Chef Ramsay Awakens from his Kitchen Nightmares!

Ah, yes, once again chef Gordon Ramsay is providing positive feed back to a hapless owner of a failing restaurant, weeks away from shuttering his business. I confess to watching even the re-runs of this fascinating program, Kitchen Nightmares.

And so it saddened me to learn that last week, iconic chef Ramsay announced the end of Kitchen Nightmares. Spanning a decade, producing 123 hour-long mini-dramas, Gordon moves on to other adventures.

Of course dozens of memorable confrontations between Gordon and failing restaurateurs will survive into syndication, allowing us to relive our favorites.

[Ed Note: Despite its close relationship to restaurant, there is no "n" in restaurateur, either in its spelling or in its pronunciation. Oxford American Dictionary of Current English.]

The most explosive, and grotesquely entertaining episode was Gordon's visit to Amy's Baking Company in Scottsdale, Arizona. In the opening; pleasant repartee between Gordon, Amy and her husband, Samy Bouzaglo.

(See Season 6 program 16, Amy's Baking Company.  The original broadcast May 10, 2013.)

Faster than a Western Diamond Back rattlesnake, Amy strikes and  began spewing venom, resulting in an acrimonious exchange with Gordon!

Soon we learn that Amy's Baking Company had become embroiled in guerrilla warfare with Scottsdale Bloggers. The first shot reportedly fired by Joel Latondress, an IT (Information Technology) worker who writes a recipe Blog and likes to dine out.  He posted a review on Yelp, critical of a pizza he was served at Amy's Baking Company.

[Ed Note: Similar in concept to "Angie's List," Yelp is a multinational corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 2004 reviewers submit feed-back to help others decide on local businesses like dentists, hair stylists and mechanics.]

Unfortunately, rather than disregarding the criticism, Amy fired back a scathing rebuttal.  Thus began the ongoing skirmish. While most of us know that  by responding, we "fee the beast," Amy's ego and prideful response threw gasoline on the fire; "All those who gave them negative feedback on social media are "pansies" who "have no balls."

In an unprecedented action, Kitchen Nightmares returned to Scottsdale the following season. In Return to Amy's Baking Company, April 11, 2014, things went from bad to worse, with Samy demanding money for his appearance on the show.

Ostensibly to repair their besmirched  reputation, Amy and Samy took their case to Dr. Phil. Bad decision. Dr. Phil had obviously watched the original Kitchen Nightmare program.  And once again, things did not go so well.

ABC have apparently tried to capitalize on their "fame" with an outlandish collection of tee-shirts and baseball caps.

This shirt captures the moment surrounding a pizza, served not only to a local resident who ignited the email firestorm, but also referring to a bad pizza served to chef Ramsay.

A comment in the Huffington Post stated, "While Restaurant Nightmares launched his career, it may have led to the demise of others." I don't think so. The writer doesn't seem familiar with how the formula works.

While it is true 60% of the restaurants failed after GR, including one that  went under during filming, one must remember that the only reason Gordon went to these establishments was that they were already failing. And requested his help to avoid floundering!

Gordon Ramsay began  this television odyssey in England. From 2004 - 2007.  Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares produced 5 series, with 32 episodes. Beginning in 2007 "Ramsay's" was dropped from the program title, and 7 seasons, 90 programs, were produced in the United States under the title Kitchen Nightmares.

What follows is a listing of "winners and losers." The list does not include the original episodes, "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares," filmed in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Season One (2007)
•  Peter's, Babylon, New York - Closed in December 2008
•  Dillon's, New York, New York - (Renamed Purnima by Ramsay) - Closed in late 2009
•  The Mixing Bowl, Bellmore, New York - Closed in 2009
•  Seascape, Islip, New York - Closed in 2007, only five months after filming
•  The Olde Stone Mill, Tuckahoe, New York - Open
•  Sebastian's, Toluca Lake, California - Closed in January 2008
•  Finn McCool's, Westhampton, New York - Closed in March 2012
•  Lela's, Ponoma, California - Closed during filming 
•  Campania, Fair Lawn, New Jersey - Sold in 2010, closed in January 2011
•  The Secret Garden, Moorpark, California - Open

Season Two (2008-2009) 
•  Handlebar, Mount Sinai, New York - Sold in 2010, then closed in 2011
•  Giuseppe's, Macomb Township, Michigan - Closed in July 2009
•  Trobiano's, Great Neck, New York - Closed in October 2008
•  Black Pearl, New York, New York - Closed in 2008, four days after the episode aired
•  J Willy's, South Bend, Indiana - Closed February 2009
•  Hannah & Mason's, Cranbury, New Jersey - Closed in February 2010
•  Jack's Waterfront, St. Clair Shores, Michigan - Closed in late 2010
•  Sabatiello's, Stamford, Connecticut - Closed in October 2008
•  Fiesta Sunrise, West Nyack, New York - Closed in September 2008
•  Sante La Brea, Los Angeles, California - Closed in June 2011
•  Café 36, La Grange, Illinois - Closed in 2009

