When you think of the imposing kitchen force that is Gordon Ramsay, several words come to mind: “strict,” “loud,” “intense,” “rude,” and basically every synonym of those four. One word that doesn’t bode well with the chef, however, is “ridiculous.” For those of us who’ve seen him in action, if Chef Ramsay gets the slightest inkling you’re acting in any sort of ridiculous manner, you will hear from him, and rest assured, you don’t want to.
As you can imagine, even though people know Ramsay’s fiery temper lurks just beneath the surface, it doesn’t stop some of them from showing the chef their true — and many times unconventional — selves, and the results are exactly as you’d expect.
Kitchen Nightmares is a show full of intense moments, but, peppered in with the intensity is the downright ridiculous. Lucky for you, we’ve compiled the most ridiculous moments so you don’t have to go searching. Bon appetit!
Gordon Ramsay compared a maitre d’ to a rhino on Kitchen Nightmares
It’s never nice when someone infers that your look is “unpolished.” Not surprisingly, that’s one of Gordon Ramsay’s favorite adjectives, and during one episode of Kitchen Nightmares, the chef brought with him an employee from one of his own restaurants in New York City to help polish up a maitre d’ who seemed to struggle with the concept of fine dining.
Jean Baptiste, Ramsay’s employee, started with the maitre d’s attire, noting he wasn’t the most fashion-forward individual. Then, it came time to critique the physical movement around the dining room. Here’s where things get ridiculous.
Chef Ramsay chose to step in for this particular critique, and it wasn’t pretty. The chef gave his impersonation of the maitre d’, which was basically running back and forth with his head held down and his shoulders slouched forward. Then, describing the behavior, Ramsay said, “Every time I see you, you’re running around like a baby f***ing rhinoceros trying to have a s***.”
Well, at least he didn’t sugarcoat anything.
This family’s arguing wears down Gordon Ramsay on Kitchen Nightmares
Communication skills are essential in every aspect of life. But if you don’t have them when you work in the non-stop aggressive environment of the restaurant industry, you’re doomed. So, when Gordon Ramsay sat down with the Pellegrino family during their episode of Kitchen Nightmares to discuss why they their business was struggling, he assumed there might be a bit of bickering. He quickly realized he was in way over his head, though
During the family debate, Ramsay reinforced the fact he needed the truth and nothing but the truth about the restaurant’s operations, and the quicker he got it, the faster he could find workable solutions. However, within seconds of the Pellegrino family gathering, problems arose. Accusations started flying, people started talking over each other, and verbal bedlam broke out.
Members started interjecting opinions only to be shut down by the louder screamers, and all Ramsay could do was hang his head in disgust that the family communication he was dealing with had more cracks than a New York City sidewalk. Just watching Ramsay’s face as he tries to understand anything they’re saying lets you know how ridiculous the situation really is.
Gordon Ramsay torched kitchen instruments on Kitchen Nightmares
Saying “Gordon Ramsay knows his way around a kitchen” is like saying “Ernest Hemingway knew his way around a typewriter.” The guy’s spent years working his way up the chain of command and now, well, he’s Gordon freakin’ Ramsay. When the kitchen game-face comes on, you better withstand the heat, and sometimes that means Ramsay’s gotta step into frame and destroy some of your utensils to make his point heard. That’s exactly what he did during this episode of Kitchen Nightmares.
A huge problem that plagues many restaurants is the desire to serve dishes in a unique way, when often the strategy comes off as preposterous and unnecessary. Well, in the case of one chef who served his salads stuffed inside plastic funnels, Ramsay let him know how ridiculous a tactic it was by laying on the heat and putting an end to the madness. Taking a creme brulee torch, Ramsay literally set the plastic funnels ablaze and melted them down to a puddle of sad and depleted plastic. Sometimes, you have to burn down what was to make way for what is.
A restaurant owner was arrested on Kitchen Nightmares
It doesn’t matter what situation you’re in, you never want to hear the sound of handcuffs clicking into place because someone (hopefully not you) found themselves in a world of legal trouble. But, it happens, and on one episode of Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon Ramsay actually brought in a police officer to cuff the owner of the restaurant. However, the “crime” the owner committed wasn’t fraud or theft; it was something no one could have possibly predicted.
An officer entered the establishment and slapped handcuffs onto the owner’s wrists as Ramsay explained the owner’s crime: too much picking up after everyone and allowing his staff to slack off without consequences. Ramsay explained of the cuffs, “You’re not touching anything tonight. You’re going to tell them exactly what you want them to do. Run your business vocally.” Naturally, the owner was relieved when he realized the cuffs were all an act to teach him an important lesson about leadership, and hopefully, he took the lesson to heart. Still, you have to admit the whole display was a bit ridiculous.
