Kitchen Nightmares (2007) s05e09 Episode Script

Tonight on Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon travels to a smokehouse I am absolutely mortified.
That instantly has him fuming.
What in the hell is going on? The ailing owner is too sick to supervise his staff.
There's no leader here.
And his daughter refuses to take charge.
I'm not just walking in here every day not doing anything.
You are! Without her leadership What's that noise? The microwave.
The kitchen is taking shocking shortcuts.
Is there anything today that wasn't microwaved? And these bad practices We're reheating yesterday's wings, and they're just immaculate.
Has the restaurant in constant turmoil.
It's so aggravating.
Will chef Ramsay's visit be a wake-up call for this petulant owner? Look how dry that is.
I think it's fine.
Or will she be so stubborn He's definitely wrong.
That she puts her family's restaurant out of business for good? It's heading for disaster.
What is that? Disgusting crap! You're done! I'm done? I'm not in denial! Yes, you are! Shut the place down! Get outta here! That is amazing.
I can't take any more.
I just can't thank you enough.
College Park, Georgia.
Only 20 minutes from downtown Atlanta, is a smokehouse called Michon's opened in 2002 by the Wilson family.
I used to be in sales.
But I always wanted to own a restaurant, especially a barbecue restaurant.
So that's what I decided to do.
Is Natalie Michon, and we decided that that was a great name for the restaurant because our passion, our goal, was to pass it to Natalie.
Enjoy.
The restaurant did great.
This was my daddy's baby.
With Mr.
Al being at the top, it made everything work really smoothly.
All the collards right here.
Things went good, you know, for a long time here.
But unfortunately, you know, Al had got sick, and he had to have an operation.
My dad had a collapsed lung.
The doctor told my dad just to stay home and take a break.
Chest started hurting a little bit, so I need to really go lay down.
A lot of things have gone downhill in the kitchen since Al has been out.
Excuse me, when was the brisket smoked? 'Cause it's cold.
Since Mr.
Al is sick, the cooks do what they wanna do.
- We're a captainless ship.
- Yeah, whatever, dude.
Go take a nap, dog.
Our food is nasty.
And then when you go to take it back to get another plate, they'll complain about it or they'll argue.
And I don't come back here dropping smoked wings, do I? But if it tastes like, don't nobody want to eat that.
No, ma'am.
The majority of the stuff in here is already prepped.
Like the smoked meats, you're reheating those.
All the sides are ready.
All you're doing is scooping and putting it in a bowl.
Is everything okay? The customers are walking out of here unsatisfied.
It was slow as hell around here yesterday.
What I would love to see is my daughter run the place, but she's just not doing, you know, the job.
You'll never see Natalie in the kitchen.
You may see her in passing or maybe if she's hungry.
Can you hand me a fork or a spoon, please? She'll come in and get her some breakfast or just come in and rub her stomach.
That's good.
Natalie pretty much feels she can pass the buck.
I'm ready to go home.
Al and I have a certain work ethic.
Natalie does not necessarily share that work ethic.
The type of manager that I am, I'm more hands-off.
I'm a little bit more relaxed when it comes to problems.
It's too much wasted energy to be frustrated.
I have cameras that are spotted around the restaurant that I can check from my house, and I'm seeing things are not going like they should be.
Everyone sent their macaroni and cheese back.
Between the bills, the rent, and all the overhead, you know, we, like, $200,000 in the hole.
We are really at the point now where we need chef Ramsay to just help us, or it will be the end of the road.
Before heading to the restaurant, chef Ramsay has agreed to meet Michon's owner, Al, who requested a meeting.
Hey.
Gordon.
How are you? Good to see you.
Al.
Yeah, thanks for meeting me here.
Not at all.
Good to see you too.
Please, take a seat.
Okay.
- Good to meet you - .
Yeah, same here.
Talk to me.
The restaurant, it's family-run, my daughter and my wife.
But, you know, I really want to retire, to be honest with you.
Right.
Just need to get my daughter to take over and run it.
So the plan is for you to hand the reins over to her.
Correct.
'Cause I've been in sort of bad health.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Yeah, and it's still giving me some problems.
You mentioned your daughter.
How old is she? She's 32.
32.
