Shark Bytes
Ramsay is my hero, as far as cooking shows go. Ever since I've stopped watching cartoons (pretty much since the cartoon network started pumping out new crappy series that only last a season about as often as I go to the bathroom) it's been mostly the cooking network for me, with only 'Tripping the Rift' left for my cartoon fare.
Ramsay is awesome, I love how deluded the restaurant owners are. Chocolate covered shrimp? Banana-stuffed chicken? "It's how I express my creativity!" And then Ramsay has to remind them yet again that creativity means nothing if your food tastes like crap. Love it. Hasn't jumped the shark for me yet. However if rumblings I've heard about the 'new' Fox version are true, then it may be close, which will be sad, because I love Ramsay and sometimes dream of starting a restaurant and inviting him to do a "Kitchen Nightmares" show with me BEFORE it even opens. Start with the best. Plus I'd get to listen to him scream and swear at anyone I hire.
Ramsay is awesome, I love how deluded the restaurant owners are. Chocolate covered shrimp? Banana-stuffed chicken? "It's how I express my creativity!" And then Ramsay has to remind them yet again that creativity means nothing if your food tastes like crap. Love it. Hasn't jumped the shark for me yet. However if rumblings I've heard about the 'new' Fox version are true, then it may be close, which will be sad, because I love Ramsay and sometimes dream of starting a restaurant and inviting him to do a "Kitchen Nightmares" show with me BEFORE it even opens. Start with the best. Plus I'd get to listen to him scream and swear at anyone I hire.
What I love about this programme is that it is about real businesses run by real people. Gordon is not just a good cook: he knows the business side of things very well, and his advice is always spot on. By the way, although it is shown on BBC America, it is not a BBC programme, being originally made for Channel 4. Stateside viewers often assume that programmes shown on BBC America are all made by the Beeb, but that is not the case.
I 100 percent agree with Jamey, the previous poster ,that the BBC version is far more superior and believable. There is a definite air of phoniness that surrounds the Fox version as there is on most Fox reality shows including Hell's Kitchen. Obstinate owners have miraculous changes of heart in minutes so there can be the usual American happy ending. I don't think I've ever seen Ramsey revisit the American places months later to see how they're doing like he does in England. Interesting how he is so insistent on quality in his establishments, but will be on a crappy American show for the money when he's already rolling in it. However, I really enjoyed the episode when the Italian wanna-be- ganster-from-the Goodfellas obviously intimidated Ramsey who is nothing but a bully.
Do they use actors on the BBC version of Rasay's Kitchen Nightmares. I thought I saw a Chef (French) on a Broadway Show last week in New York...It looked just like him.
Rptrman: Thank you for your reply. It's only on this site, and evidently, it's not happening for you.
I e-mailed JTS three times, and they finally answered me, saying they were "in the process of correcting it." That lead me to assumed it was this way for everyone. Now I wonder. I have absolutely no idea what's happening.
The only think I can think of is that I have a dial-up modum, if that makes a difference.
I e-mailed JTS three times, and they finally answered me, saying they were "in the process of correcting it." That lead me to assumed it was this way for everyone. Now I wonder. I have absolutely no idea what's happening.
The only think I can think of is that I have a dial-up modum, if that makes a difference.
Listing it twice is only one of the many ways JTS has itself jumped. It has been allowed to become a personal forum where people with bad grammar and spelling come to show it off.
If your screen is shifted to the left only on this site, I have no idea why; if not, then your display resolution is to low.
If your screen is shifted to the left only on this site, I have no idea why; if not, then your display resolution is to low.
No--I didn't know it was listed twice. What the heck.
Also, when anyone else logs in, is the screen shoved over to the left and you have to shove it back to the center with every new screen? What the heck. That's a pain in the butt!
Also, when anyone else logs in, is the screen shoved over to the left and you have to shove it back to the center with every new screen? What the heck. That's a pain in the butt!
:::: Does anyone realize that this show is listed twice with different sets of comments? "Kitchen Nightmares" AND "Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares".
This site has become totally complacent since John handed it over to TV guide. This glaring error is typical of the way this site is handled now.
