Kitchen Nightmares (2007) s05e01 Episode Script
Blackberry's
Tonight on Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon heads to Plainfield, New Jersey to turn around a soul food restaurant What system are we following? That is run with an iron fist I want you guys off the line.
By an owner named Shelly.
Even though her restaurant is failing miserably The doors will close.
Your livelihood is on the line.
She refuses to listen to anybody.
Not her staff Dwayne, be quiet.
Not her mother It is not over.
It's over.
Or even Chef Ramsay.
Shelly! I'm coming.
And while there are huge problems with the food I need the toilet.
Holy crap.
The decor I feel like Donna Summer is gonna come through the door.
And the conditions Oh, my God.
Wow.
The biggest problem is Shelly.
I can't believe this.
Can Chef Ramsay save this restaurant from an owner who is in complete denial? You have to get out of denial.
It doesn't really matter to me what other people think.
One thing's for sure, you won't believe how it ends.
I'm gonna punch you in the face.
That's tonight Close the damn place down.
On a shocking Kitchen Nightmares.
Shut it down.
Let's go.
It's over.
* Disgusting crap.
What was that? I'm not insane.
Yes, you are.
That is amazing.
I can't take any more.
I just can't thank you enough.
Plainfield, New Jersey a middle-class city with a strong sense of community.
And smack in the middle of town is a soul food restaurant named Blackberry's, run by a once-successful caterer named Shelly Withers.
Hello.
The gang's all here, huh? My catering business was fantastic.
I had such a tremendous following.
It just seemed natural that I would move on to open a restaurant.
Hi, how are you? Welcome.
And with her mother Mary investing her entire retirement fund into the restaurant, Shelly's dream came true.
Daddy put the check in the bank this afternoon.
Oh, okay.
I think it's a parent's responsibility to be supportive of their children.
I am so happy with the way the restaurant turned out.
The decor is phenomenal.
And Blackberry's has the best soul food in town, no doubt.
Fried collard greens is my favorite.
I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
The shrimp was firm.
That's 'cause I forgot them on the stove.
Perfect location, perfect food, but where are my customers? The problem is, Shelly is in denial.
She thinks that the decor is amazing and that the food tastes spectacular.
I like it.
But the food is suffering, the customers are suffering, and the restaurant is suffering.
The macaroni actually looks like vomit.
Shelly believes that all of her food is better than any chef out there.
Too done? Too done? It's perfect.
She feels, "This is the way I want it.
It tastes good.
" It doesn't matter what someone else thinks about it.
It bein' my restaurant, I'm gonna have it my way.
I don't want the food to touch.
I say it every day and you're doing it to me anyway, right? It don't make sense to me.
Shelly is a super control freak to the 110th power.
I need you to knock this down.
Just get it out.
Whatwhatwhat system are we following here? There's no system.
We have 16 people working back here and 16 people doing their own system.
Table 5 right there in the front, where is it, please? Guys, it's hot back here.
Why is everybody back here? 'Cause we ain't got no food out here.
She thinks she knows what she's doing when she actually has no idea what she's doing.
Tell me what I can do to help.
I don'tI don't understand what's going on.
And that brings a lot of chaos here.
Let me see that plate.
She's helping the restaurant to fail even more.
Not many customers though, huh? Things are bad.
I'm $200,000 in debt.
I'm barely holding on here.
I got $14 to my name.
I'm broke.
Like I tell Shelly, it's just not only her if this restaurant fails because I have sacrificed a lot to make sure that the doors didn't close.
I believe in the power of prayer.
I think Chef Ramsay is the answer to our prayers.
What an amazing, buzzy little town.
Great location for a restaurant.
Okay.
Oh, hello.
Hello, good afternoon.
How are you? Likewise.
Welcome to Blackberry's.
Thank you.
Very happy to be here.
I'm happy to have you here.
Wow.
Look at this place.
Is somebody having a party? No.
No party, we're just having a lunch.
No? Okay, great.
Let me seat you.
Okay.
Let me sit over here.
And this big boy there, who is that? This is James.
I'm James.
James, what's your job? General manager.
Stop it.
With a baby face like that, you can't be management.
Get out of here.
You look about 18.
How old are you? I'm 30 years old.
Wow, amazing.
Aging well.
And this is? Mom Mary.
Mother Mary? Yes, sir.
You look great.
Nice to see you.
What do you do? The cakes, the pies, the desserts really.
She's our baker.
Okay, great.
Gordon Ramsay is here.
I don't want to be sweating all over him.
You are.
Can I kiss him? Can I give him a kiss and thank him for coming or what? Hey, how are you? How are you? How you doing, Chef Ramsay? Good to see you.
You're running around.
My pleasure.
You're busy, aren't you? Yeah.
I have to be.
Oh, amazing.
Somebody's got to get it done.
How long have you been here? Oh, three years.
Who designed this place? I feel like Donna summer's gonna come through the door.
That would be miss Shelly.
I believe that would be me.
Oh.
I absolutely love the decor and the dance party.
That's me.
Well.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Okay.
Well, hello, darlin'.
Look at those beautiful blue eyes.
I have to ask my fiance if I could kiss you.
Fiance? He's the manager.
The one with? Yeah.
Oh, come on.
Sexy, right? You'll get arrested for cradle-snatchin'.
Psst, hey, general manager, come here, you.
Get that beard over here.
You didn't tell me that you were dating the owner.
We arewe are engaged.
Excuse me.
Amazing.
And was it love at first bite? Yeah.
Wow.
A way to a man's heart is his stomach.
Oh, man.
He's a little younger than I am but he's my sexy chocolate.
Let me sit down.
I'll look through the menu.
I'll start ordering then.
Thank you.
Thank you for coming, Gordon.
I'm just gonna get as much as I can, okay? Uh, right, let's go for, uh, collard greens.
Yes.
That smothered pork chop sounds delicious.
Let's go for the Mac and cheese as well, please.
Okay.
The chitlins and desserts.
How's the red velvet cake? Delicious.
Okay, great.
Very well, thank you.
I'm starving.
We're gonna put your order in.
Excellent.
All right, guys.
We have our order for chef.
All right.
Let's do it.
I really think that Chef Ramsay is gonna say that the food is phenomenal.
With the pork chop, put some Mac.
This is not hot.
Just microwave it.
This is the craziest decor I've ever seen.
Wow, another record.
Yeah.
They're all over.
So, your first name is? Eloise.
Eloise, what's with oh,.
What happened? Was it the fried chicken or the cornbread? Whatwhatchitlins? Oh, my goodness.
What happened? I have no idea.
I've never seen that before.
Oh,.
Oh, my God.
Did somebody head-butt the wall? It was shocking to find that there was a hole in the wall with a record on it.
I was just like, "oh, my God.
Like what the hell is that doing there?" I've heard about broken records, but [bleep.]
, okay.
Let's get out of here quick.
I'm afraid to touch any other records.
All right.
Here you go.
Oh, now you know that is a pretty plate, right? Shelly is delusional about how fabulous her food is.
I hate the macaroni and cheese.
It just looks like crap on the plate.
This is the pork chop.
The smothered pork chop.
Thank you.
Looks like someone on my plate.
This is dry.
That's bland.
Nothing seasoned there.
How's your pork chop? The pork chop is dry.
The mac and cheese is way overcooked and very mushy.
You think a soul food restaurant would pride itself on cooking mac and cheese, but, no, it's just all is that heated in the microwave? No, I think they just put it the oven to warm for our lunch service.
Thank you.
What's wrong? He's saying that the macaroni and cheese is dry and overcooked.
Ooh.
He asked me, had we warmed it in the microwave.
I told him, "no, it just came out of the oven.
" They may have put it in the microwave for a minute.
Only for a minute, though.
Everything is cooked to perfection.
There is nothing on that menu that is not perfect.
Okay.
Here we go.
I'm taking over now.
Fried collard greens.
Move it to the middle.
Put an orange chip in the middle.
That's it.
How can you actually say this is a soul food restaurant where the collard greens are not tasting like collard greens? They taste just like pepper and soil.
You know, you can't have food tasting like that.
Tell chef I said to taste those collard greens.
They're perfect.
Here you go, chef.
collard greens.
Wow.
Yes.
Okay, great.
Thank you very much indeed.
Wow, this is bland.
No seasoning.
It's just fried and soggy and limp.
Uh, James, what do you think? You got to eat it all together.