And how capable is she? She has the smarts.
Right.
I just need to get it out of her.
Right, I mean, it sounds like she's being handed this amazing restaurant on a plate.
Correct.
And you're frustrated that she can't take the reins And go with it.
And go with it.
That's it.
And when you had the medical problem, obviously you're out of the business, how did it run then? Not really going it fell apart.
Right.
I was watching it the best I could You were watching from home? Yeah, I got my little My security cameras I can see from my house.
And from the restaurant You watched your restaurant on a security camera? Yeah.
I've got about 18 cameras.
Yeah, 18.
I just like to see what they're doing.
That's it.
Well, I'm gonna get myself to the restaurant, and I'm gonna have a good look around with my eyes, not your cameras.
Thank you, and I'll see you back at the restaurant.
Thank you.
Thanks for coming.
Okay.
And drive carefully.
All right.
Thanks, Al.
What a beautiful building.
Hello.
Hello, hello.
- How are you? - Fine.
How are you? - My name's Gaye.
- Nice to see you.
Gordon.
Right.
Hi.
Natalie.
I'm good.
How are you? So the Michon name came from? My middle name is Michon.
Okay, so the restaurant's been named after you.
Right.
The decor is stunning.
- Look at this place.
- Thank you.
So I met your amazing, dear husband earlier.
We had a quick catch-up, and he told me a few things.
I'd love to know from both of you, your role is what? Well, I love being up front with the customers.
And your main role in the day-to-day business? The human resources, H.
R.
I do payroll and different things like that.
So I hide in the back a lot.
You hide in the back? I stay in the back.
I do a lot of paperwork and things like that.
So you don't really function in the restaurant? According to Al, there seems to be things right now that you could do - that you haven't been doing.
- Really? When was the last time you took pressure off him? Are you always this flat? No, I'm just soaking in how you said I'm not doing much.
Yeah, no, just, God, if that was my father and mother who gave me a restaurant with my name over the door, I'd want to be sleeping here.
I would be doing a little bit more than H.
R.
I'm dying to taste the food, yeah, please? He basically told me that I'm just kinda like the lazy child with just my name on the building.
That pisses me off, and I feel disrespected in my own restaurant.
He said, "you don't do anything here but payroll?" Thank you very much.
You're very welcome.
I'll let you look through the menu, and I'm gonna bring you some just starter wings.
- Is that okay? - Brilliant.
Thank you.
Okay.
What I'm looking forward to chef Ramsay doing is to say things to Natalie that I would not dare say.
Because we are her parents, it's more than a business relationship.
There is the personal relationship.
Hello.
How are you doing today? How are you? I'm doing fine.
Welcome to Michon's.
My name is Todesha, I'll be your server this evening.
That's a lovely name.
Hair looks immaculate.
My goodness me.
He ain't never seen a beautiful thick black girl like me, so that's what that was.
He liked all these curls and stuff.
Are you that high-maintenance or is it just a special day today? It's a special day today.
We don't make hardly any money here, so I ain't about to pay this every week, uh-uh.
You've been here how long? I've been here for 2 1/2 years.
In your mind, what's wrong? What's the biggest issue here? Management.
Management? What does Natalie do? Truthfully What's her role? She makes sure we get paid.
And that's about it.
Right.
Okay.
Natalie, she got issues.
She lazy.
I said it.
It is what it is.
Okay, I'll start off with the smoked chicken gourmet salad.
Okay.
Beef brisket, pork ribs.
And what sides? Cornbread, mashed potatoes, and the potato salad as well.
Potato salad we can't do 'cause we don't have it.
- No potato salad? - No.
- Really? - Yeah, the kitchen mm Kitchen what? They don't like to peel potatoes.
Well, it's true.
Okay, green beans, please, and baked beans.
And let's do black-eyed peas.
Okay, I didn't hear you say sweet potato souffle.
Yeah.
Okay.
Collard Greens.
Mac and cheese.
Please.
I'll go ahead and get your food.
Yes, please.
Thank you.
- And that is the mmm - Smoked chicken wing.
Thank you.
And when were they smoked, this morning? They were smoked this morning, yes.
Lovely.
All right, enjoy.
Thank you.
Damn.
It's dry.
