Given how much it’s been embedded within the culture, and the fact that we’ve been collectively making a meal out of the reruns, it almost felt as though Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares never really left. But after a decade since concluding its original run with Fox, the harsh-but-fair British celebrity chef is returning to the beloved reality television format for a batch of fresh episodes.
For the uninitiated – of which I seriously doubt there will be many – the entire premise involves Ramsay visiting struggling restaurants all across America at the owner’s invitation with the objective of helping them turn things around. More often than not, “turning things around” basically entailed implementing basic food hygiene, transitioning to using fresh ingredients, simplifying a menu, fixing up the decor, and at its most drastic, firing certain employees.
While it all sounds rather formulaic and predictable as anything else, the human element has proven time and time again to be wildly chaotic, providing an entire library of extremely memorable (and extremely quotable) moments across its seven-season / 100-episode tenure between 2007 and 2014. There’s even a famous episode featuring an Arizonan joint named Amy’s Baking Company in which old Gordo straight up quits.
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Studio Ramsay has signed on to produce the forthcoming season(s); having originally been handled by ITV America (formerly ITV Studios America) in association with Optomen and A Smith & Co.
This revival has been greenlit in the wake of the shortlived Fox series that was Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back. Following a similar format to Kitchen Nightmares – albeit with far more Americanised reality television theatrics and a borderline untenable turnaround (likely some exec’s “brilliant” budget-saving idea) – the spiritual successor premiered in 2018 with the release of its final instalment in mid-2020.
Kitchen Nightmares 2.0 is just the latest addition to Fox’s Gordon Ramsay menu, joining his recently-renewed Next Level Chef, the long-running Hell’s Kitchen, MasterChef America, as well as MasterChef Jr.
Now check out some classic Kitchen Nightmare moments below.
