Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares 4x6

1. - Two years ago, I came to Brighton

2. to fix Charita Jones' failing soul food restaurant,

3. and it became one of my biggest success stories.

4. Now I'm back to check on it's progress.

5. - Hi, guys.

6. - Hello!

7. - How are you, baby, oh, look at you.

8. Momma's Soul Food joint

9. has certainly gone up in the world.

10. - Look at the size of that, fucking (mumbles).

11. But it turns out

12. bigger doesn't necessarily mean better.

13. - Where's our standards gone?

14. What the fuck are we doing?

15. - Has soul in a bowl

16. become mould in a bowl?

17. - If this food isn't as good as the Shack.

18. - Yeah.

19. - You're fucking history.

20. Brighton, London-by-the-Sea.

21. Loads of locals and a steady stream of hungry tourists.

22. Nestling just a stone throw away

23. from the seafront is Momma Cherri's Soul Food Shack.

24. Offering classics from America's deep south.

25. - Oh nice, nice, nice.

26. - The Big Soul Momma, AKA Charita Jones,

27. has raised 33 foster children,

28. but running her first restaurant

29. is proving a far bigger handful.

30. - It's all gonna just kinda go

31. and fall apart (chuckles).

32. So, I don't want it to fall apart.

33. - God, it's definitely a shack from the outside anyway.

34. Fucked up caravan.

35. Is this it?

36. - Charita.

37. - Charita, Gordon, good to see you.

38. - Yes, hello, Gordon. - Good to see you.

39. - Nice to see you, welcome. - This is small and quaint.

40. - Welcome, it's quaint and it's cosy.

41. - I'll say, it's like walking

42. into your front lounge. - My front room.

43. Thank you and that's what it's supposed to be about

44. because I tend to spend all my life here,

45. this has got to be my front room,

46. otherwise when do I get to kick my feet up?

47. - After three and a half years,

48. despite throwing everything at this place

49. and working seven days a week,

50. Charita is still in serious debt

51. to the tune of 65,000 pounds.

52. - And who's the chef?

53. - I'm kind of the chef.

54. I come from a background of big mommas

55. and all of them cook.

56. It's called stick to your ribs, basically.

57. - Stick to your roots?

58. - Ribs! - Oh, ribs, right.

59. - Not stick to your roots, to your ribs (laughs).

60. - Momma's Charita's Shack seats 40

61. at an extremely intimate squeeze.

62. But, sadly for Charita, that's not often a problem

63. as weekday trade is virtually nonexistent.

64. - It's great at the weekends,

65. but somehow we've discovered that we're in a hole,

66. we're just in this hole,

67. a financial hole that we can't claw our way out of.

68. - Have you made any money since you've been open?

69. - Nope, not a penny.

70. Not a single penny have we made since we've been open.

71. It's hard to put our finger on why.

72. - Is it critical? - Yes.

73. - How long can you continue staying like this, truthfully?

74. - Truthfully, I'd say three to six months.

75. - Maximum?

76. - Maximum.

77. No customers, no money.

78. It's time to check out the kitchen.

79. - God.

80. - Charita calls herself a cook,

81. but Brian Morego is her head chef, so who's in charge?

82. - How you doing, dude?

83. - Fine, thank you.

84. - Do you do this and all that and pull and.

85. - I try not to.

86. - We don't go in for cliches.

87. - No, so are you the head chef or the cook, what are you?

88. I'm confused.

89. - Well, I was employed to come as a head chef.

90. - Right. - But because of problems

91. with finances and things like that.

92. - Don't let me stop you.

93. - I have to sit back.

94. - So who writes the menu?

95. - Charita has written everything,

96. she does everything, basically.

97. - So, you've got a cushy job then really, haven't you?

98. - You could say that, as a chef, yes.

99. - Pretty chilled, huh?

100. - Yeah, as a chef, yes, it's pretty chilled, but—

101. - A head chef who doesn't write the menu

102. and only works 35 hours a week.

103. Next, he'll be telling me he's forgotten how to cook.

104. - Here you go.

105. - Thank you.

106. - You've got some catfish goujons

107. with hush puppy and our homemade pineapple salsa.

108. - This is quite nice.

109. Very delicate fish, and it's nicely fried,

110. quite light, really nice.

111. - Thank you.

112. Be back with your mains.

113. - Oh my god!

114. - For mains, my plate's piled high

115. with a clumsy mess of ribs, spicy chicken jambalaya

116. and corn and bean succotash.

117. - I hope he likes it.

118. - Mm, fucking hell, the ribs.

119. So tender.

120. I have to say it's throw on the plate with no real care,

121. but it tastes phenomenal.

122. This may be the first time I go back to the kitchen

123. with an empty plate.

124. Thank you, bloody delicious.

125. - Thank you.

126. - And you know what?

127. I thought it was gonna be really spicy but

128. as it turned down, it was spot on.

129. And it actually made me feel like I was back at mum's

130. for the first time and having some home cooking,

131. it was very good.

132. - You'll get me crying.

133. - But there are things I would change.

134. - Okay, fine and I'm happy, happy to hear that.

135. - But in general. - I've got to take a picture

136. of this plate.

137. I know it sounds crazy, I know it sounds crazy.

138. - Momma, oh God.

139. - Mind your head.

140. - Oh God!

141. - I fed Gordon Ramsay (laughs) and he cleaned his plate.

142. - How the hell do you turn that thing off?

143. She doesn't shut up.

144. Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, shit!

145. Charita's down home style

146. should be a unique selling point, but it ain't working.

147. I need to go back to the kitchen and find out why.

148. Friday, and Charita's tackling most of the day's preparation

149. single handedly in a desperate bid to save money.

150. - Part of this is, you know,

151. you've got to get your hands dirty.

152. - Yeah, of course, yeah.

153. - Marinading meat, making dressings,

154. sauces and baking are all crucial things

155. to prepare in advance of a busy service.

156. - And I'm just shaking off the excess.

157. - But deep frying chicken wings

158. eight hours in advance of their first booking,

159. that can't be right.

160. - So why do you cook them now?

161. - Because if you cook them off now and leave them to cool,

162. when the order comes in it's just a matter of picking out

163. how many we need and they go back in

164. and they come back up to a nice—

165. - And they don't go dry?

