The Worst Food From Season 4 _ DOUBLE FULL EP _ Part Two _ Kitchen Nightmares
**Turning Around a Struggling Restaurant: A Story of Transformation and Resilience**
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### Introduction: The Challenge of Reviving a Legend
In the heart of New Orleans, a city known for its vibrant culture and rich culinary history, a once-iconic restaurant named Zeke's was struggling to find its footing. Once a beloved institution in the community, Zeke's had lost its way after the untimely death of its founder, Zeke, during Hurricane Katrina. The new owners, Daryl and Ellen, inherited a legacy but lacked the culinary expertise and leadership needed to bring the restaurant back to its former glory. Chef Gordon Ramsay, known for his ability to turn around failing restaurants, was brought in to help revitalize Zeke's and restore its reputation.
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### The Struggles Within: Frozen Food, Lack of Morale, and Mismanagement
When Chef Ramsay first arrived at Zeke's, he discovered a restaurant plagued by a host of problems. The menu featured items like "oysters cortello," named after Daryl and Ellen, but the food was lackluster. Many dishes, such as the lasagna served during lunch, were made weeks earlier and reheated from frozen. The staff expressed frustration over their treatment, feeling disrespected and undervalued by the owners. Servers reported feeling like "dirt" and were not given proper meals despite working long hours.
The kitchen was equally chaotic. Chefs Emil and Jason felt constrained by Daryl's insistence on cutting corners to save money. Fresh ingredients were scarce, with most dishes relying on frozen seafood and prepackaged items. The lack of communication between the owners and the staff had created a toxic work environment, leaving employees demoralized and disengaged.
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### A Ray of Hope: Chef Ramsay's Intervention
Chef Gordon Ramsay wasted no time in diagnosing the issues at Zeke's. He recognized that the restaurant needed not only a culinary overhaul but also a cultural shift. His first step was to involve the staff in creating fresh, inspired dishes using locally sourced ingredients. He encouraged them to showcase their creativity and passion for cooking, which had been stifled under Daryl's rigid management style.
The chefs rose to the occasion, crafting delicious and visually appealing dishes like blackened alligator with creole sauce and pecan-crusted catfish. These new creations not only highlighted the culinary potential of the restaurant but also reignited the staff's enthusiasm for their work. The boil house, a separate station where fresh seafood was prepared, became a focal point of the menu, drawing customers to the restaurant.
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### The Makeover: Rebranding and Rediscovery
In addition to improving the food, Chef Ramsay focused on transforming the dining experience at Zeke's. The outdated decor was replaced with a modern yet authentic design that reflected the restaurant's Louisiana roots. Fresh paint, reclaimed wood, and a welcoming atmosphere created a sense of nostalgia and comfort for regulars, while also attracting new customers.
The menu was revamped to feature classic Southern dishes with a fresh twist. Items like boiled shrimp, fried alligator, and redfish with grilled vegetables became signature offerings. The restaurant's identity was redefined, emphasizing its connection to the local community and cuisine.
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### The Relaunch: A New Beginning
With the staff motivated, the kitchen humming with creativity, and the dining room buzzing with energy, Zeke's relaunch was a resounding success. Chef Ramsay worked closely with Daryl and Ellen to ensure that the changes were sustainable and that the restaurant could operate profitably in the long term.
The relaunch saw the return of loyal customers and the arrival of new diners eager to experience the transformed restaurant. The staff, now feeling valued and respected, poured their hearts into providing exceptional service. The combination of fresh ingredients, creative cooking, and a welcoming atmosphere helped Zeke's reclaim its place as a neighborhood gem.
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### Conclusion: A Testament to Resilience
Zeke's journey from struggling restaurant to thriving culinary hotspot is a testament to the power of leadership, creativity, and community. Chef Gordon Ramsay's intervention not only revitalized the food but also repaired the broken relationships between the owners and their employees. The restaurant's ability to adapt and evolve in the face of adversity serves as an inspiration to other struggling eateries.
As Zeke's continues its journey, it stands as a shining example of what can be achieved when passion, dedication, and teamwork come together. For Daryl, Ellen, and their staff, the future is bright, and they are ready to serve up more delicious meals and create unforgettable dining experiences for years to come.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ennestled in the middle of the up-and-coming neighborhood of eagle rock california is capri an italian restaurant which is owned by the theo twins hi i'm jeff hey i'm jack no i'm jeff you're jim i'm jim and we're the owners of the capri italian restaurant good evening capri jim speaking how we got into the restaurant business was we used to camera all the time and we loved the place so we'd said we'll buy it the feeling was it's like dude free pizza all right yeah yeah word word uh-huh team capri the twins are like two overgrown boys jeffy's getting larger let's play symbols they're just kind of immature oh i show you how you do the chicken fillets excuse me they're just doing what they know and it's not working sorry are you sorry it's okay yes everybody is entertained by their childishness but it is a restaurant and we're here to serve food that looks good you know what these guys can't cook we're gonna figure a better way to do lasagna we're getting too many people saying it's overcooked you think we should cook it less the food that comes out in the kitchen looks terrible what do you say it wasn't cooked it's raw yeah i want them all it's embarrassing it looks like nobody cares you sure you don't like raw chicken here they're an issue jim and jeff are lazy all right i'm going to the car wake me up when it's over lazy is an understatement that's when the highest priority is doing as little work as possible there's something that we're doing wrong i'm not sure what it is but in the financial situation hit the pooper we're broke oops that pink is never a good color i haven't paid them for a few months we need help if things don't change i would say the doors will close quickly hello no the phone's not working again fingers crossed that chef ramsay's gonna help us capri italian dining since 1963. closed since 1963 my god hideous hello hi there how are you pretty good i'm jeff good to see you good to see you likewise uh it looks sharp from outside uh yeah we're not open yet are you not open yet no when do you open uh four o'clock dinner only yeah and you're the uh owner yeah my brother and i are okay great would you like to be my brother uh yes please what's his name jim jim and you're jeff yep oh my god look at this place okay just saying hey how's it going oh no it's fun to play jokes on people in the twin union book you gotta mess with people hey how's it going jeff is your brother not available no i'm jim no come on no i miss brother you're kidding me no i am seriously i am serious jeff go get jim come on don't listen all right i've got hold on please hold on hold on i'll get him what is this the comedy store bloody hell look at them are you kidding me come on guys jeff and jim correct jeez look at you two you are identical you're not dressing like this especially today this is we were this as this is for the rest we've even got the same sneakers pen there pen there i didn't even notice a t-shirt there t-shirt there i didn't know this bit of flower there bit of flower there yeah what was quite scary jim yep and jeff yep so who's in charge no uh basically i am i've worked here longer than he has okay uh what's since 1963 come on no no we bought it about 14 years ago okay so why aren't you open for lunch the capri is never opened for lunch which is good i'd rather go on the computer watch tv play poker the problem is for lunch we have to get another whole staff loof off sit in the sun you haven't even tried it no i haven't no i'm not ready to jump into the lunch yet okay but you open every day for dinner wednesday through sunday say that again wednesday through sunday what's wrong with monday tuesday so help me understand this okay right so you actually close longer than you open yeah ready okay well thanks for updating me i'm gonna sit down and eat please yeah right over here thank you let me get you have some water i'll get the water no i'll get the water yeah jeez seriously are these menus from 1963 as well no they're getting old i know we have to get you're kidding me but look at that is this a joke no it's not you're kidding i believe they're they're falling apart you can't even read that it's so dirty first impressions wow okay give me five minutes have a read of the menu okay and i'll i'll catch up with you guys later yeah okay holy crap i don't know what chef ramsay expected but it's not a shishi place i'm not a shishi kind of guy i'm more down to earth hello oh hello how are you colleen i'm your server today okay nice to see you colin how long have you been here nine and a half years a decade yeah seriously what was the last thing we got changed in here oh this is still the same way the rigid owners had it wallpaper's been up there for 35 years oh my god let's uh let's go through the menu yeah let's start off with um meatball sandwich i love meatballs who makes them they come from a company that we order from and you're kidding me no can you make a meatball i can okay let's go for a meatball sandwich and let's give the chicken skulpella okay pizza oh let's go for the uh capri colossal you want the big one yeah why not okay okay i'll let you put that order in okay thank you you're welcome okay what do we have to make chicken scar pillow meatball sandwich extra large colossal he wants an extra large jim get me an extra large dough what does he want a colossal all righty so it's not just the menus oh dear it's a sauce down there crap just disgusting bits everywhere let's tape on the carpet look at this place when was the last time the place was cleaned not lately how long have this stuff been here 20 years 20 years bloody hell oh it's like it's snowing oh oh my god that's gross no yes that's above people's very yes jim two seconds please when was the last time this place was cleaned ah have you seen this no i did not my goodness me who's responsible for cleaning here i'm responsible i didn't do it have you seen the fans i do not like to clean i hate cleaning to me that's a four-letter word so i'm about to start eating i give that a little shake and all of a sudden the dust just runs down let me wash my hands before i start eating what a mess you wanna microwave these meatballs please okay come on work with me cheese sandwich is ready okay a meatball sandwich meatball sandwich um okay and so they buy the meatballs they defrost them and then does that mean microwaved or yes thank you okay what else do we have to make a scarf hello that's nasty when a restaurant kind of bothered to make a meatball that's not a good sign let me tell you that somebody should tell him the chicken's definitely dead but not again what's the matter with these guys okay oh my god what in the hell is that the colossal pizza wow i mean it's like it's almost cleared out the fridge look at it it's endless it has a little bit of everything except for anchovies oh that's dreadful okay thank you okay the crap and the gun on top of it is just hideous he didn't like the pizza he's not liking anything oops okay now we have the chicken scare repeller oh wow it looks dull that's not right it smells is that fresh um can you ask them how old the chicken is please wow that was nasty how old is the chicken i don't know when did we get it uh i don't know we took it out of the freezer yes 14 years old we took it out of the freezer yesterday it's frozen it is not fresh because we can't afford to keep fresh meat here all the time because we don't serve that much if he wants to donate money so i can make it thrash no problem but otherwise tough they're not open for lunch but so far what i've just experienced they shouldn't be open for dinner either he took out the freezer yesterday and doesn't remember when the delivery was excuse me oh dear excuse me i didn't think it was that bad under the tables it's littered with gum colleen yes look at that it's everywhere oh absolutely disgusting how lazy some people can be let's go on a gumball rally oh god under there look the size of the gum under that one oh look at that one at the end and the corner oh my god look at that one there when was the last time the tables were cleaned and that's ever that i've known of underneath they've never been cleaned underneath no oh my god one two three four five one two three four five six six seven eight nine ten eighteen nineteen twenty bits of gum every freaking table has a gum underneath it there's gum underneath reading it out no don't say that come on stop crying you uh jim jeff coming i'm really nervous oh dear steroid right here i'm afraid of what chef ramsay has to say honestly you seem like nice guys but that was painful the general feel of the place is disgusting i can tell how much you don't care you're standing there with your foot on the booth can you get your dirty feet off your own booths have a look at this every table is littered with stale disgusting gum we just we never looked underneath the table didn't have the time busy for lunch open seven days a week not the meatball sandwich disgusting the chicken was turning and then the colossal kate with crap were they canned mushrooms on top yeah canned olives soggy and tasteless where's the pride i don't know come on guys it's like a joke find a pulse and get real before we open for dinner tonight would you mind wiping the lampshade and can somebody get under the tables and get rid of that gum yeah i'm going for lunch i'll see you later starving capri classic italian what a joke he said our food sucked and uh that our restaurant is really filthy it was after sampling the horrendous food that's not right and discovering a dining room that hasn't been cleaned in quite some time oh god under there chef ramsay has instructed the twins to clean up the restaurant before dinner service you do the fans i don't want to get on a ladder let's get darion in here i have a staff to do the cleaning that's why i'm considered the boss and they are someone that works with me for me get in here now we don't have a lot of time we have to turn everything over we got an hour before we're supposed to open after the staff takes over the cleaning of the dining room capri opens for dinner hello and chef ramsay arrives the door shakes to see the twins in action have you ever seen a kitchen like this before this place is littered with crap what's that there co2 for the beer look at those shells i mean that's grime that's like 14 years of grime there chef ramsay was that oh there's dust here there's this is just like it's not that bad what's in here dare i vegetables that's the vegetables what's this at the bottom uh that's supposed to be eggplant eggplant parmesan when were they cooked last thursday last thursday god almighty look at that oh feel that something else you have a feeling i know it's we just made it today today so what's it doing in the fridge hold that i know it's hot hold it what does hot things do that are sealed that goes inside a cold fridge the sauce goes sour i didn't know that you didn't know that i can suggest you spend five minutes sorting out you first before you start cooking yeah okay i should have known better he's right but he's just a pain in the ass about it darren can you go through it real quick yeah trash thank you with the rotten vegetables thrown away i need to order wings please and the order's pouring in jim and jeff get back to cooking dan order green beans please got it and begin to send food out of the kitchen make sure they