- I'm gordon ramsay, and it's no secret
That over the past few years,
Things have been really challenging for all of us
In the food service industry.
- This business is taking us to the cleaners.
- How deep are you financially?
- Well over $1 million.
- It's harder than ever before...
- We don't have enough people coming in here.
- To bring customers back...
This place looks bleak.
And stand out from the crowd.
- Hi. - Good morning.
So for the first time in almost a decade,
"kitchen nightmares" is back.
- I need you to step up.
- You shut up.
When you're in this kitchen, don't even talk.
I want to throw one of my knives at him.
- After an overwhelming number of calls from restaurants
Across america,
I'm ready to jump back in.
[bleep]
That is gross.
[dramatic music]
Does that look appetizing to you?
- It doesn't.
- I'm heading back into the most obnoxious...
- I asked you to take out food--
- I'm clearing the [bleep] sink, dog!
- Outrageous...
Out the [bleep] door!
Good luck with the opening.
- And downright nauseating kitchens
Across the country.
Oh, my god!
[gagging]
[retching]
Shut it down!
Get the guests out of here.
Their night is over.
I'm here to diagnose the problems.
[bleep] hell, man.
You don't know your ass from your elbow.
You found a hair on the cheese? - Yeah.
- It's absolute [bleep] dog [bleep].
It's running at 73.
I honestly have never seen a new business
So dysfunctional so early.
This situation is dreadful.
- Can't even talk about it.
- Listen, I'm here to help.
And get these restaurants and their owners
Back on track.
- Holy [bleep]!
[laughs]
- Wow. - [laughs]
- Welcome to your new restaurant.
[uplifting music]
- Thank you so much. - You're welcome.
It's time for an all-new season
Of "kitchen nightmares."
[dramatic music]
This place is a death trap.
If I can't help you, you can't help yourself.
Rot has set in!
Smell it!
Shut it down!
[dramatic music]
Queens, new york.
Bel aire is a family-owned diner
Run by two brothers at war.
- Kal, there's a lot of people waiting.
What's going on? - I can't do my job
If you're not supervising the waiters.
- You're in the kitchen. I'm not in the kitchen.
- The biggest problem in here at the diner is,
My brother's an [bleep].
Period.
My brother's an [bleep].
- Taking charge of the kitchen--
- No. Not ready yet.
- Big brother kal is snowed under...
- [groans]
- Managing the team of 20 cooks.
While out on the diner floor, younger brother peter
Isn't pulling his weight.
- Do your thing.
- A restaurant needs two parts.
It needs front of house and back of house.
My brother and I are supposed to be
Doing the same amount of work.
My brother doesn't want to work.
There's food behind because they're not grabbing--
- ...When they come out. You got the tickets.
You know what-- what belongs to who.
- I think if I wasn't here,
The diner would already be closed.
Go hang out with mommy. Don't bother me.
- Kal's ego is overwhelming at times.
When me and my brother don't get along,
It is very difficult for the diner to function.
Hi. Anything wrong?
- You didn't like it?
Do you want me to change it for you?
Too rare?
[dramatic music]
- Come on.
The diner's been in my family for 25 years.
I'm also getting pushback from my parents
Because my parents don't want to retire.
I want them to leave.
- You're not working one to one.
You're in the back. She's in the front.
- Step away from the restaurant.
Let my brother and I handle it.
- No. No. Go.
- I don't need my mother yelling at people.
- Who serves this like this?
Who serves this?
- My father sometimes tries to help,
But he gets in the way.
- You need my help.
If you can't handle it, I'm here, huh?
- I'm okay, dad. Thank you.
- My sons-- I don't want them to fight.
I want them to take over.
I don't know if they're ready.
- They're 40. They should be ready.
I think peter and kal just get a little lazy
And take it for granted.
I'm not convinced that they're going to make it stay afloat.
- I feel like ramsay is the only person
That could truly get my father
To step away from the restaurant.
Hopefully, he can also get my brother to realize that
It can't be a one-man show.
If gordon ramsay can come in here
And get my brother on board,
We can make this place the best diner in the country.
[adventurous music]
[helicopter blades whirring]
♪ ♪
- New york city's 24 hour diners are iconic,
Serving delicious comfort food night and day.
I'm here in astoria, queens, to visit
The bel aire diner to get a taste
Of the city that never sleeps.
- Welcome. - Good morning.
- What's your name? - Chettie.
[dramatic music]
- Oh, my god.
He's bigger than I thought.
I'm terrified.
- Are they--are they real?
- Yes. - Wow.
Lobster in a diner.
I am hungry.
- Follow me.
- I'm, like, nervous.
[laughs]
- It's not every day you cook for a michelin star chef.
And although I think that our food is pretty good,
It's not michelin star level.