Season Three (2010) 
•  Hot Potato Café, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Closed in 2011
•  Flamangos, Whitehouse Station, New Jersey - (Renamed The Junction) Closed in 2011
•  Bazzini, Ridgewood, New Jersey - Closed in early 2011
•  Mojito, Brooklyn, New York - Open
•  Lido di Manhattan, Manhattan Beach, California - Open
•  Le Bistro, Lighthouse Point, Florida - Open
•  Casa Roma, Lancaster, California - Open
•  Mama Rita's, Newbury Park, California - Closed in 2011
•  Anna Vicenzo's, Boca Raton, Florida - Closed in early 2011
•  Fleming, Miami, Florida - Closed in October 2010
•  Sushi-Ko, Thousand Oaks, California - Closed in August 2009, weeks after filming

Season 4 (2011) 
•   Spanish Pavillion, Harrison, New Jersey - Open
•  Classic American, West Babylon, New York - Closed in 2013
•  PJ's Steakhouse, Queens, New York - Closed in May 2009, only weeks after filming
•  Grasshopper Also, Carlstadt, New Jersey - Closed in October 2012
•  Davide, Boston, Massachusetts - Closed in January 2012
•  Down City, Providence, Rhode Island - Closed in December 2011
•  Tavolini, Bridgeport, Connecticut - Closed in December 2011, only weeks after filming
•  Kingston Café, Pasadena, California - Open
•  La Frite, Sherman Oaks, California - Open
•  Capri, Eagle Rock, California - Open
•  Zeke's, Metairie, Louisiana - Closed in October 2012
•  Ocean, New Orleans, Louisiana - Open

Season Five (2011 to 2012)
•Blackberry's, Plainfield, New Jersey - Closed in March 2013
•  Leone's, Montclair, New Jersey - Open
•  Mike & Nellie's, Oakhurst, New Jersey - Closed in January 2012
•  Luigi's D'Italia, Anaheim, California - Open
•  Burger Kitchen, Los Angeles, California - Closed in February 2012
•  The Greek at the Harbor, Ventura, California - Open
•  Michon's, College Park, Georgia - Closed in August 2013
•  El Greco, Austin, Texas - Closed in December 2011
•  Park's Edge, Atlanta, Georgia - Closed in July 2013
•  Spin A Yarn Steakhouse, Fremont, California - Open
•  Charlie's, La Verne, California - Closed in 2012
•  Café Hon, Baltimore, Maryland - Open
•  Chiarella's, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Open
•  Zocalo, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Closed in December 2012, months after filming

Season 6 (2012 to 2013) 
•  La Galleria, Boston, Massachusetts - Open
•  Mama Maria's, Brooklyn, New York - Open
•  Ms. Jean's Southern Cuisine, Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania - Open
•  Barefoot Bob's, Hull, Massachusetts - Open
•  Olde Hitching Post Restaurant & Tavern, Hanson, Massachusetts - Open
•  Levanti's Italian Restaurant, Beaver, Pennsylvania - (Renamed Levanti's American Bistro by Ramsay) - Closed in November 2013
•  Sam's Mediterranean Kabob Room, Monrovia, California - Closed in January 2014
•  Nino's Italian Restaurant, Long Beach, California - Open
•  Mill Street Bistro, Norwalk, Ohio - (Renamed Maple City Tavern in December 2013) - Open
•  Yanni's, Seattle, Washington - Open
•  Prohibition Grille, Everett, Washington - Open
•  Chappy's, Nashville, Tennessee - Closed in June 2013
•  Amy's Baking Company, Scottsdale, Arizona - Open. No help provided.

Season Seven (2014) 
•  Re-visit, Amy's Baking Company, Scottsdale, Arizona - Open. No help provided.
•  Pantaleone's, Denver, Colorado - Open
•  Old Neighborhood Restaurant, Arvada, Colorado - Open
•  Kati Allo, Queens, New York - Open
•  Mangia Mangia, Woodland Park, Colorado - Open
•  Zayna Flaming Grill, Redondo Beach, California - Open
•  Bella Luna, Easton, Pennsylvania - Closed in November 2013, months after filming
-  Source: Grubstreet.com 

We can take solace in that Hell's Kitchen is still in production, and most assuredly, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and Kitchen Nightmares will go into syndication, assuring us of many hours of constructive and inspirational entertainment!

"Chefs are so proud and filled with martyrism that they would rather sit there and sink than think out of the box and fix it. When they do well, it is never [publicized]. When they don’t do well, you get the blame for it." Gordon Ramsay.