say a prayer before they start eating that hey the chicken i can't eat them but the diners are less than impressed it's so disgusting okay they sent this back they didn't like it they said that you can't eat it what was this it was like a pilot and a pile of mush big paramush is anyone tasting anything seasoning tasting every time a dish came back it was like losing a customer and uh it hurts what was wrong with it it's too floury and not enough sauce it makes me feel like a loser i do really feel like a loser right now jeff okay i'm just frustrated it's not going right i need to see what i've got to work with before i can start looking at any form of change you have to bounce back i'm working on it i really like jeff you've got to okay come on okay let's go come on okay let's go okay chef ramsay's right you gotta pull yourself together and get back in there and get through the night how are we doing we're doing well sir thanks to chef ramsay's encouragement jeff jumps back into dinner service and tries to help his brother jim get the kitchen back on track keep it up jim you're doing a good job but unfortunately he only makes matters worse jim what was done to those i don't know what happened to those i i really don't frosted them in the bag i think they were defrosted in the bag and i jeff yeah the chicken tenders what did you do to them to defrost them i put it uh on the steam table you defrosted them in the steam table from frozen yeah oh my god now what you're supposed to do no frozen food needs to be defrosted naturally right give me the bag where's the bag oh god almighty we can't serve them you kill somebody jim talk to me what am i supposed to say it's a mistake it's a lethal mistake it's really bad is that what i ate lunchtime yeah it's disgusting i've been feeling a little bit crap all afternoon what are you two doing well what do you want me to say i want you to step up to the plate and be a man i screwed up you haven't told anyone yet he was just being a jerk he was an ass i'm so tired of him just pushing and pushing gross then take it off the menu i've had enough i'm so pissed i can only take so much before i fight back jim get away it's an hour into dinner service oh god almighty and chef ramsay has just discovered a lethal mistake spoiled chicken at capri you kill somebody what am i supposed to say take off the menu jim jim out of the way ladies and gentlemen due to certain circumstance we have no chicken tonight oh my apology to everyone here if you just want to have what you're eating now and leave i understand fully and i apologize hey there may have been a more subtle way of doing that get out of my way we canceled all our chicken orders we got screwed will you stop acting like a baby me you heard it hey new diaper changing i'll give you that time of night little poo poo in kakapans he's the baby he's the one that's whining over everything i don't need to hear this crap dude why'd you have to behave like this i'm not gonna get you you're walking around like a big baby and i'm just asking you to go up a little bit show a little bit of respect for what you're trying to cook oh my god you big wet noodle you want a blanket and a bottle do you need one upside the head jim stop come on what a spoiled brat jim shut up please you're not helping the cause oh my god i set himself on fire i hope so are they always acting like this childish oh yeah they don't get their way they crash or throw a temperature oh my gosh to walk in the dining room like that and scream that's why i said temper catcher there's a part of me that's very satisfied to see the boys finally get what they deserve pearlescent humility okay where are you at now i don't know i'm sorry but yeah it's really late let me go check on that for you can i pass you this they've been here since we opened and they haven't got their food yet some of the table's been waiting two hours out there i know we don't even seem to be bothered i am bothered yeah there's only three tables we said that entrees come on guys just show a little bit more fuse at them surely no it doesn't look good damn it this can't be happening it's just like a bad nightmare let's drink our wine window wants to walk cancel window customers were not happy so i'm got tired of waiting and left it was very disappointing it was a bad night our dishes took longer than usual it was just an embarrassing night okay today could be summed up in one four-letter word lazy i can't even start to help both of you when you're not helping yourselves i really need you to do something both of you go through your kitchen and clean it now your staff you both of you got it yep good night get to work we weren't lazy now we're paying for it we're failures yay i'm just making a turkey here can i do this what's wrong jim i can't clean anything i'm not saying i'm making a mess i feel bad we are in trouble i really don't know if we can fix it that's the problem go take a break jim no i can't take a break because i'm too lazy as it is after the twins spend most of the night cleaning chef ramsay arrives early and with the help of long-time waitress colleen and pizza maker darian he does something the twins have never done open for lunch okay darren yes sir it's gonna be fast it's gonna be furious but you can do it okay i'm game for this how you doing you should come in and have some lunch i would like the lasagna please pizza let's sign you're up lasagna enjoy this is delicious so you act really good oh look at that we got a side thriller now open for lunch oh cool what's going on here oh chloe oh wow i can't believe this is happening wow this is our place hi welcome hi thanks for making it today thank you uh take a seat feeling a little bit peckish um yeah yeah now let me get you a nice little uh chopped salad huh this is different ah let's start off a little oh chopped salad thank you and make sure you save some room for an italian sausage lasagna and a very simple um margarita pizza thank you i'm sorry excuse me it's a good pizza i like it thank you okay whilst you two were home nice and cozy i got here early this morning with darren and colleen i think today we put over 300 in the cash register wow yeah 300 if you do that five times a week that's 1500 that's almost our rent so it's a lot of money towards me i'm just very happy yeah i had my eyes shut and i was wrong i sat on my butt being lazy you can't have your butt stuck to your bed every morning you've got to get out and break the mold message understood loud and clear yep loud and clear after finally getting through to the twins about their laziness chef ramsay wants to dig a little deeper he has an unorthodox plan that will allow the brothers to work out their issues and their frustrations time to go the past and to embrace the future gloves on i'm not gonna be fighting chef ramsay am i i wanna know what's holding you back want to oh for god's sake what is that poo what is that i don't work out it's like starting an old car after a year sitting there it's gonna fart out a little bit come on what pissed you off the most what is it myself why huh cause i'm lazy when was the last time you did something 100 i can't remember what you afraid of tell me screw it up it's just screwed up i've done it all my life i'm a failure you're not a failure you are not we all make mistakes in life embrace change are you keen to make this business work yeah it's time i'm ready to move on to make a success out of this okay last ten let's go and again and again come on hit it you can stop kissing it come on come on and again ready to change yes good man yeah get the out of here i know i'm gonna put behind me all the uh the laziness and look towards the future and the successes that are coming yeah let's go girls good nice it feels good to just let out a whole bunch of that i've been hanging on to nice guys nice take a breather good wow what does this restaurant mean for you a life a career and you think by sitting on your lazy ass all day long and turning up halfway through the day is going to make it work you need to commit good you in here let's go i don't want any headshots just one round and tell each other it's time to work let's go we can work together we can work together we can be successful we just got to talk to each other can i keep anything inside yeah well done give him a hug boxing each other uh was a good exercise because it it cleared the air and it showed me that it's time for me to work hard for the business for both of us okay good it's time for change got it got it are you ready ready good get cleaned up i'll meet you back at the restaurants satisfied that the twins are ready to make some changes within themselves okay how you feeling good chef ramsay now wants to focus on something else that needs a major change the food when was that time you made a meatball probably five years ago yeah and why did you stop it was easier lazy oops let's make a meatball okay together it's been a long time since we made meatballs but i'm ready to do this i am a professional right ground beef season yeah salt and pepper garlic handful of chili flakes chef ramsay is a magician in the kitchen oh you just add this and this and this and it's just like jeff yes how big do you like your balls ah pretty good size i mean you know golf full size what a little taste what do you think it's good i like it a lot can you do that yes can you do that if you need help yes homemade meatballs don't eat meatballs the difference is night and day homemade homemade i can't hear you oh my god i can't hear you it's homemade meatball get outside and shout to the street homemade meatballs tell them in the neighborhood we have homemade meatballs i can't hear you we have homemade meatballs finally stop we have homemade meatballs we have homemade meatballs faced with a restaurant that hasn't been touched since 1963 chef ramsay and his team work overnight to give this restaurant one of the biggest makeovers in kitchen nightmare's history right good morning good morning you are in for a big shock are you ready to see the new capri yes good on the count of three one two go peek just have a look we have brought the capri from 1963 fast forward it transformed it to 2011. it's beautiful look at him cool here this place is going to be hopping this is nice oh wow gone is the carpet that was stuck together with tape you had the most amazing reclaimed wood lining the walls yeah that's right we had to put you on the wall as well colleen what do you think it's isn't it amazing it's amazing we got rid of those hideous green booths you have the most amazing tailor-made cut pews as benches from your local church oh wow sit down at the pew you're happy yeah like you're piggy yeah it's great colleen come forward darling and bring those menus from the pocket there gone are the dirty plastic menus designed and what your kitchen is capable of producing so now it's time to stop ignoring the business and run the business okay yeah i get nervous when you don't talk she's totally stunned come on just amazing it really is i've never heard you this quiet i don't have anything what's the matter just amazing i'm in shock i never thought i could look so different this is beyond what i could ever think could happen it's amazing wow we're moving up and it's exciting it's the second chance on life this is gonna be the coolest place in eagle rock now exactly that come through please look at this oh my god let's start off with meatballs yes what are they homemade meatballs okay sellers for the table welcome an italian chop salad yay for me the hallmark the pizza the margarita classic eggplant palm pie delicious and just gives a completely different twist now entrees baked meat lasagna one of my favorites baked herb chicken with fingerling potatoes and a white wine sauce jim i like it that's cheap a lot it's cool i'm jeff that's jim yeah right little taste yes jump in all right all the broccoli is so good the food looks unbelievable and it even tastes better it's excellent the eggplant is amazing it's starting to get full already and i haven't tasted half the stuff excuse me welcome put you right over here please word of capri's relaunch has spread through eagle rock we have a new menu they have great salads and appetizers start with and the dining room fills up quickly with customers eager to try the new menu you want to do the mac and cheese the oldest chicken wing i'll go grab that and come back to you all right let's go there you go jim media margarita pizza and a baked chicken okay i don't want you to call it out like a chef okay owner i got two what is that hot potato skins two wings yes sir how are you doing jim i'm nervous but i have to believe that i am in charge and i know what i'm doing own it own it own it yeah yeah don't leave from the top buddy in spite of jim's nerves table five is ready pick it up please food is quickly making its way out to the diners the high enough perhaps a little too quickly hey listen guys guys the chicken's not hot enough especially inside there get in the oven get the pan hot first jim i think he's starting to really get a little panicky jim give me time with the chicken please i i got the the chicken in in the what's in the pan and stuff it's it's heating up jim bounce back yep it's not a race casper's been waiting for good food hot food out the window i'm dragging the meatballs here's spaghetti meatball is that how i showed you to plate a spaghetti meatball no it looks like someone on my plate dear jim it's like come on it's so easy just on and you're more capable of doing that i'm telling you it's not rocket science you can't even grape cheese stop panicking and focus i'm panicking right now because we want to get food out quick but it's like hey don't screw this up it's an hour into service and jim is struggling to keep up with the orders jim how much longer on my table for it's coming up right now unfortunately a relaunch that had such promise did you really i did not see that looks like it's slipping away your chicken's coming also jim look at me what type of was that for 16 is there you cutting it right now i had a mushroom and a meat lover cut it right up this is going to 16. they haven't even got their appetizers oh say god darn it oh come on come in you come here both of you i need you for 30 seconds all right oh man we're doing this again i thought we got through this please don't let this be the end no no no no no no no no it's relaunch night at capri and with the kitchen backed up jim give me time with the chicken please the chicken in in the what's in the pan and stuff it's heating up and diners waiting over an hour for food coming both of you jeff ramsey has seen enough look at me look at me right now you're making yourself look stupid it's a big night tonight yes and you're pissing it up so please listen to me you have to command your kitchen yes you have to work together but it's not a race customers are going to wait for good food stop panicking and focus okay yes come on chef robinson was like what is this how could and i go slip back into our old ways of doing it and it's like you got to change this is a new capri i need to note our garlic knots and pepperoni and cheese get sir go help him i'll take care of this got it it's time that i grew up it's time that i start working as a man and not as a butt head sausage and bean put some chicken i'm gonna put basil on this right yeah put a little uh oregano break it up okay jim good now we're getting a system convicted yes yes what's next at 16. good i got hot food up here please serve it once we started hitting our rhythm it was great because things were going out excuse me we settled down and we got it zooming along how we doing so good the meatballs are our favorite things this is really good it's delicious this is maine from scratch this is so amazing it's been one hell of a roller coaster ride but we've learned a lot from chef ramsey and he's left us with a lot of inspiration and hope i can see that we will make it if we keep doing what we're doing jim jeff you've come a long way it's been a tough journey yes and in order for this place to continue functioning you both must work at it yes don't clutter yes show up early yes lazy is a four-letter word yes good god bless you both okay yeah thank you very much good luck we went through a lot to get you know to get the nightmare into a dream it's still a learning process but the future looks really good the capri is gonna work good luck god honestly i'm never gonna forget the twins in eagle rock let me tell you that thank