Kitchen Nightmares (2007) s07e09 Episode Script
Bella Luna
Tonight on Kitchen Nightmares What in the [Bleep.]
is going on? Chef Ramsay travels to Easton, Pennsylvania, to try and turn around an Italian restaurant that is on the verge of shutting its doors.
I'm amazed you've stayed open for three years.
The owner Rosaria is clueless I don't know why we don't have people coming through the door.
As she has no idea why her restaurant is failing.
You can't be this naive.
Am I a superwoman? She may have bought this restaurant for herself and her two sons Which table did she say I need wait, wait.
But their lack of experience has the restaurant in a freefall.
The food is hideous That's like baby vomit.
And the standards are repulsive.
Oh, you dirty bastards.
Chef Ramsay is in for an extremely difficult challenge You have big issues here.
As he is forced to deal with an owner who seems more content with shifting the blame I'm not the chef, Gordon.
Than fixing her restaurant.
You're yelling at me.
This is an issue that you should take up with the chef.
Oh, my God.
As for the staff, they're completely fed up.
You told me no specials.
Then she goes out and [Bleep.]
says "special.
" And they aren't the only ones.
I don't think I'll ever come back to this restaurant.
Chef Ramsay tries his best to save her restaurant, that might just be impossible you're both destroying each other.
To save.
The next person that throws that out at me, I will throw them out.
What is that? You're serving rotten food.
They're not crap.
They're delicious.
Then wake up! You wake up.
Shut the place down.
Get out of here! That is amazing.
That's embarrassing! Oh, God! Thank you so much.
Easton, Pennsylvania, is located an hour away from Philadelphia.
Just outside of downtown Easton is Bella Luna, an Italian restaurant owned by Rosaria Scollo - This table right here.
- Thank you.
Who bought the restaurant in 2010 for her two sons Maurizio and Gianfranco.
That's for Nicole.
My son Gianfranco went to culinary school, and one of his dreams was to own his own restaurant.
Two chicken parms, penne vodka, and chicken and broccoli.
So we found a place here, and we took a chance.
Everything okay? _ I feel the community has not responded to us the way we thought.
I don't feel they really appreciate fine Italian cooking.
I just don't think this is worth coming back to ever.
We're in a state that we don't have much business at all.
You know, there's days we gotta close early.
There's days we don't open for lunch.
If this guy complains still, let me know.
People of Easton like mediocre Italian food, frozen food, and that's not what I do.
FYI, they sent the soup back.
They said it tasted fatty.
- Just FYI.
- It tasted fatty.
I studied in Italy, and I worked with chefs, and I know what Italian food is.
This chicken's burnt.
What do you mean this chicken is burnt? Does that look like burnt chicken? - Please.
- It doesn't taste bad to me.
What are we doing wrong? That's my question to myself.
"What am I doing wrong?" Bella Luna, personally, I think it looks like a morgue.
When you walk into this place, I think, "where's the viewing?" Do I go through that door? Is that where the body's laid out? Why did they want to speak to me? Why can't you deal with it? I-I could I tried to deal with it, - but they asked to go over my head.
- Why don't you go talk to them? I've been dealing with everybody all night.
Rosaria is very disorganized Why are you in the kitchen, ma? You should be out on the floor.
Because I'm trying to help out.
No, no, no, no, no, you gotta help out on the floor.
And she's not a leader.
Everybody is running around, burning the candle at both ends.
Bella Luna should be on the map, and it's just not.
And we need something different.
If we have to close, I will be very disappointed because we worked so hard to make this dream happen, and it would just kinda kill me.
It really would.
Bella Luna.
- Hello.
- Welcome, Chef Ramsay.
- How are you? - I'm Traci.
- Traci oh.
- Thank you so much.
Nice to see you.
Is this your place? No, I am the manager here.
Rosaria Scollo owns it and her two sons, - Giaffy, our head chef - Okay, great.
- Maurizio, the son.
- So mother and son - Mother and two sons.
- Run the place.
Do you normally greet customers before they even get out of the car? - No, you're special.
- Serious? - I'm special.
- You're absolutely special.
- I'm happy to be here.
- And you smell good.
On a scale of one to ten, how bad are they? - Minus 2.
- Oh, [Bleep.]
.
They're very stubborn.
Rosaria coddles Giaffy.
You know, if a customer sends a plate back, she'll defend the son instead of saying, - "the customer's always right.
" - Wow.
- That makes me insane.
- Are the locals biting? - No, no, not at all.
- No, no one's biting? And this place should be bangin'.
We have to do things.
I run a Fifty Shades of Grey Bingo on a Thursday night.
Say that again.
- Fifty Shades of Grey Bingo.
- Bingo? - It's adult Bingo.
- Adult Bingo.
- Are handcuffs involved? - No, no.
Well, they could be if you wanted them.
But I mean, why would you no, God, no.
Jeez, man.
I just arrived.
We just try and think of anything that will create a buzz, a stir.
But okay, your hair looks great, by the way.
Turn around.
It looks lovely.
It's a chia pet, but It's can we get inside? Please come.
It's an honor.
And thank you for the briefing, by the way.
- I appreciate it.
- Oh, thank you for coming.
All right.
[Bleep.]
.
Is it Christmas? - Yeah.
What's with all the Christmas decorations? Um We are in the middle of July, right? It's Christmas in July.
Hi.
Oh, hello.
- Hello, Chef Ramsay.
- You must be - I'm Rosaria.
- Rosaria, nice to see you.
Can I give you a hug and a kiss? Oh.
I'm Italian.
That's what we do.
- Nice to meet you.
- Let's go inside, shall we? - Sure.
- In the bar and have a little chat.
Excellent.
Okay, first of all, let's go back to the beginning.
- How long you been open? - Three years.
Three years.
Okay, good.
And what kind of background do you have? I don't have experience of owning my own restaurant.
Neither did my son, - but we all have the passion for food.
- Mm-hmm.
And since Gianfranco went to school and he wanted to become a chef, you know, this was our dream.
So he has restaurant experience? Uh, well, when he finished school, - he did an internship in Manhattan - Yeah.
And then after that, we just jumped in here, so I wouldn't say - What? - I wouldn't say he had - Internship to ownership? - Yes.
- No, come on.
- So we all yes.
What about the big bit in between, - the things called experience? - Didn't have any.
But you had a vision.
- We had a vision.
We followed it.
- Wow.
So how's the food? I think it's more authentic than - Than other places around here.
- Okay, right.
We make everything fresh.
We don't use anything frozen.
- That's great news.
- You know, we only have one freezer.
And this is the way I want it to be.
- I want to bring out fresh Italian food.
- Sure.
But why wouldn't Easton embrace that? - Why wouldn't they support that? - I don't know.
I think they're used to one thing.
Like, if they're used to frozen food and you give them fresh authentic, they will not appreciate it.
So you're saying they'd be more upset - with fresh as opposed to frozen? - Yeah.
The food is not the problem here.
It's probably more of the community really don't know about fresh authentic Italian food.
Good afternoon, Chef.
Maurizio.
Maurizio.
- Good to see you.
- Maurizio, and this is - And this is - this is Chef Gianfranco.
- How are you? - I'm good.
How are you? Good to see you, bud.
So this is a dream come true for you, right? - It is.
- You running a business with your mom.
Yes.
And are there any issues with you and your mom running this restaurant? Uh, yes.
Like communication.
Me and my mom I mean, it's kinda like, you know, hard 'cause it's your mother.
And, you know, we are both bosses together, but sometimes I don't agree, and I tell her, but she just don't listen.
Now how would you rate your food in terms of a scale of one to ten? - Where would you go? - Eight.
Eight? Fantastic.
Well, listen, I'll catch up with you after lunch.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Thank you.
Here we go, Chef.
Bar, dinner, lunch.
- Bar, dinner, lunch.
- Yes, sir.
God almighty.
Okay, who's been writing letters to our value.]
customers? "Thank you for choosing Bella Luna.
" Okay, "we take great pride in preparing every meal and refuse to serve substandard food.
" That's an idea.
I like that.
Good.
- Should we order? - Okay.
- What would you like? - Okay, my darling.
I'll go for the veal saltimbocca, - the penne alla vodka - Okay.
And throw some mussels in there as well.
- Marinara? - Yes, please.
- All right.
- Thank you, my darling.
Yes, Chef.
Here we go.
Okay.
He wants veal saltimbocca, penne alla vodka.
That's it.
Oh, and a mussels marinara, please.
Damn, cooking for a world-class chef.
Oh, hello.
How are you? I'm very good.
How are you? Very well.
What's your name? - Nicole.
- Nicole.
- How long have you been here? - A year and a half.
In your mind, what's wrong with the place? Management not focusing on, in my opinion, what they're supposed to be doing.
- So totally unfocused.
- Yeah.
There's a lot of name-calling, disrespectfulness in the back.