166. - No.

167. I'm beginning to suspect

168. the good old home cooking isn't as wholesome as it could be.

169. - Mm, they smell good.

170. - Most of it's coming from the freezer,

171. rather than the soul.

172. - How many freezers have you got?

173. - 13 altogether.

174. - 13?

175. - Freezers and fridges.

176. - Fuck me.

177. - By the time Brian turns up,

178. there's not much left for him to do.

179. - So I mean, you can't really feel like you're head chef

180. if you've got Charita in the kitchen every morning

181. cooking the food and you come in and—

182. - That's what I'm saying you know.

183. - In a sense you're not actually really cooking,

184. you're just coming in and putting things together.

185. - Plating it together, yes.

186. It's kind of hard, yes.

187. - Have you lost motivation?

188. - Yes.

189. - So, if Charita's head chef's

190. gone off the boil, I'm hoping her remaining crew

191. of part-timers have a bit more spunk.

192. Heading up front of house is Lauren.

193. She arrives 10 minutes late for the evening service.

194. 20 year old A.D. seems to be more committed

195. to his glamorous day job.

196. - So why panel beating?

197. - I don't know, I finish at half four every day.

198. - Kitchen porter Gavin lives next door,

199. but he appears to turn up when he feels like it.

200. And Charita's librarian husband Phil hot foots it back

201. from the day job to become basement barman and resident D.J.

202. - It looks like you're washer upper.

203. - No way!

204. - I have been known to wash the odd dish.

205. - He does that as well.

206. These and numerous other

207. part-time staff are all members

208. of Momma Cherri's big laid back family.

209. - So, when he's in the shit in the middle of service,

210. you slide them down like fucking Michael Jackson?

211. - Yes.

212. - Oh fucking hell.

213. I hate to ruin a good party

214. but if you want to run a successful business,

215. then the terms: laid back and professional just don't mix.

216. It's not just about how good the food tastes,

217. it's about how it fucking gets there as well.

218. And that is crucial.

219. - I can't wait to see

220. this team of jokers in action.

221. - All right, so, we need going, 'cause they're hungry.

222. Immediately it's clear,

223. who's the momma in this kitchen.

224. - I'm hitting you with chilli pepper

225. 'cause you ain't got none.

226. Just the one.

227. - Can I take the seeds out at least.

228. Charita talks to them

229. like they're her children and she's the only one

230. cooking anything from fresh.

231. - I need to cook up these steaks now.

232. - Okay, Charita, all of the seconds party are in.

233. - All right, okay.

234. Two potato skins, onion and cornbread, two pieces,

235. can I get some jambalaya heated up please?

236. - For Brian and A.D.

237. it's just an elaborate plating and heating up exercise.

238. The mountains of messy food, school dinner style.

239. A D minus, must try harder.

240. - That's hot gravy, yeah?

241. On hot turkey?

242. Served on cold plates?

243. - Yep.

244. - With cold salad?

245. - Yep.

246. What's he laughing at?

247. This is serious.

248. - You weren't gonna break sweat there, were you?

249. - Oh you watch, he's about to kick off.

250. - When?

251. There's twice as many staff as there need be.

252. This should be an absolute breeze.

253. But Charita's killing herself trying to do everything.

254. - You've got everything in the basement, yes?

255. Everything's gone?

256. - Paying two fully qualified chefs

257. to dress and send a plate of nachos.

258. Come on, that's a sure fire way to break a business.

259. - Fucking hell, that's painful.

260. Very, very painful.

261. Tonight on several occasions you were standing here,

262. cooking away in a world of your own.

263. - Yep.

264. - And these guys are standing there

265. just almost playing with themselves,

266. 'cause they're waiting for something from you.

267. If you are the head chef,

268. then you're gonna have to start taking the reins.

269. - Yes, yes.

270. - Wanna try and get through a busy night

271. without pissing your pants with laughter?

272. Two hours pure concentration without laughing.

273. - Okay.

274. - And I get you can't do it.

275. - I can do it.

276. - You're fucking smiling already.

277. - If there was ever a case

278. of too many cooks, this is it.

279. One of them will have to go.

280. - The parts fucked already.

281. I said no smiling, no laughing, serious.

282. - Okay, okay.

283. - Set a fucking example.

284. - I'm going to.

285. - And do not be scared to get rid of baggage.

286. Brighton's best kept secret,

287. Momma Cherri's Soul Food Shack, is so well kept

288. it's losing a thousand pounds a week.

289. - No one in.

290. Twenty past ten in the morning, no one in.

291. - By day three, I've uncovered

292. a couple of reasons why.

293. - I know it's chilled but fucking hell,

294. not as chilled as the snapper.

295. Why is no one here this time of the morning?

296. It's ridiculous.

297. Firstly, the food's good

298. but it could be so much better.

299. - Where's Brian?

300. Let me give you a hand?

301. - Brian?

302. I have no idea.

303. - Secondly, there are far too many staff

304. and most of them aren't pulling their weight.

305. - Late this morning by half an hour.

306. What do you do to him when he's late?

307. - Nothing.

308. - Nothing?

309. - I'm just gonna wash up right now.

310. - So you're washing up as well?

311. She's in, she opens up, brings all the supplies upstairs,

312. you should be ashamed of yourself, Brian.

313. Charita's next task

314. is to make a huge batch of macaroni cheese

315. that will last her for two whole weeks.

316. - And keep stirring, oh, this is coming up nicely.

317. - Hot from the stove,

318. her food is irresistible.

319. People will travel miles to taste it.

320. - What do you think?

321. - I like that.

322. Yeah, very nice.

323. - But like a lot of her home cooking,

324. this lot is destined for the freezer,

325. where it's delicious texture and flavour

326. will be lost forever.

327. - I mean you cook beautifully.

328. And I don't understand why you want to freeze it

329. when it's so tasty.

330. - Well I think, I don't think I want,

331. it's not a case of wanting to.

332. - No, I think you've got into a habit.

333. - I've gotten into a habit.

334. - Which is a lazy habit.