you good night thank you very much jeez yes wow that was hard i mean really hard but i now really believe that both jim and jeff and their little restaurant can become a huge tourist attraction here in eagle rock and come on who doesn't love a pizza and a show oh that was hard just one month after chef ramsay's departure can i take a picture of you two with with jen you sure can the twins kept their promise and open for lunch it's excellent it's really good the new food and decor have made capri a hot spot in eagle rock come back again we're gonna keep this gold now this has been a life-changing experience thank you very much chef ramsay for what you did for us i think it's gonna work it's gonna work by the way we have homemade meatballs located on the mississippi river not far from the gulf of mexico is the new orleans suburb of metairie a tight-knit community that is home to zeke's a neighborhood restaurant opened in 2002 by a charismatic entrepreneur named zeke oknusk zeke was six foot four big and goofy but you know what the man knew how to have a good time and he knew how to run a pretty good restaurant everyone came to zeke when it first opened because there was just a good vibe in this place good people food was always good we used to do 750 people in here on a friday night but in 2005 zeke tragically died during hurricane katrina and the ownership and the direction of the restaurant was up in the air after katrina this place was in limbo so the cortellos bought it and they pretty much took on the place hi guys how are y'all tonight welcome to zeke's when we bought zeke's we chose to keep the name because zekes did a very good business and that just made business sense to us all right guys first guest when daryl first took over pretty much changed everything he cut staff he cut product he went to uh lesser quality i wouldn't feed that to your dog and then on top of that you raise the prices it's a little over the top i feel as though i'm completely handcuffed in the kitchen i'd love to do like a steam clams that's not us i don't think that's us you know what i'm saying i'm always trying to beg him to play him can we try that can we do this and daryl doesn't allow it trying to make chicken salad out of chicken i ask myself all the time why do i even stay here i know sitting on the job servers here are all talked down to or disrespected people just don't feel appreciated daryl cut my pay in the last six months i can't afford raises right now man it's made me work more hours since he cut my pay that row we got three orders of green tomatoes as well cutting them a little thick too i'll tell you that i'm not looking to squeak by we're looking for financial rewards in this business that kind of offended a lot of zeke's regulars and this is just steadily declined meatball's plain and bland unless he's got a pot of gold stashed somewhere there's no way this restaurant lasts in a month all right payroll was today how'd we do that's not a good question financially we are not doing great well we got to catch up somewhere it's not happening we're not going to make it if we don't have chef ramsay come in and tell us what he thinks we can do differently to change this because obviously what we're doing it's not really working physically emotionally it's been hard i have put everything i can possibly put into zeke but seats aren't full so something's going on and we're killing ourselves trying to find out before heading to zeke's gordon has arranged to meet some metairie locals to gain some insight into the restaurant and the neighborhood oh doing good how are we doing this morning very well indeed thank you morning how are we now tell me about the area metric what does it uh what does it stand for it's a town on east bay they got a lot of people got some good russians up there and have you heard of russian called zekes i used to go there quite a bit i haven't been in a while but before katrina we used to go there quite a bit before katrina would feel like every friday it was great what's the difference in food got pricey and average already yeah the quality had gone down quite a bit yeah and uh the atmosphere wasn't the same they lost the magic the feel of the restaurant right just changed yeah thank you thank you after hearing unfavorable reviews chef ramsay heads over to zeke's to continue his investigation and there is nothing more telling than lunch hello well hello chef francie welcome to zeeks i'm very happy to be here nice to meet you come right this way all right guys i think we got a special guest her dad heard that help me get up to speed you are the owner yeah you run the business with zeke my husband no my husband is daryl daryl where is he he is in the kitchen so who seek zeke was the original man who opened the restaurant um passed away right after katrina and we purchased it from his estate so we've had it for almost five years what did you change after you bought it the menu items are similar okay we've definitely taken some off and changed some recipes and the chef is the same emil is the kitchen manager yes decision is it with the new dishes my husband daryl he's got a couple of his recipes on the menu and where did he train as a chef he's never trained as a chef if you're not a chef why would you put dishes on the menu being in the business i guess okay does the chef agree with those dishes or is it just because he's the owner that's why he gets them on i guess talk to him about it okay let me look at the menu okay thank you yeah you're welcome wow hello hi how are you today how are you i'm so happy to be in louisiana my first time good thank you your first name is candace i saw on the menu the oyster cortello it's an invented dish for our restaurant the cortellos is daryl and ellen so they made they made it up so the owners have named an oyster after them yes they have we bought the restaurant now you want your name on the menu yeah sounds like someone's struggling for power ah i've got to try one okay yeah i must have some boiled shrimp boiled sugar and what special do you have by donny we have a chicken fried steak today let's go for it we do have also traditional bread pudding let's go for that and i think we're done okay thank you look what i got all right here we go when daryl got here he kind of implemented his own menu it really gets frustrating because daryl really has no idea culinary-wise what he's doing candace you ready i'm going to take out the boiled trip to him chef ramsay is going to love this food it's simple food it's basic food it's feel good food but it's done very well and fresh okay boiled shrimp thanks honey my first louisiana shrimp yeah everything's soft they should peel easily and sort of pop out the shell but i'm struggling to peel them i mean that is nasty what i'm struggling for here is the lack of freshness they feel and taste slightly mushy which is a big disappointment candice where are the shrimps fresh they're fresh frozen fresh frozen i know it's kind of nice but you can buy fresh shrimp within a mile yes yes the frozen shrimp tastes like sorry crap wanted to know why we would get frozen shrimp when you can go to like the market and get them fresh every day it's not uncommon to have frozen shrimp because some things are okay frozen have a look on the oysters coming right now all right wow that back wall is hideous what a mess you got two seconds please yes and what's with the uh the swamp decor whose idea was that um mine and my husbands to eat in a swamp for children or for adults for both oysters that's not words all right here we go okay thank you all right what the hell is that these are the oysters oysters cortello so i suppose you go like that wow there's red oysters named after the owner i certainly would put my name on that i wouldn't put my enemies name on there take it for you okay thank you as depressing isn't it just terrible oysters cortello i don't know what to say about that i eat them myself i think they're delicious absolutely delicious daryl what do you say oysters cortelo just ain't working this is killing me not to know what he's saying this is the fried chicken snake right correct thank you you're welcome blanders anything no seasoning no care look at that candies what the hell is that it looks like it's just had a giraffe's tongue cut out and deep fat fried people complain that the quality of the food here is horrible unbelievable daryl's not listening to the feedback that he gets and he's going to do what he wants to do he said that it looks like somebody cut out a giraffe's tongue i'm not going to agree with that it didn't look that way to me i mean that's what normally goes out it's a good product they look like we cut out a giraffe's tongue wow wow jesus thanks daddy it doesn't look fantastic but it tastes delicious we made that e-mail it makes it mm-hmm i'm just so happy that chef ramsay likes in the bread pudding it feels great to end on a good note love the bread pudding you like the bread pudding there we go loved it i took full responsibility for bread pudding that is all me daryl doesn't really have influence on that thank god thank god he likes something i did i'll take that any day hello hello jeff and this is daryl the owner introduce me to your brigade chef emil marcos emil good to see you buddy chase the carpenter jason good to see you there's a lot of things that that need changing and you know daryl is one of them can i talk about lunch yes my god what a disaster the food is below standard why wouldn't you buy fresh shrimp i simply don't have the time to go to the market excuse me where are we come on come on big boy chicken fries steak disaster what cut of meat was that not a very good cut no are you proud to serve that food no sir was that the same quality of steak that we're using years ago no sir and why have you changed the standard um it's up to daryl is that a cutting corner method to say no no chef everything is to you yeah but we had diners eating all lunch full dining room but nothing's sent back do you honestly think just because they don't send it back that your food is amazing that's good enough for you to continue now you can't be that stupid point digging if they want to be that stupid you've got no chance i don't buy the fact that it's bad quality food that's hard to believe this was once a great place after receiving some harsh words from chef ramsay the food is below standard daryl has some words of his own you know chef says everything is it's embarrassing there's nothing good about the menu you know i don't buy that i will never believe the food is you're not going to come i've been eating this food all my life chef ramsay doesn't know the world's food that's it cut all the food down you want you can't prank me it's an hour before dinner service and chef ramsay hopes a private meeting with the two chefs emil and jason can shed some light on the restaurant's main issues okay so i don't get it some of the things i encountered there today were just awful that can't be your wish to cook with frozen ingredients we talk about it every day and it just gets swept under the table i tell him the second he starts cutting the cost and getting a cheaper product yeah you know it's going to taste like and trying to explain that to him yeah you know it's like talking to this wall right here and how long has it been going on like that since the right around the time he took over the only thing daryl and ellen see is money and that's what scares me their whole purpose is money money money money money we feel like our hands are so tied as far as ordering goes everything goes the only other option was to leave me and him both go yes you know what do you do just walk out the place i mean we got a lot of personal memories in this place just to walk out of it granted i i get that but it doesn't stop you from having your voice everybody here is just kind of waiting for the place to belly up and go find a new job somewhere else i'm here to help put this freaking place back on the map yes sir you're absolutely right we have only two options chef ramsay or god and i don't think the second comments happen anytime soon thanks for the ketchup thank you after gaining some insight from jason and emil hey i need shrimp portion chef ramsay is eager to see how this restaurant functions in a dinner service how does this work uh emil when were these done um last night why they bagged he poisoned them out to order ready what's the idea of putting everything in bags portion size portion size i like to have everything in quantitative perspective if i give too much you get a happy customer here you don't get a good customer they're happy because they're getting three times what they should be getting i'm getting nothing i don't make money on that it's food you know we're not cutting uh piping hi welcome to zeeks how many do we have in the party it's chef ramsay's first time in louisiana come right this way please and not surprisingly zeke's is completely booked and tonight our specials is lasagna i gotta see food plotting no oyster sub shrimp i'm at the expo station i like to see all the food go out beside a new potatoes i uh make sure every dish goes out like i want it to go out can i run anything nope shrimp platter any of that go i'm waiting on dishes to complete the order it doesn't concern you the food's just dying in the window but we're pushing as hard as we can bloody hell for expediting is one thing standing here and saying nothing is another wow it's an hour into dinner service and the first wave of food is finally making its way out to the customers sorry about the weight they're about everybody's food at the table as well let me get uh your server my apologies and the food isn't the only thing that's getting a chilly reception can i ask something do you mind not standing there like that it's so dour i think you can be more proactive i don't want to hover you know but you can make yourself busy okay i got it i'm ready thank you all right look what i got what's that one lasagna lasagna when was the lasagna made last thursday last thursday and today's thursday right correct seven and stuff from a week ago help me to understand that uh that's stupidity that made the pan we didn't sell it all it's wrapped up in portions and approach i thought that's a bad thing lasagna it's all done fresh cooked and uh we'll wrap the portions up separately or put them in the freezer it works it is the best lasagna you're going to get is it special right yes it is okay so how the is that special in your tiny mind when it was cooked a week ago i'm telling you have a tiny mind it can't be that special if you're going to stand here and tell me that it's special the product is good daryl runs his kitchen with 90 bravado and you know the other 10 he just wings it this is a good product this is good food my god it's getting worse yeah he's a tough nut your uh expediter so we have a special today when do you think that lasagna was made today homemade lasagna right last thursday how could it be that special when it's from a week ago well you know it's frozen so it's not like sitting there getting mildew on it and our customers absolutely love the lasagna i don't think that's our biggest issue is lasagna i mean that's absolutely incorrect what do you think they would feel like if you told them today's special was cooked a week ago frozen i don't know i mean i'm sure they would probably be surprised that it was so good and that it was made last week in frozen should i ask them all would you like me to walk with you i'm not gonna walk or stand up and shout oh really when you come out to restaurants and you read today's specials for instance a beautiful homemade lasagna would you expect that lasagna to be made today yes ladies and gentlemen how many of you have ordered lasagna how would you feel if i told you all that today's lasagna that's been served was made a week ago this is humiliating after making a shocking discovery about today's special when was the lasagna night last thursday chef ramsay made an announcement today's lasagna that's been served was made a week ago that is not sitting well with customers my apologies to those that have ordered the lasagna have a look at the potential other specials bonneville tea thank you thank you this is humiliating it's absolutely better of course when it's fresh and served right out of the pan but it's not horrible i just told the customers that laser sanya was reheated from a week ago the feedback was shock horror 86 lasagna yes sir yeah with chef ramsay's announcement