Really? What, from the kitchen? - Yeah yeah.
- Man.
Well, enjoy your meal.
Thank you.
She seems like a nice girl.
- No, no.
- What do you mean? - Out of her mind.
- Serious? Yes, Chef.
Nicole is a moron.
Did I serve you? Nicole needs to be out of here, but I leave that up to Rosaria.
And this is the saltimbocca.
- Yes, Chef.
- Thank you, darling.
Okay.
Wow.
I don't think this is edible.
My God, it's bland, chewy, and it's been beaten the crap out of.
[Bleep.]
Disgusting.
I think he's complaining about the veal, Giaf, that it's tough.
I did it ten not even two seconds.
- I flipped it really quick.
- Tenderize it? I mean, we do have one of the best veals.
We get it from the butcher in Queens, so I don't know, unless you overcooked it.
I did not overcook it, ma.
Well This is so overcooked.
It's extraordinary.
Have a little taste of that.
Oh, my good God.
I mean, it's dusted with flour.
Very, yes.
See this here? That that's gunge.
That's just raw flour that is like You could make a [Bleep.]
pizza dough with that.
That's That's gunge.
I'll remove it.
Thank you, Chef.
Wow.
How's the veal, Tray? Veal's overcooked.
He said gunge, he called it.
It's it's just flour.
Wow.
I mean, this is [Bleep.]
crazy.
If Chef Ramsay doesn't like the veal, there's nothing I can do about that because that's the way it's made, and I'm not gonna change that.
Okay, Chef, this is our penne alla vodka.
Can I just give you that? It's all yellow, and bits of crap.
Why is it drowned in sauce? I cannot answer that.
I mean, it's like baby vomit.
The sauce is disgusting, and that is gross.
Can the chef not cook pasta? We have inconsistencies.
You should have grabbed the penne that I cooked this morning.
Why? The penne that I just cooked, it's sitting there fresh.
It didn't even get oiled yet.
What what do you mean it didn't get oiled? The penne I cooked yesterday.
I'm sure there's a difference.
It still tastes good.
He didn't like the taste? - No, no.
- He didn't like the taste? Awful.
He said it was like baby vomit.
- Baby vomit.
- Baby vomit.
Wow.
Okay.
Rosaria, come over.
Apart from being drowned in sauce, the pasta's like mush.
Would you mind? 'Cause everyone starts thinking I'm exaggerating, but it's, like, overcooked.
Disgusting.
But the flavor is not bad.
Oh, I disagree.
Disagree with the flavor? The sauce is bland, there's no salt in the sauce, and there's too much garlic.
But for me, the fundamentals, when it comes to an Italian restaurant, is the pasta.
The pasta's overcooked.
That's the embarrassing part.
Anyway, can you get the chef to taste that? - Okay.
- Excellent.
Thank you.
Wow.
Taste the pasta.
He said it's drowned in sauce, and it doesn't have any flavor.
The sauce doesn't have any flavor? That's what he said.
_ Eight out of ten? Trust me, right now, he's not even eight out of a hundred.
All right, thank you, Chef.
I hope.
Good luck.
Wow.
Are we short? That's it.
When I think of Italian cuisine, it's done with an exciting, generous amount of mussels in a bowl.
But that has to be the tightest portion of mussels I've ever seen in my entire life.
Is that what customers get? This is what customers get, Chef.
But how much is that? I'm not really sure, Chef.
Can you find out how much this one is? - Yes, Chef, I will.
- Please? I mean, seriously.
Oh, my God, how much are the mussels? Look in the computer, Traci, and find out.
Sister.
- Wow, you really just said that to me.
- You should know, $10.
You didn't know, you own the [Bleep.]
place, sister.
- I know, $10.
You should know too.
- Aw, come on, come on, come on.
It's $10.
How hard was that to tell me when I'm dealing with this [Bleep.]
? Ugh.
I thought it was a mussel.
It's a [Bleep.]
clove of garlic.
Damn.
$10, Chef.
Holy crap.
They taste frozen.
Can you just check with the chef? Because they are so chewy.
- Yes, I will, Chef.
- Yeah, please? Man.
Are the mussels frozen? Yes.
We should have fresh mussels.
We cannot have fresh mussels when we have a menu that's extremely large.
They taste so Yes, Chef, they are frozen.
Oh, hold on a minute, hold on a minute, come on.
Can you come in the kitchen with me? Yes, sir.
So far, he likes nothing.
I'm gonna start flipping out in two seconds.
After owner Rosaria's description of Bella Luna's food as authentic and fresh Disgusting.
Chef Ramsay is beyond disappointed, and he is in need of an exponation.
Okay, come over.
Uh, I don't know where to start.
My experience at lunchtime was dreadful, and there was nothing authentic in what you just served me, and I'm struggling.
The big kick in the balls for me: The mussels are actually frozen.
Why are you serving frozen mussels? No, and I need to know because you told me fresh.
I'm only going on what you told me.
We don't sell enough mussels for me to have them fresh every week.
So then what's the most important thing to do about that dish? Take it off the menu.
Take them off the menu.
So why haven't you? She doesn't want to take things off the menu.
She.
Who is she? My mother.
Why won't she do it? I don't know, maybe we can't afford to make new menus.
I try not to have anything frozen on the menu.
Stop, "I try not to have anything frozen on the menu.
" Did you just say that? Yes, you did say that, but then Right, so they're frozen.
Then him, as a chef, he should tell me, - "Take them off the menu.
" - I did tell you.
Him, as a chef? - I did tell you.
- Yes, take them off the menu.
Why is it still on? Why? It's still on because there's a constant circle of miscommunication.
Who wants it off? Who wants it on? And it still stays on by the end of the week.
Thinking that you can just buy a restaurant because it it succumbs to your dreams.
Your fundamentals are all screwed up, and you have big issues here, from making pasta to proper seasoning.
You've got more chance winning the lottery than you have becoming a success here.
Can you read that? Uh Good evening, just give me a quick run-through.
How does the line work? Who does what? He stays on that side.
I stay on this side.
- _ We try not to, like, cross each other, so we don't step on each other's toes.
Why can't we get tickets? These are what we have.
Are they just on bits of paper like that? Yes, you have bits of paper like that.
That's insane.
There's no proper tickets.
Show me those shrimp, please.
Where did they come from? The microwave, Dustin? Yeah, we defrost them in the microwave.
So frozen shrimp.
Yep.
Fantastic.
Okay.
- What's that in there? - _ Defrosting chicken in a wash-hand basin full of blood.
And then we're prepping it next to a cooked meatball.
Wow.
Here, go ahead.
I'm not seeing very much what you're portraying on the front of the menu, you know, the fresh ingredients, and please be understanding.
You know the chicken's frozen? The chicken, we buy fresh.
The chicken's frozen.
Why don't you come around? - I'll show you where the ***.
- Mm-hmm.
- Were those chicken breasts frozen? - _ Yeah, they were.
Thank you.
The chicken's not fresh.
It's frozen.
We're defrosting it here in the wash-hand basin.
See that blood there? And you don't know that this is frozen? You're yelling at me.
This is an issue that you should take up with the chef.
Do you know we defrost the shrimp in the microwave before we serve it to them? No, I know that we put it in ice water.
What? - Dustin? - Yes.
You were defrosting the frozen shrimp where? - In the microwave.
- We don't put them in the water? No.
Okay, so you didn't tell me any of this when I first met you.
All you told me about was your freshness.
You turned around and said the The authenticity and what you stand for.
That's what you told me.
Right, and I still believe in that.
You believe in it, but you're not actually practicing it.
Yes.
So you're saying one thing and doing the opposite.
Right.
[Bleep.]
Hell.
What? After feeling misled by Rosaria about the freshness of the food Ugh, God.
Chef Ramsay decides to do a little investigating to find out what is really going on in this restaurant.
Ugh, how much chicken does one restaurant need? Calamari's not even frozen.
Down here wow.
My delicious Italian mussels.
Have you got two seconds, Rosaria? What happened now? How much chicken do you think you have in the freezer? I don't know.
Let me show you.
I rarely come down here, so I really don't know.
We buy it fresh.
It's fresh.
Really? Just That's the calamari we got today.
- Frozen at the bottom? - Right.
Hold it.
We got it in this morning.
And we're freezing it, and then we're defrosting it to send it back out.
Why should anybody wait for [Bleep.]
like this? I saw the calamari bring in fresh today.
It's fresh.
We bring it in fresh.
We got the delivery this morning.
Are you crazy? So why are you in denial? The kitchen is not my responsibility.
I have enough responsibilities, Gordon.
Am I a superwoman? How could you not know? I don't have 20 years of experience.
If you are making the statement of being fresh, being authentic, you don't need 20 years' experience.
You should know everything.
You should know what's going on in every fridge.
So it's my fault? So if it's not your fault, then whose is it? I'm not the chef, Gordon.
You're pointing everything out on me.