So I'm not ready for this at all.
- Can I get you something to drink?
- I'll have a coffee, actually.
- No problem.
- One thing that is a guarantee across every diner
Is a great cup of coffee.
Thanks.
[plucky music]
Oof.
Jeez, louise.
That's terrible.
- It's diner coffee.
It's supposed to be strong.
- Cappuccino? - Oh, no. No, no, no.
- No? - No, no.
- Maybe we shouldn't have did this.
- Right. Appetizers.
Homemade wings. Pastry.
We were just on the salad bar.
It's like an encyclopedia, this thing.
How many items on this menu?
- I don't know.
I haven't tried all the things on the menu.
- You'd be in your 80s if you did.
- I'll give you a couple minutes--
- Please. - Or an hour.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight--
46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52--
96, 97, 98, 99, 100.
Holy mackerel.
170, 190, 210.
[bleep], I've lost count.
I lost count at 270, and I'm only halfway through.
I'm not starting that again.
- You ready?
- I'm going to go for the fried tortellini.
- Okay.
- With the homemade marinara sauce.
- No problem.
- Coq au vin.
- "coke cavan"?
- Say again?
- The "coco van"?
- Coco is something you drink at night.
Coq au vin.
- Coq au vin. - It's from France--
Chicken with burgundy sauce.
I've just never seen it on a diner menu.
Uh, what else?
Let's do the lamb gyro. - Mm-hmm.
- I feel like I'm sat in, like,
Seven different restaurants right now.
Let's go for the blt. Let's do the lobster blt.
- Would you like a side of fries?
- Yes. I'll get it out for you.
Come on, let me help you. Come here.
I'll give it to you. Let's go.
Thank you.
- Oh, yes.
Nice. - There we are.
Thanks, darling.
[laughter]
- All right. I guess--
I guess we're doing lobster.
Oh, boy.
[tense music]
- What is this, the coq au vin?
- Coq au vin.
- "coc vivin."
Okay.
"co...Covin."
- C-coq au vin. - Coq au vin.
- Thank you.
- And the lamb gyro. - Lamb gyro. Thank you.
- Okay. - Okay.
Now, when I think of a lamb gyro,
I think of that nice, beautiful shaved meat.
Oh, dear.
That doesn't look freshly shaved.
♪ ♪
- [bleep].
That's about as greek as donald trump.
You'd think they'd specialize in something like this.
- Okay.
First time for me-- coq au vin in a diner.
Coq au vin is a beautiful braised chicken dish
With red wine, onions, garlic, butter, and mushrooms.
Oh, my lord.
This chicken wasn't cooked in the last 24 hours.
This thing is like a dinosaur.
Coq au vin.
Oh, my god.
That is a slurry of [bleep].
Why would anyone attempt to do something
So fine dining in a [bleep] diner?
- Oh, boy.
- Homemade tortellinis.
I don't know why they said they're homemade,
'cause they look like store bought.
Sauce?
Wow.
They taste of absolutely [bleep] all.
The filling's escaped.
I've got more cream cheese in a zit.
Chettie, who's stuffing these?
- Well, I don't think they're made in-house.
- Oh, because they say "homemade" on the menu.
Page 74, item 379.
And the coq au vin, someone needs to go back to France.
I'll pay for the flight. No good.
- I'm sorry.
- Coq au vin, my ass.
- Kal, he said there's no filling
In the fried tortellini.
- Yeah?
- And the coq au vin-- he just said he'll pay
For your flight back to France.
- He ordered a french dish called coq au "veen."
Coq au "van."
I'm not really sure how to say it,
But that's not our specialty.
- And we just basically served
A michelin star chef fried pasta.
It explodes in the fryer, and all the cheese leaks.
Nobody said anything all this time.
It's been on the menu for, like, a year.
- I never sell one.
- Yeah.
- Okay, lobster blt. Oh, boy.
Three dingy bits of lobster.
The lobster is raw.
It's mush, and it is rancid.
Chettie, just smell that for two seconds.
It's not even cooked.
It's just like a lettuce sandwich.
[crunch]
Mmm.
- [laughs]
- That's fine if you're a [bleep] rabbit,
But it's the tastiest thing on the menu.
- The lobster on the blt was raw.
- It was raw?
[tense music]
It's one thing to cook.
The worst complaint is
Definitely the undercooked lobster
And the potential of getting somebody sick.
The last thing you want in this business is to hurt somebody.
Unbelievable.
I'm gonna cry.
- Lastly, your french fries.
- Thank you.
You know, you think of a diner menu as sort of rapid.
It's fast. It's comfort food.
It's waffles and bacon, scrambled egg, omelets,
And they're done super fast, but really tasty.
They've got way too many items here,
And everything's done badly.
And even the fries have got big, dirty, black bits
All over the things.