fresh in their minds okay customers have seemed to have lost their appetite did y'all eat already yeah i have a lasagna after witnessing a dinner service full of problems you got two seconds please yes absolutely chef ramsey is anxious to have a chat with the owners oh dear did you hear the customers tonight i told them lasagna was a week old did you hear here's what happens cook lasagna and it doesn't sell you throw it away no we don't throw it away we wrap it i'm here to help but i tell you what i can't help you when you're standing there and trying to come up with excuses to why customers pay good money for frozen that cooked a week ago and you call it a special we don't feel like it puts out an awful product you don't give a about food it's not true your passions about portion control measurements frozen foods reheating of microwave russians don't run like this disagree i disagree with that also definitely trust me you are not a restaurateur you're the owner you're paying right here when you start dealing with all this crap and your name's on that lease then you tell me what you want to do after being stonewalled by owners in denial good morning chef ramsay has called a staff meeting two minutes please hoping to bring all the restaurants issues into the open okay i want you to tell me the frustrations the anger and the things that really upset you the most emil um i just feel as though i'm getting pounded with a mallet constantly when i walk into this place i went from working 40 hours to working about 50 for 400 a week that pisses me off i feel that we don't get any respect i'm here all the time i don't get to eat lunch i should have a meal i should have a chef meal this is messed up we are talked down to like we're dirt and it's not right listen um i really appreciate the openness and the honesty and it was bad but i didn't quite understand it it hit that level of hurt i think it's just sad that we're all sitting here and that we actually have to even beat at this point i think we all the whole group of us here pretty much struggling no one's getting that message across i need to get through to them daryl and ellen are about to arrive i want you to tell them everybody was saying what they wanted to say and getting it off their chest but it's kind of different from telling chef ramsay versus telling daryl don't be nervous i don't need to be afraid i've got your back okay and here they are good morning good morning i've been here having to start meeting um we've gone through some issues um this morning that's been bothering them but rather than me trying to tell you how they feel i think they should speak certainly who's gonna go fast i go first i don't feel as though we all gain much respect around here and i don't think that you as an owner have our back candace ashley is that how you feel you really do talk to us like dirt sometimes my intent is not to talk down to somebody but that's how it comes out jason talk to daryl please my biggest problem that i have is just i don't think you have a clue as to how this place runs me yeah wow i think that you're so stuck on the numbers the actual essence of having a restaurant serving good food and giving customer service and happy employees that's gone i don't understand we hear it every single night and every single day from our customers what needs to be changed and why they don't come back we let you know these things and you don't give a nothing's done you don't care wow pay plans is ridiculous here i really don't wanna break down cause i i've been in a long time and i'm not getting pissed jack but somebody be here that long i've been here since 2006. why haven't i never got a pay raise okay let me say something real quick since we're all telling the truth first of all daryl and i have taken thousands and thousands of dollars out of our personal account to pay your paychecks so why not just close the place down we're not giving up we don't want to give up if you want to give up that's fine this isn't your business we don't want to leave each other because we all love each other we don't want to leave not at all but i need to make money to support my family you know what so do we y'all acting like it's us against y'all and it's not this is a business we have costs and expenses i ask you to take that pay cut it's either that or labor costs get so high i'm out but you can go on five vacations in the summer and you're struggling for money right that is up period if you don't want to be here don't be here after chef ramsay arranged for the staff to air their grievances i don't think you have a clue as to how this place runs the defiant owners are not having any of it if you don't want to be here don't be here if i were piling up money back there then i can see you're being pissed off but we're not piling up money back there i can't show appreciation in dollars at this point they maybe have this picture of me with this pile of money going hahaha nobody's gonna get it we don't have the money i'm accepting the truth from you guys accept it from me please things aren't going well i understand that in terms of morale there's an air of discontent they feel abused and i'm not saying the staff are perfect but you're the owners and you set an example we have to fix what's broken within so how about starting over again and turning the page and the beginning of a new chapter i understand those frustrations you're wonderful people so i want you all here and you will have my respect i guarantee that from me and there's a lot of love for you guys from ellen and i and i truly mean that good we did make some progress via is clearer okay it's a new day here at zeke's i've got some ideas that i need to uh put into place to really start putting this place back on the map thank you honestly i don't think that daryl and ellen heard what what we were saying he was just saying what was right just to get chef ramsay off of his back we'll see what happens after attempting to open daryl and ellen's eyes to the staff morale problems chef ramsay has devised a plan to test the chefs and showcase their abilities okay it's been so obvious that you've been handcuffed by daryl and here's what i want you to do show daryl how creative how inspirational how exciting you can be with seafood there's a grocery store literally two miles away from here okay have a look at the ingredients get inspired come back get creative i want to see that on a plate yeah thank you good right now i'm pretty jacked up gordon ramsay himself say jason time for you to be inspired go let it happen let's see what you got all right let's see what they got fresh how may i help you redfish fresh and just put it out hour and a half ago that's what we're looking for it's extremely liberating to have this freedom to showcase and do what we want to do cook good food very nice to meet you thanks guys i am uh looking for red onions with uh asparagus let's do a red pepper this will be the last thing i get and we're ready to ride there it is that is showcase the skills so happy think of something creative and really let it go yeah yes okay off you go guys yeah yeah i'm gonna do a chicken fried steak at the same time okay own brilliant yeah yeah sure you can put a little lime juice in there yes i'm not done yet with it okay good yeah i love the idea the bacon and cheddar cheddar nice so in terms of the inspiration tell me what it is try to keep it southern with the grits fresh with the salmon and classic with the capers with the onions with the tomatoes good keeping it with the new orleans theme redfish and then grilled vegetables fresh rice fresh ingredients just a fun dish pretty good job the difference of night and day let me tell you that beautiful now you say nothing you didn't cook them i cook them do you understand yes okay let's go come over guys please wow look at that you think of louisiana first thing you think of is freshness but when i walked into your restaurant what i didn't expect was frozen seafood so i got my team to get some ingredients for it like you both just have a little taste taste of freshness a beautiful chocolate salmon done with grits creamy tasty it's absolutely phenomenal and i got hold of some red fish marinaded zucchini with some rice and a really nice mango salsa oh my gosh this red fish is delicious it's phenomenal it's absolutely not phenomenal absolutely watching them eat my dish and not knowing that it was mine and to say that you know it looked like it was from their heart i'd like you to have a little taste of that chicken fried steak i just lightly pounded it and then fried it twice so it should just melt in your mouth it does melt literally literally melted yep i couldn't believe how good it was the presentation was beautiful and it was fresh ingredients and they tasted wonderful they're all absolutely phenomenal you taste the difference absolutely there's something you need to know about the seafood dishes i didn't cook them the two chefs put those dishes together wow the seafood dishes are your boys delicious absolutely they really are they're phenomenal it really opened my eyes to what i i wasn't letting them do honestly food is art and i was not letting them create their art these aren't just delicious they're beautiful and they come from right inside you i know that you did a fantastic job it feels really good that daryl and ellen recognize my potential and i think that my abilities have been shown and hopefully this is the first step forward this is the newsies i can see that's what we're looking for and all i could really think to myself was about time you see it pretty good job well done after finally having at least a small breakthrough with the owners jeff ramsey decides to have his teamwork through the night on the biggest restaurant makeover they have ever done right good morning morning chef excited are you ready to see the musics yes let's go welcome to the news eggs here we go oh my god are you kidding me oh nice oh man look at that oh my god let's start with the walls gone is the swamp look at how the the other old door is reclaimed doors they've got that nostalgia and it's got that comfort field right look at this you've got the most amazing chairs brand new chairs it just feels authentic let me say this please please you have found our identity wonderful this is wonderful us i'm astonished i mean truly i didn't really have any expectations but this has surpassed anything i could possibly imagine there is one more thing i'd like to show you you're gonna start peeing your pants there we are our boil house oh my gosh from shocking your oysters to cooking your shrimp this is going to be a substantial part of the menu and a meal it's going to take so much pressure off you and jason this should just run on its own and it should almost double the turnover did i see you smile again that's the second time in 24 hours dude huh they're gonna arrest you for being too happy jeff ramsey has given this staff this place my family our friends our customers a new beginning it's unbelievable honestly when people would ask me where i work i would never say zeke's i just said i'm a cook now i'm proud to say that i work here a new beginning and the new identity physiques a along with making the decor more inviting jeff ramsey has replaced zeke's outdated stale menu with a modern update of classic new orleans cuisine oh my gosh my goodness me this is going to put zeke's back on the map be careful it's fresh goodness every dish is absolutely beautiful okay let's start off top of the table zeke's house boil yes bucket of shrimps yes look at the blue crabs great sharing festive localized bucket push them okay back in the menu the entrees pecan crusted catfish so with a classic tartar sauce and a herb salad country fried steak big hit say no more such a gravy delicious slightly heated in that gravy it's got a nice little burn on the back of your throat blackened alligator wonderful creole sauce absolutely delicious because this has now become not the old your zekes thank you you've got your identity now make it yours absolutely incredible beautiful come here the way chef created the menu and the dishes uh they don't have a menu like that around here dig in enjoy so not only do we have something great to put on the table but it's not anywhere around nobody else has it oh my god do you taste the cornbread menu is phenomenal i'm proud to have it and excited and can't wait for everybody else to come in and try it it's delicious i feel right now we have the most diverse louisiana southern menu i mean we very well may have the best menu rigid flavor rich in texture wow hi guys welcome to zeke the community of metairie had a love affair with this restaurant that went sour enjoy enjoy enjoy shrimps are amazing chef ramsay's revamp and tonight's relaunch will be a strong indicator if it's possible for this love affair to resume are you going to try and smother i'm going to try the black and the alligator and with so many changes in place and so many people in the dining room chef ramsay is hoping the boil house will take some of the pressure off the kitchen any um any orders on it in the boathouse no nothing in the board house already so get hold of the waitresses call them in and say right start pushing them i've got to use that place you've got to get used to that let's go great sell boil food sell one okay sell one to a big table please tonight we have a um special it's boiled lobster for two i don't know if you saw it on the menu but sell it by the bucket just bring us two to come right up two buckets of laughing for table five put a little bit of butter on there give it a nice little glaze okay good that's it two lobsters let's go look what i have for y'all y'all enjoy it looks good with the boil house now being utilized and satisfying customers it's clearly allowed some breathing room for the kitchen you're eight minutes on bay crab at 33 however it's now up to daryl to manage the time wisely i worked hard today let's make it happen you've got to focus on that window communicate with these guys one take one leaving one type of working so we don't get bumped down yes yes i need an alligator i need a strip give me three minutes on that let's go we need to push food up there and cook it as fast as we can great tomatoes you're talking about ices and eat it fast let's work one at a time it's not a race why are we looking three chops in alligator hold on one second darrell mother chop how do you like it zero slow down for one minute let us catch up huh how with daryl calling multiple tickets at the same time grits mash sweet potatoes and more focused on speed than anything else what ticket is it for the kitchen is now completely confused how's my pecan catfish where's my new york strips got to go just put them in the window and we'll figure out how to plate them yes whatever you got make sure it's done huh i was being told that i need this this and this right now and i just try and move as fast as i can and get the food out say it just looks like crap do you agree yeah no garnish no losing a window like that daryl has managed to get the cooks producing the food at a much quicker pace but the dishes are not at the level that they should be so is that is that fruit it's not is it do something can i get another one yeah guys the fish is raw not tonight just just stop 24 is out everybody stop what a joke it's relaunch night at six mother chop how are we looking around slow down for one minute let us catch up huh and with daryl pushing the cooks food is leaving the kitchen quickly can i get another one unfortunately it's also coming back quickly guys the fish is raw not tonight oh man just stop everybody stop i'm here jason come around i'd rather be three four minutes later than rush food out there and the shit's coming back not tonight an expeditious should definitely set the tone for the rest of the kitchen i think daryl lost control of that it's just a big catastrophe what we've got to do is focus on one table at a time we've got to communicate y'all talk to me don't get swamped where you at what time are you on daryl take responsibility i have to stop refocus let's get these tickets out one at a time i think they do a better job of communicating very simply all right guys let's focus where you at now daryl pecan catfish and blackened alligator in his hand daryl table one let's go move to the next ticket i got 33 black and alligator pecan catfish coming right now daryl let's go following chef ramsay's advice of focusing on one table at a time table