This site has become totally complacent since John handed it over to TV guide. This glaring error is typical of the way this site is handled now.
The English version has basically eccentric but charming loons. The American version has demented sociopaths. Go figure.
Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is on BBC America - Kitchen Nightmares (starring Gordon Ramsay) is a new version starting this season on Fox.
"Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" on BBC is so much better than the new "Kitchen Nightmares" on Fox. The BBC shows are the real deal and the Fox shows are over produced and painfully predictable. At the end of the BBC shows, I want to visit those restaurants; at the end of the Fox shows, I don't believe what I saw was a true representation of the restaurant and I don't want to eat there.
The Fox shows always have this "design team" segment - which takes credibility from the owner. For the BBC shows, Ramsay consults, but the owner has to do the work, which is much more interesting. For the Fox shows, it's like Ramsay's company or Fox producers are spoon feeding the owners, and they don't have to do any work at all. Fox should at least show the owners doing some work like painting, and that "reveal" thing has got to go.
Another example of the excellent quality of the BBC show and the poor quality of the Fox show is that for the Fox show, a restaurant owner on the verge of going under with no money is magically given new kitchen equipment to replace old damaged equipment that does not work. For the BBC show, Ramsay helps the owner find new Kitchen equipment for a bargain, or tells the owner what he needs to do to get the money to buy the new equipment.
What Fox does is so weak! At least tell us that they had to finance the new equipment or something to that effect. These gifts are ridiculous. I almost have to turn the channel during the Fox "reveal" segment, but I am usually yelling at my TV saying "I can't believe you just handed those jokers a new restaurant - I know they will just throw it away within 12 to 18 months and be right back in the same place."
Another great aspect of the BBC show is when Ramsay revisits the restaurant at the end of the show to see if the owner went back to their old habits. Fox missed this one. At best you get a one sentence voice over, which is a very lazy way to do things. Give me a break. As Ramsay would say "Where's the passion?!" I guess Ramsay is too busy to do that for the Fox shows, or simply the restaurants did not survive and the Fox producers don't want you to know it. Does Fox care about the viewers? Give us what we want and show us these things.
And another gripe with Fox, why are all the episodes in the New York City area - this is getting old. The United States is a big country, let's see what's happening in California or Florida or Las Vegas to name a few other locations in the U.S. It is like each owner is a clone from the previous episode.
Gordon Ramsay is a restaurant genius who can teach anyone how to do something better. I don't cook professionally, I am not in the restaurant business, but I watch the show because I love to eat in restaurants and kitchen nightmares shows me what to look for in a good restaurant. Unfortunately, I feel like Ramsay is not following his own advise for the Fox shows.
The BBC show is on par with Anthony Bourdain's brilliant book "Kitchen Confidential". The Fox show is about as interesting as a Rachael Ray "30 Minute Meal" cook book.
If you want to watch an interesting, captivating, and educational "Kitchen Nightmares" show, stick with the old school BBC version. It's when they did things right. If you want to watch a cliche make-over show with no substance, then watch the Fox shows. The BBC version is so much more authentic and interesting, and you'll learn a lot more than the over hyped Fox version. My advice to Ramsay - have restaurant owners work harder to earn their success and go back to revisiting the restaurants. The Fox shows have Jumped the Shark and I have decided to stop watching, but it can still jump back if it makes the necessary changes. In the interim, I will wait for the next season of "Hell's Kitchen" and watch BBC repeats of "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" and hope for BBC to have a new season.
I give BBC's "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmare" an "A". Kudos to BBC on such brilliant episodes like "La Gondola" and "Bonapartes". My Favorite episode is "Morgan's", which shows how Ramsay helped convert the absolute train wreck of a restaurant "Morgan's" to wonderful place to dine - I have to visit this restaurant when I go back to England and try their Braised Beef with Yorkshire Pudding, and have their Sticky Taffy Pudding for dessert. I must also visit the "Fenwick Arms" to see the "Campaign for Real Gravy" and try their Beef and Yorkshire Pudding as well. A great BBC's show idea would be to have "Fenwick Arms" and "Morgan's" cook-off to see who has the best Beef and Yorkshire Pudding.