What a shame, 'cause the sauce is lovely.
But the meat it's all dry.
That's disappointing.
So I'm anxious to know what you thought.
Yeah, do you know what, I bit inside it was dry.
Was it? Yeah, will you just find out when they were smoked? I will.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I was shocked that chef Ramsay does not like our smoked wings.
That just pisses me off, because he's definitely wrong.
Thank you.
What a shame, they were dry, the chicken wings.
Welcome to Michon's.
Yeah, at least they should be moist.
Why would they be dry? - 'Cause it's bootleg.
- Bootleg? Mmthey just don't care.
Thank you.
Is this this morning's batch? That was yesterday's batch.
This is yesterday's batch? Okay, chef, I have to eat crow.
Those are yesterday's wings.
Damn, see, I knew they didn't taste fresh.
And why are they serving yesterday's wings today? Can't I get today's wings today? I don't know.
Anyway, just asking.
All right, are we ready to rock and roll? A gourmet salad and all these sides.
Okay.
Let's go.
Here we go.
Lovely.
Thank you.
God, that was quick.
Holy mackerel.
- Here you are, sir.
- Thank you very much.
You're welcome.
That's my smoked chicken gourmet salad.
Gross.
They're rotten tomatoes.
- Where's my lovely lady? - I'm right here.
I'm sorry, the tomatoes, they got old and sort of yucky and soggy.
I wasn't shocked at all.
Thank you, please.
Have you seen the kitchen? They don't care.
This, uh, this sal The tomatoes, one of them is old, and the other one has, like, a ripe thing on it.
I don't think it's a problem, but Really? But I'm not a chef, so, you know, I don't know.
I think it's fine but That's right, your name is only on the building.
Get it right.
They look dry.
It is dry.
And chewy.
It should sort of fall off the bone, but it's just dry.
Cornbread.
Now, that's really dry.
Look.
Just like being in the Sahara desert.
It's like a mouthful of sand.
Like sand in an hourglass.
Damn.
They mess up everybody's food.
Black-eyed peas.
Hideous.
Absolutely shocking.
All right, here we are.
All right, sit down.
Sit down.
All right.
Yeah, right.
- Close your eyes.
- Okay.
What the hell? Do not open your eyes.
I don't wanna eat that.
Our food is nasty.
Open up.
What does that taste of? Nasty.
What was that? Black-eyed peas.
You can open them now.
Yeah, they nasty.
Black-eyed bullets.
He hit the nail on the head.
We got some problems.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
I need a drink after this.
I'm in Georgia, right? Yeah? Now I feel like I'm in prison.
They're dreadful.
Baked beans.
Canned yam.
Collard Greens.
Gross.
Way too sweet.
Hideous.
Beef brisket.
Damn, it's rubbery.
Dry and chewy.
Look at that.
You could pass that for beef jerky.
It's like a dog chew.
I don't know too much about smoking.
I don't even know nothing about cooking.
But I know that ain't right.
Okay, can you take me through the kitchen? There's gonna be some around here.
Serving brisket like that, I don't know where to start.
God, here comes the chef.
Coming up What in the hell is going on? Just when chef Ramsay thought it couldn't get any worse, it does.
It's so aggravating.
And Natalie's attitude No, I'm not in denial.
Has chef Ramsay ready to make a quick exit.
Joke.
After sampling the menu that can best be described as miserable Serving brisket like that, I don't know where to start.
Chef Ramsay wants to have a little chat with the people who are responsible.
God, here comes the chef.
Where's Al? Dad.
Yeah? Come in, please.
So this is? Archie.
Archie.
And this is? Terrance.
Terrance.
Yes, sir.
How you doing, sir? Good to see you.
And this is? Tyrell.
Tyrell, come over here so I can see you.
And this is? Calvin.
Calvin, right.
Another chef.
Come through.
Joe.
Joe.
So who's the head chef? Does anyone know? I don't do the cooking but I'm You don't do the cooking? No, sir, not the smoked meat.
Something not quite right here.
What do you do here? Is there anything that I tasted today that was smoked today? This? This here was smoked today? No, not today.
Not today.
Does that look appetizing? No, sir.
That does not.
When was that cooked? I believe on Saturday.