Yeah, let me go and get him.
- Go ahead.
- Yeah.
Ramsay's down in the basement.
- Uh-oh.
- Yeah, uh-oh.
- Have you got two seconds? - Yeah.
- What's the matter? - Let me show you.
You don't prep that much chicken and then freeze it like that.
We buy them fresh, and we bread them, and we make them ourselves.
You're telling me that, so I sat there like an idiot, believing you.
I didn't call you an idiot.
I'm calling myself an idiot because I believed you.
You're allowing these practices to happen, making false claims.
I'm not a fan of frozen food.
- I don't I don't get this.
- I don't like frozen food.
You're endorsing it.
You run a business selling it.
I like I said, I don't You're saying no.
This is insane.
You don't like frozen food.
I don't like frozen food.
What the [Bleep.]
? I don't like frozen food.
So you have the nerve to serve it to your customers? So it's not working because this is frozen? That's what you're telling me? If something is frozen, it's bad? If it stays frozen, it's bad? Come on.
You can't be this naive.
I don't know why we don't have people coming through the door.
I feel like screaming because it's like you're in denial.
This is not cost control.
This is stupidity at its best.
You don't need to be a culinary genius to identify how bad this is.
Why didn't you stick up? He's right, you knew it from the minute we came in here, ma.
Okay.
That's that's so wrong.
He wants to hear it from you.
I would say it's my mother's fault.
It's her restaurant.
And I might be pointed as the bad guy, but I'm not.
After being frustrated with Gianfranco and Rosaria over the deplorable state of their food storage, Chef Ramsay heads back upstairs to see what's inside the walk-in refrigerator.
Ugh.
Look at that.
A lizard in a desert wouldn't eat that.
Wow.
Rotten through and through.
Fresh turnips.
Oh, my God.
Ugh.
Look at the color of that.
It makes me gag.
That is veal.
Oh, you dirty bastard.
Rosaria, what the [Bleep.]
is that? These are my I don't serve these.
These are mine.
How many times a day do you go into that walk-in, roughly? About a hundred.
A hundred.
Disgusting.
Hold that.
That's broccoli rabe left over from my brother's wedding.
They're left over from your brother's wedding.
Yeah.
Come on, guys.
Have you any idea how bad a turnip needs to go before it gets that bad? Touch that.
J-just touch it.
Just just just I'm not serving it.
We're not using it.
No disrespect, but what would you know is being served? - No, I don't know why that's there.
- It's not funny.
It's not funny.
I am [Bleep.]
pissed off.
- Wait, it gets worse.
- Nobody nobody throws anything out.
I cannot wait for this [Bleep.]
excuse.
Have you any idea how bad a slice of veal needs to go that color? Just smell that.
It smells bad.
How long is that there? It couldn't have been two days, ma.
Oh, [Bleep.]
Off.
Two days? What in the [Bleep.]
is going on? You don't [Bleep.]
care, do you? - Of course I do care.
- You don't give a.
Says who? That walk-in there is a disgusting mess.
You should be ashamed.
Hair in the food.
Hair in the food? Who just said, "hair in the food"? - Me.
- Is this a joke? Come around.
Oh, no, I think she's talking to somebody else.
If you were examined tonight, what do you think would happen? - Close you down.
- We'd close down.
Can you go out there and apologize to every customer? Yes.
I am shutting it down.
May I have your attention, please? We here at Bella Luna apologize for any inconvenience to you wonderful people of this community tonight, but we are shutting it down.
We are not worthy to continue this service.
All right, it's been shut down.
Can we close that door, please? It's just gonna keep getting hotter in there, and more stuff is gonna go bad.
What more stuff can get worse? Tell me.
I have no clue.
And now in the last 60 seconds, all of a sudden you give a [Bleep.]
About what's gonna go on? You got lazy.
And yet, you cannot accept it.
You're done, aren't you? You're you're finished? What do you mean finished? For the night? Oh, no, not for the night, but just in general.
You're a spent force.
No.
It's not who I am.
Really? Yeah, I haven't gave up.
If I have, I would have left you.
I would have left you here by yourself.
It's not my fault.
She thought everything could work.
She thought it was easy, and I told her it's not gonna be easy.
Well, how about you stepping up? All the pressure, all the tension, it's building on top, and me not getting paid, and There's a reason why you haven't had a [Bleep.]
paycheck in two years.
Do you ever stop and ask yourselves? You are making so many mistakes, you don't even know what's right or wrong, and you're allowing him to do it.
You're both destroying each other.
I'm amazed you've stayed open for three years.
And I can't do everything for them.
I cannot be checking produce.
Why did you buy a restaurant when none of you worked in one? I don't know what to do next.
I don't know what to do, Chef.
That makes three of us, 'cause right now, I've got [Bleep.]
No idea where to start: A chef that's checked out, that has given up, and an owner that's in [Bleep.]
denial.
I'm not in denial.
I'm not.
You can show him a lot better than this, Giaf.
I know you can.
Come on, that walk-in's not that big.
Something's gotta change here, man.
The cards are laid out.
Either we go all in, or we turn around.
We're not making any money.
We haven't made any money.
And now, we ran out of heart.
Giaf, you know what to do.
You just lost yourself.
You were taught right, and you have traditions from our family.
You just got to put that back in play, you know? Come in, guys.
Fed up with both Rosaria and Gianfranco, Chef Ramsay has devised a plan to get everything, once and for all, out into the open.
Okay, Gianfranco, Rosaria.
Each of you is going on trial.
One at a time, you're gonna come up here and defend yourself.
Got it? Rosaria, I'd like you to go first.
Come on.
Come on down.
Take the podium.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Now, Traci, Rosaria's weaknesses, what are they? Very weak in discipline with the staff.
She needs to be tougher on the back kitchen.
She needs to be tougher on the front.
Okay, but I don't think I'm weak.
People do mistake my kindness for weakness, but I'm not a weak person.
But you're weakyou're weak because she lets people walk all over her.
So that's that's one point.
Yeah, I'm too nice.
Go ahead.
Next.
Unorganized.
Mismanagement.
No follow-through.
You know.
You know.
But I'm one person.
I cannot be doing everything.
If my job was just to manage and sit in my office and take care of my bills, I would have everything down pat.
But I'm there serving.
- And that's what it should be.
- I'm doing bar.
I feel like I'm having a nervous breakdown.
- And nobody understands.
- And then I walk out, - and you're cleaning windows.
- Nobody gives a.
How many times have I said to you Yeah, because nobody cleans windows, and I'm there cleaning instead of going into the walk-in and checking to see if there's any produce that's going bad.
Okay, last night was an eye-opener for me.
I didn't have no clue what the hell goes on into that walk-in.
Okay, Gianfranco, yeah? Um, she's too nice, and people step over her, and She's too nice to you too.
Yeah.
She babies you.
You would have been fired a long time if you were in someone else's kitchen.
How about that? How about stepping up to your plate and really show your passion that you lost? You lost your passion, Gianfranco.
What happened to the The passion that you had? You wanted to be a chef.
I didn't push you to be a chef.
That was your dream to be a chef.
You wanted to go to school.
You made it happen.
Giaf, maybe this is the wrong way around.
How about you getting up and swapping places with your mother? Let's go.
Because it's just starting to shift to you, my boy.
You also have to take responsibility for your own actions.
I want continue.
Why are you letting go? Why? I feel like I do all this work, and I don't get any credit for it, and I don't really show my true passion because I'm just working with this disgustingly huge menu that I do not like.
You gotta take responsibility too.
It's it's it's not just hers.
It's not just yours, but, I mean, at least take your half of it too.
I don't have the time and the money to go But I tell him to take over.
You're the chef.
Make a menu, okay? If he takes the bull by its horn and he just does it, I'm not gonna say no.
So put your foot down.
Grow some balls like I always tell you.
You are a chef, young man, but you need to you need to find your voice.
You're right, I do.
Okay.
Thank you.
Let me tell you something.
You need input from another source.
Hang on a second.
Come in, thank you.
Bill, good to see you, sir.
Thank you.
- This is Bill.
- Hi.
And he brought a few of his friends.
Take a seat, ladies and gentlemen.
Please come through.
These people represent the town of Easton.
You'll probably recognize them because they've all dined in your restaurant, Rosaria.
Ladies and gentlemen, the owners and the staff need to hear from you.
What were your recent experiences when you went to Bella Luna? Fire away, please.
There was a fly in the wedding soup, and it was kind of an embarrassment.
And we just left it there because we just didn't want it.
Soup of the day.
Rosaria, I mean, anything to say to bill? I apologize about that.
I-I just apologize.
Wow, thank you.
I appreciate it.
Next, please.
The food and the service have both been subpar.
All of our entrees came out at different times, making it very difficult to enjoy a family meal.
That's my issue with food being prepared and sitting on the line 'cause we're short-staffed.