If you eat it all together Mm-hmm.
It should well, I did eat it all together it still stayed bland.
Thank you.
My, God.
What is he saying about our stuff now? A little bland.
Oh, my God.
The collard greens taste great.
He's crazy.
Where's the chitlins at? They're delicious.
If we get one out of three, we might be all right.
And this is the chitlins and okra.
Okay.
Chitlins.
I mean, I know chitlins are the intestine, but should they really stink? Before I do taste them, I'd like to pray to God before I put any of that in my mouth.
In Jesus' name In Jesus' name, you are blessed.
We rebuke the spirit of the devil.
You are prayed over.
We guarantee you that you are not about to succumb to those chitlins.
Hallelujah.
Amen.
Thank you.
In Jesus name.
You'll be fine.
I just had to pray over chef before he ate the chitlins.
What the? There's no prayers that are gonna save me on this one.
Oh, my God.
Chitlins.
.
I need the toilet, excuse me.
I need that to come out quicker than it went in.
Chef Ramsay is a mess.
Oh, chitlins and rice.
Throwing up? Holy crap.
Are you kidding me? Oh, my God.
Oh, they stink.
Shelly be taking it lightly and not seriously at all.
Is he in the children's bathroom? I'm not sure, but I guess the prayer didn't work.
Oh, dear, dear.
He's not used to that soul food, huh? I wanna see what's going on.
Oh,.
So we've got the red velvet.
Red velvet? Mom Mary makes all of our desserts.
Mom Mary? Yes.
Thank you, then.
You're welcome.
Mmm, wow, that is delicious.
Finally.
Some good [bleep.]
food.
Wow.
How do you like this? It was delicious.
Well done.
Wow.
Had to wait till the end.
I've been saved by mother Mary.
Of course, the red velvet that mommy makes is gonna be beautiful, right? 'Cause mommy made it.
I'm gonna punch him in the face.
You watch his face.
Could you show me into the kitchen please? Yes.
Thank you.
I sure will.
Yup.
The chef is on his way back.
I'm scared.
I woI woI'm scared to bring him here.
Shelley doesn't listen.
When Ramsay gets back there in the kitchen, we'll see if she even opens up to any suggestions or not.
Hi.
How are you? Nice to meet you.
Mateen.
Mateen, good to see you.
Good to see you too.
Likewise.
Portia.
Hello, Chef.
How are you? A pleasure.
And this is? Tyrone.
Tyrone.
Nice to meet you.
Likewise.
Good to see you, buddy.
Uh, so, I just had an embarrassing lunch.
Let's start from the top.
Pork chop, dry, bland, no seasoning.
And the macaroni and cheese was an embarrassment.
The fried collard greens, there's no seasoning.
Everything's just fried, so you just taste the oil.
It's horrible.
The chitlins, the smell of them almost made me want to gag.
I absolutely do not believe that there's that much wrong with my food.
Who is the head chef here? I am.
Show me tonight.
Okay.
While you think you are the head chef.
All right.
As Shelly and the staff prepare for dinner service Whoo! The food is good, up, you know, to my standards.
Chef Ramsay returns and is greeted by an unexpected guest.
Ooh.
What is that? Bloody hell.
Dead.
Oh, my God.
Wow.
It's just ten minutes before the doors of Blackberry's open and Chef Ramsay is greeted by something unexpected.
Bloody hell.
Rat Have you got a bin? Yes, Chef.
The mouse, just by the front door.
Huh? It's by the door.
No, we just had the exterminator.
You paid for the exterminator? Sure.
Get your money back.
Okay.
That's not funny.
Have you got an incinerator outside? Can you take that there? As general manager? Do something with it.
The mouse.
A mouse? It was in the entrance as I walked in.
On the left-hand side.
A baby mouse? A mouse? We always have the exterminator once a month for prevention.
Are you serious? No [bleep.]
way.
A mouse? Come on.
At the front door, not even in the kitchen? Hey, guys, be careful of mice.
Can you show me where you found that at? It was at the front door.
Like where? Oh, where's the front door in your mind? I can't believe this.
I came in the door, walked in there, saw him, bang, right there.
Right here? Do you have it on film? Are you kidding me? Oh, you thought I brought it in, out my pocket? Yeah, I think you did.
Are youare you are you [bleep.]
dreaming? I arrived.
The mouse was there.
Never, never, never.
Never happened, never.
There was nonever no mouse right here.
Right, okay.
I'm sure.
So we had the exterminator last week.
They come on regular occasions.
Yes.
You have an issue with mice.
That's why you have an exterminator.
We don't have an issue with mice.
The exterminator comes in regularly.
Okay.
Let'slet's you and I do a little investigation.
Let's go.
Dwayne, when's the last time you spotted a mouse in here? II've never seen one.
You've never seen one.
Good.
He found a mouse in the front door.
I've never been so embarrassed and humiliated in my life.
This is ridiculous, really ridiculous.
And sad.
I've never seen mice in here.
Perhaps you planted that, uh, mouse.
You are suggesting that I brought it in? I was like, "hmm.
" I put it together, like, just for TV's sake, maybe.
I wish you would talk a little bit of sense.
the TV.
Put your money where your mouth is in front of your staff.
I want a meeting upstairs with you and everybody now.
Pulling mice out of his pockets and stuff.
A mouse in the front doorway? It don't matter.
There's mice infested all over this place.
It can happen.
It can happen.
Shelly? Huh? Can I have two seconds, please? Okay.
All of you.
This is very, very important.
Shelly.
Huh? Mm-hmm.
So, just look at James for me, two seconds.
I walked in the front door, a mouse.
The mouse that you planted, I know.
They told me, but it's okay.
No, it's not okay.
It's a show.
It's got nothing do with TV, nothing to do with your business in the.
I am not gonna stand there and even attempt to take that crap from you.
You can take your restaurant and stick it.
I am gone.
I'm out of here.
You're out of here? I'm out of here.
Excuse me.
Go.
See you later.
Shut it down.
Let's go, it's over.
After discovering a mouse in the restaurant Do you have it on film? And being accused of planting it The mouse that you planted, I know.
Chef Ramsay has had enough.
Take your restaurant and stick it.
I'm gone.
You're out of here? I'm out of here.
Excuse me.
Go.
See you later.
Shut it down.
Let's go, it's over.
It is not over.
Could you please shut up? I mean, it's ridiculous.
It's ridiculous.
I have worked tremendously trying to support my child and I don't understand.
You know, it's I don't understand what's happening today.
Honest to God, I don't.
Please don't leave.
Yeah, no, I'm out of here.
Please don't leave.
'Cause your exaggerating.
Can I talk to you? Can I talk to you? Yup.
Yup.
I'll take it back.
What I said, as far as you doing something like that, I don't want to defame your character but it just was I'm at a loss for words that that happened.
And it justit just, like, shocked me and I apologize.
That's the most sensible thing I've heard you say since I've been here.
Thank you.
The combination of mother Mary's plate and an apology by James are enough to keep Chef Ramsay at Blackberry's.
Welcome to Blackberry's.
At least, for now.
Your server this evening will be Tina.
She'll be right with you.
Okay.
All right, ladies.
Let me put these orders in.
First order, shrimp and grits.
It'll probably be a shrimp and grits night.
Am I seeing right? You've got a three-burner wok there.
Is that a pizza oven? Yes, that's my pizza oven and my wok.
I love it, Chef.
Shelly, how can you cook soul food in a wok? Watch me, Chef.
Watch me.
Soul food should be cooked slowly.
Soul food should be cooked with love and soul, not in a wok.
Shelly's cooking green beans in a wok, cooking rice in a wok, cabbage in a wok.
We're not a Chinese soul food restaurant.
We don't need a wok, okay? Pardon me, a southern food restaurant with a Chinese wok and a pizza oven? And you have an oven that doesn't work right there.
Tell me, what's working, apart from you? We haven't had correct-working ovens.
We don't have the correct stoves, the correct fryers, grills.
You know, how can we produce really great food if we don't have really great ovens? How do you manage to fry everything in one fryer like that? It's very hard.
A lot of prayer.
After discovering unusual and dysfunctional equipment in the soul food restaurant, Chef Ramsay turns his attention to Shelly and how she runs her kitchen.
Fried chicken, please.
How many white meats do you need? Fried chicken, Mateen.
I want to call the orders.
You can't call the orders again.