On Saturday? So today's Tuesday.
Do you honestly think that customers would walk through that door thinking that you're smoking meats three or four days before eating them? How are you heating them? We microwave them.
Microwaving them.
Come on.
It's disgusting! For God's sake.
Is there anything today that I ate that wasn't microwaved? The salad? Guys, I'm not laughing.
I'm seriously disappointed.
And, Natalie, you don't need me in here to tell you that brisket is like dog chew.
If my parents named a restaurant after me, I'd make sure that was the best smoked brisket.
My daughter doesn't do what needs to be done to get this restaurant back in shape.
It's just You know, I don't have the words for it right now.
I don't know what to say.
I just I'm lost for words.
Entirely microwaved, as almost chef Ramsay braces himself for his first observation of the dinner service.
Good evening.
Welcome to Michon's.
And for you, sir? Okay.
All right, y'all, let's go for round two.
Workin' hard, honey.
What's that noise? The microwave.
, oh, the microwave.
- What is that? - That's seafood dip.
Three rib tips.
That's how they do things.
They're just throwing stuff in the microwave, and it's ridiculous.
Jeez.
- What are they? - Rib tips.
Rib tips.
What's with all the bags? They portion everything and put it in bags.
Just madness.
You're not even cooking.
You're just reheating.
And what's all this cover for? That's how we reheat it.
Have you been to another restaurant in Atlanta? Have you seen I haven't been in another You've never been to another kitchen no? It's tearing me up inside at the moment.
I've never seen anything like this.
I mean, ever.
Chef Ramsay is criticizing every single thing that we do.
Just because he doesn't like it doesn't mean that it's wrong.
- Show me the smokers.
- All right.
Please.
Look at them.
I mean, do you know what hurts more than anything? The fact that we have the most amazing equipment, and yet the product is.
Brisket, Turkey, chicken smoked in these.
Then we slice it, bag it, chill it, then we reheat it in the microwave.
Does that make sense? Could you open it up, please? Look at that.
So how long have they been in? How long these been cooking? 2 1/2 hours.
See, they were in in 2 1/2 hours ago.
- So they're ready for dinner.
- They're ready.
These Little taste.
Now That's delicious.
That's what I'm screaming for.
They're ready.
They're delicious.
We're reheating yesterday's wings, and they're just immaculate.
Natalie, don't open the door and then disappear.
I need to talk to you urgently.
So we have Rolls-Royce of smokers here, pretty amazing.
And you got these that are literally minutes off the smoker.
Right.
And yet we can't hold them and serve? That's what we were trying to figure out.
It's a no-brainer.
Natalie hasn't proven to be able to run this restaurant.
There's not any structure.
Just a bunch of guys doing their own thing.
That does not make sense.
How much did those smokers cost? They cost, um, 17,000 each.
So here you are cooking to perfection and reheating the food in a $200 microwave.
How does that make sense? While the fresh, tasty meat from the smoker gets held for another day, the kitchen sends out plate after plate of reheated food.
Brisket.
It's not moist.
And not surprisingly, there's disappointment in the dining room.
It's dry.
Did that go out? Like a dog on the side of it.
Chicken's really, really dry.
Yeah, they're right.
I mean, the bone's dry.
Guys, this wasn't supposed to be well-done! Where is all that going? They didn't like 'em.
All right.
They just said they didn't like 'em.
Natalie did nothing.
This is your business, and y'all don't care.
Me.
Is that normal for so much food to come back? Yes, yes.
The whole place is disorganized.
It's running with no leader.
Absolutely right.
It was such a disappointment, because Natalie is letting is us down.
She needs to step up to the plate.
As dinner comes to an end, Gordon's inspection of the kitchen is just beginning.
What's that in there? Chickens cooked six days ago.
And here? These? They were done yesterday.
And these ones in here? And these ones in here? If you cooked them yesterday, why did they cook them yesterday? Look, there must be 1,000 wings there.
These people don't even deserve to be running a restaurant, let me tell you.
I have never seen so many wings in my life piping hot, stuck in a refrigeration unit.
I suppose this is what you call "winging it.
" And yes, there's more.
That is nasty.
It's like a mass grave.
At $1.
67 a wing, look at that.
