Kitchen Nightmares Recap: No Surprise Here

Recaps

By BlueCanary | Monday, March 11, 2013 | 9:23 am | 5 Comments
Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in: Kitchen Nightmares, Recaps

On this week’s continued episode of Kitchen Nightmares, someone’s not cooperating with production, because when we last left Gordon, he was getting screamed at by Joe’s defiant ass, which has just filled the caramelized onion soup with RAWR onions, in what is either the dumbest or most sarcastic attempt at compliance ever caught on film. And he’s still doing it. He’s refusing to admit he’s wrong about anything at all, and starts throwing words and blame around like they grow on trees.

And just like that, Gordon sprouts horns.

Gordon threatens to leave, but Joe says he doesn’t want him to leave—he just wants Gordon to speak to him in a kind, supportive, and loving manner, because Gordon’s current approach brings out the insufferable douchebag in Joe, and forces him to do stupid shit. Gordon tells him Joe’s problem is he can’t take criticism because he runs the place like a dictator and no one on the staff will say anything for fear of losing their jobs. This is still not getting through to Joe, who just acts like Gordon knows nothing about food or fine dining or anything restaurant-related. Yeah, because Gordon’s the one begging Joe for help so his numerous restaurants don’t tank, right Joe? He keeps going on about the elk, and Gordon tries for a little longer to convince him he’s delusional. Joe finally relents that Gordon might have a point, but it’s not that he’s lazy. Well, if I remember correctly from last week, and do feel free to set me straight if I’m wrong, the problem was never that Joe wasn’t getting a lot of work done—it was that he was getting a whole lot of work done THE WRONG WAY. It’s not your effort, Joe, it’s the fact that you’re a crazy shit with a falsely inflated ego roughly the size of Madagascar.

Joe makes an impassioned speech about what he wants for his restaurant, and Gordon offers him a chance at an olive branch, starting the next day.

So, then. The next day, Gordon does the whole hidden camera trick with the staff, all of whom have either seen the show and know what’s happening, or are just scared the walls of the restaurant will hear their gripes tattle on them to Joe later. Finally, Amy says that Joe’s manner of berating and cussing out the staff in front of the customers drives people away. This is backed up by several other staff members, and we find out Joe won’t even let his servers take a compliment from a table. He literally will just tell them not to take the praise too seriously, and that they’re still fuck ups. Wow. Tom thinks the food sucks, but his hands are tied, and then the floodgates just open, and everyone starts in with the Joe stories. To sum up: Joe is an egomaniacal asshole. Which we already knew, but come on—these details really do make it worse. Gordon can barely believe what he’s hearing. I feel so sorry for that staff.

That’s very informative. You’re all fired.

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BlueCanary is as unorthodox a blend of optimistic and bitter, laid-back and anxious, motivated and straight up lazy tas one is likely to meet outside an unspecified institution. She spent the past decade holding a variety of job titles, including reporter, tech writer, production manager, and administrative assistant (the go-to job in this economy for folks who just HAD to get that English degree). She is currently living under the tiny yet powerful thumb of an awesome, pint-sized little dude, who wets himself and can't form full sentences (read: stay at home mom). Another tyrannical little thumb is gestating in her womb. She is a regular on The Neutral Corner podcast and blogs at www.mamamuzzle.com. 

Blue's as-yet-unpublished YA novel, The Nature of Echoes, is currently a Quarterfinalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. If you'd like to check it out, a free excerpt is available to download at http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Echoes-ABNA-Entry-ebook/dp/B00B9N3XFQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363378599&sr=1-1&keywords=eva+gibson+abna.

5 Comments

  1. 1
    kloewent
    Posted March 11, 2013 at 11:36 am

    I don’t understand these people who have no experience running a restaurant and think they can just start doing it. It seems like a very, very complicated job to me, not to mention the hours involved. Once people in Ohio hear that Joe thinks they are total rubes, he is not going to be popular, plus he obviously is going to go back to frozen food. I thought it was funny he kept mentioning “European Chefs”, but didn’t have one name!! You know he would have name dropped it if he had any experience with a well know chef. Maybe he washed the dishes and picked up all his skills that way!!!

  2. 2
    Sunshine
    Posted March 11, 2013 at 1:52 pm

    Was this guy full of crap or what? I thought Ramsey would punch him sooner than later…imagine being a customer and having the owner out there complaining etc..etc..this was one hilarious episode…..I doubt this place will be open when they do the reunion episodes next year…

    “From farm to table” the only thing going from the farm to the table was horseshit…

    Great recap!

  3. 3
    badgerfreak
    Posted March 12, 2013 at 6:38 am

    I thought it was great that he kept up this talk about how he was trained by the best chefs in Europe, and then admitted he’s NOT a qualified chef. Yeah, we all knew that. I loved that Ramsey threw his nasty elk quesadilla at him as he was walking out of the kitchen.

    The staff all seemed like awesome people, and I can never understand why people STAY at those jobs. This situation didn’t seem quite so much like they weren’t getting ANY customers like some of the other restaurants, but how can they make their ends meet? I don’t get it.

    Obviously Joe is back in the kitchen, especially since Tom left. Who else was gonna do it? I figure Chef Brian got a real sense of what Joe was like and Joe refused to take any suggestions about head chefs that he had to offer.

    Yay for Hell’s Kitchen starting tonight!!

  4. 4
    hot cawfee
    Posted March 12, 2013 at 9:35 am

    “sacks up and goes to confront Gordon”–bbwwwaaahhhaaaaaaaaa—OMGL– thank God I was not eating or drinking when I read that–it would be all over the place—sacks up–good one. I hope it becomes a cap code!!!!!!!

  5. 5
    hot cawfee
    Posted March 12, 2013 at 9:44 am

    wow!!! great recap BC—cannot wait for next week!!!!!

    Oh Joe–just b/c you have eaten in a restaurant doesn’t make you capable of running one or cooking in one—-”trained by European Chefs” notwithstanding of course!!! The “farm to table” idea is awesome–it doesnt fit in the area–that’s all. And you have alienated your customers by dickish and condescending behavior!!! Good Lord–you need to maintain your customers and have (I believe 20%) new customers. I think thats what Bar Rescue Jon Taffer says—-would love to him and Gordon team up and do a show.

    i agree Badger–I cannot fathom why people stay in a job where you are demeaned all the time. (I loeft a job like that 13 years ago and never looked back. ) They do look like awesome people. I hope too that they quit and moved on to greener pastures (not at Joe’s house of course).

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