Honey, do your chicken.
Do this.
I'm doing it.
Let's get one thing straight, okay? Can you please work on ticket one? We are.
Are we? Okay.
I mean, I don't understand what you're doing.
You're working in damn circles.
Shelly has no concept of what it is to actually run a proper functional kitchen.
Portia, one ticket at a time.
I need you to do one.
Shelly, that's what I'm doing.
Okay, just one.
Just do one.
That's what that's how I do, one.
Just make it and send it.
That's it.
Make it and send it.
Unbelievable.
And where's the control, the chef, the system? Whatwhat system are we following here? It's like there's no system.
I mean, this is a joke.
If you try to get one, she wants to argue you down, you know? She wants to argue you down and make it seem like you're the one that's wrong or it can't be run like that.
It doesn't make sense.
Or it's too incompetent.
Look down there.
Yeah, it's like, you know, it's six of 'em down there.
I want you guys off the line.
Just go.
Watch out.
Just back up.
It's getting ridiculous already.
It's been an hour and a half.
How long have we been waiting? Since when? Close to an hour.
An hour.
My first time in here, and it's just dysfunctional.
This isn't what you want.
This isn't controlling it.
I have the recipes, I'm the exec.
Oh,.
Shelly thinks she knows what she's doing when she actually has no idea what she's doing.
We need a miracle, a prayer, hands on bended knees, because this is going to.
Here we go.
Fried chicken.
Despite the ongoing chaos in the kitchen, dishes somehow make their way to the dining room.
And that's the result.
You wait 90 minutes and this is what you're lucky to get.
The macaroni and cheese.
Ew! Ew! It's crazy in there.
Huh? Huh? It's crazy in there.
Always.
In there's a war zone.
Always.
Always.
Huh? Welcome to Blackberry's, Chef Ramsay.
Bloody hell.
What a welcoming.
Coming up It's her way or the highway.
When the staff tries to get through to Shelly I have been open-minded.
She goes from the defensive to the offensive.
Calm down.
I'm not upset.
I want you to leave.
Tell me to go, I go.
And then, at dinner service, Blackberry's spirals out of control.
I don't wanna hear it.
Leaving Chef Ramsay wondering Shelly! If this restaurant can be saved.
Now you walk away.
Good-bye.
Good-bye.
Good-bye.
See you later.
It's day two at Blackberry's, and Chef Ramsay knows that before he can implement changes, he has to focus on how this restaurant is run, and so he starts the day with a staff meeting.
I wanna go around now to identify things that you know that are wrong with the business and things that you'd like to change in the business.
I think, um, one thing is, I've known Shelly.
We kinda grew up together, and she is a control freak.
If she does not see it being implemented the same way that she would do it, she's gonna jump in and she's gonna take over.
But is it overbearing? Is it too controlling? Yes.
It's either her way or the highway.
And it inhibits anyone to show off their skills or what they can do or what they can bring to the restaurant, but you have someone that's down your throat constantly and really doesn't know what they're doing.
If you are so right, obviously the restaurant wouldn't be failing or in the situation that it's in.
No.
That's a very valid point.
You've employed some talented individuals.
Okay.
Portia.
Shelly needs to learn how to delegate responsibility.
She can't be hands-on all the time.
It creates a problem.
Oh, my God.
Shelly, in all honesty, you take somebody out of what they're supposed to be doing and make them do something else, and that's one thing you got to realize.
And it happens more often than not.
I think that you talk too much and you know too much.
This is the attitude.
And that is part of the problem.
That's what makes this so rough.
Dwayne, be quiet.
At one time or another, everybody has been pushed off their position.
Dwayne, calm down.
I'm notI wasn't upset.
Dwayne, I'm asking you to calm down.
I am not.
I'm not upset.
I want you to leave.
Good night.
I don't have a problem with that.
'Cause the truth honesty hurts.
The truth hurts.
No, thank you.
Whatever.
It's on you.
Like you said, you tell me to go, I go.
Dwayne, just bear with me for two minutes.
Sit down, please.
Okay? Big, deep breath.
What is wrong with you? I made one comment.
What's become evidence is how fragmented we are, but that starts from the top.
Chef, Shelly has to learn how to listen.
Everybody tries to communicate with her and support her.
But if she's gonna be stubborn and not listen, the doors will close, and that would just break my heart, I mean, tremendously.
From now on in, open, honest dialogue, got it? Yes.
Shelly? Shelly, I can't hear you.
I'm listening.
No? We're all in it together.
Are we gonna be open-minded? I have been open-minded, as far as I'm concerned.
Why do you say that? This is not a joke.
Your livelihood is on the line.
I mean, you in a serious, serious position.
There's no reason why you cannot be open and honest because my I'm 72 years old and I thank God that I've been able to live this long.
And these are the most important things that I try to project.
Listen to what this gentleman has to say.
I want to move forward.
I'm here to help.
Right.
And the direction is to you, Shelly, because there's some valuable information that we've just listened to.
We know you're the boss.
What you haven't got right now is a successful restaurant.
And everyone in this room, including me, are here to make that a success.
But you have to get out of denial.
Okay.
Agreed? Agreed.
I can't hear you.
Agreed.
Thank you.
Only time will tell whether Shelly has really understood what the staff was saying.
Come with me.
Let's go in the kitchen.
Let's get to work.
But Chef Ramsay has already implemented a drastic change in the kitchen.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
I called a friend, Kelly quip, and he arranged for a brand new fryer and a state-of-the-art six-ring burner, an amazing convection oven from Southbend.
Incredible.
Oh, my a six-burner stove, Tyrone.
I just can't believe unbelievable.
I've have it done especially for your baking as well.
Oh.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
I'm bursting at the seams.
JustI just can't believe it.
Oh, man, this is awesome.
Is the wok gone? There's no way on earth we can start to move forward cooking on a Chinese wok, a wok that you cannot cook soul food on.
We have a proper system here.
Where's the wok? I am definitely gonna miss my wok.
But it's just gonna be an adjustment for me.
Oh, my God.
Incredible.
I just can't believe this.
Happy, Mary? Father, God, I just can't thank you enough.
I'm glad you're happy.
Oh, this is just so wonderful.
This is truly, truly a blessing.
Chef Ramsay is he's unbelievable.
I truly believe in the power of prayer.
I prayed so hard that you would come and that you were gonna turn this restaurant around I'm just so overwhelmed.
I thank you so much.
Now that the kitchen has functional equipment Okay, there's one thing that's missing here and that's the structure.
What system are we following here? We're gonna work as a team.
Chef Ramsay appoints a leader.
Tomorrow night, Mateen.
Yes.
I want you cooking and expediting.
Yes.
Chef Ramsay helped implement a system to help this restaurant run really smoothly from now until forever.
I'm gonna make something very simple with you all now.
Just a stunning mac and cheese.
He also works with the chefs on some new cooking techniques.
Golden brown.
Take a spoon and have a little taste.
Chef Ramsay had suggestions.
I'm gonna do my best to be as open as I can But I justI don't know.
We are gonna reopen this restaurant tomorrow night with a system.
One voice, one leader.
Work as a team, a system.
Don't change it.
Coming up Shelly? I'm coming.
It's the relaunch of Blackberry's.
Will Shelly be able to handle the changes? Good-bye, good-bye, good-bye.
And later, a surprise ending We have worked our ass off.
Mom! Oh, my God.
You have to see to believe.
Close the damn place down! After the implementation of a new system in the kitchen, Chef Ramsay and his team worked through the night to give the dining room a much-needed makeover.
Okay, good morning.
Excited to see inside? Yeah.
Yes? Let's go.
Welcome to the new Blackberry's.
Oh!! Oh, my God.
God.
Oh, my God! Oh, no! Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Oh, look at this place! When I first arrived here, there was a cafeteria, the menu on the wall, and it just lost that intimacy.
Now it's a restaurant.
Gone is the cafeteria.
You have a wonderful, amazing new restaurant.
Brand new tables, brand new chairs.
It is a totally different place.
Look at my albums.
I promise you, they're not your records.
I love my new restaurant, the artwork, the tables.
It's like a dream come true.
I absolutely love it.
The soul is back.
I'm just so excited and so grateful.
I'm just overwhelmed.
Shelly, how do you feel? I feel great.
Oh, oh, oh.
Thank God my middle name is James, right? Now that Blackberry's has an updated look Now for the exciting part the food.