Look at the color of that inside.
Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.
- You like them? [giggles]
- No.
I have a fish and chip shop in times square
That serve amazing fries.
I'd be shocked if I served fries
Like that in times square.
Who's running this place?
- Kal. - Right.
Let's bypass the dessert.
Let's get kal here.
This is a big worry.
- Great.
That's--that's just great.
[tense music]
Hello.
- Hey. - Hi.
- And your name is? - Kal.
- Kal, sit down, bud.
Listen, 'cause this is serious.
- It is. - That lunch was shocking.
I mean, really bad. - Oh.
That--wow.
- But you must know the quality here today is subpar.
- We--we could do a lot better.
- Who's accountable for this? Who's running this place?
- It's me. I'm accountable.
- But your parents are sat at the bar.
- Yes.
- Is it time to pass the baton, and--
- They can't because my brother is
Supposed to be doing half of the work, but he's not here.
- He's not here. - No.
- He's supposed to be running the place?
- In tandem with me. - Where is he?
- He's at his fiancée's place, at another restaurant.
- So he's paid by here,
But he's working in his girlfriend's restaurant?
- Yes.
- How [bleep] up does that sound?
Did you guys fall out?
- We've had our arguments.
There was a while we didn't speak for six months.
We just started speaking, like, maybe a month or two ago.
- Wow.
So he doesn't commit to the business at all.
- At all.
- So why the [bleep] would you pay him?
- It's an allowance from my parents that I have to--
- An allowance. - Sustain. [laughs]
- Would you mind just whispering
How much that allowance is?
- $1,200 a week.
- 50 grand a year allowance?
If you weren't family, would you accept that?
- Absolutely not.
- And do you talk to mom and dad about it?
- They've--I feel like they've dumped the problem on me.
So now I have to figure it out.
- Well, that's unfair.
Right there, that's unfair.
[soft dramatic music]
This is a recipe for disaster.
- Yeah.
- Hey.
Come on.
♪ ♪
I have a beautiful little girl.
Oh, my god. I can't--
I'm sorry.
You're responsible for a life, and then on top of that,
I'm responsible for my family's business of 25 years.
It's-- - you're committed.
- I sleep here.
- You have a baby at home, young man,
And you sleep here?
- I have to.
- Kal, that's not a life, let me tell you.
This situation is dreadful.
- I can't even talk about it.
What choice do I have?
I can't let the business fail.
My home is paid for from here, my parents' home.
And...
♪ ♪
[bleep].
Would you do me a favor? - Yeah.
- Can you get your numpty of a brother on the cell
And tell him I want to meet him.
[suspenseful music]
- You knew ramsay was coming,
And you still went somewhere else.
Can you leave that place, and you can come here?
He really wants to talk to you.
- Two brothers at war, and a diner failing miserably.
♪ ♪
[dramatic music]
- I'm in queens, new york.
I've tried bel aire diner's menu,
And I've discovered that the problem here
Lies with a feuding family.
Two brothers at war, and a diner failing miserably.
[tense acoustic music]
- Me and kal don't work together well
Because he's stubborn.
I do think that people see me as, like, lazy.
You know, they can think what they want.
You know, I can run circles around people.
- Hello. - Are you peter?
- Peter. - Are you okay?
You look a little bit surprised.
You all right? - I'm all right.
- Why--why are you saying all right?
You're walking into your mom and dad's restaurant
With a nice, big, chunky rolex on.
Why aren't you feeling better than that?
- I don't know.
- You don't know?
Let's deal with the elephant in the room.
Why aren't you in this business working
Hand in glove with your brother?
- I don't feel like I'm respected as--
As a brother.
- Are you unappreciated here?
- I feel I am. Yes. - Yeah.
You've got interests elsewhere now with your fiancée,
Working hard for her business.
- Yes. - Have you given up here?
- I--I don't think I've given up here.
No. - You love mom and dad?
- Of course.
- Mom and dad busted their ass off to get this thing.
Now, for the next stage in their life,
They should be taking the back seat
And the two siblings should be running this place.
How does it make you feel when you see them
Chained to this restaurant still at their age?
- It's--
- Do you feel guilty?
- Yeah.
- But I think deep down inside, you want to fix this place,
Don't you? - Mm-hmm.
- Continue mom and dad's legacy.
Right now, we seem to be embroiled in a mess.
You guys are on different islands.
There's no respect.
Do you love your brother?
- Oh, my god.
Sorry.
Of course.
- And this diner's been in your family for a long time.
I would love for it to stay that way.
Now, there's only two individuals that's
Going to make that possible.
That's you and your brother.
Kal, two seconds.
I'm going to get some fresh air,
But what I want to see tonight
Is both of you running this place.
I want to see it in operation, okay?