It's not the customer's problem that you're [Bleep.]
short-staffed.
It's not just the service.
Alicia, thank you so much.
Thank you.
Next, please? I went there once.
Food was subpar.
Very disappointing experience from what I expected.
Everybody has a bad night.
I figured I'd give you another chance.
And the second time I went, it was extremely disappointing.
Our dinners were totally wrong.
My son ordered chicken.
He got veal.
I threw my money on my table and said, "I'm done.
I will never come back here.
" I'm sorry about that experience.
Next, please.
The food, everything just did not work out.
But what really, really stood in my mind was I ordered a cannoli, and the cannoli was sour.
And so you came over to me, and you gave me a fresh cannoli.
Well, why didn't you give me the fresh cannoli first rather than give me an old cannoli that left a horrid taste in my mouth? I mean, a sour cannoli, I mean, it It can get you sick.
Right, but I was not aware that you were given the sour cannoli that wasn't good.
Well, maybe the sour cannoli shouldn't even be there.
I would not have given it to you, you know? But my point is is as the owner, manager When the cannoli came back, and then I tasted it, and then I says, "this is going bad.
" Well, yeah.
Gone bad, not going.
Gone bad.
It was bad.
Once it's gone, it's gone.
It's not coming back, is it? Right.
You know, that should be gone the night before.
- You know, it shouldn't be there.
- That's what I was saying.
Like, why even serve something that is questionable? You're right.
Totally right.
That was the the experience that I said, "I-I don't think I'll ever come back to this restaurant.
" Wow.
To hear what they were saying, you know, the reality, as much as it hurts, it's the truth.
This feedback this morning has been pivotal.
I hope you'll all be willing to give Bella Luna one more chance.
On behalf of the owners and the team, I'd like to say a big thank-you.
I appreciate it.
Thank you very much indeed.
I think everything has to be changed, and if that's what we need to hear to make things better and get Bella Luna back on the map, I guess that's what we need to hear.
Convinced that Rosaria and Gianfranco are now fully aware that change is their only option, Chef Ramsay goes ahead with stage one of his plan: Transforming the dated decor of Bella Luna.
Good morning.
Good morning, Chef.
Welcome to the new Bella Luna.
- Oh, my God.
- You gotta be kidding me.
Wow.
Do you see this, ma? Amazing.
Oh, my God.
Oh.
How bright and refreshing does this beautiful restaurant look? Do you like it, Giaf? I love it.
Gone is that dark, red maroon color.
We've lightened up the walls, the ceiling with that beautiful gray.
Oh, my God.
Gone are those hideous tables in the middle.
We replaced them with rustic centralized tables made for families.
It's got that communal feel as well.
On the back wall that enters to the kitchen, we've had a little bit of fun there with those cutting boards, just give it that nice rustic charm.
Oh, yes.
I never thought Bella Luna had any chance of looking this amazing.
I'm still speechless, and everybody will tell you I'm never speechless.
When I first arrived here, this area was a bit of a disaster.
What I'm about to show you is something that is unique.
This will be a game changer because you have now a state-of-the-art, stunning, brand-new Oh, here we go.
- Beautiful POS system from Dinerware.
- Nice.
It's gonna transform the business.
You can track your inventory.
You can adjust your costings, labor costs, and what we need to hit on a weekly basis.
And trust me, chefs, it'll be so much less of a confusion for you in the kitchen.
This thing is gonna be an absolute dream machine.
Excited? Yeah.
Very, very.
Good.
Amazing.
Thank you so much.
I can't believe that I'm standing in Bella Luna.
I feel like a little girl when I was back in Sicily.
It's amazing.
I'm just so thrilled.
This is like a dream.
Wow.
I can't believe it.
Okay, come over, please.
Take a good look at Bella Luna's new food.
Oh, my God, I love it.
Take a menu, my darling, and pass them along.
Steamed mussels, fresh.
When opened, they're cooked.
You send them.
That's how you should be serving a bowl of mussels.
- Yes.
- It looks amazing.
Delicious cavatelli, beautifully handmade, light, creamy tomato sauce.
Next to that, you've got the delicious lasagna, homemade lasagna done with a nice, rich bolognese sauce.
You got a wonderful pan-seared salmon served on a bed of Risotto fragrant Risotto With tomatoes, raisins, parmesan, and a little olive oil vinaigrette.
Beautiful presentation.
It's got to look good, and it does.
Absolutely.
Absolutely no frozen food here at all.
Fresh, clean ingredients.
- Hello.
- Welcome to the new Bella luna.
- How we doing? - Good.
It looks beautiful in here.
Thank you.
It's relaunch night, and Chef Ramsay is determined to change Bella Luna's negative reputation Sir, how are you? Thank you for coming back.
No problem.
So he's invited back many of the unhappy customers that were at the town hall.
Hello.
Antipasto up.
Cavatelli and chicken parm.
That completes table six.
Go, go, go, go.
Very early into service, Gianfranco's attention to detail in the kitchen is paying off, as customers are thoroughly enjoying Chef Ramsay's new menu.
- How is it? - Oh, my God.
It's better than my mom's, and she's Italian.
It's so good.
Gianfranco, Nicole put in an Osso Buco and a pasta dish that they're waiting a long time.
Okay, all right, I'm sorry.
Come on, guys.
[Bleep.]
Hell.
Okay, all right, look how many tickets we have back here.
But just midway into service, Gianfranco is overwhelmed with the rush of tickets I need steamed mussels.
We're working on it, Traci.
And maintaining the standards of the new menu.
Now, which table did she say I need? - Wait, wait.
- Come on! And a relaunch that started off on a positive note is suddenly in jeopardy.
I'm still waiting on table six.
How long do you think? It's gonna be a little bit more because you have a well-done prime rib.
No, I don't have a well-done prime rib.
All right, so okay.
Come on, guys.
Get the tables together.
There *** and a Caesar salad.
Are you kidding me? All of you, quick! If you think I'm serving that, you're dreaming.
We may as well go back to where we were.
All right.
All of a sudden, we've just dropped our standards.
The next person that throws that out at me, I will throw them out.
Yes, Chef.
Come on, guys, let's go.
Come here, you.
Is that what is that what you busted your ass off for? No.
No, no, no, no.
- Absolutely not.
- Come on.
- You're right.
- It's in front of your eyes.
Get 'em together.
It's relaunch night, and Gianfranco's standards have dropped in the middle of service.
If you think I'm serving that, you're dreaming.
And Chef Ramsay is not exactly pleased.
Is that what you busted your ass off for? No.
No, no, no, no.
- Absolutely not.
- Come on.
- You're right.
- It's in front of your eyes.
Get 'em together.
Two ways a kitchen functions.
You run it, or it runs you.
- All right.
- Come on, you can do it.
It's been about an hour and a half, right? One little mistake, and he sinks to oblivion.
Get in there, and get him lifted up Come on, honey.
You're okay.
Don't worry about it.
Everybody's happy.
They love the food.
Don't let one little mistake keep you down.
- I'm trying.
- Okay, honey, don't worry.
Gianfranco is under a lot of pressure right now You guys are doing great.
But he needs to know how to deal and work with the pressure as well.
All right, guys, gotta get a hold of ourselves.
We need another bruschetta.
We need all this stuff plated.
I need a pappardelle and Osso Buco right away.
That's it.
Are we ready for table six? - Yes, we are.
- All right, let's go.
Start plating that.
Very nice.
Keep it going.
Salmon, I need it right away, plated.
It's in the oven.
Run that out, and now I have appetizers ready.
I'm proud of you.
This is amazing to me, to see Gianfranco actually get a voice.
There you go.
That's the pappardelle.
- How are we doing? How was your dessert? - We're doing well.
- Oh, it was so good, really good.
- Everything was really good.
It was a pleasure serving you, and we'll see you soon.
Tonight let's be honest wasn't perfect, but we went a long way to impressing the locals.
Young man, I finally heard your voice tonight, but it needs to be there from the beginning to the end.
And you can't have your head in a pan 'cause this place is gonna be busy.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you, Chef.
Good night.
- Take care of your mom, okay? - Yes.
- Chef.
- Okay, bye-bye, big man.
Thank you.
- Darling, come here, you.
- Oh.
- God bless you.
- God bless you.
Good night.
What a night.
A mother and her two sons move from New York to Easton to open their dream restaurant three years ago.
But truthfully, they were not ready for such a big challenge.
But now, they have the road map on how to succeed.
But what they really need more than anything is the discipline to follow it through.
Wow, Bella Luna.
Fingers crossed.
What a place.
In the months that followed Welcome to the new Bella Luna.
Rosaria took Chef Ramsay's suggestions, and Bella Luna's business increased significantly.
Good job, everybody.
I really want to thank Chef Ramsay for choosing us, to help us and try to save Bella Luna.
I just I feel so blessed.
Grazie.
You got it, ma.
Due to some issues with the landlord, Bella Luna had to close temporarily and is now searching for a new location.