Oh, wow.
Chef Ramsay has created a fresh, new soul food menu to match it.
What we've done is taken some of the dishes and modernized them a little bit, given them a bit of a new twist.
Starting off with the black-eyed pea fritter.
Delicious.
Barbecue pulled pork sliders it's a wonderful starter.
Entreesfried chicken and waffles with a honey butter.
Oh, snap! I love that.
A southern meatloaf sandwich done with mac and cheese and a spicy glaze.
That really nice, rich, spicy ketchup.
Oh, man.
I love it.
I love it.
Shelly looked like she was embracing the change very well.
I'm glad that Chef Ramsay finally broke through to her.
Is that beautiful? Dig in and have a taste.
Oh, my God.
Fried chicken and waffles at Blackberry's.
This menu is great.
Mm-mm-mm! Wow.
I think I have a winning combination here.
Chef did it.
Food, atmospherewe're ready.
Whoo, that's heaven! It's relaunch night at Blackberry's Okay, we're about to open.
We put a structure in place.
And Chef Ramsay has given them all the tools they need to make this restaurant a success.
Blackberry's! Let's go.
Wow, what a difference.
Good afternoon.
Welcome to Blackberry's.
This is a nice-looking menu.
With the restaurant filling up We're gonna do the pork sliders.
And orders coming in from the dining room Order in.
It's now up to the newly appointed leader, Chef Mateen to take charge of the kitchen.
One jerk wings, one shorty, one chicken with white meat.
Fried chicken white meat, six minutes.
Echo.
Thank you.
Good.
Off we go.
Here we go.
Oh, thank you.
Let's go.
With Chef Ramsay's new system in place and the team working together Shelly, six minutes on the oxtails.
Echo on the oxtails.
Thank you.
Dinner service is off to a smooth start.
Okay, here we go.
We're rockin'.
And out in the dining room Fried green tomatoes.
Those are excellent.
The customers are thrilled with what they are receiving.
I need an oxtail and shortie.
Okay.
Hey, dad, you okay? The restaurant is packed.
Wait till you see it.
You're not gonna believe it.
I need an oxtail and a shortie right now.
I'm on the line a little bit tonight.
Shelly.
Shelly.
He was asking for stuff and you're just ignoring him.
I'm coming.
Okay.
All right.
Love you, Dad.
You okay? Let's go, please.
All right.
Shelly being on the phone is totally disrespectful and a slap in the face to her kitchen team.
What she's saying is, "I don't give a damn, it's my work, "and this is the way I'm gonna do it.
The rest of you, who cares?" How long for my oxtail? What? What? Things were going really well at the beginning, because they were being executed, but then, I just don't think Shelly wanted to be there.
I need an oxtail and a shortie first.
What? She's not in control, and if she's not in control, she doesn't want to follow.
Shelly? Yes, Chef.
It looks like we've just switched off and forgotten.
Why have we forgotten our system? The most important thing about a system is keeping it, yes? Go back to your stations.
I am the owner for this business and I'm just not taking any [bleep.]
from anyone.
Hell, no.
What is this who put my corn in this? I did.
I didn't want it to dry out, honey.
Why did you do that? Shelly? Yes.
Shelly, don't do that.
You're doing you're going back again.
I don't want it to dry out.
Come here.
Look, come here, come here.
Look at me.
I already ask you, don't do it.
Mateen, we're going back again.
We're going back to our old [bleep.]
ways.
Don't touch what he's doing.
Okay.
You said it's dry.
Was it dry, the corn? No, it wasn't dry.
No, it wasn't [Bleep.]
Dry.
It wasn't even done yet.
Thank you.
I don't care what he said.
Chef Ramsay's system works it's just Shelly that doesn't work that well.
So, when it's sitting on the side drying out, just leave it there? What are you talking about? It's not drying out.
Shelly! I don't wanna hear it.
Shelly! I'm not talking back.
Shelly, now you walk away.
Good-bye, good-bye, good-bye.
She's gone.
Good-bye, see you later.
It's relaunch night at Blackberry's Don't touch what he's doing.
And as Chef Ramsay tries to keep everything on track I don't wanna hear it.
Shelly! Shelly goes off the rails Good-bye, good-bye.
She's gone.
And storms out of the kitchen.
Good-bye.
Unbelievable, unbelievable.
What happened? They were doing so good.
Yeah, but Shelly started coming in and picking up bits and disrupting them.
I asked her to stop it and let Mateen do it, but she got got really funny.
Ever since then, she's just switched off.
So, she's closed out.
Shelly is a crybaby.
She's not willing to admit that she's wrong.
And that's pretty sad.
With Shelly out of the kitchen Stop everything you're doing.
Plate this one for me right now.
Chef Mateen and the staff try to pull it together Okay, and we're gonna send this ticket out right now.
To get the remaining dishes to the hungry diners.
Mateen! Let's go.
You've got push it.
Yes, Chef.
You control the kitchen.
Yes.
I need right nowI need two fried green tomatoes.
I need that now.
Working.
Okay.
Nice, let's go.
Can you get Dwayne to take this out to table one, please? Dwayne, off you go.
Table 50, let's go.
Finally.
Oh! I've been a little slow.
But it's gonna be great.
With Mateen leading the kitchen Please, have the fries up in the window now.
Side of fries.
Good.
The final entrees make their way out to the dining room.
Yay! Our food! And customers are loving the food.
It was the worth the wait.
Wonderful entrees.
You guys are good.
It ran so smooth.
We have a system now.
This right here is the first day of greatness for many more days to come and I loved it a lot.
Everything was great, thank you.
Thank you.
With the staff completing a successful relaunch, Chef Ramsay gathers the group Uh, okay.
But there's someone missing.
Where's, uh, Shelly? In the office.
Shelly, can I, uh can I talk to you? Shelly? Shelly, there's no point in making yourself look any more stupid.
Shelly, just two seconds.
I'm not gonna argue.
She's not coming.
We don't need her.
Come on.
Shelly needs to listen to Chef Ramsay.
You just can't close ears to someone that's come to help.
Please.
I really don't have anything to say.
You don't need to have anything to say.
Just go outside, out of respect for your staff.
I love my staff.
Well, then, you want them to walk out on you and you'll have the restaurant? I'll clean up tonight.
Forget about cleaning up tonight.
What about the rest of the days? Oh, dear.
And I'm so ashamed of you that I don't know what to do.
Shelly, we have worked our ass off.
Mom, I'm done, can you please get out of my face? If you are done, close the damn place down! Let's go.
I'm tired of it.
I don't believe Shelly deserves all this great help she got.
I mean, for someone like me that's been cooking and went to culinary school would kill for something like this opportunity, you know? It saddens me so much.
I'm just so disappointed.
Okay, I know it's been a rough night, but on a personal note, I just want to say thank you.
Why? Because you guys worked your butt off.
Nobody gave up.
There's something personal about soul food for me.
I started a small, little documentary called Kitchen Nightmares seven years ago, and my first ever restaurant was a soul food shack.
That's why I started putting back into the industry.
And you guys deserve success.
Chef Ramsay, he's up there with the best angels.
I'm just so delighted and so grateful.
And we are going to do our part to make him proud of us.
We definitely will make sure that your efforts were not in vain.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Shelly had the world's greatest chef in here to teach her and to help her business, but she may throw thisthe whole system out the window with the whole menu.
Only time can tell.
Can we have 30 seconds, please? I think this is my office.
Are you asking me for 30 seconds at my office? Yes, I am.
Absolutely not.
Okay, that just sums it up.
That's the only thing I haven't changed.
I really wanted a happy ending tonight.
Why? Because this week, I've met some amazing people.
Mother Mary, what a sweetheart.
And a phenomenal cook.
Mateenthat guy has a bright future, and he is packed with passion.
But the fate and the future of Blackberry's rests in the hands of Shelly.
And unfortunately, restaurants do not succeed when they're run by a dictator.
I planted a mouse? Is she crazy? In the weeks that followed Hi, nice to see you.
Customers responded well to the changes Chef Ramsay made to the menu and the decor.
Mmm, the steak is tender.
After witnessing the positive reviews, surprisingly, Shelly embraced all that Chef Ramsay has done for Blackberry's.
Nice, right? Beautiful.
I like it.
I was so skeptical, but Chef Ramsay has opened up a new world for us here at Blackberry's.