See you shortly.
Oh, boy.
- I think the tension between me
And my brother is a big issue.
But going forward, hopefully our relationship gets better.
But you never know what's going to happen.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Hi. For three?
- Yes. - Okay.
- Thank you. - Enjoy, guys.
- Almost full? - Yeah.
- Okay.
- I'm feeling anxious, apprehensive,
All these emotions at the same time.
And my goal has always been
To be the number-one diner in the country.
But I'm worried that I'm going to choke
Under pressure, basically.
- How are you guys?
- Are you guys ready to order, or no?
- Tater tots and cheese fries?
- Okay.
- Give me a southern comfort, no barbecue.
Bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel, baby.
- I'm back.
Hey, guys.
I want to see how both brothers function
During an evening rush at the diner.
- Kal, that carnitas bowl wants a river view instead.
- Give me a river view, chris.
- Just show me that one there, please.
- Can you just throw this out? - What is that?
- Medium rare. Holy [bleep].
Is this what you opened 25 years ago--this?
- No. - No.
Good god.
- [bleep].
[suspenseful music]
- Ooh, la, la. What did you order?
- Grilled cheese with bacon.
- It's not even melted.
Give me two seconds. - Yeah.
- [bleep].
All right, kal. Grilled cheese.
It's not even grilled. Do you know what I mean?
The cheese is not even melted. - I'll fix that right away.
- But listen, you're the last line of defense.
All hope lands on you.
- Absolutely right. - Please.
- We need some form of standards here.
- Can we get another melty grilled cheese?
- Oh, don't even tell me.
There's only one of me.
- It's clear that with kal and peter at the helm,
This diner is going downhill.
- I try and keep my cool,
But kitchen's having a little trouble.
You know, customers are complaining.
I blame my brother, ultimately, 'cause it's going out.
- What's wrong? - It's supposed to be medium.
- [bleep] raw.
Yes, raw. - Oh, my god.
- This is not a [bleep] joke.
That's ice cold, and it's [bleep] raw in the middle.
These guys need to wake up quickly, huh?
Before the [bleep] hits the fan.
- Man.
What happened?
You see the plate coming back.
Why the plate is coming back?
- Now I understand why you don't want to retire.
I get you now.
This is [bleep] embarrassing.
- Melted on the chicken.
- Big time.
- Two seconds with me.
Two seconds with me. [bleep].
[tense music]
You need to get a grip.
Don't just [bleep] stand there and throw in the [bleep] towel.
Please, get some form of standard.
Show me you've got something to hold on to.
Otherwise, I'm out of here.
Quickly.
♪ ♪
- I'm definitely needed.
I disappointed my favorite chef in the world, basically.
It's all terrible.
Everything that's coming out is [bleep] up.
Having to get your food taken apart--it sucks.
It's not a good feeling.
I'm so embarrassed.
I'm so [bleep] embarrassed.
Danilo, what did I just tell you?
Why would you give that to me?
Why wouldn't you check?
You have to be better.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
I swear to god, every [bleep] order is wrong.
- As the brothers' chaotic service continues,
I want to find out how on earth this diner
Can cater to the hundreds of dishes on the menu.
[bleep] is down there?
Time for a deep dive into the basement.
♪ ♪
Oh, my god.
♪ ♪
It's like a scene out of "saw."
Is this for real?
Ah, [bleep].
♪ ♪
Oh, my god.
It's just endless.
If I get lost down here, somebody send help.
Oh, the smell.
[coughs]
Nothing labeled.
Everything uncovered.
No dates.
Oh, my god.
The smell in here.
What the [bleep] is that?
- He's in the what?
- He's in the meat fridge.
- Oh, my god.
I don't think anyone's got any idea what is going on in here.
Pastrami with marinated chicken.
Oh, my god.
Holy [bleep].
No.
There are some cases that are tucked away.
♪ ♪
Even the chicken's frothing at the mouth,
And it's [bleep] dead!
[bleep]
[retching]
[bleep]
[coughing]
[retching]
♪ ♪
[dramatic music]
- Queens, new york.
Family run diner bel aire is divided
And in dire need of help.
Oh, my god.
Serious help.
[bleep]
[coughing]
[retching]
This basement is beyond bad.
I need out.
[bleep]
Oh, my god.
The stench down there--
Honestly, it's like something out of a horror film.
And I'm not joking.
I cannot believe it.
And whilst those two brothers are at loggerheads,
This place is falling apart.
Where's kal?
Where's peter?
- Peter.
- Oh, god.
[tense music]
- The practices down there are shocking.
And I'm talking produce that is gone,
Weeks gone.
Not days, weeks gone.
- My first thought is, oh, my god.
What did we--what did we miss?
What did we do wrong?
- When was the last time you went through there?
- Downstairs? - Yeah.