They hope to reopen very soon.
is going on? Chef Ramsay travels to Easton, Pennsylvania, to try and turn around an Italian restaurant that is on the verge of shutting its doors.
I'm amazed you've stayed open for three years.
The owner Rosaria is clueless I don't know why we don't have people coming through the door.
As she has no idea why her restaurant is failing.
You can't be this naive.
Am I a superwoman? She may have bought this restaurant for herself and her two sons Which table did she say I need wait, wait.
But their lack of experience has the restaurant in a freefall.
The food is hideous That's like baby vomit.
And the standards are repulsive.
Oh, you dirty bastards.
Chef Ramsay is in for an extremely difficult challenge You have big issues here.
As he is forced to deal with an owner who seems more content with shifting the blame I'm not the chef, Gordon.
Than fixing her restaurant.
You're yelling at me.
This is an issue that you should take up with the chef.
Oh, my God.
As for the staff, they're completely fed up.
You told me no specials.
Then she goes out and [Bleep.]
says "special.
" And they aren't the only ones.
I don't think I'll ever come back to this restaurant.
Chef Ramsay tries his best to save her restaurant, that might just be impossible you're both destroying each other.
To save.
The next person that throws that out at me, I will throw them out.
What is that? You're serving rotten food.
They're not crap.
They're delicious.
Then wake up! You wake up.
Shut the place down.
Get out of here! That is amazing.
That's embarrassing! Oh, God! Thank you so much.
Easton, Pennsylvania, is located an hour away from Philadelphia.
Just outside of downtown Easton is Bella Luna, an Italian restaurant owned by Rosaria Scollo - This table right here.
- Thank you.
Who bought the restaurant in 2010 for her two sons Maurizio and Gianfranco.
That's for Nicole.
My son Gianfranco went to culinary school, and one of his dreams was to own his own restaurant.
Two chicken parms, penne vodka, and chicken and broccoli.
So we found a place here, and we took a chance.
Everything okay? _ I feel the community has not responded to us the way we thought.
I don't feel they really appreciate fine Italian cooking.
I just don't think this is worth coming back to ever.
We're in a state that we don't have much business at all.
You know, there's days we gotta close early.
There's days we don't open for lunch.
If this guy complains still, let me know.
People of Easton like mediocre Italian food, frozen food, and that's not what I do.
FYI, they sent the soup back.
They said it tasted fatty.
- Just FYI.
- It tasted fatty.
I studied in Italy, and I worked with chefs, and I know what Italian food is.
This chicken's burnt.
What do you mean this chicken is burnt? Does that look like burnt chicken? - Please.
- It doesn't taste bad to me.
What are we doing wrong? That's my question to myself.
"What am I doing wrong?" Bella Luna, personally, I think it looks like a morgue.
When you walk into this place, I think, "where's the viewing?" Do I go through that door? Is that where the body's laid out? Why did they want to speak to me? Why can't you deal with it? I-I could I tried to deal with it, - but they asked to go over my head.
- Why don't you go talk to them? I've been dealing with everybody all night.
Rosaria is very disorganized Why are you in the kitchen, ma? You should be out on the floor.
Because I'm trying to help out.
No, no, no, no, no, you gotta help out on the floor.
And she's not a leader.
Everybody is running around, burning the candle at both ends.
Bella Luna should be on the map, and it's just not.
And we need something different.
If we have to close, I will be very disappointed because we worked so hard to make this dream happen, and it would just kinda kill me.
It really would.
Bella Luna.
- Hello.
- Welcome, Chef Ramsay.
- How are you? - I'm Traci.
- Traci oh.
- Thank you so much.
Nice to see you.
Is this your place? No, I am the manager here.
Rosaria Scollo owns it and her two sons, - Giaffy, our head chef - Okay, great.
- Maurizio, the son.
- So mother and son - Mother and two sons.
- Run the place.
Do you normally greet customers before they even get out of the car? - No, you're special.
- Serious? - I'm special.
- You're absolutely special.
- I'm happy to be here.
- And you smell good.
On a scale of one to ten, how bad are they? - Minus 2.
- Oh, [Bleep.]
.
They're very stubborn.
Rosaria coddles Giaffy.
You know, if a customer sends a plate back, she'll defend the son instead of saying, - "the customer's always right.
" - Wow.
- That makes me insane.
- Are the locals biting? - No, no, not at all.
- No, no one's biting? And this place should be bangin'.
We have to do things.
I run a Fifty Shades of Grey Bingo on a Thursday night.
Say that again.
- Fifty Shades of Grey Bingo.
- Bingo? - It's adult Bingo.
- Adult Bingo.
- Are handcuffs involved? - No, no.
Well, they could be if you wanted them.
But I mean, why would you no, God, no.
Jeez, man.
I just arrived.
We just try and think of anything that will create a buzz, a stir.
But okay, your hair looks great, by the way.
Turn around.
It looks lovely.
It's a chia pet, but It's can we get inside? Please come.
It's an honor.
And thank you for the briefing, by the way.
- I appreciate it.
- Oh, thank you for coming.
All right.
[Bleep.]
.
Is it Christmas? - Yeah.
What's with all the Christmas decorations? Um We are in the middle of July, right? It's Christmas in July.
Hi.
Oh, hello.
- Hello, Chef Ramsay.
- You must be - I'm Rosaria.
- Rosaria, nice to see you.
Can I give you a hug and a kiss? Oh.
I'm Italian.
That's what we do.
- Nice to meet you.
- Let's go inside, shall we? - Sure.
- In the bar and have a little chat.
Excellent.
Okay, first of all, let's go back to the beginning.
- How long you been open? - Three years.
Three years.
Okay, good.
And what kind of background do you have? I don't have experience of owning my own restaurant.
Neither did my son, - but we all have the passion for food.
- Mm-hmm.
And since Gianfranco went to school and he wanted to become a chef, you know, this was our dream.
So he has restaurant experience? Uh, well, when he finished school, - he did an internship in Manhattan - Yeah.
And then after that, we just jumped in here, so I wouldn't say - What? - I wouldn't say he had - Internship to ownership? - Yes.
- No, come on.
- So we all yes.
What about the big bit in between, - the things called experience? - Didn't have any.
But you had a vision.
- We had a vision.
We followed it.
- Wow.
So how's the food? I think it's more authentic than - Than other places around here.
- Okay, right.
We make everything fresh.
We don't use anything frozen.
- That's great news.
- You know, we only have one freezer.
And this is the way I want it to be.
- I want to bring out fresh Italian food.
- Sure.
But why wouldn't Easton embrace that? - Why wouldn't they support that? - I don't know.
I think they're used to one thing.
Like, if they're used to frozen food and you give them fresh authentic, they will not appreciate it.
So you're saying they'd be more upset - with fresh as opposed to frozen? - Yeah.
The food is not the problem here.
It's probably more of the community really don't know about fresh authentic Italian food.
Good afternoon, Chef.
Maurizio.
Maurizio.
- Good to see you.
- Maurizio, and this is - And this is - this is Chef Gianfranco.
- How are you? - I'm good.
How are you? Good to see you, bud.
So this is a dream come true for you, right? - It is.
- You running a business with your mom.
Yes.
And are there any issues with you and your mom running this restaurant? Uh, yes.
Like communication.
Me and my mom I mean, it's kinda like, you know, hard 'cause it's your mother.
And, you know, we are both bosses together, but sometimes I don't agree, and I tell her, but she just don't listen.
Now how would you rate your food in terms of a scale of one to ten? - Where would you go? - Eight.
Eight? Fantastic.
Well, listen, I'll catch up with you after lunch.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Thank you.
Here we go, Chef.
Bar, dinner, lunch.
- Bar, dinner, lunch.
- Yes, sir.
God almighty.
Okay, who's been writing letters to our value.]
customers? "Thank you for choosing Bella Luna.
" Okay, "we take great pride in preparing every meal and refuse to serve substandard food.
" That's an idea.
I like that.
Good.
- Should we order? - Okay.
- What would you like? - Okay, my darling.
I'll go for the veal saltimbocca, - the penne alla vodka - Okay.
And throw some mussels in there as well.
- Marinara? - Yes, please.
- All right.
- Thank you, my darling.
Yes, Chef.
Here we go.
Okay.
He wants veal saltimbocca, penne alla vodka.
That's it.
Oh, and a mussels marinara, please.
Damn, cooking for a world-class chef.
Oh, hello.
How are you? I'm very good.
How are you? Very well.
What's your name? - Nicole.
- Nicole.
- How long have you been here? - A year and a half.
In your mind, what's wrong with the place? Management not focusing on, in my opinion, what they're supposed to be doing.
- So totally unfocused.
- Yeah.
There's a lot of name-calling, disrespectfulness in the back.
Really? What, from the kitchen? - Yeah yeah.
- Man.
Well, enjoy your meal.