I'm ready for change.
It was difficult for me to see that at the beginning, but here it is the truth is the light.
You guys enjoy.
By an owner named Shelly.
Even though her restaurant is failing miserably The doors will close.
Your livelihood is on the line.
She refuses to listen to anybody.
Not her staff Dwayne, be quiet.
Not her mother It is not over.
It's over.
Or even Chef Ramsay.
Shelly! I'm coming.
And while there are huge problems with the food I need the toilet.
Holy crap.
The decor I feel like Donna Summer is gonna come through the door.
And the conditions Oh, my God.
Wow.
The biggest problem is Shelly.
I can't believe this.
Can Chef Ramsay save this restaurant from an owner who is in complete denial? You have to get out of denial.
It doesn't really matter to me what other people think.
One thing's for sure, you won't believe how it ends.
I'm gonna punch you in the face.
That's tonight Close the damn place down.
On a shocking Kitchen Nightmares.
Shut it down.
Let's go.
It's over.
* Disgusting crap.
What was that? I'm not insane.
Yes, you are.
That is amazing.
I can't take any more.
I just can't thank you enough.
Plainfield, New Jersey a middle-class city with a strong sense of community.
And smack in the middle of town is a soul food restaurant named Blackberry's, run by a once-successful caterer named Shelly Withers.
Hello.
The gang's all here, huh? My catering business was fantastic.
I had such a tremendous following.
It just seemed natural that I would move on to open a restaurant.
Hi, how are you? Welcome.
And with her mother Mary investing her entire retirement fund into the restaurant, Shelly's dream came true.
Daddy put the check in the bank this afternoon.
Oh, okay.
I think it's a parent's responsibility to be supportive of their children.
I am so happy with the way the restaurant turned out.
The decor is phenomenal.
And Blackberry's has the best soul food in town, no doubt.
Fried collard greens is my favorite.
I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
The shrimp was firm.
That's 'cause I forgot them on the stove.
Perfect location, perfect food, but where are my customers? The problem is, Shelly is in denial.
She thinks that the decor is amazing and that the food tastes spectacular.
I like it.
But the food is suffering, the customers are suffering, and the restaurant is suffering.
The macaroni actually looks like vomit.
Shelly believes that all of her food is better than any chef out there.
Too done? Too done? It's perfect.
She feels, "This is the way I want it.
It tastes good.
" It doesn't matter what someone else thinks about it.
It bein' my restaurant, I'm gonna have it my way.
I don't want the food to touch.
I say it every day and you're doing it to me anyway, right? It don't make sense to me.
Shelly is a super control freak to the 110th power.
I need you to knock this down.
Just get it out.
Whatwhatwhat system are we following here? There's no system.
We have 16 people working back here and 16 people doing their own system.
Table 5 right there in the front, where is it, please? Guys, it's hot back here.
Why is everybody back here? 'Cause we ain't got no food out here.
She thinks she knows what she's doing when she actually has no idea what she's doing.
Tell me what I can do to help.
I don'tI don't understand what's going on.
And that brings a lot of chaos here.
Let me see that plate.
She's helping the restaurant to fail even more.
Not many customers though, huh? Things are bad.
I'm $200,000 in debt.
I'm barely holding on here.
I got $14 to my name.
I'm broke.
Like I tell Shelly, it's just not only her if this restaurant fails because I have sacrificed a lot to make sure that the doors didn't close.
I believe in the power of prayer.
I think Chef Ramsay is the answer to our prayers.
What an amazing, buzzy little town.
Great location for a restaurant.
Okay.
Oh, hello.
Hello, good afternoon.
How are you? Likewise.
Welcome to Blackberry's.
Thank you.
Very happy to be here.
I'm happy to have you here.
Wow.
Look at this place.
Is somebody having a party? No.
No party, we're just having a lunch.
No? Okay, great.
Let me seat you.
Okay.
Let me sit over here.
And this big boy there, who is that? This is James.
I'm James.
James, what's your job? General manager.
Stop it.
With a baby face like that, you can't be management.
Get out of here.
You look about 18.
How old are you? I'm 30 years old.
Wow, amazing.
Aging well.
And this is? Mom Mary.
Mother Mary? Yes, sir.
You look great.
Nice to see you.
What do you do? The cakes, the pies, the desserts really.
She's our baker.
Okay, great.
Gordon Ramsay is here.
I don't want to be sweating all over him.
You are.
Can I kiss him? Can I give him a kiss and thank him for coming or what? Hey, how are you? How are you? How you doing, Chef Ramsay? Good to see you.
You're running around.
My pleasure.
You're busy, aren't you? Yeah.
I have to be.
Oh, amazing.
Somebody's got to get it done.
How long have you been here? Oh, three years.
Who designed this place? I feel like Donna summer's gonna come through the door.
That would be miss Shelly.
I believe that would be me.
Oh.
I absolutely love the decor and the dance party.
That's me.
Well.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Okay.
Well, hello, darlin'.
Look at those beautiful blue eyes.
I have to ask my fiance if I could kiss you.
Fiance? He's the manager.
The one with? Yeah.
Oh, come on.
Sexy, right? You'll get arrested for cradle-snatchin'.
Psst, hey, general manager, come here, you.
Get that beard over here.
You didn't tell me that you were dating the owner.
We arewe are engaged.
Excuse me.
Amazing.
And was it love at first bite? Yeah.
Wow.
A way to a man's heart is his stomach.
Oh, man.
He's a little younger than I am but he's my sexy chocolate.
Let me sit down.
I'll look through the menu.
I'll start ordering then.
Thank you.
Thank you for coming, Gordon.
I'm just gonna get as much as I can, okay? Uh, right, let's go for, uh, collard greens.
Yes.
That smothered pork chop sounds delicious.
Let's go for the Mac and cheese as well, please.
Okay.
The chitlins and desserts.
How's the red velvet cake? Delicious.
Okay, great.
Very well, thank you.
I'm starving.
We're gonna put your order in.
Excellent.
All right, guys.
We have our order for chef.
All right.
Let's do it.
I really think that Chef Ramsay is gonna say that the food is phenomenal.
With the pork chop, put some Mac.
This is not hot.
Just microwave it.
This is the craziest decor I've ever seen.
Wow, another record.
Yeah.
They're all over.
So, your first name is? Eloise.
Eloise, what's with oh,.
What happened? Was it the fried chicken or the cornbread? Whatwhatchitlins? Oh, my goodness.
What happened? I have no idea.
I've never seen that before.
Oh,.
Oh, my God.
Did somebody head-butt the wall? It was shocking to find that there was a hole in the wall with a record on it.
I was just like, "oh, my God.
Like what the hell is that doing there?" I've heard about broken records, but [bleep.]
, okay.
Let's get out of here quick.
I'm afraid to touch any other records.
All right.
Here you go.
Oh, now you know that is a pretty plate, right? Shelly is delusional about how fabulous her food is.
I hate the macaroni and cheese.
It just looks like crap on the plate.
This is the pork chop.
The smothered pork chop.
Thank you.
Looks like someone on my plate.
This is dry.
That's bland.
Nothing seasoned there.
How's your pork chop? The pork chop is dry.
The mac and cheese is way overcooked and very mushy.
You think a soul food restaurant would pride itself on cooking mac and cheese, but, no, it's just all is that heated in the microwave? No, I think they just put it the oven to warm for our lunch service.
Thank you.
What's wrong? He's saying that the macaroni and cheese is dry and overcooked.
Ooh.
He asked me, had we warmed it in the microwave.
I told him, "no, it just came out of the oven.
" They may have put it in the microwave for a minute.
Only for a minute, though.
Everything is cooked to perfection.
There is nothing on that menu that is not perfect.
Okay.
Here we go.
I'm taking over now.
Fried collard greens.
Move it to the middle.
Put an orange chip in the middle.
That's it.
How can you actually say this is a soul food restaurant where the collard greens are not tasting like collard greens? They taste just like pepper and soil.
You know, you can't have food tasting like that.
Tell chef I said to taste those collard greens.
They're perfect.
Here you go, chef.
collard greens.
Wow.
Yes.
Okay, great.
Thank you very much indeed.
Wow, this is bland.
No seasoning.
It's just fried and soggy and limp.
Uh, James, what do you think? You got to eat it all together.
If you eat it all together Mm-hmm.
It should well, I did eat it all together it still stayed bland.