ten yeah i'm cheese daryl and the chefs are now in sync please let's get this to uh 31. like an alligator perfectly cooked dishes are leaving the kitchen and are being enjoyed by thrilled customers that's delicious now that this restaurant is on its way to a successful relaunch chef ramsay is ready to spread the word what happened with the restaurant before why did you come here this place was legendary and it lost its way it's now back on the map and two new owners that are going to start their own beginning of a new chapter what is the feedback you're already getting for tonight that the food is fantastic i mean the menus it's fabulous i highly recommend that you come in and try it let's finish let's finish somebody get this to 14 please yeah no more tickets coming in let's get this stuff out of here delicious that's a wrap jack at the end of the night the way it ended made you feel good i think daryl showed more personality tonight than he showed in the last few years we still have some improvements to make but you can see it's on the right track nice job good night ladies thank you thank you so much okay tonight was about establishing a new zeas and you achieved it yes please yes for my first time in new orleans me did you give me a challenge if chef ramsay told me a week ago that all these changes were going to happen why am i done i don't think i would have really believed it let's have a quick word with you two amazing look at this place the potential is huge i know fantastic it's now your zeke's run with it and daryl you do care and you do have a heart a big heart show it to your staff indeed i will don't don't hide that i'm ready to do things the right way ready to get moving it's a new it's a new life it's new energy good job thank you thank you good night good night good night good night we had a lot of issues here when i first arrived the staff were at war with the owners the food was miserable and the restaurant was seriously struggling for an identity but what i witnessed was a phenomenal comeback and how fitting is that that took place here in the most resilient city across america new orleans week old lasagna not so special in the weeks that followed a glowing report on the local news as a family as a restaurant it's back on the map brought a surge of customers to the restaurant hi how are y'all daryl and ellen are doing their best to raise staff morale you all did an excellent job i can't do this without you guys and are reaching out to the community and we really thank you all for coming it means a lot to us thanks put zeke's back on the map younestled in the middle of the up-and-coming neighborhood of eagle rock california is capri an italian restaurant which is owned by the theo twins hi i'm jeff hey i'm jack no i'm jeff you're jim i'm jim and we're the owners of the capri italian restaurant good evening capri jim speaking how we got into the restaurant business was we used to camera all the time and we loved the place so we'd said we'll buy it the feeling was it's like dude free pizza all right yeah yeah word word uh-huh team capri the twins are like two overgrown boys jeffy's getting larger let's play symbols they're just kind of immature oh i show you how you do the chicken fillets excuse me they're just doing what they know and it's not working sorry are you sorry it's okay yes everybody is entertained by their childishness but it is a restaurant and we're here to serve food that looks good you know what these guys can't cook we're gonna figure a better way to do lasagna we're getting too many people saying it's overcooked you think we should cook it less the food that comes out in the kitchen looks terrible what do you say it wasn't cooked it's raw yeah i want them all it's embarrassing it looks like nobody cares you sure you don't like raw chicken here they're an issue jim and jeff are lazy all right i'm going to the car wake me up when it's over lazy is an understatement that's when the highest priority is doing as little work as possible there's something that we're doing wrong i'm not sure what it is but in the financial situation hit the pooper we're broke oops that pink is never a good color i haven't paid them for a few months we need help if things don't change i would say the doors will close quickly hello no the phone's not working again fingers crossed that chef ramsay's gonna help us capri italian dining since 1963. closed since 1963 my god hideous hello hi there how are you pretty good i'm jeff good to see you good to see you likewise uh it looks sharp from outside uh yeah we're not open yet are you not open yet no when do you open uh four o'clock dinner only yeah and you're the uh owner yeah my brother and i are okay great would you like to be my brother uh yes please what's his name jim jim and you're jeff yep oh my god look at this place okay just saying hey how's it going oh no it's fun to play jokes on people in the twin union book you gotta mess with people hey how's it going jeff is your brother not available no i'm jim no come on no i miss brother you're kidding me no i am seriously i am serious jeff go get jim come on don't listen all right i've got hold on please hold on hold on i'll get him what is this the comedy store bloody hell look at them are you kidding me come on guys jeff and jim correct jeez look at you two you are identical you're not dressing like this especially today this is we were this as this is for the rest we've even got the same sneakers pen there pen there i didn't even notice a t-shirt there t-shirt there i didn't know this bit of flower there bit of flower there yeah what was quite scary jim yep and jeff yep so who's in charge no uh basically i am i've worked here longer than he has okay uh what's since 1963 come on no no we bought it about 14 years ago okay so why aren't you open for lunch the capri is never opened for lunch which is good i'd rather go on the computer watch tv play poker the problem is for lunch we have to get another whole staff loof off sit in the sun you haven't even tried it no i haven't no i'm not ready to jump into the lunch yet okay but you open every day for dinner wednesday through sunday say that again wednesday through sunday what's wrong with monday tuesday so help me understand this okay right so you actually close longer than you open yeah ready okay well thanks for updating me i'm gonna sit down and eat please yeah right over here thank you let me get you have some water i'll get the water no i'll get the water yeah jeez seriously are these menus from 1963 as well no they're getting old i know we have to get you're kidding me but look at that is this a joke no it's not you're kidding i believe they're they're falling apart you can't even read that it's so dirty first impressions wow okay give me five minutes have a read of the menu okay and i'll i'll catch up with you guys later yeah okay holy crap i don't know what chef ramsay expected but it's not a shishi place i'm not a shishi kind of guy i'm more down to earth hello oh hello how are you colleen i'm your server today okay nice to see you colin how long have you been here nine and a half years a decade yeah seriously what was the last thing we got changed in here oh this is still the same way the rigid owners had it wallpaper's been up there for 35 years oh my god let's uh let's go through the menu yeah let's start off with um meatball sandwich i love meatballs who makes them they come from a company that we order from and you're kidding me no can you make a meatball i can okay let's go for a meatball sandwich and let's give the chicken skulpella okay pizza oh let's go for the uh capri colossal you want the big one yeah why not okay okay i'll let you put that order in okay thank you you're welcome okay what do we have to make chicken scar pillow meatball sandwich extra large colossal he wants an extra large jim get me an extra large dough what does he want a colossal all righty so it's not just the menus oh dear it's a sauce down there crap just disgusting bits everywhere let's tape on the carpet look at this place when was the last time the place was cleaned not lately how long have this stuff been here 20 years 20 years bloody hell oh it's like it's snowing oh oh my god that's gross no yes that's above people's very yes jim two seconds please when was the last time this place was cleaned ah have you seen this no i did not my goodness me who's responsible for cleaning here i'm responsible i didn't do it have you seen the fans i do not like to clean i hate cleaning to me that's a four-letter word so i'm about to start eating i give that a little shake and all of a sudden the dust just runs down let me wash my hands before i start eating what a mess you wanna microwave these meatballs please okay come on work with me cheese sandwich is ready okay a meatball sandwich meatball sandwich um okay and so they buy the meatballs they defrost them and then does that mean microwaved or yes thank you okay what else do we have to make a scarf hello that's nasty when a restaurant kind of bothered to make a meatball that's not a good sign let me tell you that somebody should tell him the chicken's definitely dead but not again what's the matter with these guys okay oh my god what in the hell is that the colossal pizza wow i mean it's like it's almost cleared out the fridge look at it it's endless it has a little bit of everything except for anchovies oh that's dreadful okay thank you okay the crap and the gun on top of it is just hideous he didn't like the pizza he's not liking anything oops okay now we have the chicken scare repeller oh wow it looks dull that's not right it smells is that fresh um can you ask them how old the chicken is please wow that was nasty how old is the chicken i don't know when did we get it uh i don't know we took it out of the freezer yes 14 years old we took it out of the freezer yesterday it's frozen it is not fresh because we can't afford to keep fresh meat here all the time because we don't serve that much if he wants to donate money so i can make it thrash no problem but otherwise tough they're not open for lunch but so far what i've just experienced they shouldn't be open for dinner either he took out the freezer yesterday and doesn't remember when the delivery was excuse me oh dear excuse me i didn't think it was that bad under the tables it's littered with gum colleen yes look at that it's everywhere oh absolutely disgusting how lazy some people can be let's go on a gumball rally oh god under there look the size of the gum under that one oh look at that one at the end and the corner oh my god look at that one there when was the last time the tables were cleaned and that's ever that i've known of underneath they've never been cleaned underneath no oh my god one two three four five one two three four five six six seven eight nine ten eighteen nineteen twenty bits of gum every freaking table has a gum underneath it there's gum underneath reading it out no don't say that come on stop crying you uh jim jeff coming i'm really nervous oh dear steroid right here i'm afraid of what chef ramsay has to say honestly you seem like nice guys but that was painful the general feel of the place is disgusting i can tell how much you don't care you're standing there with your foot on the booth can you get your dirty feet off your own booths have a look at this every table is littered with stale disgusting gum we just we never looked underneath the table didn't have the time busy for lunch open seven days a week not the meatball sandwich disgusting the chicken was turning and then the colossal kate with crap were they canned mushrooms on top yeah canned olives soggy and tasteless where's the pride i don't know come on guys it's like a joke find a pulse and get real before we open for dinner tonight would you mind wiping the lampshade and can somebody get under the tables and get rid of that gum yeah i'm going for lunch i'll see you later starving capri classic italian what a joke he said our food sucked and uh that our restaurant is really filthy it was after sampling the horrendous food that's not right and discovering a dining room that hasn't been cleaned in quite some time oh god under there chef ramsay has instructed the twins to clean up the restaurant before dinner service you do the fans i don't want to get on a ladder let's get darion in here i have a staff to do the cleaning that's why i'm considered the boss and they are someone that works with me for me get in here now we don't have a lot of time we have to turn everything over we got an hour before we're supposed to open after the staff takes over the cleaning of the dining room capri opens for dinner hello and chef ramsay arrives the door shakes to see the twins in action have you ever seen a kitchen like this before this place is littered with crap what's that there co2 for the beer look at those shells i mean that's grime that's like 14 years of grime there chef ramsay was that oh there's dust here there's this is just like it's not that bad what's in here dare i vegetables that's the vegetables what's this at the bottom uh that's supposed to be eggplant eggplant parmesan when were they cooked last thursday last thursday god almighty look at that oh feel that something else you have a feeling i know it's we just made it today today so what's it doing in the fridge hold that i know it's hot hold it what does hot things do that are sealed that goes inside a cold fridge the sauce goes sour i didn't know that you didn't know that i can suggest you spend five minutes sorting out you first before you start cooking yeah okay i should have known better he's right but he's just a pain in the ass about it darren can you go through it real quick yeah trash thank you with the rotten vegetables thrown away i need to order wings please and the order's pouring in jim and jeff get back to cooking dan order green beans please got it and begin to send food out of the kitchen make sure they say a prayer before they start eating that hey the chicken i can't eat them but the diners are less than impressed it's so disgusting okay they sent this back they didn't like it they said that you can't eat it what was this it was like a pilot and a pile of mush big paramush is anyone tasting anything seasoning tasting every time a dish came back it was like losing a customer and uh it hurts what was wrong with it it's too floury and not enough sauce it makes me feel like a loser i do really feel like a loser right now jeff okay i'm just frustrated it's not going right i need to see what i've got to work with before i can start looking at any form of change you have to bounce back i'm working on it i really like jeff you've got to okay come on okay let's go come on okay let's go okay chef ramsay's right you gotta pull yourself together and get back in there and get through the night how are we doing we're doing well sir thanks to chef ramsay's encouragement jeff jumps back into dinner service and tries to help his brother jim get the kitchen back on track keep it up jim you're doing a good job but unfortunately he only makes matters worse jim what was done to those i don't know what happened to those i i really don't frosted them in the bag i think they were defrosted in the bag and i jeff yeah the chicken tenders what did you do to them to defrost them i put it uh on the steam table you defrosted them in the steam table from frozen yeah oh my god now what you're supposed to do no frozen food needs to be defrosted naturally right give me the bag where's the bag oh god almighty we can't serve them you kill somebody jim talk to me what am i supposed to say it's a mistake it's a lethal mistake it's really bad is that what i ate lunchtime yeah it's disgusting i've been feeling a little bit crap all afternoon what are you two doing well what do you want me to say i want you to step up to the plate and be a man i screwed up you haven't told anyone yet he was just being a jerk he was an ass i'm so tired of him just pushing and pushing gross then take it off the menu i've had enough i'm so pissed i can only take so much before i fight back jim get away it's an hour into dinner service oh god almighty and chef ramsay has just discovered a lethal mistake spoiled chicken at capri you kill somebody what am i supposed to say take off the menu jim jim out of the way ladies and gentlemen due to certain circumstance we have no chicken tonight oh my apology to everyone here if you just want to have what you're eating now and leave i understand fully and i apologize hey there may