Ive been a fan of Gordon Ramsay since he started his television career with Boiling Point. He has been a star ever since.
Cafe Hon certainly got the ire of Baltimore residents as its owner Denise Whiting trademarked the term “hon” and threatened to sue anyone who used it.
While the restaurants featured in Kitchen Nightmares may not have the most sterling of reputations, not many of them get death threats from angry customers. Cafe Hon certainly got the ire of Baltimore residents as its owner Denise Whiting trademarked the term “hon” and threatened to sue anyone who used it.
While on the surface this seems harmless, the word “hon,” which is short for honey, is important to Baltimore residents. It is their term of endearment and has long been used by them even before Denise put up her restaurant.
What she should have done is file a trademark to use Cafe Hon on different forms of merchandise and not the word “hon” itself.
In the end, Gordon knocked some sense into her and she apologized for her actions over the local radio station and she promised to no longer pursue trademarking the word “hon.”
This is perhaps the most famous episode in the entire series. The owners Samy and Amy Bouzaglo were absolute psychos and were very aggressive towards customers, employees, and Chef Gordon Ramsay.
While the food was slow to come out and was not very good, the restaurant had some pretty good pastries. The restaurants kitchen was surprisingly clean and organized as well. The restaurants interiors were not too shabby as well.
Gordon tried his best to help Samy and Amy. Unfortunately, they were just too stubborn. In the end, Gordon gave up and walked out of the restaurant. There was no big reveal of renovated interiors or a brand new menu as is usual with the shows format. Gordon says he had plans for the restaurant but sadly we will never know what those were.
Samy and Amy became famous because of the show and they went viral. So many memes and videos were made about them and their restaurant. They even made an appearance on Dr. Phils show.
Abby Cabral and her best friend Rico Conforti bought Down City in 2005. Initially, business was good, but it had since dwindled. This is mainly because of Abbys attitude towards customers. She says she fires customers. She is no better towards her own employees either. Abby has quite the reputation.
This is surprising behavior by Abby as she has been in the restaurant industry for three decades, so she should have known better.
Abby rated their food with a perfect score. Gordon was not impressed as Down City did room service for the nearby hotel. The experience he had with their food was less than satisfactory. This was a precursor of things to come.
Just as he had done in previous episodes, Gordon sampled the food. He was not satisfied. He was also appalled with the kitchen as it was disorganized and there was some rotten food in the walk-in freezer.
Gordon and Abby got into a heated shouting match and she chased Gordon out of the restaurant.
Abby ran the restaurant so poorly that during dinner service, she ended up 86ing almost everything on the menu.
Gordon tried to reason with the much friendlier Rico and tried to get through to Abby. Abby finally ceded and implemented Gordons menu changes.
Martin later sued Ramsay for $3 million and claimed that the show damaged his career. He also tried to stop the show from airing. He did not succeed.
This was bad as it did not establish an identity for the restaurant. To further add to this, the restaurant had what looked like hospital linen on its walls.
The restaurant was one of the filthiest as well. Flies greeted Gordon as he went inside the restaurant. The refrigerator was a breeding ground for roaches. The bags of vegetables were a breeding ground for flies. The kitchen also violated many safety protocols.
The restaurant had three managers – Martin, Andrew and Khan. Despite this, the restaurant was not well run.
Martin, the general manager, can be seen on his cellphone several times and had time to flirt with the waitress.
Martin later sued Ramsay for $3 million and claimed that the show damaged his career. He also tried to stop the show from airing. He did not succeed.
Joseph Cerniglia bought the successful Campania restaurant with the hope that it could provide for his wife Melissa and their kids. Sadly, in the 18 months with him at the helm, he managed to accumulate $200,000 in debt as he did not run the restaurant in a professional manner. It was overstaffed and he failed to control food costs.
As usual, Gordon tried to work his magic on the failing restaurant. There seemed to be hope for the Campania as Gordon implemented changes to improve food quality and reduce food costs.
The relaunch was a success and Joe even went on to win some cooking contests after the show aired.
Sadly, Joe ended up with a broken marriage. He also sold his restaurant to a holding corporation.