Thank you.
My, God.
What is he saying about our stuff now? A little bland.
Oh, my God.
The collard greens taste great.
He's crazy.
Where's the chitlins at? They're delicious.
If we get one out of three, we might be all right.
And this is the chitlins and okra.
Okay.
Chitlins.
I mean, I know chitlins are the intestine, but should they really stink? Before I do taste them, I'd like to pray to God before I put any of that in my mouth.
In Jesus' name In Jesus' name, you are blessed.
We rebuke the spirit of the devil.
You are prayed over.
We guarantee you that you are not about to succumb to those chitlins.
Hallelujah.
Amen.
Thank you.
In Jesus name.
You'll be fine.
I just had to pray over chef before he ate the chitlins.
What the? There's no prayers that are gonna save me on this one.
Oh, my God.
Chitlins.
.
I need the toilet, excuse me.
I need that to come out quicker than it went in.
Chef Ramsay is a mess.
Oh, chitlins and rice.
Throwing up? Holy crap.
Are you kidding me? Oh, my God.
Oh, they stink.
Shelly be taking it lightly and not seriously at all.
Is he in the children's bathroom? I'm not sure, but I guess the prayer didn't work.
Oh, dear, dear.
He's not used to that soul food, huh? I wanna see what's going on.
Oh,.
So we've got the red velvet.
Red velvet? Mom Mary makes all of our desserts.
Mom Mary? Yes.
Thank you, then.
You're welcome.
Mmm, wow, that is delicious.
Finally.
Some good [bleep.]
food.
Wow.
How do you like this? It was delicious.
Well done.
Wow.
Had to wait till the end.
I've been saved by mother Mary.
Of course, the red velvet that mommy makes is gonna be beautiful, right? 'Cause mommy made it.
I'm gonna punch him in the face.
You watch his face.
Could you show me into the kitchen please? Yes.
Thank you.
I sure will.
Yup.
The chef is on his way back.
I'm scared.
I woI woI'm scared to bring him here.
Shelley doesn't listen.
When Ramsay gets back there in the kitchen, we'll see if she even opens up to any suggestions or not.
Hi.
How are you? Nice to meet you.
Mateen.
Mateen, good to see you.
Good to see you too.
Likewise.
Portia.
Hello, Chef.
How are you? A pleasure.
And this is? Tyrone.
Tyrone.
Nice to meet you.
Likewise.
Good to see you, buddy.
Uh, so, I just had an embarrassing lunch.
Let's start from the top.
Pork chop, dry, bland, no seasoning.
And the macaroni and cheese was an embarrassment.
The fried collard greens, there's no seasoning.
Everything's just fried, so you just taste the oil.
It's horrible.
The chitlins, the smell of them almost made me want to gag.
I absolutely do not believe that there's that much wrong with my food.
Who is the head chef here? I am.
Show me tonight.
Okay.
While you think you are the head chef.
All right.
As Shelly and the staff prepare for dinner service Whoo! The food is good, up, you know, to my standards.
Chef Ramsay returns and is greeted by an unexpected guest.
Ooh.
What is that? Bloody hell.
Dead.
Oh, my God.
Wow.
It's just ten minutes before the doors of Blackberry's open and Chef Ramsay is greeted by something unexpected.
Bloody hell.
Rat Have you got a bin? Yes, Chef.
The mouse, just by the front door.
Huh? It's by the door.
No, we just had the exterminator.
You paid for the exterminator? Sure.
Get your money back.
Okay.
That's not funny.
Have you got an incinerator outside? Can you take that there? As general manager? Do something with it.
The mouse.
A mouse? It was in the entrance as I walked in.
On the left-hand side.
A baby mouse? A mouse? We always have the exterminator once a month for prevention.
Are you serious? No [bleep.]
way.
A mouse? Come on.
At the front door, not even in the kitchen? Hey, guys, be careful of mice.
Can you show me where you found that at? It was at the front door.
Like where? Oh, where's the front door in your mind? I can't believe this.
I came in the door, walked in there, saw him, bang, right there.
Right here? Do you have it on film? Are you kidding me? Oh, you thought I brought it in, out my pocket? Yeah, I think you did.
Are youare you are you [bleep.]
dreaming? I arrived.
The mouse was there.
Never, never, never.
Never happened, never.
There was nonever no mouse right here.
Right, okay.
I'm sure.
So we had the exterminator last week.
They come on regular occasions.
Yes.
You have an issue with mice.
That's why you have an exterminator.
We don't have an issue with mice.
The exterminator comes in regularly.
Okay.
Let'slet's you and I do a little investigation.
Let's go.
Dwayne, when's the last time you spotted a mouse in here? II've never seen one.
You've never seen one.
Good.
He found a mouse in the front door.
I've never been so embarrassed and humiliated in my life.
This is ridiculous, really ridiculous.
And sad.
I've never seen mice in here.
Perhaps you planted that, uh, mouse.
You are suggesting that I brought it in? I was like, "hmm.
" I put it together, like, just for TV's sake, maybe.
I wish you would talk a little bit of sense.
the TV.
Put your money where your mouth is in front of your staff.
I want a meeting upstairs with you and everybody now.
Pulling mice out of his pockets and stuff.
A mouse in the front doorway? It don't matter.
There's mice infested all over this place.
It can happen.
It can happen.
Shelly? Huh? Can I have two seconds, please? Okay.
All of you.
This is very, very important.
Shelly.
Huh? Mm-hmm.
So, just look at James for me, two seconds.
I walked in the front door, a mouse.
The mouse that you planted, I know.
They told me, but it's okay.
No, it's not okay.
It's a show.
It's got nothing do with TV, nothing to do with your business in the.
I am not gonna stand there and even attempt to take that crap from you.
You can take your restaurant and stick it.
I am gone.
I'm out of here.
You're out of here? I'm out of here.
Excuse me.
Go.
See you later.
Shut it down.
Let's go, it's over.
After discovering a mouse in the restaurant Do you have it on film? And being accused of planting it The mouse that you planted, I know.
Chef Ramsay has had enough.
Take your restaurant and stick it.
I'm gone.
You're out of here? I'm out of here.
Excuse me.
Go.
See you later.
Shut it down.
Let's go, it's over.
It is not over.
Could you please shut up? I mean, it's ridiculous.
It's ridiculous.
I have worked tremendously trying to support my child and I don't understand.
You know, it's I don't understand what's happening today.
Honest to God, I don't.
Please don't leave.
Yeah, no, I'm out of here.
Please don't leave.
'Cause your exaggerating.
Can I talk to you? Can I talk to you? Yup.
Yup.
I'll take it back.
What I said, as far as you doing something like that, I don't want to defame your character but it just was I'm at a loss for words that that happened.
And it justit just, like, shocked me and I apologize.
That's the most sensible thing I've heard you say since I've been here.
Thank you.
The combination of mother Mary's plate and an apology by James are enough to keep Chef Ramsay at Blackberry's.
Welcome to Blackberry's.
At least, for now.
Your server this evening will be Tina.
She'll be right with you.
Okay.
All right, ladies.
Let me put these orders in.
First order, shrimp and grits.
It'll probably be a shrimp and grits night.
Am I seeing right? You've got a three-burner wok there.
Is that a pizza oven? Yes, that's my pizza oven and my wok.
I love it, Chef.
Shelly, how can you cook soul food in a wok? Watch me, Chef.
Watch me.
Soul food should be cooked slowly.
Soul food should be cooked with love and soul, not in a wok.
Shelly's cooking green beans in a wok, cooking rice in a wok, cabbage in a wok.
We're not a Chinese soul food restaurant.
We don't need a wok, okay? Pardon me, a southern food restaurant with a Chinese wok and a pizza oven? And you have an oven that doesn't work right there.
Tell me, what's working, apart from you? We haven't had correct-working ovens.
We don't have the correct stoves, the correct fryers, grills.
You know, how can we produce really great food if we don't have really great ovens? How do you manage to fry everything in one fryer like that? It's very hard.
A lot of prayer.
After discovering unusual and dysfunctional equipment in the soul food restaurant, Chef Ramsay turns his attention to Shelly and how she runs her kitchen.
Fried chicken, please.
How many white meats do you need? Fried chicken, Mateen.
I want to call the orders.
You can't call the orders again.
Honey, do your chicken.
Do this.
I'm doing it.
Let's get one thing straight, okay? Can you please work on ticket one? We are.
