Guide Note

Kitchen Nightmares is a reality show that follows celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay as he helps struggling restaurant owners.¹

Fast Facts

1. Season 2 premiere: September 4, 2008
2. Show time: 8 p.m. / 7 p.m. CST²
3. Network: FOX³
4. Debut: September 19, 2007³
5. Starring: Gordon Ramsay³
6. Originally a success on the BBC#Starring: Gordon Ramsay³

While the UK version of Kitchen Nightmares focuses more on food preparation and how restaurants run, the American version pays more attention to the mismanagement and mishaps of the featured restaurants.³

The show usually starts with the restaurant's owner(s), who complain about their business's failures. Ramsay shows up, samples the food, critiques the decor, and then goes into the kitchen to figure what needs improvement.⁴

He also meets with the owner's family to further emphasize that if the restaurant fails, the family would lose everything. Ramsay, along with his "design team," renovates the restaurant, changes the menu, then re-opens the place to a rocky adjustment, but eventual success.⁴

On August 9, 2007, a judge dismissed a fraud case against the show in which the plaintiff, restaurant owner Martin Hyde, complained that the crew faked his business's makeover in the first season's second episode, which put him out of business.⁵

Kitchen Nightmares Season Premiere | Hell's Kitchen | Gordon Ramsay | Kitchen Nightmares Restaurants Close | Food Network