Thank you.
She seems like a nice girl.
- No, no.
- What do you mean? - Out of her mind.
- Serious? Yes, Chef.
Nicole is a moron.
Did I serve you? Nicole needs to be out of here, but I leave that up to Rosaria.
And this is the saltimbocca.
- Yes, Chef.
- Thank you, darling.
Okay.
Wow.
I don't think this is edible.
My God, it's bland, chewy, and it's been beaten the crap out of.
[Bleep.]
Disgusting.
I think he's complaining about the veal, Giaf, that it's tough.
I did it ten not even two seconds.
- I flipped it really quick.
- Tenderize it? I mean, we do have one of the best veals.
We get it from the butcher in Queens, so I don't know, unless you overcooked it.
I did not overcook it, ma.
Well This is so overcooked.
It's extraordinary.
Have a little taste of that.
Oh, my good God.
I mean, it's dusted with flour.
Very, yes.
See this here? That that's gunge.
That's just raw flour that is like You could make a [Bleep.]
pizza dough with that.
That's That's gunge.
I'll remove it.
Thank you, Chef.
Wow.
How's the veal, Tray? Veal's overcooked.
He said gunge, he called it.
It's it's just flour.
Wow.
I mean, this is [Bleep.]
crazy.
If Chef Ramsay doesn't like the veal, there's nothing I can do about that because that's the way it's made, and I'm not gonna change that.
Okay, Chef, this is our penne alla vodka.
Can I just give you that? It's all yellow, and bits of crap.
Why is it drowned in sauce? I cannot answer that.
I mean, it's like baby vomit.
The sauce is disgusting, and that is gross.
Can the chef not cook pasta? We have inconsistencies.
You should have grabbed the penne that I cooked this morning.
Why? The penne that I just cooked, it's sitting there fresh.
It didn't even get oiled yet.
What what do you mean it didn't get oiled? The penne I cooked yesterday.
I'm sure there's a difference.
It still tastes good.
He didn't like the taste? - No, no.
- He didn't like the taste? Awful.
He said it was like baby vomit.
- Baby vomit.
- Baby vomit.
Wow.
Okay.
Rosaria, come over.
Apart from being drowned in sauce, the pasta's like mush.
Would you mind? 'Cause everyone starts thinking I'm exaggerating, but it's, like, overcooked.
Disgusting.
But the flavor is not bad.
Oh, I disagree.
Disagree with the flavor? The sauce is bland, there's no salt in the sauce, and there's too much garlic.
But for me, the fundamentals, when it comes to an Italian restaurant, is the pasta.
The pasta's overcooked.
That's the embarrassing part.
Anyway, can you get the chef to taste that? - Okay.
- Excellent.
Thank you.
Wow.
Taste the pasta.
He said it's drowned in sauce, and it doesn't have any flavor.
The sauce doesn't have any flavor? That's what he said.
_ Eight out of ten? Trust me, right now, he's not even eight out of a hundred.
All right, thank you, Chef.
I hope.
Good luck.
Wow.
Are we short? That's it.
When I think of Italian cuisine, it's done with an exciting, generous amount of mussels in a bowl.
But that has to be the tightest portion of mussels I've ever seen in my entire life.
Is that what customers get? This is what customers get, Chef.
But how much is that? I'm not really sure, Chef.
Can you find out how much this one is? - Yes, Chef, I will.
- Please? I mean, seriously.
Oh, my God, how much are the mussels? Look in the computer, Traci, and find out.
Sister.
- Wow, you really just said that to me.
- You should know, $10.
You didn't know, you own the [Bleep.]
place, sister.
- I know, $10.
You should know too.
- Aw, come on, come on, come on.
It's $10.
How hard was that to tell me when I'm dealing with this [Bleep.]
? Ugh.
I thought it was a mussel.
It's a [Bleep.]
clove of garlic.
Damn.
$10, Chef.
Holy crap.
They taste frozen.
Can you just check with the chef? Because they are so chewy.
- Yes, I will, Chef.
- Yeah, please? Man.
Are the mussels frozen? Yes.
We should have fresh mussels.
We cannot have fresh mussels when we have a menu that's extremely large.
They taste so Yes, Chef, they are frozen.
Oh, hold on a minute, hold on a minute, come on.
Can you come in the kitchen with me? Yes, sir.
So far, he likes nothing.
I'm gonna start flipping out in two seconds.
After owner Rosaria's description of Bella Luna's food as authentic and fresh Disgusting.
Chef Ramsay is beyond disappointed, and he is in need of an exponation.
Okay, come over.
Uh, I don't know where to start.
My experience at lunchtime was dreadful, and there was nothing authentic in what you just served me, and I'm struggling.
The big kick in the balls for me: The mussels are actually frozen.
Why are you serving frozen mussels? No, and I need to know because you told me fresh.
I'm only going on what you told me.
We don't sell enough mussels for me to have them fresh every week.
So then what's the most important thing to do about that dish? Take it off the menu.
Take them off the menu.
So why haven't you? She doesn't want to take things off the menu.
She.
Who is she? My mother.
Why won't she do it? I don't know, maybe we can't afford to make new menus.
I try not to have anything frozen on the menu.
Stop, "I try not to have anything frozen on the menu.
" Did you just say that? Yes, you did say that, but then Right, so they're frozen.
Then him, as a chef, he should tell me, - "Take them off the menu.
" - I did tell you.
Him, as a chef? - I did tell you.
- Yes, take them off the menu.
Why is it still on? Why? It's still on because there's a constant circle of miscommunication.
Who wants it off? Who wants it on? And it still stays on by the end of the week.
Thinking that you can just buy a restaurant because it it succumbs to your dreams.
Your fundamentals are all screwed up, and you have big issues here, from making pasta to proper seasoning.
You've got more chance winning the lottery than you have becoming a success here.
Can you read that? Uh Good evening, just give me a quick run-through.
How does the line work? Who does what? He stays on that side.
I stay on this side.
- _ We try not to, like, cross each other, so we don't step on each other's toes.
Why can't we get tickets? These are what we have.
Are they just on bits of paper like that? Yes, you have bits of paper like that.
That's insane.
There's no proper tickets.
Show me those shrimp, please.
Where did they come from? The microwave, Dustin? Yeah, we defrost them in the microwave.
So frozen shrimp.
Yep.
Fantastic.
Okay.
- What's that in there? - _ Defrosting chicken in a wash-hand basin full of blood.
And then we're prepping it next to a cooked meatball.
Wow.
Here, go ahead.
I'm not seeing very much what you're portraying on the front of the menu, you know, the fresh ingredients, and please be understanding.
You know the chicken's frozen? The chicken, we buy fresh.
The chicken's frozen.
Why don't you come around? - I'll show you where the ***.
- Mm-hmm.
- Were those chicken breasts frozen? - _ Yeah, they were.
Thank you.
The chicken's not fresh.
It's frozen.
We're defrosting it here in the wash-hand basin.
See that blood there? And you don't know that this is frozen? You're yelling at me.
This is an issue that you should take up with the chef.
Do you know we defrost the shrimp in the microwave before we serve it to them? No, I know that we put it in ice water.
What? - Dustin? - Yes.
You were defrosting the frozen shrimp where? - In the microwave.
- We don't put them in the water? No.
Okay, so you didn't tell me any of this when I first met you.
All you told me about was your freshness.
You turned around and said the The authenticity and what you stand for.
That's what you told me.
Right, and I still believe in that.
You believe in it, but you're not actually practicing it.
Yes.
So you're saying one thing and doing the opposite.
Right.
[Bleep.]
Hell.
What? After feeling misled by Rosaria about the freshness of the food Ugh, God.
Chef Ramsay decides to do a little investigating to find out what is really going on in this restaurant.
Ugh, how much chicken does one restaurant need? Calamari's not even frozen.
Down here wow.
My delicious Italian mussels.
Have you got two seconds, Rosaria? What happened now? How much chicken do you think you have in the freezer? I don't know.
Let me show you.
I rarely come down here, so I really don't know.
We buy it fresh.
It's fresh.
Really? Just That's the calamari we got today.
- Frozen at the bottom? - Right.
Hold it.
We got it in this morning.
And we're freezing it, and then we're defrosting it to send it back out.
Why should anybody wait for [Bleep.]
like this? I saw the calamari bring in fresh today.
It's fresh.
We bring it in fresh.
We got the delivery this morning.
Are you crazy? So why are you in denial? The kitchen is not my responsibility.
I have enough responsibilities, Gordon.
Am I a superwoman? How could you not know? I don't have 20 years of experience.
If you are making the statement of being fresh, being authentic, you don't need 20 years' experience.
You should know everything.
You should know what's going on in every fridge.
So it's my fault? So if it's not your fault, then whose is it? I'm not the chef, Gordon.
You're pointing everything out on me.
Yeah, let me go and get him.
- Go ahead.
- Yeah.