Properly.
- Properly? Maybe a month.
- A month ago.
When was the last time you went through
Those fridges properly?
- Half of them yesterday.
I don't know how I missed it.
If it's down there, I don't know how I missed it.
- You don't know how you missed it.
You must be [bleep] blind.
♪ ♪
You're the manager, right? - Yes, sir.
- Yeah. Tell the guests
I'm taking care of their bill tonight
And get rid of them, now.
There is no more food going out of here.
Nothing. Turn it off.
All off. - Everything's off.
- All off.
Shut it down.
- That's got to be the worst words to hear--shut it down.
Shut it down?
What do you mean, shut it down?
- When was the last time this place was cleaned?
Raw meat.
Cooked meat.
- It's supposed to be raw on the left
And cooked on the right.
That's how we've taught them and trained,
And obviously not good enough.
- That has been on the [bleep] grill.
- Yes.
- That has been sandwiched with this.
- Yeah.
♪ ♪
- Talk to me, kal.
Talk to me.
- I'm at a loss for words, gordon.
- Give me something. - I--
- Give me something, young man.
You spend more time here than you do at home.
Please, just for once, stop lying to me
And, more importantly, your mother.
- He's not lying.
He's just repeating what he gets told.
Just because you delegate something
Doesn't mean it gets done.
- It's--it's on me. It's on me.
- It's not on you. That's the point.
- No, it's 100% on me.
I'm here the most.
It's my fault, all of this.
- When was the last time this was cleaned?
Don't say last week.
- It's--
Oh, god.
- Oh, [bleep] hell.
Oh, [bleep].
- The oil from the hoods-- I've never seen so much.
I didn't even know that we had that much there.
Like, it was embarrassing.
- Oh, [bleep] hell.
[oil dripping]
- Mortified.
Oh, my god.
- A spark in the wrong area in the hood,
This place is seconds away from going up in flames.
This place is a death trap.
[dramatic music]
All of you, downstairs now.
There's no [bleep] way you guys haven't seen this.
♪ ♪
Line up over there.
- I haven't checked this place in a very long time.
♪ ♪
- Is that my coq au vin?
- Yes, it is.
- That's my [bleep] coq au vin.
Holy [bleep].
Look at the [bleep] color of the bacon.
- Are you guys kidding me?
- Nothing covered. No labels.
- I don't know how I personally missed it
On a walkthrough, because it wasn't covered.
It didn't smell good.
- Pick one up and smell it.
Smell it!
- I feel awful. I feel awful.
Like, I feed my daughter from here.
- [coughing]
- Everything is on the line.
What's at stake is the future of the restaurant.
- Smell it!
[dramatic music]
- Queens, new york.
After discovering the most disgusting
And unsafe food hazards I've ever seen...
Smell it!
I've shut the diner down.
All of you, come here.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
What [bleep] is that? - Pulled pork.
- No cover. No date.
Nothing.
What is that?
- Like, he passes this box of chicken in front of me,
And it smelled.
It smelled.
It was so-- that was embarrassing.
- You should all hold your head in shame.
And I knew it wasn't going to be perfect.
I knew the food was going to be a bit too complicated.
I knew you were going to struggle with standards.
But what I didn't expect was this disgusting hellhole.
You should be ashamed.
♪ ♪
- Let's clean it up.
We got to do better, guys.
[somber music]
I feel like a failure.
I let my family and my staff down,
And my customers.
It's on me.
The buck stops here, so--
[sighs]
- The way things are going, this place is in real danger
Of being permanently shut down by health inspectors.
- I care a lot about this place.
Like, I understand that, you know,
I'm not here all the time, and I probably should be.
It's clear to me now that I need to step up,
And I need to--
To make a change for my business.
- Time to get this divided family together.
- Okay, you guys called me for help.
Well, that right there should be a wake-up call.
And honestly, between you and I,
I should be running out of here,
Because most people would.
- There's not a lot we can say.
You know, obviously, there were things
That you found that were not supposed to be there.
- What you found, I can promise you,
Would have never been served. - No.
- It should have never been in the restaurant.
Gordon--
- You guys, it's not about me blaming anyone.
It's just we're forgetting the purpose of this.
This building put clothes on your backs.
This building kept you guys in a lifestyle.
And how the hell you don't know that
That's the way it's functioning under your own nose
Scares the [bleep] out of me.
You need to take accountability for everything that
Goes on in this restaurant.
Here's what I'm not seeing.
None of you two are on the same page,
And our personal issues
Are affecting our professional life.
Archie and patty, when you were building this business
Three decades ago, it was your dream
To pass this on to the boys.
- Yes.
- Is that still the dream?
- Yes. - Yes.
[somber music]
- But they have to prove it.
- They do.
You two need to listen.