335. You're not lazy because you work so bloody hard.

336. He's lazy.

337. He's definitely lazy.

338. If you turned up for work half an hour late in my kitchen,

339. trust me you'd be home for the day

340. looking for a new fucking job.

341. To be honest,

342. it's no wonder Brian's lost heart,

343. the man's been working in a kitchen for as long as I have,

344. but to save money he's been sidelined.

345. - I was gone by quarter to nine.

346. - So much so, he's rarely involved

347. in actually making any of the food.

348. - There is kind of a method to my madness.

349. - But you're throwing it together?

350. - It looks like I'm throwing it together,

351. but I throw it together the exact same way

352. every single week.

353. - So when you're not doing it, who does it?

354. - I'm doing it.

355. - That's my point.

356. - Okay (chuckles).

357. - If Charita was using Brian properly,

358. they could ditch the freezers once and for all.

359. - And the macaroni and cheese is nearly there.

360. - That looks delicious.

361. I think that should go to staff food.

362. - Yeah, I think so.

363. It does look good, doesn't it?

364. - As it stands, few customers

365. will taste the food at it's best.

366. Charita's throwing away her unique selling point.

367. And boy does she need one.

368. - It's 10 past one Saturday lunchtime,

369. and this place should be absolutely rammed,

370. and there's not a soul in here.

371. This is dire.

372. Saturday and Sunday are your prime dates for business,

373. but like many failing restaurants,

374. Charita's making some classic mistakes.

375. - Poor mans meat pie.

376. Eight pounds.

377. I know it's going to be good.

378. Yet you go on to the menu here

379. and you've got main courses at fourteen, fifteen pounds.

380. Why have they gone up so expensive?

381. - To pay my bills.

382. To pay the bank manager (laughs).

383. Accountant and I've been saying, "Help me, help me,

384. "how do I do this?" and they say,

385. "You've gotta raise your prices.

386. "You've gotta raise your prices."

387. - Always the bank manager's put your prices up.

388. - It was literally down to the bank manager.

389. - Yes, yes.

390. Well, he's an arsehole.

391. - Oh good.

392. - It's killing the business.

393. I want to look at restructuring the menu.

394. Making it a little bit shorter.

395. - Okay.

396. - Tweaking the portion size. - Oh right.

397. - Having less come back.

398. - 60% are bones come back,

399. but it's that 40% I wanna work on.

400. - The objective for every customer coming through that door

401. is to have a starter, a mains and a desert.

402. You wait and see the turnover treble

403. if you can squeeze three courses out of them.

404. - Okay.

405. - But before we can squeeze

406. anything out of anybody, we need customers,

407. and if they're not coming to us,

408. we've got to take Momma Charita's

409. finger licking food to them.

410. - So, got the meat loaf?

411. - Oh my God!

412. - Got the ribs, they've got the chicken.

413. That smells amazing.

414. - Oh it's smelling so good, so good.

415. - And who better to flaunt it

416. than the Momma herself.

417. - Don't be shy.

418. I'm gonna come to you since you're not coming to me.

419. - Fucking hell.

420. - All cooked fresh at Momma Charita's Soul Food Shack

421. just around the corner there.

422. Yeah, it's pretty good.

423. This particular food is called soul food, okay,

424. cooked from the soul, from the heart.

425. - Boy, she's good.

426. A soul food evangelist

427. and she's out to convert the whole of Brighton.

428. - Soul food.

429. Can I hear you all say it.

430. - Soul food.

431. - Just wind her up and let her go.

432. - That's nice, isn't it?

433. - Go and get me some more wings.

434. - Remember, this time it's on the house,

435. next time they're paying. - Yep.

436. - Did you cook these?

437. - Yes, I did.

438. - They're lovely.

439. - There's no doubt that Charita

440. is a terrific cook but she's employing Brian to do that job

441. and I'm beginning to realise she's wasted in the kitchen.

442. - What's it called?

443. - Soul food.

444. - Just call me Momma.

445. - Thank you, Momma.

446. - You got it.

447. - With Saturday night's service

448. about to begin, it's time to get this shack in order.

449. - It's pretty obvious that the business is in dire straits

450. and that's real, that's the truth.

451. Watching you guys over the last couple of days,

452. you actually treat it like it's your fucking home.

453. Chilled, relaxed, and this lady here,

454. you talk to her almost as if it's your mum.

455. And that really has to stop,

456. if this is gonna go any further.

457. And if it doesn't work, not only are you out of a business

458. and your livelihood's gone,

459. all of you guys are out of a fucking job.

460. You've got no work.

461. So when it's that far down, we really have to dig deep

462. and come up with sensible ideas.

463. And tonight I'm gonna ask you to stay out of the kitchen.

464. You've got so much to sell.

465. And you, you're a fucking good cook.

466. - Thank you.

467. - So, Charita, let him cook.

468. - I'm gonna let him, I'm gonna let him.

469. I am, yes.

470. - You have to pass the reins over now,

471. and if you don't break away from this stove,

472. I swear to God the business is gonna close.

473. And let them do the job that you fucking pay the money for.

474. - Yep.

475. I'm gonna go and put some makeup on.

476. 'Cause I'm going downstairs.

477. Charita's street hustling

478. has secured a fully booked restaurant tonight.

479. If we're gonna get through it,

480. we need to get this kitchen working

481. like an efficient well-oiled machine.

482. - A.D., you're doing that now, yeah?

483. - Yes.

484. - Time to whip up a bit

485. of professionalism into these boys.

486. - Gavin, can you take those starters

487. and food downstairs, yes?

488. You're standing there doing nothing.

489. - Table five.

490. - Table five.

491. - Thank you.

492. He was standing there, open up your eyes, yeah,

493. and get him fucking working, okay?

494. You're running this place tonight, you know that?

495. And you're gonna prove to her downstairs that you can do it.

496. And not just to her but to yourself and me.

497. I said no smiling, no laughing, serious.

498. - Okay.

499. - Yeah?

500. Let's go.

501. - No smiling now.

502. - Good evening!

503. Have you had a chance to look at the menu?

504. Yeah?

505. Downstairs, Charita's slipped

506. effortlessly into the role of the hostess with the mostess.

507. - Do you eat macaroni and cheese?

508. - We do.

