February 20, 2008
Gordon Ramsay Ruins Valentine Dinner for Jersey Lovers
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay doesn’t give a damn about you, your girlfriend, or the special Valentine’s Day dinner you had planned – so drop your fork and get the hell off his set! That seems to be the way things went last Thursday night when diners at New Jersey’s fancy Hannah and Masons restaurant were summarily evicted – mid-meal – to facilitate production on Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA series. No matter how romantic the rabble, it just wouldn’t do to have them cluttering up Ramsay’s frame – one only hopes the cameras were rolling when the guests were asked to leave.
When making reservations for V-Day, Hannah and Masons had informed couples about the TV production and said they should be prepared to have their experience immortalized on the small screen. Things turned out quite differently, and while some guests were told to go, other diners didn’t even make it inside to begin with, arriving for their reservation only to be turned away. John and Dana Lohn told The Star-Ledger about the nightmare:
When they showed up for their 8 p.m. reservation, the restaurant was cordoned off, they said. A 20-something production assistant tearfully told them that all reservations were canceled, and begged them not to yell at her. The Lohns could see Ramsay through the window, the restaurant illuminated like the set of a movie.
Like a Hallmark adaptation of Oliver Twist, with the Lohns cast as the ragged, unwanted urchins who can’t even get in to ask for another serving of Ramsay’s gruel. Calling the restaurant the next day, the manager told them they “had no idea how bad things got in there” and then hung up without apologizing. A publicist for FOX, which is broadcasting the series here, says “it was in the best interest of the customers to close the kitchen down.” Before Ramsay shivved them.
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I love El Gordo. The best was during last season's KN when he relaunched a NJ Italian joint, and some old lady was being a pain the ass. He kicked her out of the restaurant and called her an old bag. He rules.
Probably for the best -- going to a Kitchen Nightmares restaurant for V-Day is a dodgy plan...
hahaha, i love it, thats hilarious. he is ridiculously funny.
Let me get this straight. A week ago some people in New Jersey had their dinner reservations canceled? does anyone really care?
Also silly to add the anti-Gordon spin... it just wouldn’t do to have them cluttering up Ramsay’s frame Pretty much everyone I know enjoys Gordon's tactics, even if some of them are staged.
I gotta agree with eyekantspell. This is GOTHAMIST. Not WEEKOLDNEWJERSEYIST. Leave this to the Jersey blogs. Like the Star-Ledger. BA-ZING!
At least Gordon didn't call his girl a DONKEY on camera. Gotta love that pug-faced Brit.
Besides being a Grade A reality show personality (just watched a repeat of the BBC Kitchen Nightmares episode set at "The Priory" - soo good), Gordon is also a chef with a NYC restaurant. So his meddling in the tri-state area is of interest.
I've EATEN it!!!!!
To recap, Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares is a show where Ramsay explores how absolutely awful a restaurant is in every possible way, then tries to help the desperate owners turn things around. He has only modest success in most cases.
These people heard that this place was going to be on the show while making reservations, and agreed to spend Valentine’s Day there?
Fuck those idiots.
Going to a restaurant on V-day is, in itself, kind of dumb. You know it's bound to get f'ed up.
I think KN is amazing in that it makes Ramsay look like the good guy, unlike his first show where he just yelled at people.
Gordon is much more civil on the British version, which airs on BBC America, than on the FOX/US version (on the BBC version, he curses a lot--but he uses it more in "everyday" talk than hurling insults at people). Fox definitely tells him to camp it up.
Chances are- if the restaurant is undergoing a complete and utter makeover, you don't actually want to be eating there anyhow.
i love this show!! I highly suggest everyone to check out the BBC America version.
the production crew did the couple a favor.. I give no sympathy unless they absolutely wanted to spend the hallmark holiday with gastrointestinal issues together.
From Season 1 USA:
Waitress: "Is everything okay, Do you need anything else?"
Ramsey: "A sick bag"
I've seen how he treats people on his shows. Dude is a Class Z jerk (keeping it clean for the family) and I would never eat at any of his greasy spoons.
www.forgotten-ny.com
Actually the show that airs on BBC America aired on Channel 4 in the UK which is on of the private networks over the pond.
Given that this happened on this side of the pond, we can only wait for the lawsuits to come out of this.
Kevin, if you don't like the way he treats people, then you shouldn't eat at 99.9% of restaurants that serve high quality food. Making great food is very hard work that requires a lot of discipline, and the best chefs run their kitchens like generals run a war. No mercy, total efficiency, and complete focus and obedience are demanded at all times. So long as people are doing what they are supposed to do, everything is peachy. But there is a zero tolerance policy for failure, in the slightest. And while you might feel sorry for the underlings who get chewed out, to them, it's an honor. Anyone with ambitions of greatness in the food industry wants to work for a chef like Ramsay. Maybe you should just keep eating at McDonald's, where no one gives a shit.
I favor the Cheyenne Diner...
And despise bosses like Ramsay (I've had them). Life's too short to get treated the way he treats his employees.
www.forgotten-ny.com
>>>I love El Gordo. The best was during last season's KN when he relaunched a NJ Italian joint, and some old lady was being a pain the ass. He kicked her out of the restaurant and called her an old bag. ...
And he hates the customers too, eh?
www.forgotten-ny.com
I love his shows. I also loved his cameo on Gervais' Extra's Finale. "I don't want to get into a fight, I've heard your girdle might explode at any minute."
Regarding how he treats staff - yes, he's harsh, but his staff is also obscenely loyal, and claims his kitchen staff retention rate is 85% which, if true, is ridiculously high for any industry, nevermind the food service one. What I've seen from how he works his people is that he is very tough, but fair, and teaches well.
Kevin you know about a lot of stuff, but you clearly don't know food.
Besides being a Grade A reality show personality ... Gordon is also a chef with a NYC restaurant. So his meddling in the tri-state area is of interest.
With all due respect for your editorial judgment, basically (i) any B list celeb (ii) whose worldwide business presence includes a NYC location (iii) doing something in New Jersey, Connecticut or New York State is where we're at.
I somehow doubt that. Anyway, I like Gordon Ramsey's show, and don't give a damn that John and Dana Lohn of Cranbury (wherever that is) had their dinner resevations canceled. Sounds like a couple of douches trying to use this so-called nightmare to get a free dinner.
My favorite part about the US version is that it is described as "criss-crossing America," when the more accurate description would be "criss-crossing the five boroughs...and one weekend in LA."
I even love his UK show The F Word, where he makes his children raise turkeys and pigs in the backyard only to eat them a month later... Amazingly, the kids seem fine with it, they're pretty funny.
I just came to reiterate -- why in the world, if you knew KITCHEN NIGHTMARES was filming there, would oyu choose to eat there on valentines day?
Oh, and I really admire Ramsay's character. I have a lot of respect for someone who can maintain such a standard for himself and the people he works with. You really can't argue with his success in the industry.
I just came to reiterate -- why in the world, if you knew KITCHEN NIGHTMARES was filming there, would oyu choose to eat there on valentines day?
Or ANY day for that matter. What a couple of douches.