You need to listen to each other,
And you need to set your differences aside.
That's first.
Is that possible?
- Yeah. - Have I got that commitment?
- You have my commitment. Yes.
- Kal, have I got that commitment from you?
- Absolutely.
I'm committed, 100%.
- You guys have had it easy.
You've had it handed to you.
Now it's time to work for it.
Is that clear? - Yes, sir.
- You understand that?
- I do.
- I'll see you both in the morning.
Mom and dad, thank you.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
[suspenseful music]
- I knew this place was in trouble
And the family was somewhat fragmented,
But the discovery in the basement for me was horrific.
On top of that, you've got two sons that
Are [bleep] their parents' fortune away.
But what upsets me more than anything is that
They grew up in this diner.
And sadly, no one's taken the silver spoon
Out of their mouth.
And I'm going to do just that.
Get them on the same page, wake them up,
And put them back together, quickly.
[dramatic music]
- It's a new day.
Before I do anything else,
I need to show feuding brothers kal and peter
How a restaurant should be run.
And I know just the place.
Welcome to times square,
And welcome to ramsay fish and chips.
We serve 1,000 guests a day,
But what we are is efficient.
And your beautiful bel aire diner needs
To get efficient.
Okay, do me a favor.
Take a walk in.
What do you notice?
- It smells delicious.
Obviously, everything's in rows.
- Labeled. - It's labeled.
It's covered.
I've never experienced anything like that.
It's almost like walking into a bakery
And getting hit with that fresh bread smell.
My walk-ins don't smell like that.
- Let's get behind the line.
Something I've been dying to show you all.
I'm going to show the boys how to make a perfect plate
Of fish and chips.
Right. You, mr. Muscles,
Start cutting some fries.
Every diner should pride itself on fries, right?
I'm going to fry the fish, beautiful cod.
In it goes.
Come on, kal.
Use those [bleep] muscles, will you?
Please, let's go. There you go.
Blanche fries for three minutes.
Fast chill, and then once they come out of the freezer,
We then drop them.
40 seconds.
I've been studying the gp on those bought-in frozen fries.
- Do you know what gp is?
- Gp, or the-- - profit.
- Gross profit.
- Every portion you're selling, you're actually losing money.
- I didn't realize we could be losing money on a potato.
- Fish and chips, done.
We're giving you our recipes.
- Getting a recipe like this is going to be life changing.
- Dig in. Dig in.
What's wrong? - Hot.
- Of course, it's [bleep] hot.
It's just come out the fryer.
- I feel like with this information,
We can completely transform the way we do business.
I mean, I want to put, you know,
"gordon ramsay fries" on our menu.
- The most important ingredient missing on your menu
Is you two, united.
If you two unite and stick together,
I promise you now, it's going to work,
Just like mom and dad did 25 years ago.
[tender piano music]
Right, we've got work to do.
[suspenseful music]
Back to queens, where I have a special surprise
In store for the whole family.
My team have worked all night giving
The old family diner a fresh, new feel
And a sparkling clean.
Welcome, guys.
Welcome to the bel aire diner. - Oh, my god.
- To celebrate the next generation taking over,
A retro look, making the diner shine.
- Oh, beautiful.
- Trust me, that's just the beginning.
Come over, please.
- I actually love this.
I really, really, really do.
After seeing everything that gordon did, I'm super psyched.
I love the sign behind me.
I love the booths.
- This is gorgeous.
Oh, wow. This is so cute.
- It's light. It's bright.
It's inviting, and it's modern, right, but with retro.
There's more. Please, come with me.
I'd like you to come and sit at the bar.
- Oh, I love the lights!
- Beautiful new countertop.
Beautiful new lamp that really light this bar up.
Family, please, take a seat.
- This is beautiful.
- You speak of the diner as if it's your home,
So I wanted your home to be beautiful,
Where you can relax because you deserve it.
- Thank you.
- You're the glue that holds this family together.
Listen, the coffee when I first arrived was disappointing.
Coffee in diners should be a staple.
This thing here is the state-of-the-art,
Brand-new $18,000 synesso espresso machine.
And then over here, a beautiful filtered coffee drip machine.
Blenders, smoothie makers, so we can start having
Some fun with social media.
- Can't wait, like, to make myself a cappuccino.
He's given us a lot of the tools we need to succeed.
- Thank you.
- Let me introduce you to our one-page menu.
- They're looking for the rest.
- Boys, I want to explain that this menu has
Got 20 items on there instead of 420.
- How many pages am I allowed to add?
- Well, it depends what sells.
We don't carry 50 items because once a week
Someone comes in for a coq au vin.
That's [bleep] gone.
Let me take you through the menu.
The burgers and sandwiches.
Buttermilk onion rings.
French toast, a classic, a staple.