Are we? Okay.
I mean, I don't understand what you're doing.
You're working in damn circles.
Shelly has no concept of what it is to actually run a proper functional kitchen.
Portia, one ticket at a time.
I need you to do one.
Shelly, that's what I'm doing.
Okay, just one.
Just do one.
That's what that's how I do, one.
Just make it and send it.
That's it.
Make it and send it.
Unbelievable.
And where's the control, the chef, the system? Whatwhat system are we following here? It's like there's no system.
I mean, this is a joke.
If you try to get one, she wants to argue you down, you know? She wants to argue you down and make it seem like you're the one that's wrong or it can't be run like that.
It doesn't make sense.
Or it's too incompetent.
Look down there.
Yeah, it's like, you know, it's six of 'em down there.
I want you guys off the line.
Just go.
Watch out.
Just back up.
It's getting ridiculous already.
It's been an hour and a half.
How long have we been waiting? Since when? Close to an hour.
An hour.
My first time in here, and it's just dysfunctional.
This isn't what you want.
This isn't controlling it.
I have the recipes, I'm the exec.
Oh,.
Shelly thinks she knows what she's doing when she actually has no idea what she's doing.
We need a miracle, a prayer, hands on bended knees, because this is going to.
Here we go.
Fried chicken.
Despite the ongoing chaos in the kitchen, dishes somehow make their way to the dining room.
And that's the result.
You wait 90 minutes and this is what you're lucky to get.
The macaroni and cheese.
Ew! Ew! It's crazy in there.
Huh? Huh? It's crazy in there.
Always.
In there's a war zone.
Always.
Always.
Huh? Welcome to Blackberry's, Chef Ramsay.
Bloody hell.
What a welcoming.
Coming up It's her way or the highway.
When the staff tries to get through to Shelly I have been open-minded.
She goes from the defensive to the offensive.
Calm down.
I'm not upset.
I want you to leave.
Tell me to go, I go.
And then, at dinner service, Blackberry's spirals out of control.
I don't wanna hear it.
Leaving Chef Ramsay wondering Shelly! If this restaurant can be saved.
Now you walk away.
Good-bye.
Good-bye.
Good-bye.
See you later.
It's day two at Blackberry's, and Chef Ramsay knows that before he can implement changes, he has to focus on how this restaurant is run, and so he starts the day with a staff meeting.
I wanna go around now to identify things that you know that are wrong with the business and things that you'd like to change in the business.
I think, um, one thing is, I've known Shelly.
We kinda grew up together, and she is a control freak.
If she does not see it being implemented the same way that she would do it, she's gonna jump in and she's gonna take over.
But is it overbearing? Is it too controlling? Yes.
It's either her way or the highway.
And it inhibits anyone to show off their skills or what they can do or what they can bring to the restaurant, but you have someone that's down your throat constantly and really doesn't know what they're doing.
If you are so right, obviously the restaurant wouldn't be failing or in the situation that it's in.
No.
That's a very valid point.
You've employed some talented individuals.
Okay.
Portia.
Shelly needs to learn how to delegate responsibility.
She can't be hands-on all the time.
It creates a problem.
Oh, my God.
Shelly, in all honesty, you take somebody out of what they're supposed to be doing and make them do something else, and that's one thing you got to realize.
And it happens more often than not.
I think that you talk too much and you know too much.
This is the attitude.
And that is part of the problem.
That's what makes this so rough.
Dwayne, be quiet.
At one time or another, everybody has been pushed off their position.
Dwayne, calm down.
I'm notI wasn't upset.
Dwayne, I'm asking you to calm down.
I am not.
I'm not upset.
I want you to leave.
Good night.
I don't have a problem with that.
'Cause the truth honesty hurts.
The truth hurts.
No, thank you.
Whatever.
It's on you.
Like you said, you tell me to go, I go.
Dwayne, just bear with me for two minutes.
Sit down, please.
Okay? Big, deep breath.
What is wrong with you? I made one comment.
What's become evidence is how fragmented we are, but that starts from the top.
Chef, Shelly has to learn how to listen.
Everybody tries to communicate with her and support her.
But if she's gonna be stubborn and not listen, the doors will close, and that would just break my heart, I mean, tremendously.
From now on in, open, honest dialogue, got it? Yes.
Shelly? Shelly, I can't hear you.
I'm listening.
No? We're all in it together.
Are we gonna be open-minded? I have been open-minded, as far as I'm concerned.
Why do you say that? This is not a joke.
Your livelihood is on the line.
I mean, you in a serious, serious position.
There's no reason why you cannot be open and honest because my I'm 72 years old and I thank God that I've been able to live this long.
And these are the most important things that I try to project.
Listen to what this gentleman has to say.
I want to move forward.
I'm here to help.
Right.
And the direction is to you, Shelly, because there's some valuable information that we've just listened to.
We know you're the boss.
What you haven't got right now is a successful restaurant.
And everyone in this room, including me, are here to make that a success.
But you have to get out of denial.
Okay.
Agreed? Agreed.
I can't hear you.
Agreed.
Thank you.
Only time will tell whether Shelly has really understood what the staff was saying.
Come with me.
Let's go in the kitchen.
Let's get to work.
But Chef Ramsay has already implemented a drastic change in the kitchen.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
I called a friend, Kelly quip, and he arranged for a brand new fryer and a state-of-the-art six-ring burner, an amazing convection oven from Southbend.
Incredible.
Oh, my a six-burner stove, Tyrone.
I just can't believe unbelievable.
I've have it done especially for your baking as well.
Oh.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
I'm bursting at the seams.
JustI just can't believe it.
Oh, man, this is awesome.
Is the wok gone? There's no way on earth we can start to move forward cooking on a Chinese wok, a wok that you cannot cook soul food on.
We have a proper system here.
Where's the wok? I am definitely gonna miss my wok.
But it's just gonna be an adjustment for me.
Oh, my God.
Incredible.
I just can't believe this.
Happy, Mary? Father, God, I just can't thank you enough.
I'm glad you're happy.
Oh, this is just so wonderful.
This is truly, truly a blessing.
Chef Ramsay is he's unbelievable.
I truly believe in the power of prayer.
I prayed so hard that you would come and that you were gonna turn this restaurant around I'm just so overwhelmed.
I thank you so much.
Now that the kitchen has functional equipment Okay, there's one thing that's missing here and that's the structure.
What system are we following here? We're gonna work as a team.
Chef Ramsay appoints a leader.
Tomorrow night, Mateen.
Yes.
I want you cooking and expediting.
Yes.
Chef Ramsay helped implement a system to help this restaurant run really smoothly from now until forever.
I'm gonna make something very simple with you all now.
Just a stunning mac and cheese.
He also works with the chefs on some new cooking techniques.
Golden brown.
Take a spoon and have a little taste.
Chef Ramsay had suggestions.
I'm gonna do my best to be as open as I can But I justI don't know.
We are gonna reopen this restaurant tomorrow night with a system.
One voice, one leader.
Work as a team, a system.
Don't change it.
Coming up Shelly? I'm coming.
It's the relaunch of Blackberry's.
Will Shelly be able to handle the changes? Good-bye, good-bye, good-bye.
And later, a surprise ending We have worked our ass off.
Mom! Oh, my God.
You have to see to believe.
Close the damn place down! After the implementation of a new system in the kitchen, Chef Ramsay and his team worked through the night to give the dining room a much-needed makeover.
Okay, good morning.
Excited to see inside? Yeah.
Yes? Let's go.
Welcome to the new Blackberry's.
Oh!! Oh, my God.
God.
Oh, my God! Oh, no! Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Oh, look at this place! When I first arrived here, there was a cafeteria, the menu on the wall, and it just lost that intimacy.
Now it's a restaurant.
Gone is the cafeteria.
You have a wonderful, amazing new restaurant.
Brand new tables, brand new chairs.
It is a totally different place.
Look at my albums.
I promise you, they're not your records.
I love my new restaurant, the artwork, the tables.
It's like a dream come true.
I absolutely love it.
The soul is back.
I'm just so excited and so grateful.
I'm just overwhelmed.
Shelly, how do you feel? I feel great.
Oh, oh, oh.
Thank God my middle name is James, right? Now that Blackberry's has an updated look Now for the exciting part the food.
Oh, wow.
Chef Ramsay has created a fresh, new soul food menu to match it.
