absolutely fuming

1257. the first night I had dinner here.

1258. Big fucking night.

1259. Now, on top of that,

1260. they're going to be presented with this.

1261. It's an Oscar's restaurant loyalty card

1262. and it's to inspire them to return to the restaurant

1263. and on their sixth visit they'll come as our guest.

1264. Look out for them. - Yeah.

1265. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] This evening

1266. Maura's hosting an Irish night.

1267. If it's going to run smoothly,

1268. the waitresses must be keen as well as green.

1269. - Are you in control?

1270. - Yes. - Yeah.

1271. - 'Cause remember last time, I wasn't that impressed

1272. with the service, you know that,

1273. and tonight I'm going to be all over the service,

1274. you know that, like a rash, yeah.

1275. - Whose kitchen's this? - Mine.

1276. - Do you want me to stand back?

1277. - Yes, if you don't mind.

1278. - And not interfere? - Yeah.

1279. - I'll stand back. - Let's dance.

1280. - I don't know about fucking dancing.

1281. I can moonwalk, but I can't fucking dance.

1282. - I've seen enough and I've gotta be honest

1283. you look like a right prick.

1284. The menu of Irish stew

1285. and pork and Guinness is exactly right

1286. for Oscar's new Irish theme.

1287. - First order, batty soup, garlic mushrooms,

1288. two fishcakes, two stew, two veg, three potatoes.

1289. - Off to a good start?

1290. - Yep. - Yep?

1291. And the restaurant's full

1292. so the waitresses have got to give it their best.

1293. - Just slow the girls down a little bit,

1294. get them walking a little bit gracefully

1295. like ladies, yeah, not like baby elephants.

1296. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] Lenin's food

1297. seems to be hitting the spot.

1298. - Hundred times better by a mile.

1299. - I've got my loyalty card and I will come back.

1300. From my paella with crab sticks to what I've had tonight,

1301. big miles apart, it really is.

1302. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] The plates

1303. are consistently coming back empty

1304. but I thought bingo caller Les

1305. might have shown a bit more pzazz.

1306. - Les, you're a big softie, you know that.

1307. Push him out of the way, take some pressure off him,

1308. and be strong.

1309. Big softies don't make good cooks.

1310. I don't want to hear that you've turned

1311. into a fucking dinner lady, yeah?

1312. Or you're working for fucking Jamie Oliver?

1313. Yes?

1314. It's been a good night

1315. for Lenin but I'm pleased he's got a chef

1316. to help him through.

1317. Maybe Maura's Irish dream will come true after all.

1318. - Well done, fantastic.

1319. - We want Gordon up to dance!

1320. - Fuck off.

1321. - Yay, Gordon!

1322. - [Gordon Ramsay Voiceover] One last thing.

1323. 15 stone chefs with size 14 feet don't dance.

1324. - I don't dance!

1325. I'm telling you I can't dance!

1326. - I can't dance either!

1327. - I can't dance!

1328. I'm not going to fucking dance.

1329. Oh, no, no, no, babe, oh, babe.

1330. Babe, I can't dance.

1331. - It doesn't matter! - I can't dance!

1332. - Oh, Gordon, come and have just a quick,

1333. just a wee boot.

1334. - I promise you now honestly I cannot dance!

1335. I can't dance, give me a kiss.

1336. I think I'll leave them to it.