Eggs benedict.
Fish and chips-- special gift from myself.
And then, of course, the staple with the shrimp and grits.
- Can we try the food?
- Dig in. Dig in. Dig in.
- Do you want to try the--
- Pass that down.
- This is delicious.
- I'm so happy. I love it.
[laughs]
- Tonight, the responsibility
On both your shoulders are immense.
- The pressure is more than ever.
- I'm not [bleep] around.
- I know something's bubbling, something's brewing.
[tense music]
- You're growing or dying?
- Yeah, well, I don't want to say that.
But yeah, you're either growing or you're dying.
♪ ♪
- Come on, guys. Nothing crazy.
So we're getting ready to go to dinner service,
And I'm, like, really anxious.
All right. Get ready.
Everything is on the line.
It's the future success of the restaurant.
- Hi. - Hi.
- How are you guys? How many are we?
Six? - There are six of us.
- Time to put this diner back on the map.
Okay, we good?
First service with the reno and new menu.
Have mom and dad sat down?
- Yep. - Good.
I want to check that the kitchen is ready.
Table of firefighters are in.
There's a young man there from make-a-wish foundation,
And we've got a couple of social media stars
In there-- 3 1/2 million followers.
- Hello.
- Also here, the potential future owner of bel aire--
- Hi.
- Kal's daughter, penelope.
A smaller menu that should be quicker,
But it's not a race, all right?
Don't rush it, yes? - Yes, sir.
- Hey. Standards.
Kal, last line of defense.
You're not happy, you send it back.
- Can I get the blt please?
- Blt? Sure.
- Kal is running the kitchen.
- Give me one french fries.
- You doing good? - Yes.
- Yeah? They're flowing in fast.
Peter needs to be running front of house.
How's the new bar going down? - It's great.
It's great. - Yeah?
- I love it. - Good.
- Tonight, I really want to see my brother work.
- And the coffee machine? - I just learned how to do it.
That's great. - It's beautiful.
- I want him to get that buzz going and keep that buzz
And keep the energy in the dining room high.
[tense music]
- Let's go, guys.
Please. - Very nice.
Burger medium.
French toast.
All right, total.
- As the first few plates go out--
- How many lambs do you got working for me?
- I'm glad to see kal has everything under control.
- Please do not overstep yourself.
Change the plate.
We cannot go out like this.
All eyes on us.
Relaunch. - Hi, guys.
How are you? - Good.
- Let's go, guys. Pick up at the pass.
Come on.
Standing there [bleep].
- Can I get you guys anything else?
[dramatic music]
- But I've spotted a problem.
Guys, how long ago did you order?
- 10 minutes, maybe.
- 10 minutes. Thank you.
52, they've been waiting over 10 minutes.
10 minutes is too long.
These are my guests, by the way,
From make-a-wish foundation.
After a strong start...
They need to complete a table at a time.
All they're doing is just putting
These singles up, right? - Yes, sir.
- These guys are falling into bad habits already.
Guys, you've got to talk to each other.
Don't get flustered.
Take a deep breath.
- Food's good today.
Hopefully, you won't meet any hair on the chicken fingers.
[laughs]
- And it's not just the kitchen moving backwards.
- One-page menu?
I'm already cringing. That's like--what is that?
I was also told I'm not allowed to walk around, so we'll see.
What are they going to do, fire me?
- I am frustrated that my mom stepped in
And checking on my customers.
She's supposed to be retired now.
- They always ask, like, you know, are you the boss?
I say, no, I just sleep with him.
[laughing]
- Listen, I understand you're trying
To do a good thing, but that--
You can't do that.
Stop the chitter chatter.
- Okay.
- There's, like, a fine line.
So like, yeah, you want her to be a part of it,
But you want her to, you know, take a back seat.
Seriously. - Seriously, fine.
- You understand? Okay.
- All right. Burger medium rare.
- Kal, pass me that burger.
What the [bleep] going on here?
It's raw.
Hey?
It's raw!
- Medium rare, but it's still--
It's still a little bit under. Yes, sir.
- It's not a little bit under.
The [bleep] meat is raw.
It's just raw.
[bleep] medium rare, my ass.
Honestly, I mean, we started strong.
Halfway through service now, kal's all over the place.
And he's throwing food out because his team
Behind the line aren't understanding
That you've got to send those dishes cohesively.
- [speaking spanish] where's the plate?
You got to have the plate ready.
- [bleep] - why is the plate not ready?
- What's happened there? - [bleep] no.
Touch it. It's raw!
- When a fish and chips comes back--
- Stop.
Slow down.
- It started to go downhill pretty quickly.
- You need to communicate.
I'm dying here.
- Our professional reputation is at stake.
We're at risk of breaking apart.
[dramatic music] - slow down!