Appalled by his discovery of how much of the food is pre-cooked Look, there must be 1,000 wings there.
Chef Ramsay is determined to give Natalie and her kitchen staff a massive reality check.
Can you just come in the kitchen with me? Please? All of you, thank you.
Let's go.
Let's go.
What the? You're kidding me.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Why do you have 100 smoked wings? Like, you can't be for real.
I am absolutely mortified.
What in the hell is going on? We served 100 customers, and we're carrying all this food until tomorrow.
Or the next day or who knows? And we have a smoker in there full of fresh wings.
And I could have cried to think that this was served first before the fresh ones.
I've never seen a more fragmented, disorganized setup.
I've never, ever, seen anything like this.
Looking at that food on the counter like that, I'm like, wow, really really shocking.
You know, I look at it like, you know, that could be going in my pocket as far as, you know, as a raise or whatever.
You've got the most equipped kitchen ever, a stunning dining room, and look at the amount of staff in here.
But all the advantages can't fix the mentality of how we're working, with our head up our ass, rudderless.
The biggest problem: The system.
Tell me about it.
And you accept it because you send it.
You confirm that's good enough.
You have your name in lights, and you just sit there and depend on your parents for another 30 years.
Someone's gonna have to step up.
If these are what we cooked this evening, at the end of the evening, do we throw them away? It's easy how many customers did we have tonight? How many portions of wings did we sell? Roughly? 25.
Yep.
That stops there.
I don't need to tell you that.
I just think you're in denial.
No, I'm not in denial.
I'm learning.
But, darling, by learning, means getting involved, taking responsibility.
All right.
Natalie, can I have a word with you, please? Everybody else, just stay here.
Count the wings.
I had no clue chef Ramsay would be this critical.
Chef Ramsay does not understand a lot of the ways we do things here.
He's overboard.
You've got your name in lights.
This restaurant's named after you.
Tell me one-to-one why you haven't stepped up.
Just 'cause you don't I'm not gonna sit up here and holler and scream.
No one's asking you to holler.
And do you know what? I wouldn't walk around like little miss perfect.
- And I don't.
- Yes, you do.
- No, I don't.
- Yes, you do.
- No, don't.
- Yes, you do.
Your biggest problem is you never heard it enough.
Okay.
Being brought into this world with a silver spoon, you can't sponge.
You have to get off your ass and do something about it.
What are we gonna look at, your father? Get mom to step up? Honestly, hand the reins over, and let's get somebody else in here if you are not gonna step up to the plate.
I'm not just walking in here every day not doing anything.
You are! Get your head out of the smoker.
You've been handed a restaurant on a plate, a stunning restaurant, and yet you don't seem to bother.
I'm very bothered.
You blowing smoke up my ass? How dare you? "I'm H.
R.
Manager"? I'd have you fired in two minutes.
The bottom line is you don't want it.
Joke.
It is clear that Natalie's lack of leadership has resulted in a frustrated and ineffective staff.
Good morning! To get through to her, Gordon's asked the family to stay in the office so they can observe a staff meeting by way of the surveillance cameras.
That was a crazy 24 hours, right? Yes.
So for me, I want to find out what the issues are.
Is the kitchen lacking a leader? Yes! That's where all our problems come in.
That's why they all act like that.
Sure, but, I mean, who decides who's working where in the kitchen? They just kinda fall into place.
You do your own? What? Yes.
To save the frustration and get through the night when we come in, I ask you, "where you wanna work at?" Seriously? Seriously.
Okay, why do they keep switching people around? If we know keno is the strongest in the middle, why on Fridays and Saturday night keno is in the damn back prepping food? It makes no sense to me.
Why is that? If you're not gonna work where we need you, how are we gonna get stuff done? It's not consistent.
This is my thing too, y'all.
We get, "well, we don't have this.
" Once we've gotten to a table and run the table in, "oh, didn't we tell y'all we don't have it?" That is not the most that's, like, dumb.
Half the time we tell y'all, you guys don't listen.
What, you want me to show you the empty bucket? No, I don't want you to show me an empty bucket.
I been saying it's all we do.
It's a two-way street, but guess what Everything's just run down, dwindled.
