‘Kitchen Nightmares’ – the Real Story Behind Ramsay’s Restaurant Makeovers

The legacy of Kitchen Nightmares has far outlasted the lifeline of the many failing restaurants featured in the reality show in the last two decades. Featuring celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay as a troubleshooter bringing his Michelin-verified expertise to the table and attempting to save restaurants on the verge of closure, Kitchen Nightmares has served its audience non-savory insights into the functioning of failing restaurants with a side dish consisting of intense family drama and volatile emotions. After a nine-year hiatus since 2014, Kitchen Nightmares made a comeback for Season 8, which aired on Fox and is available for streaming on Hulu, in 2023.

The series originally debuted in the UK on Channel 4 and later transitioned to the US, where it enjoyed a successful run spanning seven seasons, all under the guidance of renowned Chef Ramsay. Thankfully, Fox has decided not to make the show’s fans wait for another decade before the show returns for the next season. While Fox has not made any official announcements about Kitchen Nightmares Season 9, filming for the next season has already started.

What Caused the Lengthy Delay Before Season 8?

So, what caused the lengthy hiatus before Season 8? It’s plausible that Ramsay’s packed schedule, driven by his involvement in numerous other successful shows such as Hell’s Kitchen, MasterChef, MasterChef Junior, and Next Level Chef, may have contributed to the delay. Additionally, it’s possible that Ramsay grew weary of dealing with resistant restaurant owners and chefs who believed they knew better than him when it came to running their establishments.

Despite the long break, the return of the show was met with enthusiasm from its loyal fan base. The show continued to follow Ramsay as he stepped in to rescue restaurants teetering on the brink of collapse. The formula remained unchanged. Ramsay begins by inspecting the kitchen and refrigerators, often reacting with visible disgust at the dirty, smelly, and spoiled food and meat. He then delivers his iconic line, “Shut it down,” forcing diners to vacate the premises (it’s always astounding how packed these places are despite the deplorable food). The following day, it’s nothing short of a miracle, as the establishment is miraculously transformed, with a spotlessly clean interior and a complete makeover. Ramsay proceeds to trim down the menu, presenting a new and improved version that the chefs and staff can more effectively manage. While the restaurant’s reopening is not without its share of hiccups and tension, both customers and owners ultimately find satisfaction and happiness once again.

How Many Restaurants Have Closed Since Their Appearance on the Show?

The question is, of course, how long after the good fairy Ramsay leaves do things go badly again? So we went out to check and this is the breakdown between those who are still in business and those who have closed for good. According to Per Reality TV, just a dozen of the show’s 77 restaurants are still in business, with a success rate of 16%, while according to Reality TV Revisited, the success rate is a little higher and stands at 19%.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that Ramsay’s magical touch doesn’t last long. According to research on the longevity of privately owned restaurants, the majority of them close within their first year. Most of the restaurants that appear on the show have been around for much longer before appearing on the show, but are in deep financial hardship and their menu and food… sucks.

Which Kitchen Nightmares Restaurants Are Still Open?

Season 8, which started airing on September 25, 2023, featured 10 restaurants in total. Of the 10 restaurants featured in the last season, 2 of the restaurants – Love Bites Cafe and Da Mimmo – have now been shut. Interestingly, Love Bites Cafe, based in Saugerties, New York, got shut in July 2023, way before the restaurant featured in Season 8’s Episode 6, which aired in November 2023, suggesting that the restaurant did not get an opportunity to bank on the limelight it would have received from the reality show. Among Kitchen Nightmares fans, it has been a common perception that featuring on the Gordon Ramsay show extends the restaurants a longer runway, thanks to the extra attention and curiosity the show helps attract before the establishments hit a dead end. With many restaurants featured on the show closing down soon after appearing on the show, here’s a breakdown of all the restaurants that have closed since the show’s first broadcast in 2004:

Despite the fact that participation in the show had given the business owners a free consultation service by Ramsay and thousands of dollars in renovations and new furniture and equipment, some owners decided to sue the show and Ramsay, claiming that their reputation suffered by participating in the show. Joe from Mill Street Bistro, for example, sued Gordon claiming there were items missing from the restaurant after filming and that there was damage to the restaurant. He won $1,233 in compensation. In an interview with The National Enquirer, John Chapman, who owned Chappy’s on Church (featured in season 6), said, “It was truly a kitchen nightmare for me. Gordon Ramsay destroyed my business!” In 2008, Ramsay was sued by Martin Hyde, a restaurant manager at Dillon in New York City, for calling him “a lazy t***”. In an interview with The Daily Mail, he said, “Being ridiculed by Gordon Ramsay on TV has wrecked my life.” Despite the bad blood between Ramsay and some of the restaurant owners who appeared on the show, the majority of them don’t blame Ramsay for their failure to stay afloat.

What Changed in Kitchen Nightmares Season 8?

While Kitchen Nightmares retained a majority of its format upon its return in 2023 after a long hiatus, there were some noticeable differences in the show’s DNA, especially for long-term Kitchen Nightmares enthusiasts. Visibly, the restaurant business has transformed since the last time Gordon Ramsay set out to salvage drowning businesses. Social media marketing and online business have now become part of the transformation strategy. Most noticeably, Gordon Ramsay seems to have dialed it down a bit on the shouting and drama.

The owners in Season 8 also seemed to be more on the comparative side when compared to certain Kitchen Nightmares legends featured in the previous seasons. Could this be a likely consequence of better PR training, achieved through homework based on more than half a dozen Kitchen Nightmares seasons, on the part of owners? In terms of locational diversity also, the latest season seemed to have limited itself to restaurants only in New York and New Jersey, whereas older seasons had more variety in terms of the locations covered in a single season.

Does Gordon Ramsay Really Have a Bad Temper?

Apart from his Michelin-star restaurants serving gobsmackingly delicious food, Ramsay is infamously known for his wrath, which he is seen directing toward the owners of the restaurants he visits during Kitchen Nightmares. However, thankfully, his notoriously bad temper on the show is mostly kept there – in front of the camera. “You never see him get mad off camera,” said one crew member who went onto Reddit in 2013 to answer questions from fans of the show. “That’s because he doesn’t have a reason to. The only time I saw him explode was during the dinner service when the kitchen staff was serving food, which was a legitimate health risk. He only gets mad when he has a reason to, otherwise he’s a very funny and nice dude.” The crew member added, “You don’t see Ramsay explode on the U.K. shows because the U.S. version is edited to show more drama because they figured that this is what the viewers like to watch.”

If and when Kitchen Nightmares returns for Season 9, it can be expected that the show will incorporate some of the feedback it may have received upon airing of Season 8, considering how the last and latest season seemed to be very experimental in its ways. It was evident that the show was trying to combine the best of the U.S. and U.K. versions of the show, dialing down the drama and focusing a bit more on the culinary aspect. Naturally, it’s not an easy job reviving a much-loved show that has a strong legacy to carry on. With Season 9 having been taken to the floor for production, fans can be optimistic about the chances for some good news on the next season of the Gordon Ramsay reality television show soon. Kitchen Nightmares is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.