[bleep] medium rare, my ass.
Bel aire diner in queens, new york.
I've renovated the restaurant
And slimmed down the crazy long menu.
Panic's set in.
They're just [bleep] now.
Mid-service, and there's a problem.
We started off good.
Don't bury your head in the sand, young man.
We're not going [bleep] back.
We're going forward.
Own it, kal.
- I'm feeling overwhelmed.
Like, gordon's in here, yelling at me.
And I can see my kitchen staff looks a little bit
Deer in headlights.
- Get them to bounce back as a team!
You have to control the pace.
You're the conductor.
- We'll get through this.
Work together. Talk to each other.
When I say corn, you say, yes, chef!
- Finally, kal is realizing what he needs to do.
- We got two.
We got chicken and waffles.
- And he's managing a steady flow
Of dishes to the diners.
- Disappointed in our speed tonight,
But I believe in my cooks.
We hit our bottom.
There's only going up from here.
- Peter, as he's getting swamped in there now,
You've got to make sure that all these four corners
Are functioning properly.
- Yes. - Yeah.
- How many crab cakes we got inside?
- Five. - No, not enough.
- Hi, guys. How's everything?
- Are these guys talking now, kal?
- We're battling back.
- Oh. - Perfect.
- We're good. - Yeah.
- How's your souvlaki?
- Oh, it's good. - Yeah?
- Excellent. - Hi, guys.
- Hi. - How's everything?
- Delicious. - This is amazing.
- At last, peter is stepping up
Front of house.
- I do think we're on the road to success.
Hopefully, business gets better.
- And the customers are noticing the difference.
- The food was better than it was last time I was here, so--
- Yeah, we'll be back, for sure.
- 100% a success.
We really enjoyed what we had today.
- [speaking greek]
- And archie and patty have finally taken a step back.
- So how was it today?
- Excited, but the toughest service of my life.
- Toughest? - Toughest.
- Being in the kitchen talking to my brother,
Asking him how it went, asking him how he felt,
It's a very nice experience in my heart
And for the diner.
Spoke with everybody outside.
Everyone said it was fantastic.
- Hello, gorgeous. Oh, my lord.
Congratulations.
- Doesn't she look just like kal?
- She does. She looks like you.
[uplifting music]
Can I just say how exciting it is to see you both relaxed?
They're doing well. You should be proud.
More importantly, they're talking.
Empower them now.
Hand the reins over.
- Thank you very much again.
- For me, that's it.
Finished.
- Yes, he's finished. - Finished. That's it.
- I'm pretty finished.
♪ ♪
- Tonight, you proved you can hold it.
- Yes. - Seriously.
And tonight, you ran the dining room.
But what I did see above all that
Is two brothers coming together for the sake of the business.
Let's keep this diner in the family.
Yes? - Yes.
- Don't let me down. - Nice to meet you.
- And don't let yourself down, okay?
Take care, guys.
- How are you doing, man?
You need anything from me?
- How about a hug?
I really, like, legit just need a hug, bro.
For real.
♪ ♪
- I don't know what I'm expecting to happen right now.
But going forward, I hope we have a system in place
For me and my brother to be here for each other.
- Penelope, say hi.
This place, it's been in my family for 25 years.
I hope the succession story doesn't end with me.
Everybody, honestly, thank you.
Thank you.
For my daughter, this restaurant is
Definitely worth fighting for.
- With things back on track at bel aire,
It's time for me to leave this family to their legacy.
Man, what a night.
Honestly, when I arrived at the bel aire diner,
I found a family that spent 24-7 fighting for control.
But tonight, kal and peter finally stepped up
And worked together.
And I tell you, if these two brothers can continue
To put their egos aside, I promise you,
The bel aire diner will be firing on all cylinders.
Fingers crossed.
Make sure I stay out of basements.
♪ ♪
- One more blt avocado. - Hi, guys.
Hi, guys. Peter. Peter.
- With kal and peter working together...
- It's coming up right now. - Okay.
- The bel aire diner is in good hands
With the next generation.
- Do you want something else? I can get you something.
- Giving mom and dad a well-earned retirement.
The new menu has attracted a whole new customer base,
And the diner is busier than ever.
Next time on "kitchen nightmares"...
- Everything was raw inside these tacos.
- Stop breaking my [bleep] balls and his.
- But I need you to step up.
- You shut up.
When you're [bleep] in this kitchen, don't even talk.
- Chef bobby is the kitchen nightmare.
- That's terrible.
- [bleep], you guys.
- There's no coordination.
It's just one man running around like a pig in [bleep].
- This business is taking us to the cleaners.
- [bleep].
Thousands of dollars of inventory here.
- I want to throw one of my knives at him.
- Bleeding, still mooing.
♪ ♪
- Shut it down!