What we've done is taken some of the dishes and modernized them a little bit, given them a bit of a new twist.
Starting off with the black-eyed pea fritter.
Delicious.
Barbecue pulled pork sliders it's a wonderful starter.
Entreesfried chicken and waffles with a honey butter.
Oh, snap! I love that.
A southern meatloaf sandwich done with mac and cheese and a spicy glaze.
That really nice, rich, spicy ketchup.
Oh, man.
I love it.
I love it.
Shelly looked like she was embracing the change very well.
I'm glad that Chef Ramsay finally broke through to her.
Is that beautiful? Dig in and have a taste.
Oh, my God.
Fried chicken and waffles at Blackberry's.
This menu is great.
Mm-mm-mm! Wow.
I think I have a winning combination here.
Chef did it.
Food, atmospherewe're ready.
Whoo, that's heaven! It's relaunch night at Blackberry's Okay, we're about to open.
We put a structure in place.
And Chef Ramsay has given them all the tools they need to make this restaurant a success.
Blackberry's! Let's go.
Wow, what a difference.
Good afternoon.
Welcome to Blackberry's.
This is a nice-looking menu.
With the restaurant filling up We're gonna do the pork sliders.
And orders coming in from the dining room Order in.
It's now up to the newly appointed leader, Chef Mateen to take charge of the kitchen.
One jerk wings, one shorty, one chicken with white meat.
Fried chicken white meat, six minutes.
Echo.
Thank you.
Good.
Off we go.
Here we go.
Oh, thank you.
Let's go.
With Chef Ramsay's new system in place and the team working together Shelly, six minutes on the oxtails.
Echo on the oxtails.
Thank you.
Dinner service is off to a smooth start.
Okay, here we go.
We're rockin'.
And out in the dining room Fried green tomatoes.
Those are excellent.
The customers are thrilled with what they are receiving.
I need an oxtail and shortie.
Okay.
Hey, dad, you okay? The restaurant is packed.
Wait till you see it.
You're not gonna believe it.
I need an oxtail and a shortie right now.
I'm on the line a little bit tonight.
Shelly.
Shelly.
He was asking for stuff and you're just ignoring him.
I'm coming.
Okay.
All right.
Love you, Dad.
You okay? Let's go, please.
All right.
Shelly being on the phone is totally disrespectful and a slap in the face to her kitchen team.
What she's saying is, "I don't give a damn, it's my work, "and this is the way I'm gonna do it.
The rest of you, who cares?" How long for my oxtail? What? What? Things were going really well at the beginning, because they were being executed, but then, I just don't think Shelly wanted to be there.
I need an oxtail and a shortie first.
What? She's not in control, and if she's not in control, she doesn't want to follow.
Shelly? Yes, Chef.
It looks like we've just switched off and forgotten.
Why have we forgotten our system? The most important thing about a system is keeping it, yes? Go back to your stations.
I am the owner for this business and I'm just not taking any [bleep.]
from anyone.
Hell, no.
What is this who put my corn in this? I did.
I didn't want it to dry out, honey.
Why did you do that? Shelly? Yes.
Shelly, don't do that.
You're doing you're going back again.
I don't want it to dry out.
Come here.
Look, come here, come here.
Look at me.
I already ask you, don't do it.
Mateen, we're going back again.
We're going back to our old [bleep.]
ways.
Don't touch what he's doing.
Okay.
You said it's dry.
Was it dry, the corn? No, it wasn't dry.
No, it wasn't [Bleep.]
Dry.
It wasn't even done yet.
Thank you.
I don't care what he said.
Chef Ramsay's system works it's just Shelly that doesn't work that well.
So, when it's sitting on the side drying out, just leave it there? What are you talking about? It's not drying out.
Shelly! I don't wanna hear it.
Shelly! I'm not talking back.
Shelly, now you walk away.
Good-bye, good-bye, good-bye.
She's gone.
Good-bye, see you later.
It's relaunch night at Blackberry's Don't touch what he's doing.
And as Chef Ramsay tries to keep everything on track I don't wanna hear it.
Shelly! Shelly goes off the rails Good-bye, good-bye.
She's gone.
And storms out of the kitchen.
Good-bye.
Unbelievable, unbelievable.
What happened? They were doing so good.
Yeah, but Shelly started coming in and picking up bits and disrupting them.
I asked her to stop it and let Mateen do it, but she got got really funny.
Ever since then, she's just switched off.
So, she's closed out.
Shelly is a crybaby.
She's not willing to admit that she's wrong.
And that's pretty sad.
With Shelly out of the kitchen Stop everything you're doing.
Plate this one for me right now.
Chef Mateen and the staff try to pull it together Okay, and we're gonna send this ticket out right now.
To get the remaining dishes to the hungry diners.
Mateen! Let's go.
You've got push it.
Yes, Chef.
You control the kitchen.
Yes.
I need right nowI need two fried green tomatoes.
I need that now.
Working.
Okay.
Nice, let's go.
Can you get Dwayne to take this out to table one, please? Dwayne, off you go.
Table 50, let's go.
Finally.
Oh! I've been a little slow.
But it's gonna be great.
With Mateen leading the kitchen Please, have the fries up in the window now.
Side of fries.
Good.
The final entrees make their way out to the dining room.
Yay! Our food! And customers are loving the food.
It was the worth the wait.
Wonderful entrees.
You guys are good.
It ran so smooth.
We have a system now.
This right here is the first day of greatness for many more days to come and I loved it a lot.
Everything was great, thank you.
Thank you.
With the staff completing a successful relaunch, Chef Ramsay gathers the group Uh, okay.
But there's someone missing.
Where's, uh, Shelly? In the office.
Shelly, can I, uh can I talk to you? Shelly? Shelly, there's no point in making yourself look any more stupid.
Shelly, just two seconds.
I'm not gonna argue.
She's not coming.
We don't need her.
Come on.
Shelly needs to listen to Chef Ramsay.
You just can't close ears to someone that's come to help.
Please.
I really don't have anything to say.
You don't need to have anything to say.
Just go outside, out of respect for your staff.
I love my staff.
Well, then, you want them to walk out on you and you'll have the restaurant? I'll clean up tonight.
Forget about cleaning up tonight.
What about the rest of the days? Oh, dear.
And I'm so ashamed of you that I don't know what to do.
Shelly, we have worked our ass off.
Mom, I'm done, can you please get out of my face? If you are done, close the damn place down! Let's go.
I'm tired of it.
I don't believe Shelly deserves all this great help she got.
I mean, for someone like me that's been cooking and went to culinary school would kill for something like this opportunity, you know? It saddens me so much.
I'm just so disappointed.
Okay, I know it's been a rough night, but on a personal note, I just want to say thank you.
Why? Because you guys worked your butt off.
Nobody gave up.
There's something personal about soul food for me.
I started a small, little documentary called Kitchen Nightmares seven years ago, and my first ever restaurant was a soul food shack.
That's why I started putting back into the industry.
And you guys deserve success.
Chef Ramsay, he's up there with the best angels.
I'm just so delighted and so grateful.
And we are going to do our part to make him proud of us.
We definitely will make sure that your efforts were not in vain.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Shelly had the world's greatest chef in here to teach her and to help her business, but she may throw thisthe whole system out the window with the whole menu.
Only time can tell.
Can we have 30 seconds, please? I think this is my office.
Are you asking me for 30 seconds at my office? Yes, I am.
Absolutely not.
Okay, that just sums it up.
That's the only thing I haven't changed.
I really wanted a happy ending tonight.
Why? Because this week, I've met some amazing people.
Mother Mary, what a sweetheart.
And a phenomenal cook.
Mateenthat guy has a bright future, and he is packed with passion.
But the fate and the future of Blackberry's rests in the hands of Shelly.
And unfortunately, restaurants do not succeed when they're run by a dictator.
I planted a mouse? Is she crazy? In the weeks that followed Hi, nice to see you.
Customers responded well to the changes Chef Ramsay made to the menu and the decor.
Mmm, the steak is tender.
After witnessing the positive reviews, surprisingly, Shelly embraced all that Chef Ramsay has done for Blackberry's.
Nice, right? Beautiful.
I like it.
I was so skeptical, but Chef Ramsay has opened up a new world for us here at Blackberry's.
I'm ready for change.
It was difficult for me to see that at the beginning, but here it is the truth is the light.
You guys enjoy.