509. - I'm telling you, it's fantastic.

510. Gordon grated my cheese.

511. - Brian's taking his first decision

512. as a head chef.

513. Pre-cooked buffalo wings are off the menu.

514. From now on, they're being cooked to order.

515. - The chicken's being cooked from fresh.

516. Nice.

517. People expect the plates to be turned around in 20 minutes.

518. Well almost.

519. The rest of the food's going out

520. just as Charita's always done it.

521. Hot food, cold plates, uninspiring salads.

522. - Four pounds for that?

523. That's shocking.

524. - And jaw breaking meat loaf.

525. - What time do we close tonight?

526. You're laughing.

527. But let's not try to run

528. before we can walk.

529. - Can I get this one as soon as possible.

530. - Yes, it's coming, it's in the oven, then cheese (mumbles).

531. - How long?

532. Give Charita a time.

533. - Three minutes.

534. - Three minutes, there we are.

535. I'll take that, thank you Charita.

536. Bye.

537. See you.

538. There you go, up.

539. The restaurant's full,

540. but now she's front of house,

541. Charita's using every trick in the book to boost business.

542. - Five minutes, you go right next door to my friendly pub.

543. - There you go.

544. - And I will—

545. - See you in five.

546. - See you in five, okay?

547. - Thank you.

548. Brian, move it, huh?

549. Two hours in

550. and the food's not going out quick enough.

551. Charita's faith in Brian is dwindling fast.

552. - These guys have been in a long time.

553. They've got kids down there.

554. - Yeah, but their starters have just gone.

555. - They've got 'em.

556. Okay.

557. - What happened there with those starters?

558. - The starters were done.

559. - So they're already in the lift?

560. - Yeah, yeah.

561. Where are they?

562. - What?

563. - These starters?

564. For this table?

565. - These ones, no, I'm doing them now.

566. - Oh shit, I just told her they'd gone, man.

567. For Brian, three years

568. of living in a culinary coma is a hard habit to break,

569. he's beginning to lose it.

570. - This table came in before five other tables

571. that are still waiting on their starters.

572. This one.

573. - And Charita's constant interruptions

574. aren't exactly helping.

575. - Come on Brian, don't lost it now, yeah?

576. - No.

577. - What else on this table?

578. I need to see, what's on it?

579. - Hot wings and barbecue chicken wings.

580. - I've got the hot wings, I need whatever else is there.

581. Because they are getting restless.

582. - Oh dear.

583. - That's it send it away.

584. - Cheers, Gavin.

585. - I am so sorry, I'll tell you what the problem was.

586. - We've got fresh food here,

587. you can't expect the food to just jump on your plate.

588. - No, we'll explain that to her afterwards, yeah?

589. - It can take a good 14-20 minutes to make sure

590. that you don't kill anyone.

591. - Has that pigs feet go on?

592. 'Cause it needs to go on now,

593. 'cause it takes the time, yeah?

594. - Every minute you're in here we're losing money.

595. Fucking hell.

596. - So what do you think of that meat loaf?

597. - Bloody good.

598. - Thank you.

599. Didn't I tell you?

600. Didn't I tell you?

601. - I thought the kitchen got off to a really good start.

602. You were slightly nervous down there,

603. because you were sort of, not spying on them,

604. but coming up agitated.

605. You lost it, Brian.

606. - A little bit. Yes.

607. - A little bit.

608. - Things just got a little bit of time.

609. - Yes, you said something interesting though, yeah?

610. "Charita has to understand it's gonna take

611. "three or four minutes longer because I'm cooking from raw."

612. And the benefit is the customer.

613. But I think this guy with the help of A.D. can get faster,

614. much, much faster.

615. I mean how would you sum up?

616. You were in the dining room tonight?

617. - It felt good because, I'm telling you,

618. for three and a half years being here,

619. it was the first Saturday night

620. that I have spent downstairs.

621. - They've seen you, that's the face they want to see,

622. when they come to see Momma.

623. - Downstairs, I'm gonna be cracking the whip a lot harder.

624. - It's your business.

625. Of course.

626. - And that's what I was thinking you know,

627. I've got to crack it.

628. - Let's go.

629. Thank you.

630. - Good, thank you guys, let me go down here

631. and finish sent, 'cause I've got a few more deserts to sell.

632. - Yeah.

633. If Brian's going to win

634. Charita's respect as her head chef,

635. he needs to become more involved in preparing the food,

636. as well as cooking it.

637. - Number 13, lucky for some.

638. - But since his hours were cut,

639. he's been dropped in a catch 22 situation.

640. - Where's the little lady gone?

641. - Brian's been left holding the baby.

642. - It became a problem, 'cause Clare had to go to work.

643. And we had to find a way of meeting the bills

644. at the end of the month - Yes.

645. - You know, and that's why I can't do Tuesday's

646. and Wednesdays, the whole thing is just confused, you know.

647. - As Brian's involvement with the food

648. has diminished, so too has his confidence.

649. The first time he made meat loaf two years ago,

650. it was a disaster.

651. So we're going to prove that Brian can not only do it,

652. but do it better.

653. - How much influence do you have on the menu?

654. - The evenings sometimes I will do a menu,

655. but she changes it anyway,

656. so really I think my influence disappears.

657. - But you've got to be strong now.

658. 'Cause she's got to concentrate in the dining room,

659. you're gonna be running the kitchen, you have to be strong.

660. - Yes.

661. - The problem with Charita's meat loaf

662. is the bacon: by the time it's cooked,

663. it's like cutting into leather.

664. - Back bacon you saw dries out,

665. there's hardly any fat in back bacon.

666. So, you know, it's tricky bacon.

667. Place one nice fatty piece of bacon there,

668. as it's cooking, it's putting moisture

669. inside the meat loaf, yeah?

670. - Fantastic.

671. If I put my foot down and say,

672. "No, this is like this or like that,"

673. I think I can see myself going far.

674. You know, I can achieve things.

675. It's a happy feeling, you know, it's a happy feeling.

676. - Mm, just look at them.

677. - The seasoning is just right, it's not too salty.

678. - No, I think that's fine.

679. It doesn't need any—

680. - Doesn't need anything else. - Anything else at all.