Chef On Gordon Ramsay’s ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ Dies By Suicide
In September 2010, Joseph Cerniglia’s body was found in the Hudson River after authorities received 911 calls about a man jumping off the George Washington Bridge. His death was ruled a suicide.
Joseph was deep in debt and struggling to keep his New Jersey restaurant Campania afloat when he appeared on Kitchen Nightmares. In a statement which sounds eerie now, Gordon Ramsay told Joseph, “Your business is about to fucking swim down the Hudson.”Gordon Ramsay critiques Joseph Cerniglia’s restaurant Campania on “Kitchen Nightmares.”
Although Gordon was predictably harsh in his assessment of the restaurant, his intervention helped the business thrive. A woman who works nearby reportedly said Campania was “doing really well,” with a packed parking lot on the weekends.
She added, “[Cerniglia] said Ramsay was intense but that he turned out to be a nice guy, that in the end, he helped him out.” Joseph left behind a wife and three sons.
After Cerniglia’s appearance on the show, he won the local competition called Ultimate Chef Bergen County. He ranked among the top five chefs in New Jersey, as per the Inside Jersey magazine. People who met him held him in high regard for his warmth and down-to-earth attitude. He was passionate about food and was an active part of the Slow Food Movement. He encouraged local businesses and loved using farm-fresh produce for cooking. He is survived by his wife Melissa, and their three sons, Evan, Michael, and Nicholas.
A few months before Cerniglia’s death, reports emerged stating that he was arrested for allegedly being under the influence of narcotics. On July 15, 2010, a person made a 911 call claiming that the restaurant owner had snorted cocaine. According to sources, he needed immediate medical assistance since he was shaking and sweating profusely. It was reported that Cerniglia was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center and subsequently arrested.
Joseph Cerniglia was the owner of an Italian restaurant called Campania in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Cerniglia appeared on the show not long after he bought the business. But much to his disappointment, it was already going under, and he had lost $120,000 in eighteen months. At the time of filming, the restaurant was in heavy debt, and $80,000 had to be paid to the purveyors. That is when the restaurant owner and father of three turned to Ramsay for help. After getting help from the celebrity chef, things at Campania became more streamlined, and the business started to pick up.
On the afternoon of September 24, 2010, authorities received a 911 call about a person who jumped off the George Washington Bridge. Soon after that, Joseph Cerniglia’s body was found in the Hudson River; he was 39 years old at the time. The reality television personality’s death was later ruled as suicide as per the reports from the New York Medical Examiner’s Office. Although the cause of death was drowning, there were blunt impact injuries found on his body. These were supposedly congruent with his fall from the bridge.
Cerniglia’s death by suicide also led to a lot of fingers being pointed at Gordon Ramsay and the reality series. However, the restaurant owner’s family clarified that his death had nothing to with the celebrity chef. Cerniglia’s sister confirmed that Cerniglia liked Ramsay, and featuring on the show helped his business. She also claimed that Ramsay’s behavior was exaggerated on the show and that he was indeed a wonderful person. Cerniglia’s brother-in-law Kevin Wynn said, “In no way did Gordon have anything to do with Joe’s death. When we were filming, I found him to be nothing but a gentleman, and I have the utmost respect for him.” He added, “Joe’s family (is) utterly devastated by this, but they do not hold Gordon responsible at all.’
The episode reveals that the restaurant was deep in debt. Yelp and Chowhound reviews indicate that the place may have not improved much after Ramsay’s cataclysmic visit (though there were lots of enthusiastic reviews, too).
In a prediction using an eerie metaphor, Ramsay says, “Your business, is about to [bleep] swim down the Hudson.” It is conjectured that the chef may have jumped off the George Washington Bridge. Cerniglia, 39, was found Friday afternoon in the water near Manhattan’s 145th Street pier. He is survived by a wife and three sons.
Chef Joseph Cerniglia of Campania restaurant in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, was found floating in the Hudson River. In 2007, he’d appeared in Season 1 Episode 9 of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Looking at the show, one of the things that strikes you is how little affection Ramsay has for garlicky southern Italian food, or for the Jersey habit of serving large portions, allowing customers to bring doggy bags home. In a one-on-one with Cernglia, Ramsay says of the revamped dining room, “The one thing you’re not going to smell when you come in here is garlic.”
FAQ
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