have been a more subtle way of doing that get out of my way we canceled all our chicken orders we got screwed will you stop acting like a baby me you heard it hey new diaper changing i'll give you that time of night little poo poo in kakapans he's the baby he's the one that's whining over everything i don't need to hear this crap dude why'd you have to behave like this i'm not gonna get you you're walking around like a big baby and i'm just asking you to go up a little bit show a little bit of respect for what you're trying to cook oh my god you big wet noodle you want a blanket and a bottle do you need one upside the head jim stop come on what a spoiled brat jim shut up please you're not helping the cause oh my god i set himself on fire i hope so are they always acting like this childish oh yeah they don't get their way they crash or throw a temperature oh my gosh to walk in the dining room like that and scream that's why i said temper catcher there's a part of me that's very satisfied to see the boys finally get what they deserve pearlescent humility okay where are you at now i don't know i'm sorry but yeah it's really late let me go check on that for you can i pass you this they've been here since we opened and they haven't got their food yet some of the table's been waiting two hours out there i know we don't even seem to be bothered i am bothered yeah there's only three tables we said that entrees come on guys just show a little bit more fuse at them surely no it doesn't look good damn it this can't be happening it's just like a bad nightmare let's drink our wine window wants to walk cancel window customers were not happy so i'm got tired of waiting and left it was very disappointing it was a bad night our dishes took longer than usual it was just an embarrassing night okay today could be summed up in one four-letter word lazy i can't even start to help both of you when you're not helping yourselves i really need you to do something both of you go through your kitchen and clean it now your staff you both of you got it yep good night get to work we weren't lazy now we're paying for it we're failures yay i'm just making a turkey here can i do this what's wrong jim i can't clean anything i'm not saying i'm making a mess i feel bad we are in trouble i really don't know if we can fix it that's the problem go take a break jim no i can't take a break because i'm too lazy as it is after the twins spend most of the night cleaning chef ramsay arrives early and with the help of long-time waitress colleen and pizza maker darian he does something the twins have never done open for lunch okay darren yes sir it's gonna be fast it's gonna be furious but you can do it okay i'm game for this how you doing you should come in and have some lunch i would like the lasagna please pizza let's sign you're up lasagna enjoy this is delicious so you act really good oh look at that we got a side thriller now open for lunch oh cool what's going on here oh chloe oh wow i can't believe this is happening wow this is our place hi welcome hi thanks for making it today thank you uh take a seat feeling a little bit peckish um yeah yeah now let me get you a nice little uh chopped salad huh this is different ah let's start off a little oh chopped salad thank you and make sure you save some room for an italian sausage lasagna and a very simple um margarita pizza thank you i'm sorry excuse me it's a good pizza i like it thank you okay whilst you two were home nice and cozy i got here early this morning with darren and colleen i think today we put over 300 in the cash register wow yeah 300 if you do that five times a week that's 1500 that's almost our rent so it's a lot of money towards me i'm just very happy yeah i had my eyes shut and i was wrong i sat on my butt being lazy you can't have your butt stuck to your bed every morning you've got to get out and break the mold message understood loud and clear yep loud and clear after finally getting through to the twins about their laziness chef ramsay wants to dig a little deeper he has an unorthodox plan that will allow the brothers to work out their issues and their frustrations time to go the past and to embrace the future gloves on i'm not gonna be fighting chef ramsay am i i wanna know what's holding you back want to oh for god's sake what is that poo what is that i don't work out it's like starting an old car after a year sitting there it's gonna fart out a little bit come on what pissed you off the most what is it myself why huh cause i'm lazy when was the last time you did something 100 i can't remember what you afraid of tell me screw it up it's just screwed up i've done it all my life i'm a failure you're not a failure you are not we all make mistakes in life embrace change are you keen to make this business work yeah it's time i'm ready to move on to make a success out of this okay last ten let's go and again and again come on hit it you can stop kissing it come on come on and again ready to change yes good man yeah get the out of here i know i'm gonna put behind me all the uh the laziness and look towards the future and the successes that are coming yeah let's go girls good nice it feels good to just let out a whole bunch of that i've been hanging on to nice guys nice take a breather good wow what does this restaurant mean for you a life a career and you think by sitting on your lazy ass all day long and turning up halfway through the day is going to make it work you need to commit good you in here let's go i don't want any headshots just one round and tell each other it's time to work let's go we can work together we can work together we can be successful we just got to talk to each other can i keep anything inside yeah well done give him a hug boxing each other uh was a good exercise because it it cleared the air and it showed me that it's time for me to work hard for the business for both of us okay good it's time for change got it got it are you ready ready good get cleaned up i'll meet you back at the restaurants satisfied that the twins are ready to make some changes within themselves okay how you feeling good chef ramsay now wants to focus on something else that needs a major change the food when was that time you made a meatball probably five years ago yeah and why did you stop it was easier lazy oops let's make a meatball okay together it's been a long time since we made meatballs but i'm ready to do this i am a professional right ground beef season yeah salt and pepper garlic handful of chili flakes chef ramsay is a magician in the kitchen oh you just add this and this and this and it's just like jeff yes how big do you like your balls ah pretty good size i mean you know golf full size what a little taste what do you think it's good i like it a lot can you do that yes can you do that if you need help yes homemade meatballs don't eat meatballs the difference is night and day homemade homemade i can't hear you oh my god i can't hear you it's homemade meatball get outside and shout to the street homemade meatballs tell them in the neighborhood we have homemade meatballs i can't hear you we have homemade meatballs finally stop we have homemade meatballs we have homemade meatballs faced with a restaurant that hasn't been touched since 1963 chef ramsay and his team work overnight to give this restaurant one of the biggest makeovers in kitchen nightmare's history right good morning good morning you are in for a big shock are you ready to see the new capri yes good on the count of three one two go peek just have a look we have brought the capri from 1963 fast forward it transformed it to 2011. it's beautiful look at him cool here this place is going to be hopping this is nice oh wow gone is the carpet that was stuck together with tape you had the most amazing reclaimed wood lining the walls yeah that's right we had to put you on the wall as well colleen what do you think it's isn't it amazing it's amazing we got rid of those hideous green booths you have the most amazing tailor-made cut pews as benches from your local church oh wow sit down at the pew you're happy yeah like you're piggy yeah it's great colleen come forward darling and bring those menus from the pocket there gone are the dirty plastic menus designed and what your kitchen is capable of producing so now it's time to stop ignoring the business and run the business okay yeah i get nervous when you don't talk she's totally stunned come on just amazing it really is i've never heard you this quiet i don't have anything what's the matter just amazing i'm in shock i never thought i could look so different this is beyond what i could ever think could happen it's amazing wow we're moving up and it's exciting it's the second chance on life this is gonna be the coolest place in eagle rock now exactly that come through please look at this oh my god let's start off with meatballs yes what are they homemade meatballs okay sellers for the table welcome an italian chop salad yay for me the hallmark the pizza the margarita classic eggplant palm pie delicious and just gives a completely different twist now entrees baked meat lasagna one of my favorites baked herb chicken with fingerling potatoes and a white wine sauce jim i like it that's cheap a lot it's cool i'm jeff that's jim yeah right little taste yes jump in all right all the broccoli is so good the food looks unbelievable and it even tastes better it's excellent the eggplant is amazing it's starting to get full already and i haven't tasted half the stuff excuse me welcome put you right over here please word of capri's relaunch has spread through eagle rock we have a new menu they have great salads and appetizers start with and the dining room fills up quickly with customers eager to try the new menu you want to do the mac and cheese the oldest chicken wing i'll go grab that and come back to you all right let's go there you go jim media margarita pizza and a baked chicken okay i don't want you to call it out like a chef okay owner i got two what is that hot potato skins two wings yes sir how are you doing jim i'm nervous but i have to believe that i am in charge and i know what i'm doing own it own it own it yeah yeah don't leave from the top buddy in spite of jim's nerves table five is ready pick it up please food is quickly making its way out to the diners the high enough perhaps a little too quickly hey listen guys guys the chicken's not hot enough especially inside there get in the oven get the pan hot first jim i think he's starting to really get a little panicky jim give me time with the chicken please i i got the the chicken in in the what's in the pan and stuff it's it's heating up jim bounce back yep it's not a race casper's been waiting for good food hot food out the window i'm dragging the meatballs here's spaghetti meatball is that how i showed you to plate a spaghetti meatball no it looks like someone on my plate dear jim it's like come on it's so easy just on and you're more capable of doing that i'm telling you it's not rocket science you can't even grape cheese stop panicking and focus i'm panicking right now because we want to get food out quick but it's like hey don't screw this up it's an hour into service and jim is struggling to keep up with the orders jim how much longer on my table for it's coming up right now unfortunately a relaunch that had such promise did you really i did not see that looks like it's slipping away your chicken's coming also jim look at me what type of was that for 16 is there you cutting it right now i had a mushroom and a meat lover cut it right up this is going to 16. they haven't even got their appetizers oh say god darn it oh come on come in you come here both of you i need you for 30 seconds all right oh man we're doing this again i thought we got through this please don't let this be the end no no no no no no no no it's relaunch night at capri and with the kitchen backed up jim give me time with the chicken please the chicken in in the what's in the pan and stuff it's heating up and diners waiting over an hour for food coming both of you jeff ramsey has seen enough look at me look at me right now you're making yourself look stupid it's a big night tonight yes and you're pissing it up so please listen to me you have to command your kitchen yes you have to work together but it's not a race customers are going to wait for good food stop panicking and focus okay yes come on chef robinson was like what is this how could and i go slip back into our old ways of doing it and it's like you got to change this is a new capri i need to note our garlic knots and pepperoni and cheese get sir go help him i'll take care of this got it it's time that i grew up it's time that i start working as a man and not as a butt head sausage and bean put some chicken i'm gonna put basil on this right yeah put a little uh oregano break it up okay jim good now we're getting a system convicted yes yes what's next at 16. good i got hot food up here please serve it once we started hitting our rhythm it was great because things were going out excuse me we settled down and we got it zooming along how we doing so good the meatballs are our favorite things this is really good it's delicious this is maine from scratch this is so amazing it's been one hell of a roller coaster ride but we've learned a lot from chef ramsey and he's left us with a lot of inspiration and hope i can see that we will make it if we keep doing what we're doing jim jeff you've come a long way it's been a tough journey yes and in order for this place to continue functioning you both must work at it yes don't clutter yes show up early yes lazy is a four-letter word yes good god bless you both okay yeah thank you very much good luck we went through a lot to get you know to get the nightmare into a dream it's still a learning process but the future looks really good the capri is gonna work good luck god honestly i'm never gonna forget the twins in eagle rock let me tell you that thank you good night thank you very much jeez yes wow that was hard i mean really hard but i now really believe that both jim and jeff and their little restaurant can become a huge tourist attraction here in eagle rock and come on who doesn't love a pizza and a show oh that was hard just one month after chef ramsay's departure can i take a picture of you two with with jen you sure can the twins kept their promise and open for lunch it's excellent it's really good the new food and decor have made capri a hot spot in eagle rock come back again we're gonna keep this gold now this has been a life-changing experience thank you very much chef ramsay for what you did for us i think it's gonna work it's gonna work by the way we have homemade meatballs located on the mississippi river not far from the gulf of mexico is the new orleans suburb of metairie a tight-knit community that is home to zeke's a neighborhood restaurant opened in 2002 by a charismatic entrepreneur named zeke oknusk zeke was six foot four big and goofy but you know what the man knew how to have a good time and he knew how to run a pretty good restaurant everyone came to zeke when it first opened because there was just a good vibe in this place good people food was always good we used to do 750 people in here on a friday night but in 2005 zeke tragically died during hurricane katrina and the ownership and the direction of the restaurant was up in the air after katrina this place was in limbo so the cortellos bought it and they pretty much took on the place hi guys how are y'all tonight welcome to zeke's when we bought zeke's we chose to keep the name because zekes did a very good business and that just made business sense to us all right guys first guest when daryl first took over pretty much changed everything he cut staff he cut product he went to uh lesser quality i wouldn't feed that to your dog and then on top of that you raise the prices it's a little over the top i feel as though i'm completely handcuffed in the kitchen i'd love to do like a steam clams that's not us i don't think that's us you know what i'm saying i'm always trying to beg him to play him can we try that can we do this and daryl doesn't allow it trying to make chicken salad out of chicken i ask myself all the time why do i even stay here i know sitting on the job servers here are all talked down to or disrespected people just don't feel appreciated daryl cut my pay in the last six months i can't afford raises right now man it's made me work more hours since he cut my pay that row we got three orders of green tomatoes as well cutting them