By Jennifer Larson

Chef Gordon Ramsey continues his quest to help bring even the worst run restaurants back to life by visiting The Mixing Bowl Eatery in Bellmore, N.Y., in tonight’s episode of KITCHEN NIGHTMARES. As usual, there is a serious problem with this establishment’s management. And I have to tell you, that appears to be a consistent theme to every episode I’ve seen so far. I guess it makes sense. I mean restaurants are serious business, so if you have somebody running things that doesn’t understand the ins and outs of even the most basic principles of business, you are screwed. The Mixing Bowl’s idea of good business is giving out an abundance of coupons. You would think that is a smart thing to do, but if everybody coming in is eating for free – or close to it – you aren’t going to make a profit, even if you pack the place every night. The bottom line is – at least from what I can see – that poor hygiene and substandard cooking can be easily fixed. It is almost always more difficult to deal with the human aspect of this show than the rest. But Ramsey knows what he’s doing and he keeps proving that week after week.

The Mixing Bowel is another family owned and operated restaurant. The owner is the head chef, his wife and sister work there and the bulk of his family is dependent on the business coming back to life. It’s always sad to watch these people break their backs just trying to break even. With loses in the thousands, closing down this restaurant could destroy this family. Without Gordon’s help, there may be no coming back from this disaster. So while the show is good entertainment for us, it is a matter of utmost importance to these people. This is why I say Chef Ramsay is really a softie inside, because he truly does care about helping these people get back to being profitable. But manager Mike isn’t helping to make this happen.


Mike likes to shmooz with the customers and flirt with the employees. Mike must not have BBC, because if he had he’d know that he’s a cliché in the restaurant world. The problem is, these managers who believe they ooze enough charm to pack in the business are usually the ones driving it away. But not only is Gordon unimpressed with Mike the manager; he’s also concerned about the condition of the restaurant itself. There are paper table clothes, chipped paint on almost every wall and a drab interior design. But other than that, the food was atrocious. That being said Billy, the owner/head chef, was relieved to hear his crab cakes got a thumbs up. And to be honest, Ramsay’s critique of the food at the Mixing Bowl wasn’t as bad as some of the other establishments he’s gone to. But it appears the real problem is the plethora of coupons and special deals manager Mike began.

Apparently if you go to the Mixing Bowl, you automatically get handed a 50% off coupon with your check … sweet! Of course that doesn’t mean anything, if the food is less than stellar. But the whole thing does provide some comic relief, when Mike takes Gordon on a tour of the billboard graveyard. With an owner who is more than happy to hide out in the kitchen, Gordon begins to wonder whether it’s even worth keeping the restaurant open. But this is the family’s last-ditch effort, so Gordon just can’t turn and walk away. But there is still the problem of manager Mike to deal with. Apparently he’s more than ineffective, he’s a thief. This guy acts as if he’s the owner, and sees nothing wrong with helping himself to 25% of the wait staff’s tips. Yeah, that’s the way to get the employees to respect and listen to you. But let’s give him a little credit, he’s so emotionally invested in the restaurant he is prone to break out in tears over the changes taking place.


Now that the menu and restaurant décor have been made over, it’s time to take care of Mike. The tone of the Mixing Bowl is now light, vibrant and healthy, and it seems like it’s just what the neighborhood wanted. The relaunch was a huge success, almost too good. The line to get in went around the block, and the reservations were off the charts; this sent manager Mike into a dizzy. Even worse was the fact that he forgot that the Dragon football team was coming in. Wow, how do you forget a group of professional football players? I don’t think a group of 200-pound men look to kindly at having to wait for their food. Nor do I believe the customers enjoy watching a grown man in the middle of a meltdown. But Mike is a lucky guy, because Billy believes if the restaurant gets a second chance, so does manager Mike.

As usual, the restaurant made a miraculous turnaround. Mike shaped up, money began pouring in and Billy came out of the kitchen. So another business is saved, thanks to the golden touch of Chef Gordon Ramsay.