681. With Brian's confidence

682. slowly returning, now I've got to work on Charita.

683. She excels as a natural cook and a great hostess.

684. - Oh my god, that's everything on my menu.

685. - But when it comes to business,

686. she's a self-confessed numbskull.

687. - Yeah one and a half metres long.

688. - And this tells me the money, the money.

689. That's a bit shorter. - Shorter, yeah.

690. We want it the other way round.

691. - I want it the other way around.

692. - Definitely.

693. - But it's not just the takings

694. that are the problem here.

695. - Okay, two hundred grammes of butter, yeah?

696. - Like a beautifully risen cake

697. successful restaurants only thrive,

698. when three key business factors

699. are working in close harmony.

700. - Gradually adding two hundred grammes of flour.

701. We establish one third staff costs, one third food costs

702. and one third gross profit.

703. Combine all those ingredients into one recipe: chemistry,

704. you have the most amazing cake.

705. And that's how any good business works, yeah?

706. - At the moment Charita's business cake

707. is way off course.

708. - I'm gonna show you something

709. what we've got currently happening here at the Shack.

710. - With few midweek customers,

711. Charita's gross profits are dangerously low.

712. - Very, very little profit.

713. - Her food costs are reasonably healthy

714. but her massive overheads are crippling her.

715. - I just want to show you what it's going to cost you

716. when we start adding really high staff costs.

717. So there's an imbalance already.

718. - Oh my God.

719. - Yeah, bloody hard.

720. Now I'm doing this on purpose to prove a point.

721. - Yes.

722. - You can't complete a recipe for a successful business,

723. when you've got an imbalance situation.

724. You can tell me to fuck off,

725. but how much do you pay yourself a month?

726. - A month?

727. I get around two hundred a week, that's it.

728. I'm the lowest out of the kitchen.

729. - Two hundred pounds a week?

730. - A week, yes.

731. - Eight hundred pounds a month?

732. - A month yeah.

733. - You're working seven days a week?

734. - I'm working seven days a week.

735. - That's a fucking disgrace.

736. - I mean A.D gets more than me some weeks.

737. - A commis chef that's part time gets paid more than you?

738. - Mm-hm.

739. - You're far too fucking soft.

740. - I know, I know, I know.

741. - You really are far too soft.

742. It stops now.

743. - I know.

744. I know, I know, I know, I know.

745. - That is a (mumbles) business

746. with the right ingredients,

747. That is what you're currently running.

748. - Right.

749. - Have a think and let me know

750. which one you'd like to eat.

751. - Very good.

752. Oh I just feel like crying.

753. - Why are you crying, Charita?

754. - Because I'm not gonna lose my business.

755. - I'm nearing the end

756. of my week in Brighton.

757. - Oh, fucking bollocks!

758. - I'm not sure I've found my soul yet,

759. but Brian is finally beginning to behave like a head chef.

760. And Charita is undergoing a transformation

761. from mother to matron,

762. and from now on, she'll be ruling this roost

763. with an iron hand.

764. - There's not a drop in centre.

765. But we still have

766. a fundamental problem:

767. a crippling lack of weekday customers.

768. What we need is a gimmick.

769. A bargain that will ensure

770. the Shack's full to the rafters all week long.

771. - The idea is to sell your restaurant per table.

772. - Okay.

773. - Okay, so take the six.

774. Six chairs.

775. - Yeah.

776. Ten pounds a head, sixty pound for that table.

777. If that worked every night at 10 pound a head,

778. that's 360 pounds in the till.

779. Think of it this way:

780. they'll spend the same amount of money—

781. - On their alcohol.

782. - On alcohol.

783. - My plan is to create

784. an exciting three course fixed buffet for each table.

785. Simplifying the service

786. and cherry picking from the existing menu.

787. Simple, sexy and irresistible soul food.

788. - Look at that there for four people.

789. You've got a mug of soup as well, don't forget.

790. I think it's quite sort of fresh and new.

791. And it sort of deformalizes the restaurant,

792. because it is soul food

793. and it's, you know, across the table.

794. - Yeah, it's lovely.

795. - I think it also introduces everybody

796. to a different—

797. - Different side.

798. - Everyone is having a different taste of everything.

799. - Yeah.

800. - And the idea of course is once they've experienced this,

801. they come back on Friday or Saturday for a full thing.

802. - Yeah, yeah, this looks great.

803. - Good.

804. - I like it.

805. Tonight we go live.

806. - Oh, don't worry, I'm gonna be,

807. now that you've said live, you wait, I'm gonna be live.

808. - It seems Charita's well and truly sold

809. on our new idea.

810. - Wow!

811. Okay, I've just got to think of a word for tapas.

812. I'm gonna come up with my own word.

813. I'm gonna make a word up.

814. But I guess I can't call it slappers,

815. 'cause that sounds too rude (laughs).

816. - On a normal Wednesday night,

817. Charita would be lucky to get eight customers.

818. - Good morning, Momma Charita's, can I help you?

819. - But since we hit the streets

820. three days ago, words out

821. and the bookings have gone through the roof.

822. - I'm doing probably two sittings,

823. a seven o'clock and a nine o'clock sitting.

824. - So how's it looking now?

825. - It's looking full.

826. What day of the week am I?

827. Wednesday.

828. This is wonderful.

829. - Perfect and 50-55 customers tonight.

830. That's five 550 pounds on food.

831. The same again on.

832. - Yep, hopefully on the drink.

833. - Drink, and that's a thousand pounds in the till.

834. - Yep.

835. - Which is equivalent to a Friday night take?

836. - Yeah, yeah that's a Friday night.

837. - So a touch of flexibility...

838. - It's a new start for the chef,

839. and tonight every member of Charita's staff

840. has got to give one hundred percent.

841. - Okay, here I've a set of rules

842. that each and every one of you are now gonna abide by

843. and it's not a governing rule, it's an understanding

844. what this business needs to go further and forward.

845. - I need everybody here on time, and on time means

846. if I say you start at six, you get here at quarter to.

847. That way you have your cigarettes, you get changed,

848. you chat, you have your coffee and so that at six o'clock

849. you're on the floor, okay?