a little thick too i'll tell you that i'm not looking to squeak by we're looking for financial rewards in this business that kind of offended a lot of zeke's regulars and this is just steadily declined meatball's plain and bland unless he's got a pot of gold stashed somewhere there's no way this restaurant lasts in a month all right payroll was today how'd we do that's not a good question financially we are not doing great well we got to catch up somewhere it's not happening we're not going to make it if we don't have chef ramsay come in and tell us what he thinks we can do differently to change this because obviously what we're doing it's not really working physically emotionally it's been hard i have put everything i can possibly put into zeke but seats aren't full so something's going on and we're killing ourselves trying to find out before heading to zeke's gordon has arranged to meet some metairie locals to gain some insight into the restaurant and the neighborhood oh doing good how are we doing this morning very well indeed thank you morning how are we now tell me about the area metric what does it uh what does it stand for it's a town on east bay they got a lot of people got some good russians up there and have you heard of russian called zekes i used to go there quite a bit i haven't been in a while but before katrina we used to go there quite a bit before katrina would feel like every friday it was great what's the difference in food got pricey and average already yeah the quality had gone down quite a bit yeah and uh the atmosphere wasn't the same they lost the magic the feel of the restaurant right just changed yeah thank you thank you after hearing unfavorable reviews chef ramsay heads over to zeke's to continue his investigation and there is nothing more telling than lunch hello well hello chef francie welcome to zeeks i'm very happy to be here nice to meet you come right this way all right guys i think we got a special guest her dad heard that help me get up to speed you are the owner yeah you run the business with zeke my husband no my husband is daryl daryl where is he he is in the kitchen so who seek zeke was the original man who opened the restaurant um passed away right after katrina and we purchased it from his estate so we've had it for almost five years what did you change after you bought it the menu items are similar okay we've definitely taken some off and changed some recipes and the chef is the same emil is the kitchen manager yes decision is it with the new dishes my husband daryl he's got a couple of his recipes on the menu and where did he train as a chef he's never trained as a chef if you're not a chef why would you put dishes on the menu being in the business i guess okay does the chef agree with those dishes or is it just because he's the owner that's why he gets them on i guess talk to him about it okay let me look at the menu okay thank you yeah you're welcome wow hello hi how are you today how are you i'm so happy to be in louisiana my first time good thank you your first name is candace i saw on the menu the oyster cortello it's an invented dish for our restaurant the cortellos is daryl and ellen so they made they made it up so the owners have named an oyster after them yes they have we bought the restaurant now you want your name on the menu yeah sounds like someone's struggling for power ah i've got to try one okay yeah i must have some boiled shrimp boiled sugar and what special do you have by donny we have a chicken fried steak today let's go for it we do have also traditional bread pudding let's go for that and i think we're done okay thank you look what i got all right here we go when daryl got here he kind of implemented his own menu it really gets frustrating because daryl really has no idea culinary-wise what he's doing candace you ready i'm going to take out the boiled trip to him chef ramsay is going to love this food it's simple food it's basic food it's feel good food but it's done very well and fresh okay boiled shrimp thanks honey my first louisiana shrimp yeah everything's soft they should peel easily and sort of pop out the shell but i'm struggling to peel them i mean that is nasty what i'm struggling for here is the lack of freshness they feel and taste slightly mushy which is a big disappointment candice where are the shrimps fresh they're fresh frozen fresh frozen i know it's kind of nice but you can buy fresh shrimp within a mile yes yes the frozen shrimp tastes like sorry crap wanted to know why we would get frozen shrimp when you can go to like the market and get them fresh every day it's not uncommon to have frozen shrimp because some things are okay frozen have a look on the oysters coming right now all right wow that back wall is hideous what a mess you got two seconds please yes and what's with the uh the swamp decor whose idea was that um mine and my husbands to eat in a swamp for children or for adults for both oysters that's not words all right here we go okay thank you all right what the hell is that these are the oysters oysters cortello so i suppose you go like that wow there's red oysters named after the owner i certainly would put my name on that i wouldn't put my enemies name on there take it for you okay thank you as depressing isn't it just terrible oysters cortello i don't know what to say about that i eat them myself i think they're delicious absolutely delicious daryl what do you say oysters cortelo just ain't working this is killing me not to know what he's saying this is the fried chicken snake right correct thank you you're welcome blanders anything no seasoning no care look at that candies what the hell is that it looks like it's just had a giraffe's tongue cut out and deep fat fried people complain that the quality of the food here is horrible unbelievable daryl's not listening to the feedback that he gets and he's going to do what he wants to do he said that it looks like somebody cut out a giraffe's tongue i'm not going to agree with that it didn't look that way to me i mean that's what normally goes out it's a good product they look like we cut out a giraffe's tongue wow wow jesus thanks daddy it doesn't look fantastic but it tastes delicious we made that e-mail it makes it mm-hmm i'm just so happy that chef ramsay likes in the bread pudding it feels great to end on a good note love the bread pudding you like the bread pudding there we go loved it i took full responsibility for bread pudding that is all me daryl doesn't really have influence on that thank god thank god he likes something i did i'll take that any day hello hello jeff and this is daryl the owner introduce me to your brigade chef emil marcos emil good to see you buddy chase the carpenter jason good to see you there's a lot of things that that need changing and you know daryl is one of them can i talk about lunch yes my god what a disaster the food is below standard why wouldn't you buy fresh shrimp i simply don't have the time to go to the market excuse me where are we come on come on big boy chicken fries steak disaster what cut of meat was that not a very good cut no are you proud to serve that food no sir was that the same quality of steak that we're using years ago no sir and why have you changed the standard um it's up to daryl is that a cutting corner method to say no no chef everything is to you yeah but we had diners eating all lunch full dining room but nothing's sent back do you honestly think just because they don't send it back that your food is amazing that's good enough for you to continue now you can't be that stupid point digging if they want to be that stupid you've got no chance i don't buy the fact that it's bad quality food that's hard to believe this was once a great place after receiving some harsh words from chef ramsay the food is below standard daryl has some words of his own you know chef says everything is it's embarrassing there's nothing good about the menu you know i don't buy that i will never believe the food is you're not going to come i've been eating this food all my life chef ramsay doesn't know the world's food that's it cut all the food down you want you can't prank me it's an hour before dinner service and chef ramsay hopes a private meeting with the two chefs emil and jason can shed some light on the restaurant's main issues okay so i don't get it some of the things i encountered there today were just awful that can't be your wish to cook with frozen ingredients we talk about it every day and it just gets swept under the table i tell him the second he starts cutting the cost and getting a cheaper product yeah you know it's going to taste like and trying to explain that to him yeah you know it's like talking to this wall right here and how long has it been going on like that since the right around the time he took over the only thing daryl and ellen see is money and that's what scares me their whole purpose is money money money money money we feel like our hands are so tied as far as ordering goes everything goes the only other option was to leave me and him both go yes you know what do you do just walk out the place i mean we got a lot of personal memories in this place just to walk out of it granted i i get that but it doesn't stop you from having your voice everybody here is just kind of waiting for the place to belly up and go find a new job somewhere else i'm here to help put this freaking place back on the map yes sir you're absolutely right we have only two options chef ramsay or god and i don't think the second comments happen anytime soon thanks for the ketchup thank you after gaining some insight from jason and emil hey i need shrimp portion chef ramsay is eager to see how this restaurant functions in a dinner service how does this work uh emil when were these done um last night why they bagged he poisoned them out to order ready what's the idea of putting everything in bags portion size portion size i like to have everything in quantitative perspective if i give too much you get a happy customer here you don't get a good customer they're happy because they're getting three times what they should be getting i'm getting nothing i don't make money on that it's food you know we're not cutting uh piping hi welcome to zeeks how many do we have in the party it's chef ramsay's first time in louisiana come right this way please and not surprisingly zeke's is completely booked and tonight our specials is lasagna i gotta see food plotting no oyster sub shrimp i'm at the expo station i like to see all the food go out beside a new potatoes i uh make sure every dish goes out like i want it to go out can i run anything nope shrimp platter any of that go i'm waiting on dishes to complete the order it doesn't concern you the food's just dying in the window but we're pushing as hard as we can bloody hell for expediting is one thing standing here and saying nothing is another wow it's an hour into dinner service and the first wave of food is finally making its way out to the customers sorry about the weight they're about everybody's food at the table as well let me get uh your server my apologies and the food isn't the only thing that's getting a chilly reception can i ask something do you mind not standing there like that it's so dour i think you can be more proactive i don't want to hover you know but you can make yourself busy okay i got it i'm ready thank you all right look what i got what's that one lasagna lasagna when was the lasagna made last thursday last thursday and today's thursday right correct seven and stuff from a week ago help me to understand that uh that's stupidity that made the pan we didn't sell it all it's wrapped up in portions and approach i thought that's a bad thing lasagna it's all done fresh cooked and uh we'll wrap the portions up separately or put them in the freezer it works it is the best lasagna you're going to get is it special right yes it is okay so how the is that special in your tiny mind when it was cooked a week ago i'm telling you have a tiny mind it can't be that special if you're going to stand here and tell me that it's special the product is good daryl runs his kitchen with 90 bravado and you know the other 10 he just wings it this is a good product this is good food my god it's getting worse yeah he's a tough nut your uh expediter so we have a special today when do you think that lasagna was made today homemade lasagna right last thursday how could it be that special when it's from a week ago well you know it's frozen so it's not like sitting there getting mildew on it and our customers absolutely love the lasagna i don't think that's our biggest issue is lasagna i mean that's absolutely incorrect what do you think they would feel like if you told them today's special was cooked a week ago frozen i don't know i mean i'm sure they would probably be surprised that it was so good and that it was made last week in frozen should i ask them all would you like me to walk with you i'm not gonna walk or stand up and shout oh really when you come out to restaurants and you read today's specials for instance a beautiful homemade lasagna would you expect that lasagna to be made today yes ladies and gentlemen how many of you have ordered lasagna how would you feel if i told you all that today's lasagna that's been served was made a week ago this is humiliating after making a shocking discovery about today's special when was the lasagna night last thursday chef ramsay made an announcement today's lasagna that's been served was made a week ago that is not sitting well with customers my apologies to those that have ordered the lasagna have a look at the potential other specials bonneville tea thank you thank you this is humiliating it's absolutely better of course when it's fresh and served right out of the pan but it's not horrible i just told the customers that laser sanya was reheated from a week ago the feedback was shock horror 86 lasagna yes sir yeah with chef ramsay's announcement fresh in their minds okay customers have seemed to have lost their appetite did y'all eat already yeah i have a lasagna after witnessing a dinner service full of problems you got two seconds please yes absolutely chef ramsey is anxious to have a chat with the owners oh dear did you hear the customers tonight i told them lasagna was a week old did you hear here's what happens cook lasagna and it doesn't sell you throw it away no we don't throw it away we wrap it i'm here to help but i tell you what i can't help you when you're standing there and trying to come up with excuses to why customers pay good money for frozen that cooked a week ago and you call it a special we don't feel like it puts out an awful product you don't give a about food it's not true your passions about portion control measurements frozen foods reheating of microwave russians don't run like this disagree i disagree with that also definitely trust me you are not a restaurateur you're the owner you're paying right here when you start dealing with all this crap and your name's on that lease then you tell me what you want to do after being stonewalled by owners in denial good morning chef ramsay has called a staff meeting two minutes please hoping to bring all the restaurants issues into the open okay i want you to tell me the frustrations the anger and the things that really upset you the most emil um i just feel as though i'm getting pounded with a mallet constantly when i walk into this place i went from working 40 hours to working about 50 for 400 a week that pisses me off i feel that we don't get any respect i'm here all the time i don't get to eat lunch i should have a meal i should have a chef meal this is messed up we are talked down to like we're dirt and it's not right listen um i really appreciate the openness and the honesty and it was bad but i didn't quite understand it it hit that level of hurt i think it's just sad that we're all sitting here and that we actually have to even beat at this point i think we all the whole group of us here pretty much struggling no one's getting that message across i need to get through to them daryl and ellen are about to arrive i want you to tell them everybody was saying what they wanted to say and getting it off their chest but it's kind of different from telling chef ramsay versus telling daryl don't be nervous i don't need to be afraid i've got your back okay and here they are good morning good morning i've been here having to start meeting um we've gone through some issues um this morning that's been bothering them but rather than me trying