Pretty much everybody just do what they gonna do.
Everybody's going at each other 'cause it's just, you know, no one running things.
So everything's just hostile.
If we had a leader in that kitchen, this place I honestly believe would be like night and day.
But we need that direction.
Are we not gaining direction from Natalie? No.
Natalie doesn't step up to the plate as she should.
It's so aggravating! This is your establishment.
I mean, come on! The bottom line, a ship ain't gonna move without a captain.
We got to have some leadership, chef, period.
It's so frustrating.
No one's no one's got the reins.
And it's heading for disaster.
Okay, just give me two seconds, please, yeah? It was painful to see and hear a lot of that conversation.
I feel like a lot of the blame came on me today, and it hurts.
There's a cry for help there, otherwise none of you would be here.
They are begging for guidance, for a leader, for a captain, for a guiding light, an inspiration that's here, you know, 10, 12 hours a day and that's finding that structure.
Right.
You know, this is serious.
Natalie, do you think you are ready to step up and grab the bull by the horns and shape this place? I know I'm ready to step up.
Do you want to? I want to.
Come with me two seconds.
Come up.
Gaye, come over.
Please.
I want to hear from you telling your parents, yeah, how much you want this and what it means to you.
Dad, you said to me, you said, "I didn't do this for nobody else but you.
" And you said, "you can either "run the business and take it on or you can decide to sell it.
" I wanted to make sure that my dad's vision and my dad's dream came true.
And I'm gonna work hard to make sure that's what it is.
And I will I want you to trust me.
Good.
Are you happy with that? Happy with it.
I'm gonna give her a big hug.
It was really amazing her telling me and my wife that she can do it.
And I hope she'll refocus herself to really get the business and keep it going.
If you're ever, ever gonna let go, now is the time.
Michon's is a very important legacy to my father.
This is his whole life.
So I'm here for him.
Now that Natalie has expressed her commitment to do what it takes to lead the restaurant I know I'm ready to step up.
And I want you to trust me.
Chef Ramsay is committed to her.
First of all, I was very touched watching you step up and telling your parents how much you want this.
Do you know what, I believe you.
I'm by your side now 110%.
Okay.
Don't be scared of making mistakes.
Don't worry about that.
Okay.
Yeah? I've made thousands.
Chef Ramsay has opened my eyes to a lot.
At first, I was kind of skeptical.
I was kinda hurt, but I trust his judgment now.
I've got something very important to discuss with you.
I want you to nominate someone that's gonna step up and become your head cook.
Someone that mans the smoker, that coordinates the parts, that controls everything.
Run them through your mind now.
Let's go in the kitchen.
The kitchen lacks a leader.
And that's where I need to start first.
All right, guys, listen two seconds, please.
Natalie wants a quick word with you all.
All right, gentlemen, so this is gonna be some new waters right now for all of us.
Terrance, you've been here for years.
You've always had your heart in the right place.
From here on out, I want you to be the head of this kitchen.
Okay.
For Natalie to make me a leader in this kitchen, I'm very excited about it.
I'm ready for the challenge.
Let's get this team rolling and make sure that we have put forth 100%.
Got it.
It felt great to take the reins.
This is the way it's supposed to be.
I finally have a sense of where I need to go to move this restaurant forward.
You've got the badge now.
Step up to the plate.
Got you, chef.
Yeah? Yeah.
Good.
Now that the restaurant's leadership is in place, chef Ramsay has an important transformation of his own to present to the staff.
Morning.
Good morning to you all.
Nice to see you.
First of all, where's Al? He's at home resting.
Good.
Okay, it's time to show you a menu deserving of this beautiful restaurant.
- Ready? - Yes.
Come over to the bar, please.
Hey.
Natalie, please take one and pass them along.
New menu.
It's easy to read.
It's just a lovely, straightforward, stunning menu.
And more importantly, there's not a restaurant anywhere in 100-mile radius that has spent the money you spent on those smokers.
Those smokers is equivalent to having four other members of full-time staff in your kitchen.
You just weren't using it properly.
So with the way we've incorporated it, it's the backbone of the menu.
Okay, let's start off at the top here.
A pulled pork sandwich done with delicious corn puree running through the middle.
Yes, absolutely amazing.
