Gordon Ramsay and The Great British Nightmare
Multi Michelin-starred chef GORDON RAMSAY is back with his trademark mix of tough talking and inspirational leadership in a feature length, one-off special for Channel 4’s Great British Food Fight season.
Irrepressible and irresistible, Gordon has a well-earned reputation for offering a radical approach to fixing failing restaurants, taking viewers to the heart of the harsh reality of running a business, forging cast-iron recipes for success and offering the owners the chance of redemption, even in the most unpromising situations.
In Ramsay’s Great British Nightmare, Gordon supersizes Kitchen Nightmare stakes on two struggling ventures – on in the North and one in the South – to help transform them in difficult times. Gordon has always believed that the best place to eat should be your local independent restaurant, but now they need all the support and acumen they can muster in the face of the credit crunch and fierce competition from corporate chains.
‘Now more than ever it’s essential for restaurants to get it right and be at the top of their game’ he says. ‘Trust me, I should know. You have to react instantly to changes in trading conditions, it’s something I’m very aware of in my own business.
‘But just as importantly, local restaurants are the heart and soul of their community and I want to show it’s absolutely vital and possible for them to offer fantastic value, great food and for their customers to reward them with their loyalty.’
The venues are The Runaway Girl, a tapas bar-cum-nightclub in Sheffield city centre, run by two best friends at war with each other; and The Dovecote, a bistro in the heart of rural Devon run by a family at breaking point. Both are on the brink of collapse, losing money by the bucket-load and they’ve run out of customers, money and hope.
Enter Gordon, who makes his first visit to each venue for a torrid time putting them on the road to recovery, and then leaving them – armed with his recipe for resuscitation – to go it alone. Come the autumn, both are sticking to his rules and business is booming, but then with the advent of the credit crunch, suddenly they’re struggling to get customers through their respective doors. Gordon is on hand to help his restaurateurs weather the storm with a credit crunch menu solution designed to take on the chains in Sheffield whilst in Devon Gordon leaves the comfort of the restaurant to doorstep the locals in a bid to get their support.
With soaring food prices, thrifty clientele and unrelenting competition from the high street chains, Gordon is determined to galvanise the owners, the staff and the local community to ensure their survival and keep customers coming back for more.
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