850. The next one is there is always something to do.

851. If you can't think of it, ask me.

852. - The queen is now in residence.

853. - On the floor.

854. - Yes, Charita is now on the floor.

855. - Yep, that's where I'm gonna be.

856. - And to confirm that, we're gonna raise the flag, yes?

857. Charita is in residence.

858. Yes and that's where she stays,

859. I want you to pull yourselves all together, there you go.

860. - Your table here.

861. - The success of soul in a bowl

862. relies on doing large numbers.

863. At only 10 pounds a head,

864. Charita must fill the restaurant twice over.

865. - Everything's prepped, yes?

866. Are you nervous?

867. - Yes, I am.

868. - Good, it's a good sign, start shitting yourself.

869. - Brian, A.D and Gavin

870. have got to get those platters flying down those stairs,

871. but they're only just peeling the last potato.

872. - I'm gonna send you down a tray designed for two.

873. - It comes with corn bread and soup as a starter.

874. Soup is excellent.

875. - I hope you enjoy it, I think you will.

876. - Thank you very much.

877. - Unfortunately, we're fully booked tonight.

878. - It's the first Wednesday night ever

879. they've had to turn customers away.

880. - Slightly savoury sweet potato soup.

881. - Table three, two mixed tapas, okay?

882. - Just bring it off to them at once.

883. Okay A.D. my man.

884. - The table seven that you've got up there,

885. that's down as three, they've had a person join them,

886. so it's now for four.

887. - It's already looking better,

888. but tonight has got to be perfect.

889. - Take the fucking bowl off the tray,

890. put it in the bowl, yeah.

891. I just don't want all this shit on here everywhere.

892. Yeah, I want it nice and clean.

893. Fucking clean, come on.

894. (claps) Yeah.

895. - And for the first time this week,

896. Brian's not smiling.

897. - That looks lovely, well done.

898. Right, this is done, please A.D, send it away.

899. So now we're looking for a four soup and a three soup.

900. Four corn bread, three corn bread.

901. Gavin you're taking care of the desserts, yeah?

902. - The team is pulling together.

903. - Can you put more, just a bowl of veggie jambalaya on it.

904. And this one is going to have the meat.

905. Come on we've got to pump,

906. if we slow down I'm gonna lose this.

907. Communication is much, much better.

908. - Can I get I timing on some of these so I can tell them?

909. - Five minutes.

910. - Five minutes?

911. On all of them, okay.

912. - Keep it going Brian, yes?

913. A.D, yes?

914. It's eight o'clock, so far so good,

915. you're doing a good job.

916. - If they can keep it going,

917. we might just pull this one off.

918. - They said they were stuffed, it was delicious,

919. all of the different flavours

920. that go with it, fully satisfied.

921. I'm gonna take them some desert.

922. You see that, empty bowls.

923. How was the soup, good?

924. - Gorgeous.

925. - Yeah, all right.

926. Things must be going okay,

927. because we've hardly seen her in the kitchen all night.

928. - Are we starting to turn the tables now?

929. - I'm starting to turn

930. but I've got get these out. - Because that's

931. the crucial thing, at 10 pounds a head,

932. we have to turn those tables, yes?

933. - So can we do two trays at the same time, is it possible?

934. - We can.

935. - Yes.

936. - Now the pressure's really on.

937. - We're losing, come on,

938. let's get some organisation, guys, come on.

939. It's still not perfect.

940. - A tables called away, you stick that ticket on the tray,

941. no one touches it.

942. - But the vibe up here

943. has definitely got more professional.

944. - We're losing valuable time man, what are you doing?

945. We're two minutes over.

946. - How's it feeling up there?

947. - Hot.

948. Pumping.

949. - I can't quite believe I'm saying this,

950. but I think Brian's actually breaking a sweat.

951. - Looking good, they're loving it.

952. People are loving it.

953. - Very tasty, very good food.

954. - I haven't eaten anything quite like this before

955. and it's really nice.

956. - Fucking well done, yeah, really good.

957. That's one day.

958. The real work starts tomorrow.

959. Let's go.

960. - I didn't know how much

961. I was gonna cook today, you know.

962. I didn't know if I was going to cope or break, basically,

963. but I had just one thought in my mind

964. just to get through this.

965. - Thursday morning, and the whole team

966. are in early.

967. - You've got to get that well going.

968. - They're clean out of food stocks

969. and fully booked tonight,

970. so they're starting completely from scratch.

971. - It's mac and cheese, mac and cheese, (mumbles).

972. Fresh home cooking

973. straight from the soul, hallelujah.

974. - Can I just say, you set me a target.

975. When I spoke to you last night,

976. we hadn't reached that target.

977. Eight hundred pounds last night.

978. I asked for a thousand.

979. - When I cashed up, I hit one thousand.

980. - Fantastic.

981. - It was 1080.

982. - Fantastic.

983. - So for these two, they did it.

984. - The future success

985. of Momma Cherri's depends on Brian's strength and commitment

986. more than anybody's.

987. - You've really pissed me off this week, you know that?

988. - Yes.

989. I felt really bad after, especially yesterday,

990. when I realised that I haven't been really sort of,

991. it's like I didn't care almost.

992. - I just thought when I first saw you in the kitchen,

993. you were treating it like a job, no passion.

994. - But last night it came back, you know.

995. I could feel it.

996. - You are the head chef.

997. - Yes.

998. - So act like the head chef.

999. - Yes.

1000. - Take responsibility as a head a chef.

1001. - Yes. - Get a grip,

1002. wake up and fucking stop dreaming.

1003. - And I think Charita knows

1004. what she must do.

1005. - You are the most marketable asset of this restaurant.

1006. - Yes, well, I'm going to be selling myself now.

1007. - No, understand, kitchen morning, a.m.,

1008. hosting the room and being present in the evening.

1009. You have got to continue that.

1010. - I will do and I've got to take some control back.

1011. Since my last visit,

1012. Charita's soul in a bowl has made Momma Cherri's

1013. one of Brighton's biggest success stories.

1014. - Her reputation is just phenomenal,

1015. she's in and out of newspapers

1016. and constantly on radio and television,

1017. so if she's got that level of attention,

1018. then she's got to make sure

1019. what's coming out of that kitchen

1020. is better than it was two years ago.