Next to that, we've got the most amazing beef brisket.
A stunning half chicken, delicious.
Smoked chicken wings.
Look at the size of them.
Do we need to serve any more than that in a portion? And there's the sauces.
Every table has those amazing sauces.
It's beautiful.
It's the look that I wanna put out there.
I feel great.
I am so happy.
I have a special gift for you, because you are now running this place.
I'd like to introduce you to someone very special.
Chef Adam.
Morning.
How are you? Great.
How are you? Good to see you.
This young man is an expert in barbecue.
He's been trained under Tom Colicchio.
I've arranged for him to be with you for the next month.
Great.
What'd you think of the smokers back there? They're brilliant.
I'm very excited.
So a guiding light, a huge support, and you, if you don't pick up on this, and stay close to this guy for the next month - You don't have to worry about that.
- You're crazy.
You don't have to worry about that.
Chef Adam is a lifesaver, and I don't even think he realizes how much, you know, I love him already.
Okay, Adam, thank you.
Thank you.
See you shortly, yes? Nice to meet you.
I'm ready to eat.
I'm looking at all this food, and I'm ready to eat.
Dig in, dig in, dig in.
Yes.
My God, it is good.
It was absolutely delicious.
I am past excited about selling fresh products.
I think I could do a cartwheel in the dining room if there weren't so many tables in here.
You know your rib's good when you can use your fork to break it apart.
Everything tastes so good.
My God.
I need a plate.
I'm very proud to sell this food.
I hope that this new menu is symbolic of change to show that we'll just keep rising to the top.
Now who gonna wheel me outta here? That's what I wanna know.
With the relaunch approaching, Terrance gears up for his new role as head chef.
Chef keno, you ready to roll? Got my game face on, boss.
And Natalie, with the support of her new consultant Adam, embraces her new role as leader.
If there's ever a time to make your mark, it's tonight.
Right.
Hold the reins, and let them know that you're the boss.
Okay.
Let's go, baby.
I'm ready.
Let's go.
I'm very anxious to show chef Ramsay that I can do this.
I can be the Michon of Michon's.
As the door are open for Michon's relaunch, diners are lined up around the block, eager to try the new menu.
Yeah, it's gonna be pretty full, so as soon as you can get here.
And to help generate even more positive buzz, chef Ramsay has invited a group of the city's most influential barbecue experts.
This big table here are very, very important.
And they have a festival.
15,000 turn out.
This is it.
This first impression is gonna be this lasting impression.
We need to do well.
Hello, my name is Michon.
I'm one of the owners here.
And I just wanted to personally thank you for coming, 'cause I hear that you guys are barbecue folks too.
- And the fried pickles? - All right.
The catfish nuggets, it's to die for.
Really? Here we go.
Who's calling out? Talk to each other, guys.
I need a smoked chicken sandwich.
Got you, smoked chicken sandwich.
I need a catfish nugget, please.
With Natalie feeling confident that the kitchen is in good shape in Terrance's hands T, I'll be back in five minutes.
I've got it, boss.
I've got it.
She heads to the dining room to check in on the customers.
If you've been here before, you'll notice we made several changes.
As I'm walking through the restaurant, I was pumped.
All of our meats here that we smoke on-premise.
Our meat is very tender, so I felt good.
I was doing my job well, and everything was great.
But minutes later, back in the kitchen the cooks are having a hard time adapting to the new menu.
Where's the fries? I need fries.
And are having problems finding a rhythm.
Hey, guys, we shouldn't be waiting for fries.
Food is hanging too long.
There are entrees there, entrees there.
You've just stopped.
Been waiting 30 minutes for their fried chicken.
No.
No, no, come on.
I need coleslaw.
Talk to me, three big as.
I need them now, please.
Still gonna put the corn on it, yeah? Still want the corn on that.
At that moment, I got overwhelmed, you know? Because everyone knows that this food is behind.
Guys, we're getting complaints about long ticket times.
So now everybody's morale has just, like, fell.
We need to all be on the same page, guys.
We've got a sensitive situation.
Customers are complaining.
I don't want one more dish in that window until we get this board cleared.
I don't know how we gonna turn this around.
This is a nightmare.
