The Hard Changes
Awesome. I was just this minute lamenting the lack of TV offerings on Tuesday nights since the end of Hell's Kitchen, when it occurred to me to check out what exactly the offerings might be. I scanned over Celebrity Family Feud, Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader, and other, equally thrilling, summer fare. Finally, I came to (pause. Gasp.) Kitchen Nightmares!! Can I get a woo-hoo!!! Okay, I know many of you have never watched the show, but for a total food-a-holic like myself, it is sublime to squish into the sofa after the kids are asleep, sack o'chocolate-covered-almonds on one side, vat o'chips on the other. Here's a clip from one of my favorite episodes. The chef makes over the Indian restaurant, Dillons (the name was changed to Purnima with Chef Ramsey's input)...
I'm a fan of most makeover shows (all but the liposuction, plastic surgery kind) but Kitchen Nightmares is a restaurant makeover show that totally rocks for a number of reasons: (1) It's always about way more than what it appears to be about. Most of the restaurants that are made over are family-owned. And the coolest thing is seeing how the family issues have EVERYTHING to do with the way the restaurant is run and its subsequent success or lack of; (2) Chef Gordon Ramsey should be unattractive. He really should. But (and, admittedly, this unsettles me a bit) I find him kinda hot. (3) When the restaurant goes from serving crappy, maggot-infested food in leaky, stained, dirty surroundings to a new, shiny, clean establishment that serves its specialties hot and flavorful, there's a real sense of we-did-it!-ness. (4) I learn soooo much about running a business through shows like this. And how it's always, ALWAYS, better to do things RIGHT, than to do things easy. That is a lesson Ramsey's restauranteurs learn over and over again. Get down and scrub things clean, if food is not perfect, don't send it out. Do NOT cut corners -- your customers will know you did and it will ultimately show in your business.
And (5). The mistakes I see some of the restaurant owners making are mistakes I know I've made in life. Especially when it comes to facing up to my own short-comings. That is one tough thing to do, and you see the restaurant owners bucking and huffing and calling Ramsey all kinds of names as he tries to help them get their restaurants back to making a profit. This one guy last season almost came to blows with the Chef. That defensiveness. It's amazing how much resistance there is to making the hard changes--to changing something about your own self--even when you know doing that will make your life SO much better, easier, and happier.
Click to viewI'm a fan of most makeover shows (all but the liposuction, plastic surgery kind) but Kitchen Nightmares is a restaurant makeover show that totally rocks for a number of reasons: (1) It's always about way more than what it appears to be about. Most of the restaurants that are made over are family-owned. And the coolest thing is seeing how the family issues have EVERYTHING to do with the way the restaurant is run and its subsequent success or lack of; (2) Chef Gordon Ramsey should be unattractive. He really should. But (and, admittedly, this unsettles me a bit) I find him kinda hot. (3) When the restaurant goes from serving crappy, maggot-infested food in leaky, stained, dirty surroundings to a new, shiny, clean establishment that serves its specialties hot and flavorful, there's a real sense of we-did-it!-ness. (4) I learn soooo much about running a business through shows like this. And how it's always, ALWAYS, better to do things RIGHT, than to do things easy. That is a lesson Ramsey's restauranteurs learn over and over again. Get down and scrub things clean, if food is not perfect, don't send it out. Do NOT cut corners -- your customers will know you did and it will ultimately show in your business.
And (5). The mistakes I see some of the restaurant owners making are mistakes I know I've made in life. Especially when it comes to facing up to my own short-comings. That is one tough thing to do, and you see the restaurant owners bucking and huffing and calling Ramsey all kinds of names as he tries to help them get their restaurants back to making a profit. This one guy last season almost came to blows with the Chef. That defensiveness. It's amazing how much resistance there is to making the hard changes--to changing something about your own self--even when you know doing that will make your life SO much better, easier, and happier.