1021. - Six months ago, Momma Cherri

1022. moved out of the Shack

1023. and upgraded to a new restaurant around the corner.

1024. I just hope she's sticking to the advice I gave her.

1025. - Fuck me.

1026. Momma Cherri's big house.

1027. Look at the size of that.

1028. How many floors is it on?

1029. One, two, three, four, five floors.

1030. Fucking hell.

1031. - We've got a lot of drinks here.

1032. - Hi guys.

1033. - Hello!

1034. - How are you baby?

1035. Oh look at you.

1036. - How are you? - Look at the size

1037. of this place, my God. - I know, I know.

1038. - And it's five floors.

1039. - This is the first mega soul food restaurant.

1040. - Unbelievable.

1041. So the first floor is what?

1042. - Come here, can I show you?

1043. - Yeah, absolutely, I'm dying to see it, go on.

1044. - Follow me.

1045. - Mega?

1046. She's not kidding.

1047. This place is triple the size of the Shack.

1048. The question is, is Charita managing

1049. to fill to her big house?

1050. - We're coming up to the beginning of December.

1051. - Yeah.

1052. - And people are booked in for March.

1053. - For March.

1054. - That's extraordinary.

1055. - Do you know we're doing a thousand covers in a week.

1056. We average between 900 and 1,200 a week here, that's what—

1057. I'm impressed.

1058. Charita's taken her restaurant to the next level,

1059. but the first year of expansion

1060. is a really dangerous time for any business.

1061. So I only hope that Charita's got a tight hold of the reins.

1062. - Hi guys.

1063. Where's my man?

1064. Where is he?

1065. Hello.

1066. How many chefs are in here?

1067. - This place is certainly well staffed.

1068. Brian's heading up the kitchen, A.D.'s gone,

1069. and Charita's taken on a whopping nine extra chefs.

1070. - Oh, Jesus Christ Almighty.

1071. How have you been?

1072. - Er, busy.

1073. - I can tell.

1074. It's like you're cooking for the whole of Britain upstairs.

1075. - So far we are yes.

1076. - I can't wait to tuck

1077. into some soul food.

1078. I insisted everything in the Shack was cooked from scratch,

1079. so Brian better be sticking to my fresh food regime.

1080. - I'm dying to see what you've got in the freezer.

1081. - Same as it was before just, just—

1082. - What's that?

1083. - That is a—

1084. - Lasagna?

1085. - That's a.

1086. - Crumble?

1087. - No, no, no that's not crumble,

1088. that's peach cobbler.

1089. - Sorry, peach cobbler then.

1090. I'm dying to see inside, you know what I'm like.

1091. - Oh dear, the signs aren't good.

1092. - What are they in there?

1093. Oh my god there's like food everywhere.

1094. Where are these from?

1095. - They've just been cooked.

1096. - What's that in there?

1097. - That's the ribs, they just came out,

1098. they're cooling.

1099. - Oh no, look, there's another fucking tray of chicken.

1100. - Are they on order?

1101. - It's like a fast food joint in here.

1102. All that's missing is a family bucket and a litre of Coke.

1103. - Fucking hell, another box of chicken wings.

1104. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

1105. When I first met you,

1106. there was two and three of you in the kitchen,

1107. and it had that nice intimacy, hearty feel

1108. that everyone's passionate, from a meat loaf

1109. to a fucking chicken wing and it just got done, you know,

1110. done in a way that everyone really cared

1111. for what they were doing.

1112. - Two years on and from what I can see,

1113. the soul's gone from this kitchen.

1114. - Right, have a taste of that, catfish goujons.

1115. That was the first dish I ever tasted in the Shack.

1116. Look at the size of the fucking thing.

1117. Fucking hell.

1118. Come here a minute, let me show you something.

1119. What is that?

1120. Are we charging customers for that?

1121. While someone wants to boast to me

1122. about being fully booked until next fucking March,

1123. I feel like ringing them

1124. and saying don't bother fucking coming next March,

1125. they won't be fucking ready in time.

1126. Who's controlling this, where's our standards gone?

1127. Just where has the passion gone?

1128. What the fuck are we doing?

1129. Get that shit in the bin, everything in the fucking bin.

1130. Now.

1131. Holy fuck.

1132. - This is a nightmare.

1133. The kitchen can't cope and have gone back to their bad ways

1134. of pre-preparing food to cater for the huge demands

1135. of the new restaurant.

1136. - Right now, Gordon, I feel like crying my fucking eyes out,

1137. this is shit.

1138. - You're right it is shit.

1139. I'm really sorry.

1140. - I know it's shit.

1141. - I fucking loved the Shack.

1142. - I know. - And this is painful.

1143. Take 10 minutes outside, get some fresh air.

1144. That is upsetting, I could almost fucking cry,

1145. because we were so there,

1146. the Shack was renowned for its food,

1147. it wasn't the decor, it was the food,

1148. that got that lady on the map.

1149. - This place might be packed now,

1150. but I don't believe this food

1151. will have people coming back for more.

1152. I wonder what the customers really think.

1153. - A bit disappointed to be honest.

1154. I thought with all the reputation that Momma Cherri's got,

1155. I thought it was a bit bland and very small portions.

1156. - Up to now, no flavour.

1157. No flavour, you need more, more spices.

1158. - If the customers aren't happy,

1159. Charita can kiss her business goodbye.

1160. I can't believe she's turned her back on soul in a bowl.

1161. - This is not you.

1162. I've known for a long time where you come from.

1163. And what you take and what you stand for.

1164. This here is not you.

1165. I arrived.

1166. I didn't want to eat, don't take that personally,

1167. take it as brutal fucking honesty.

1168. I know what you're capable of doing.

1169. If this food isn't as good as the Shack.

1170. You're fucking history.

1171. Tomorrow morning, bright and early,

1172. you're running your brigade and you're putting the soul—

1173. - Back in.

1174. - Back in the bowl.

1175. - Yep, it will be.

1176. I'm surprising in myself at how upset I am,

1177. because I really thought that we were moving up.

1178. I really, really, really did and now I feel like

1179. slapped in the face and like open your eyes, open your eyes.