Ramsay's down in the basement.
- Uh-oh.
- Yeah, uh-oh.
- Have you got two seconds? - Yeah.
- What's the matter? - Let me show you.
You don't prep that much chicken and then freeze it like that.
We buy them fresh, and we bread them, and we make them ourselves.
You're telling me that, so I sat there like an idiot, believing you.
I didn't call you an idiot.
I'm calling myself an idiot because I believed you.
You're allowing these practices to happen, making false claims.
I'm not a fan of frozen food.
- I don't I don't get this.
- I don't like frozen food.
You're endorsing it.
You run a business selling it.
I like I said, I don't You're saying no.
This is insane.
You don't like frozen food.
I don't like frozen food.
What the [Bleep.]
? I don't like frozen food.
So you have the nerve to serve it to your customers? So it's not working because this is frozen? That's what you're telling me? If something is frozen, it's bad? If it stays frozen, it's bad? Come on.
You can't be this naive.
I don't know why we don't have people coming through the door.
I feel like screaming because it's like you're in denial.
This is not cost control.
This is stupidity at its best.
You don't need to be a culinary genius to identify how bad this is.
Why didn't you stick up? He's right, you knew it from the minute we came in here, ma.
Okay.
That's that's so wrong.
He wants to hear it from you.
I would say it's my mother's fault.
It's her restaurant.
And I might be pointed as the bad guy, but I'm not.
After being frustrated with Gianfranco and Rosaria over the deplorable state of their food storage, Chef Ramsay heads back upstairs to see what's inside the walk-in refrigerator.
Ugh.
Look at that.
A lizard in a desert wouldn't eat that.
Wow.
Rotten through and through.
Fresh turnips.
Oh, my God.
Ugh.
Look at the color of that.
It makes me gag.
That is veal.
Oh, you dirty bastard.
Rosaria, what the [Bleep.]
is that? These are my I don't serve these.
These are mine.
How many times a day do you go into that walk-in, roughly? About a hundred.
A hundred.
Disgusting.
Hold that.
That's broccoli rabe left over from my brother's wedding.
They're left over from your brother's wedding.
Yeah.
Come on, guys.
Have you any idea how bad a turnip needs to go before it gets that bad? Touch that.
J-just touch it.
Just just just I'm not serving it.
We're not using it.
No disrespect, but what would you know is being served? - No, I don't know why that's there.
- It's not funny.
It's not funny.
I am [Bleep.]
pissed off.
- Wait, it gets worse.
- Nobody nobody throws anything out.
I cannot wait for this [Bleep.]
excuse.
Have you any idea how bad a slice of veal needs to go that color? Just smell that.
It smells bad.
How long is that there? It couldn't have been two days, ma.
Oh, [Bleep.]
Off.
Two days? What in the [Bleep.]
is going on? You don't [Bleep.]
care, do you? - Of course I do care.
- You don't give a.
Says who? That walk-in there is a disgusting mess.
You should be ashamed.
Hair in the food.
Hair in the food? Who just said, "hair in the food"? - Me.
- Is this a joke? Come around.
Oh, no, I think she's talking to somebody else.
If you were examined tonight, what do you think would happen? - Close you down.
- We'd close down.
Can you go out there and apologize to every customer? Yes.
I am shutting it down.
May I have your attention, please? We here at Bella Luna apologize for any inconvenience to you wonderful people of this community tonight, but we are shutting it down.
We are not worthy to continue this service.
All right, it's been shut down.
Can we close that door, please? It's just gonna keep getting hotter in there, and more stuff is gonna go bad.
What more stuff can get worse? Tell me.
I have no clue.
And now in the last 60 seconds, all of a sudden you give a [Bleep.]
About what's gonna go on? You got lazy.
And yet, you cannot accept it.
You're done, aren't you? You're you're finished? What do you mean finished? For the night? Oh, no, not for the night, but just in general.
You're a spent force.
No.
It's not who I am.
Really? Yeah, I haven't gave up.
If I have, I would have left you.
I would have left you here by yourself.
It's not my fault.
She thought everything could work.
She thought it was easy, and I told her it's not gonna be easy.
Well, how about you stepping up? All the pressure, all the tension, it's building on top, and me not getting paid, and There's a reason why you haven't had a [Bleep.]
paycheck in two years.
Do you ever stop and ask yourselves? You are making so many mistakes, you don't even know what's right or wrong, and you're allowing him to do it.
You're both destroying each other.
I'm amazed you've stayed open for three years.
And I can't do everything for them.
I cannot be checking produce.
Why did you buy a restaurant when none of you worked in one? I don't know what to do next.
I don't know what to do, Chef.
That makes three of us, 'cause right now, I've got [Bleep.]
No idea where to start: A chef that's checked out, that has given up, and an owner that's in [Bleep.]
denial.
I'm not in denial.
I'm not.
You can show him a lot better than this, Giaf.
I know you can.
Come on, that walk-in's not that big.
Something's gotta change here, man.
The cards are laid out.
Either we go all in, or we turn around.
We're not making any money.
We haven't made any money.
And now, we ran out of heart.
Giaf, you know what to do.
You just lost yourself.
You were taught right, and you have traditions from our family.
You just got to put that back in play, you know? Come in, guys.
Fed up with both Rosaria and Gianfranco, Chef Ramsay has devised a plan to get everything, once and for all, out into the open.
Okay, Gianfranco, Rosaria.
Each of you is going on trial.
One at a time, you're gonna come up here and defend yourself.
Got it? Rosaria, I'd like you to go first.
Come on.
Come on down.
Take the podium.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Now, Traci, Rosaria's weaknesses, what are they? Very weak in discipline with the staff.
She needs to be tougher on the back kitchen.
She needs to be tougher on the front.
Okay, but I don't think I'm weak.
People do mistake my kindness for weakness, but I'm not a weak person.
But you're weakyou're weak because she lets people walk all over her.
So that's that's one point.
Yeah, I'm too nice.
Go ahead.
Next.
Unorganized.
Mismanagement.
No follow-through.
You know.
You know.
But I'm one person.
I cannot be doing everything.
If my job was just to manage and sit in my office and take care of my bills, I would have everything down pat.
But I'm there serving.
- And that's what it should be.
- I'm doing bar.
I feel like I'm having a nervous breakdown.
- And nobody understands.
- And then I walk out, - and you're cleaning windows.
- Nobody gives a.
How many times have I said to you Yeah, because nobody cleans windows, and I'm there cleaning instead of going into the walk-in and checking to see if there's any produce that's going bad.
Okay, last night was an eye-opener for me.
I didn't have no clue what the hell goes on into that walk-in.
Okay, Gianfranco, yeah? Um, she's too nice, and people step over her, and She's too nice to you too.
Yeah.
She babies you.
You would have been fired a long time if you were in someone else's kitchen.
How about that? How about stepping up to your plate and really show your passion that you lost? You lost your passion, Gianfranco.
What happened to the The passion that you had? You wanted to be a chef.
I didn't push you to be a chef.
That was your dream to be a chef.
You wanted to go to school.
You made it happen.
Giaf, maybe this is the wrong way around.
How about you getting up and swapping places with your mother? Let's go.
Because it's just starting to shift to you, my boy.
You also have to take responsibility for your own actions.
I want continue.
Why are you letting go? Why? I feel like I do all this work, and I don't get any credit for it, and I don't really show my true passion because I'm just working with this disgustingly huge menu that I do not like.
You gotta take responsibility too.
It's it's it's not just hers.
It's not just yours, but, I mean, at least take your half of it too.
I don't have the time and the money to go But I tell him to take over.
You're the chef.
Make a menu, okay? If he takes the bull by its horn and he just does it, I'm not gonna say no.
So put your foot down.
Grow some balls like I always tell you.
You are a chef, young man, but you need to you need to find your voice.
You're right, I do.
Okay.
Thank you.
Let me tell you something.
You need input from another source.
Hang on a second.
Come in, thank you.
Bill, good to see you, sir.
Thank you.
- This is Bill.
- Hi.
And he brought a few of his friends.
Take a seat, ladies and gentlemen.
Please come through.
These people represent the town of Easton.
You'll probably recognize them because they've all dined in your restaurant, Rosaria.
Ladies and gentlemen, the owners and the staff need to hear from you.
What were your recent experiences when you went to Bella Luna? Fire away, please.
There was a fly in the wedding soup, and it was kind of an embarrassment.
And we just left it there because we just didn't want it.
Soup of the day.
Rosaria, I mean, anything to say to bill? I apologize about that.
I-I just apologize.
Wow, thank you.
I appreciate it.
Next, please.
The food and the service have both been subpar.
All of our entrees came out at different times, making it very difficult to enjoy a family meal.
That's my issue with food being prepared and sitting on the line 'cause we're short-staffed.
It's not the customer's problem that you're [Bleep.]
short-staffed.
It's not just the service.