It's 45 minutes into Michon's relaunch We're getting complaints about long ticket time.
And although the cooks are pushing food out, they are not completing an order.
And as a result, food is sitting at the pass.
I don't want one more dish in that window until we get this board cleared.
Are sitting hungry.
I'm starving.
Including the VIPs.
So we're getting backed up in the kitchen.
Okay, they're panicking.
All they're doing is they're putting the food up in the window one plate on top of another plate.
Food's drying out.
So they have to take a breather, clear the board, and start again.
Okay.
Chef Ramsay pulling me to the side helped me know that it's my job to jump in the kitchen and make sure the cooks are actually listening.
I need a fried catfish.
And I need that fish filet, like, yesterday.
Terrance, I need you to listen to me.
Yes? I need you to make sure you're not starting another ticket Okay.
Until we go ahead and clear it.
Clyde, I really need to make sure that you're focusing and making sure that you're not just putting plates up.
All right, y'all, let's go.
Yes, ma'am.
Got a lot of stuff holding up here.
I need three wings on the fly.
And I really gotta get the burger, 'cause it's holding up the window.
Keep it going, yeah? I was frustrated because I still got food in the window.
Waiting on a fried catfish, guys! But Natalie made me settle down.
The sky's not falling.
Let's just focus, breathe, and get the food out.
Come on, line, we've had this hit before.
How's it going with my blackened snapper? Blackened snapper working hard, chef.
While Natalie has helped her kitchen navigate their way back on course Keep on talking, guys.
Let's go.
She has also come up with an idea on how to entertain her special guests.
I would like to show you our smokers.
We had some hiccups, so I took the barbecue festival guys to go out and look at the smokers.
These are our babies right here.
These are about four years old.
Each smoker holds 700 pounds.
Yes, you can.
They were just so excited.
I like seeing people's face light up.
We'll have wings on four or five racks at a time.
How's the cook time? The brisket is about Okay.
I think I did pretty good in managing the problem.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, thank you.
Natalie's quick thinking has not only delighted the barbecue experts Macaroni and cheese and a souffle, I can go.
It has also bought the kitchen the time they needed to catch up.
Make the nuggets.
Okay.
Enjoy.
All right, y'all, how we doing? Doing good.
Keno, how's it going? Beautiful.
Okay.
Natalie helped us get back on track.
Very vocal, very visual, communicating with us.
Is this coming out now? This is complete.
Then take it.
Has impressed her staff The menu is a big hit with diners.
Michon's.
Thank you, Michon's.
Thank you.
All right.
I'm amazed.
Seeing customers with smiles on their face, we haven't had that in forever years.
Those are some of the best ribs I've ever put in my mouth.
That's great.
I'm so happy.
It was Natalie's night tonight.
I think she did a great job.
Bye.
Thank you so much.
Come back and see us.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You worked your butts off.
For me, the big difference was the way that you still, under immense pressure, worked together.
Give yourselves a round of applause.
Come on, come on.
Okay.
And do you know what? You have an exciting, dynamic owner.
Tonight, you were tested and you did a terrific job, let me tell you.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
And, Al, he wasn't here this evening.
God bless him.
He was probably watching from his bed.
Okay? But you did him proud.
Chef Ramsay has been a real influence on Natalie.
And now that Natalie is in charge, the future for Michon's is very bright.
Right, well done.
All of you, well done.
Thank you, chef.
Thank you.
I'm glad that chef Ramsay came down to give me a Swift kick to show me that I can do it and help me show my parents that I can do it.
Take care, bud.
I didn't realize when Al made his plea that he'd be too ill to be with us here for relaunch night.
But this restaurant, led by his daughter now and her loyal staff, made a major transformation tonight.
My hope is now that he gets well and has the pleasure of seeing his baby becoming a big success.
How ironic.
Two miles from the airport, and you finally found your wings.
Good night, Georgia.
After chef Ramsay left, Natalie showed she is more committed than ever to carrying on her father's legacy.
How are you? Welcome to Michon's.
And with chef Adam's training, Terrance is in complete control of the kitchen.
I got another rib and fries.
Got you.
As for Al, he now has what he always wanted, a successful restaurant run by the one person he built it for His daughter Natalie.