1180. You know, it's a long way to go.

1181. - I'm gonna go back.

1182. Tomorrow morning, on track, and get them

1183. back in love with what they're doing.

1184. - I arrived in Brighton yesterday

1185. to visit one of my biggest Kitchen Nightmare successes.

1186. - Oh, look at you.

1187. But two years on,

1188. it's taken a turn for the worst.

1189. - Where's the passion gone?

1190. What the fuck are we doing?

1191. - Charita's business has expanded

1192. but in order to meet the demands of a massive new restaurant

1193. she's let standards slip.

1194. I'm so worried she's heading for the rocks,

1195. I've decided to stay on.

1196. - Good morning.

1197. - How are you?

1198. - I've been better.

1199. It's all right, it's all right, I'm all right.

1200. - Right now I see a lady that's panicking.

1201. You're taking every fucking customer

1202. that's walking in that door and you've got to stop it.

1203. - Okay.

1204. - You've got to stop it.

1205. - Okay. - You're in danger

1206. of becoming a fast food outlet.

1207. - I know and I don't want to be that.

1208. - And that is the last 18 months.

1209. - That's not what I am.

1210. - You're fucking better

1211. than a fast food outlet. - Thank you.

1212. And you're right, I have taken my eye off the ball,

1213. hands up, but it's back on it.

1214. - Okay, let's get upstairs. - We're on it, we're on it.

1215. - Where's Brian?

1216. - He's in the kitchen, he's working.

1217. - With less bookings,

1218. the kitchen will have a fighting chance of getting back

1219. the high standards I left at the Shack,

1220. but Brian has never run a big team before,

1221. and I've now got to get him to step up to the mark.

1222. - With such little time, the only thing I can do now

1223. is just get some discipline in that kitchen.

1224. It's embarrassing.

1225. Brian has got to fucking run that kitchen

1226. and put some soul back into the food.

1227. - All right, last night guys,

1228. I have to say was great, we survived.

1229. - Brian, stop.

1230. Stop, stop, stop.

1231. Let's cut the crap.

1232. That's the problem.

1233. Find your bollocks for me.

1234. Last night was shit.

1235. They've got to stop

1236. preparing food in advance.

1237. Right now, I want Brian and his team to prove to me

1238. they can make this house special from scratch.

1239. They've got 25 minutes to do it.

1240. - I want soul in a bowl, five fucking bowls

1241. and I'm gonna follow you.

1242. Now, find your fucking bollocks

1243. and start running this fucking kitchen

1244. before we're run into the ground.

1245. - Just keep all the rubbish or anything

1246. that's not supposed to be there I want clear,

1247. so we can see, we can see what we're doing.

1248. - Catfish nicely done, yes.

1249. This food was designed

1250. to be cooked to order.

1251. It's a no brainer.

1252. - Five soul in a bowl.

1253. - Don't put it in there, Jesus.

1254. - Brian can step up to the mark

1255. but he obviously just needs someone

1256. to give him a kick up the arse.

1257. - Hey, are you cooking with salt now?

1258. No seasoning in there.

1259. Freshly cooked chicken,

1260. that's what I came here for.

1261. - Bring it together as a team, bring it together.

1262. One minute to go.

1263. Right, all of you come here.

1264. First of all it looks better than last night already,

1265. and I haven't even started tasting it yet, yeah?

1266. Look at the goujons, they're appetising,

1267. they're fruitful, yes?

1268. - The soul's back in this kitchen

1269. and Brian's taking control of his team.

1270. - The most assertive I've heard you since I've met you.

1271. That's the only way to run your kitchen.

1272. - As long as Brian ditches

1273. the pre prepared food and keeps cooking from fresh,

1274. the food here will be back on top form.

1275. And for this business to survive,

1276. Charita must keep a tighter hold on the reins.

1277. - There's one issue I want to clear up today.

1278. - Okay.

1279. - You can't take both feet out of the kitchen,

1280. one of those has got to go back in there.

1281. - Gordon's right, I've got to have my foot back in there

1282. and I will be back in there in terms of supporting you,

1283. not taking over, but supporting you.

1284. - You two is where it all started.

1285. Nobody else and it's only you two

1286. that's gonna make this place fucking seriously successful.

1287. No matter how busy you are,

1288. you've got to make time for each other.

1289. It's like a married fucking couple.

1290. - I couldn't do without you and you know it.

1291. You know it.

1292. You know it and you know I can't do without you.

1293. You know this, but I need you to be strong.

1294. You know, me and Brian, we're the foundation

1295. and you know like I said, to me, if you have

1296. a good strong foundation even if you have to knock the house

1297. all the way down to the bottom again,

1298. you can build it back up.

1299. So if Gordon's come back and he's disappointed with my food

1300. then now I know what I've got to work on

1301. and it's getting my food back to where it was.

1302. - Right now, Charita and Brian

1303. have got a real chance to prove they can do it.

1304. It's lunch service and I'm hungry.

1305. - How's that?

1306. - Do you know, just now, looking at it, tasting it,

1307. I feel like I'm back in the fucking Shack.

1308. I didn't feel like that last night.

1309. And Brian's even come up

1310. with a new dish: lamb cutlets with a beetroot salsa.

1311. - In terms of the beetroot and the onion delicious.

1312. - Nice, isn't it?

1313. - Is that on the menu?

1314. - It will be.

1315. - I feel like I'm back in the Shack.

1316. - Great, great.

1317. - That was delicious.

1318. Don't stop moon walking.

1319. - No I won't.

1320. - See you.

1321. - It's not easy to grow your business,

1322. I should know, but if Charita keeps her eye on the ball

1323. and manages this place properly,

1324. I know she can make it work.

1325. - It's fucking tough.

1326. It's tough love and I'm gonna leave them to it now,

1327. but I'm glad she's fucking woken up because she needs to.

1328. It's been a long time for me.

1329. - Yeah, I know.

1330. - I want you to go up there and moonwalk back here.

1331. All the way down.

1332. - Oh okay.

1333. - Just to make sure that she really slides on there.

1334. - That's the one bit, keep moving.

1335. - Wait, wait, wait, wait, it's been two years.

1336. It's been two years.

1337. How you doing, my man?