Alicia, thank you so much.
Thank you.
Next, please? I went there once.
Food was subpar.
Very disappointing experience from what I expected.
Everybody has a bad night.
I figured I'd give you another chance.
And the second time I went, it was extremely disappointing.
Our dinners were totally wrong.
My son ordered chicken.
He got veal.
I threw my money on my table and said, "I'm done.
I will never come back here.
" I'm sorry about that experience.
Next, please.
The food, everything just did not work out.
But what really, really stood in my mind was I ordered a cannoli, and the cannoli was sour.
And so you came over to me, and you gave me a fresh cannoli.
Well, why didn't you give me the fresh cannoli first rather than give me an old cannoli that left a horrid taste in my mouth? I mean, a sour cannoli, I mean, it It can get you sick.
Right, but I was not aware that you were given the sour cannoli that wasn't good.
Well, maybe the sour cannoli shouldn't even be there.
I would not have given it to you, you know? But my point is is as the owner, manager When the cannoli came back, and then I tasted it, and then I says, "this is going bad.
" Well, yeah.
Gone bad, not going.
Gone bad.
It was bad.
Once it's gone, it's gone.
It's not coming back, is it? Right.
You know, that should be gone the night before.
- You know, it shouldn't be there.
- That's what I was saying.
Like, why even serve something that is questionable? You're right.
Totally right.
That was the the experience that I said, "I-I don't think I'll ever come back to this restaurant.
" Wow.
To hear what they were saying, you know, the reality, as much as it hurts, it's the truth.
This feedback this morning has been pivotal.
I hope you'll all be willing to give Bella Luna one more chance.
On behalf of the owners and the team, I'd like to say a big thank-you.
I appreciate it.
Thank you very much indeed.
I think everything has to be changed, and if that's what we need to hear to make things better and get Bella Luna back on the map, I guess that's what we need to hear.
Convinced that Rosaria and Gianfranco are now fully aware that change is their only option, Chef Ramsay goes ahead with stage one of his plan: Transforming the dated decor of Bella Luna.
Good morning.
Good morning, Chef.
Welcome to the new Bella Luna.
- Oh, my God.
- You gotta be kidding me.
Wow.
Do you see this, ma? Amazing.
Oh, my God.
Oh.
How bright and refreshing does this beautiful restaurant look? Do you like it, Giaf? I love it.
Gone is that dark, red maroon color.
We've lightened up the walls, the ceiling with that beautiful gray.
Oh, my God.
Gone are those hideous tables in the middle.
We replaced them with rustic centralized tables made for families.
It's got that communal feel as well.
On the back wall that enters to the kitchen, we've had a little bit of fun there with those cutting boards, just give it that nice rustic charm.
Oh, yes.
I never thought Bella Luna had any chance of looking this amazing.
I'm still speechless, and everybody will tell you I'm never speechless.
When I first arrived here, this area was a bit of a disaster.
What I'm about to show you is something that is unique.
This will be a game changer because you have now a state-of-the-art, stunning, brand-new Oh, here we go.
- Beautiful POS system from Dinerware.
- Nice.
It's gonna transform the business.
You can track your inventory.
You can adjust your costings, labor costs, and what we need to hit on a weekly basis.
And trust me, chefs, it'll be so much less of a confusion for you in the kitchen.
This thing is gonna be an absolute dream machine.
Excited? Yeah.
Very, very.
Good.
Amazing.
Thank you so much.
I can't believe that I'm standing in Bella Luna.
I feel like a little girl when I was back in Sicily.
It's amazing.
I'm just so thrilled.
This is like a dream.
Wow.
I can't believe it.
Okay, come over, please.
Take a good look at Bella Luna's new food.
Oh, my God, I love it.
Take a menu, my darling, and pass them along.
Steamed mussels, fresh.
When opened, they're cooked.
You send them.
That's how you should be serving a bowl of mussels.
- Yes.
- It looks amazing.
Delicious cavatelli, beautifully handmade, light, creamy tomato sauce.
Next to that, you've got the delicious lasagna, homemade lasagna done with a nice, rich bolognese sauce.
You got a wonderful pan-seared salmon served on a bed of Risotto fragrant Risotto With tomatoes, raisins, parmesan, and a little olive oil vinaigrette.
Beautiful presentation.
It's got to look good, and it does.
Absolutely.
Absolutely no frozen food here at all.
Fresh, clean ingredients.
- Hello.
- Welcome to the new Bella luna.
- How we doing? - Good.
It looks beautiful in here.
Thank you.
It's relaunch night, and Chef Ramsay is determined to change Bella Luna's negative reputation Sir, how are you? Thank you for coming back.
No problem.
So he's invited back many of the unhappy customers that were at the town hall.
Hello.
Antipasto up.
Cavatelli and chicken parm.
That completes table six.
Go, go, go, go.
Very early into service, Gianfranco's attention to detail in the kitchen is paying off, as customers are thoroughly enjoying Chef Ramsay's new menu.
- How is it? - Oh, my God.
It's better than my mom's, and she's Italian.
It's so good.
Gianfranco, Nicole put in an Osso Buco and a pasta dish that they're waiting a long time.
Okay, all right, I'm sorry.
Come on, guys.
[Bleep.]
Hell.
Okay, all right, look how many tickets we have back here.
But just midway into service, Gianfranco is overwhelmed with the rush of tickets I need steamed mussels.
We're working on it, Traci.
And maintaining the standards of the new menu.
Now, which table did she say I need? - Wait, wait.
- Come on! And a relaunch that started off on a positive note is suddenly in jeopardy.
I'm still waiting on table six.
How long do you think? It's gonna be a little bit more because you have a well-done prime rib.
No, I don't have a well-done prime rib.
All right, so okay.
Come on, guys.
Get the tables together.
There *** and a Caesar salad.
Are you kidding me? All of you, quick! If you think I'm serving that, you're dreaming.
We may as well go back to where we were.
All right.
All of a sudden, we've just dropped our standards.
The next person that throws that out at me, I will throw them out.
Yes, Chef.
Come on, guys, let's go.
Come here, you.
Is that what is that what you busted your ass off for? No.
No, no, no, no.
- Absolutely not.
- Come on.
- You're right.
- It's in front of your eyes.
Get 'em together.
It's relaunch night, and Gianfranco's standards have dropped in the middle of service.
If you think I'm serving that, you're dreaming.
And Chef Ramsay is not exactly pleased.
Is that what you busted your ass off for? No.
No, no, no, no.
- Absolutely not.
- Come on.
- You're right.
- It's in front of your eyes.
Get 'em together.
Two ways a kitchen functions.
You run it, or it runs you.
- All right.
- Come on, you can do it.
It's been about an hour and a half, right? One little mistake, and he sinks to oblivion.
Get in there, and get him lifted up Come on, honey.
You're okay.
Don't worry about it.
Everybody's happy.
They love the food.
Don't let one little mistake keep you down.
- I'm trying.
- Okay, honey, don't worry.
Gianfranco is under a lot of pressure right now You guys are doing great.
But he needs to know how to deal and work with the pressure as well.
All right, guys, gotta get a hold of ourselves.
We need another bruschetta.
We need all this stuff plated.
I need a pappardelle and Osso Buco right away.
That's it.
Are we ready for table six? - Yes, we are.
- All right, let's go.
Start plating that.
Very nice.
Keep it going.
Salmon, I need it right away, plated.
It's in the oven.
Run that out, and now I have appetizers ready.
I'm proud of you.
This is amazing to me, to see Gianfranco actually get a voice.
There you go.
That's the pappardelle.
- How are we doing? How was your dessert? - We're doing well.
- Oh, it was so good, really good.
- Everything was really good.
It was a pleasure serving you, and we'll see you soon.
Tonight let's be honest wasn't perfect, but we went a long way to impressing the locals.
Young man, I finally heard your voice tonight, but it needs to be there from the beginning to the end.
And you can't have your head in a pan 'cause this place is gonna be busy.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you, Chef.
Good night.
- Take care of your mom, okay? - Yes.
- Chef.
- Okay, bye-bye, big man.
Thank you.
- Darling, come here, you.
- Oh.
- God bless you.
- God bless you.
Good night.
What a night.
A mother and her two sons move from New York to Easton to open their dream restaurant three years ago.
But truthfully, they were not ready for such a big challenge.
But now, they have the road map on how to succeed.
But what they really need more than anything is the discipline to follow it through.
Wow, Bella Luna.
Fingers crossed.
What a place.
In the months that followed Welcome to the new Bella Luna.
Rosaria took Chef Ramsay's suggestions, and Bella Luna's business increased significantly.
Good job, everybody.
I really want to thank Chef Ramsay for choosing us, to help us and try to save Bella Luna.
I just I feel so blessed.
Grazie.
You got it, ma.
Due to some issues with the landlord, Bella Luna had to close temporarily and is now searching for a new location.
They hope to reopen very soon.