to tell you how they feel i think they should speak certainly who's gonna go fast i go first i don't feel as though we all gain much respect around here and i don't think that you as an owner have our back candace ashley is that how you feel you really do talk to us like dirt sometimes my intent is not to talk down to somebody but that's how it comes out jason talk to daryl please my biggest problem that i have is just i don't think you have a clue as to how this place runs me yeah wow i think that you're so stuck on the numbers the actual essence of having a restaurant serving good food and giving customer service and happy employees that's gone i don't understand we hear it every single night and every single day from our customers what needs to be changed and why they don't come back we let you know these things and you don't give a nothing's done you don't care wow pay plans is ridiculous here i really don't wanna break down cause i i've been in a long time and i'm not getting pissed jack but somebody be here that long i've been here since 2006. why haven't i never got a pay raise okay let me say something real quick since we're all telling the truth first of all daryl and i have taken thousands and thousands of dollars out of our personal account to pay your paychecks so why not just close the place down we're not giving up we don't want to give up if you want to give up that's fine this isn't your business we don't want to leave each other because we all love each other we don't want to leave not at all but i need to make money to support my family you know what so do we y'all acting like it's us against y'all and it's not this is a business we have costs and expenses i ask you to take that pay cut it's either that or labor costs get so high i'm out but you can go on five vacations in the summer and you're struggling for money right that is up period if you don't want to be here don't be here after chef ramsay arranged for the staff to air their grievances i don't think you have a clue as to how this place runs the defiant owners are not having any of it if you don't want to be here don't be here if i were piling up money back there then i can see you're being pissed off but we're not piling up money back there i can't show appreciation in dollars at this point they maybe have this picture of me with this pile of money going hahaha nobody's gonna get it we don't have the money i'm accepting the truth from you guys accept it from me please things aren't going well i understand that in terms of morale there's an air of discontent they feel abused and i'm not saying the staff are perfect but you're the owners and you set an example we have to fix what's broken within so how about starting over again and turning the page and the beginning of a new chapter i understand those frustrations you're wonderful people so i want you all here and you will have my respect i guarantee that from me and there's a lot of love for you guys from ellen and i and i truly mean that good we did make some progress via is clearer okay it's a new day here at zeke's i've got some ideas that i need to uh put into place to really start putting this place back on the map thank you honestly i don't think that daryl and ellen heard what what we were saying he was just saying what was right just to get chef ramsay off of his back we'll see what happens after attempting to open daryl and ellen's eyes to the staff morale problems chef ramsay has devised a plan to test the chefs and showcase their abilities okay it's been so obvious that you've been handcuffed by daryl and here's what i want you to do show daryl how creative how inspirational how exciting you can be with seafood there's a grocery store literally two miles away from here okay have a look at the ingredients get inspired come back get creative i want to see that on a plate yeah thank you good right now i'm pretty jacked up gordon ramsay himself say jason time for you to be inspired go let it happen let's see what you got all right let's see what they got fresh how may i help you redfish fresh and just put it out hour and a half ago that's what we're looking for it's extremely liberating to have this freedom to showcase and do what we want to do cook good food very nice to meet you thanks guys i am uh looking for red onions with uh asparagus let's do a red pepper this will be the last thing i get and we're ready to ride there it is that is showcase the skills so happy think of something creative and really let it go yeah yes okay off you go guys yeah yeah i'm gonna do a chicken fried steak at the same time okay own brilliant yeah yeah sure you can put a little lime juice in there yes i'm not done yet with it okay good yeah i love the idea the bacon and cheddar cheddar nice so in terms of the inspiration tell me what it is try to keep it southern with the grits fresh with the salmon and classic with the capers with the onions with the tomatoes good keeping it with the new orleans theme redfish and then grilled vegetables fresh rice fresh ingredients just a fun dish pretty good job the difference of night and day let me tell you that beautiful now you say nothing you didn't cook them i cook them do you understand yes okay let's go come over guys please wow look at that you think of louisiana first thing you think of is freshness but when i walked into your restaurant what i didn't expect was frozen seafood so i got my team to get some ingredients for it like you both just have a little taste taste of freshness a beautiful chocolate salmon done with grits creamy tasty it's absolutely phenomenal and i got hold of some red fish marinaded zucchini with some rice and a really nice mango salsa oh my gosh this red fish is delicious it's phenomenal it's absolutely not phenomenal absolutely watching them eat my dish and not knowing that it was mine and to say that you know it looked like it was from their heart i'd like you to have a little taste of that chicken fried steak i just lightly pounded it and then fried it twice so it should just melt in your mouth it does melt literally literally melted yep i couldn't believe how good it was the presentation was beautiful and it was fresh ingredients and they tasted wonderful they're all absolutely phenomenal you taste the difference absolutely there's something you need to know about the seafood dishes i didn't cook them the two chefs put those dishes together wow the seafood dishes are your boys delicious absolutely they really are they're phenomenal it really opened my eyes to what i i wasn't letting them do honestly food is art and i was not letting them create their art these aren't just delicious they're beautiful and they come from right inside you i know that you did a fantastic job it feels really good that daryl and ellen recognize my potential and i think that my abilities have been shown and hopefully this is the first step forward this is the newsies i can see that's what we're looking for and all i could really think to myself was about time you see it pretty good job well done after finally having at least a small breakthrough with the owners jeff ramsey decides to have his teamwork through the night on the biggest restaurant makeover they have ever done right good morning morning chef excited are you ready to see the musics yes let's go welcome to the news eggs here we go oh my god are you kidding me oh nice oh man look at that oh my god let's start with the walls gone is the swamp look at how the the other old door is reclaimed doors they've got that nostalgia and it's got that comfort field right look at this you've got the most amazing chairs brand new chairs it just feels authentic let me say this please please you have found our identity wonderful this is wonderful us i'm astonished i mean truly i didn't really have any expectations but this has surpassed anything i could possibly imagine there is one more thing i'd like to show you you're gonna start peeing your pants there we are our boil house oh my gosh from shocking your oysters to cooking your shrimp this is going to be a substantial part of the menu and a meal it's going to take so much pressure off you and jason this should just run on its own and it should almost double the turnover did i see you smile again that's the second time in 24 hours dude huh they're gonna arrest you for being too happy jeff ramsey has given this staff this place my family our friends our customers a new beginning it's unbelievable honestly when people would ask me where i work i would never say zeke's i just said i'm a cook now i'm proud to say that i work here a new beginning and the new identity physiques a along with making the decor more inviting jeff ramsey has replaced zeke's outdated stale menu with a modern update of classic new orleans cuisine oh my gosh my goodness me this is going to put zeke's back on the map be careful it's fresh goodness every dish is absolutely beautiful okay let's start off top of the table zeke's house boil yes bucket of shrimps yes look at the blue crabs great sharing festive localized bucket push them okay back in the menu the entrees pecan crusted catfish so with a classic tartar sauce and a herb salad country fried steak big hit say no more such a gravy delicious slightly heated in that gravy it's got a nice little burn on the back of your throat blackened alligator wonderful creole sauce absolutely delicious because this has now become not the old your zekes thank you you've got your identity now make it yours absolutely incredible beautiful come here the way chef created the menu and the dishes uh they don't have a menu like that around here dig in enjoy so not only do we have something great to put on the table but it's not anywhere around nobody else has it oh my god do you taste the cornbread menu is phenomenal i'm proud to have it and excited and can't wait for everybody else to come in and try it it's delicious i feel right now we have the most diverse louisiana southern menu i mean we very well may have the best menu rigid flavor rich in texture wow hi guys welcome to zeke the community of metairie had a love affair with this restaurant that went sour enjoy enjoy enjoy shrimps are amazing chef ramsay's revamp and tonight's relaunch will be a strong indicator if it's possible for this love affair to resume are you going to try and smother i'm going to try the black and the alligator and with so many changes in place and so many people in the dining room chef ramsay is hoping the boil house will take some of the pressure off the kitchen any um any orders on it in the boathouse no nothing in the board house already so get hold of the waitresses call them in and say right start pushing them i've got to use that place you've got to get used to that let's go great sell boil food sell one okay sell one to a big table please tonight we have a um special it's boiled lobster for two i don't know if you saw it on the menu but sell it by the bucket just bring us two to come right up two buckets of laughing for table five put a little bit of butter on there give it a nice little glaze okay good that's it two lobsters let's go look what i have for y'all y'all enjoy it looks good with the boil house now being utilized and satisfying customers it's clearly allowed some breathing room for the kitchen you're eight minutes on bay crab at 33 however it's now up to daryl to manage the time wisely i worked hard today let's make it happen you've got to focus on that window communicate with these guys one take one leaving one type of working so we don't get bumped down yes yes i need an alligator i need a strip give me three minutes on that let's go we need to push food up there and cook it as fast as we can great tomatoes you're talking about ices and eat it fast let's work one at a time it's not a race why are we looking three chops in alligator hold on one second darrell mother chop how do you like it zero slow down for one minute let us catch up huh how with daryl calling multiple tickets at the same time grits mash sweet potatoes and more focused on speed than anything else what ticket is it for the kitchen is now completely confused how's my pecan catfish where's my new york strips got to go just put them in the window and we'll figure out how to plate them yes whatever you got make sure it's done huh i was being told that i need this this and this right now and i just try and move as fast as i can and get the food out say it just looks like crap do you agree yeah no garnish no losing a window like that daryl has managed to get the cooks producing the food at a much quicker pace but the dishes are not at the level that they should be so is that is that fruit it's not is it do something can i get another one yeah guys the fish is raw not tonight just just stop 24 is out everybody stop what a joke it's relaunch night at six mother chop how are we looking around slow down for one minute let us catch up huh and with daryl pushing the cooks food is leaving the kitchen quickly can i get another one unfortunately it's also coming back quickly guys the fish is raw not tonight oh man just stop everybody stop i'm here jason come around i'd rather be three four minutes later than rush food out there and the shit's coming back not tonight an expeditious should definitely set the tone for the rest of the kitchen i think daryl lost control of that it's just a big catastrophe what we've got to do is focus on one table at a time we've got to communicate y'all talk to me don't get swamped where you at what time are you on daryl take responsibility i have to stop refocus let's get these tickets out one at a time i think they do a better job of communicating very simply all right guys let's focus where you at now daryl pecan catfish and blackened alligator in his hand daryl table one let's go move to the next ticket i got 33 black and alligator pecan catfish coming right now daryl let's go following chef ramsay's advice of focusing on one table at a time table ten yeah i'm cheese daryl and the chefs are now in sync please let's get this to uh 31. like an alligator perfectly cooked dishes are leaving the kitchen and are being enjoyed by thrilled customers that's delicious now that this restaurant is on its way to a successful relaunch chef ramsay is ready to spread the word what happened with the restaurant before why did you come here this place was legendary and it lost its way it's now back on the map and two new owners that are going to start their own beginning of a new chapter what is the feedback you're already getting for tonight that the food is fantastic i mean the menus it's fabulous i highly recommend that you come in and try it let's finish let's finish somebody get this to 14 please yeah no more tickets coming in let's get this stuff out of here delicious that's a wrap jack at the end of the night the way it ended made you feel good i think daryl showed more personality tonight than he showed in the last few years we still have some improvements to make but you can see it's on the right track nice job good night ladies thank you thank you so much okay tonight was about establishing a new zeas and you achieved it yes please yes for my first time in new orleans me did you give me a challenge if chef ramsay told me a week ago that all these changes were going to happen why am i done i don't think i would have really believed it let's have a quick word with you two amazing look at this place the potential is huge i know fantastic it's now your zeke's run with it and daryl you do care and you do have a heart a big heart show it to your staff indeed i will don't don't hide that i'm ready to do things the right way ready to get moving it's a new it's a new life it's new energy good job thank you thank you good night good night good night good night we had a lot of issues here when i first arrived the staff were at war with the owners the food was miserable and the restaurant was seriously struggling for an identity but what i witnessed was a phenomenal comeback and how fitting is that that took place here in the most resilient city across america new orleans week old lasagna not so special in the weeks that followed a glowing report on the local news as a family as a restaurant it's back on the map brought a surge of customers to the restaurant hi how are y'all daryl and ellen are doing their best to raise staff morale you all did an excellent job i can't do this without you guys and are reaching out to the community and we really thank you all for coming it means a lot to us thanks put zeke's back on the map you\n"