I give Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares" a "C". The only thing I learnt from Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares" is this - don't eat at any of these restaurants, and all these restaurants make bad crab cakes.
The Fox shows always have this "design team" segment - which takes credibility from the owner. For the BBC shows, Ramsay consults, but the owner has to do the work, which is much more interesting. For the Fox shows, it's like Ramsay's company or Fox producers are spoon feeding the owners, and they don't have to do any work at all. Fox should at least show the owners doing some work like painting, and that "reveal" thing has got to go.
Another example of the excellent quality of the BBC show and the poor quality of the Fox show is that for the Fox show, a restaurant owner on the verge of going under with no money is magically given new kitchen equipment to replace old damaged equipment that does not work. For the BBC show, Ramsay helps the owner find new Kitchen equipment for a bargain, or tells the owner what he needs to do to get the money to buy the new equipment.
What Fox does is so weak! At least tell us that they had to finance the new equipment or something to that effect. These gifts are ridiculous. I almost have to turn the channel during the Fox "reveal" segment, but I am usually yelling at my TV saying "I can't believe you just handed those jokers a new restaurant - I know they will just throw it away within 12 to 18 months and be right back in the same place."
Another great aspect of the BBC show is when Ramsay revisits the restaurant at the end of the show to see if the owner went back to their old habits. Fox missed this one. At best you get a one sentence voice over, which is a very lazy way to do things. Give me a break. As Ramsay would say "Where's the passion?!" I guess Ramsay is too busy to do that for the Fox shows, or simply the restaurants did not survive and the Fox producers don't want you to know it. Does Fox care about the viewers? Give us what we want and show us these things.
And another gripe with Fox, why are all the episodes in the New York City area - this is getting old. The United States is a big country, let's see what's happening in California or Florida or Las Vegas to name a few other locations in the U.S. It is like each owner is a clone from the previous episode.
Gordon Ramsay is a restaurant genius who can teach anyone how to do something better. I don't cook professionally, I am not in the restaurant business, but I watch the show because I love to eat in restaurants and kitchen nightmares shows me what to look for in a good restaurant. Unfortunately, I feel like Ramsay is not following his own advise for the Fox shows.
The BBC show is on par with Anthony Bourdain's brilliant book "Kitchen Confidential". The Fox show is about as interesting as a Rachael Ray "30 Minute Meal" cook book.
If you want to watch an interesting, captivating, and educational "Kitchen Nightmares" show, stick with the old school BBC version. It's when they did things right. If you want to watch a cliche make-over show with no substance, then watch the Fox shows. The BBC version is so much more authentic and interesting, and you'll learn a lot more than the over hyped Fox version. My advice to Ramsay - have restaurant owners work harder to earn their success and go back to revisiting the restaurants. The Fox shows have Jumped the Shark and I have decided to stop watching, but it can still jump back if it makes the necessary changes. In the interim, I will wait for the next season of "Hell's Kitchen" and watch BBC repeats of "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" and hope for BBC to have a new season.
I give BBC's "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmare" an "A". Kudos to BBC on such brilliant episodes like "La Gondola" and "Bonapartes". My Favorite episode is "Morgan's", which shows how Ramsay helped convert the absolute train wreck of a restaurant "Morgan's" to wonderful place to dine - I have to visit this restaurant when I go back to England and try their Braised Beef with Yorkshire Pudding, and have their Sticky Taffy Pudding for dessert. I must also visit the "Fenwick Arms" to see the "Campaign for Real Gravy" and try their Beef and Yorkshire Pudding as well. A great BBC's show idea would be to have "Fenwick Arms" and "Morgan's" cook-off to see who has the best Beef and Yorkshire Pudding.
I give Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares" a "C". The only thing I learnt from Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares" is this - don't eat at any of these restaurants, and all these restaurants make bad crab cakes.
THIS WILL NOT JUMP SHARK providing it remains believable. It's obvious our esteemed Master Chef thoroughly knows the biz and isn't afraid to impart that knowledge (in whatever fashion) to any floundering establishment that petitions his assistance. He might be brash, but he knows his stuff. I'll be watching the American version.
Lori
Lori
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