{"id":14639,"date":"2017-05-03T09:26:24","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T23:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/?p=14639"},"modified":"2017-07-07T11:36:03","modified_gmt":"2017-07-07T01:36:03","slug":"gordon-ramsay-actually-help-restaurants-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/gordon-ramsay-actually-help-restaurants-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Gordon Ramsay Actually Help Your Restaurant’s Business?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The belligerent, swearing, screaming restaurant magnate Gordon Ramsay has achieved worldwide notoriety, as well as a reputation for taking a harsh line with shabby businesses in order to turn them around, financially. His \u2018Ramsay\u2019s Kitchen Nightmares\u2019 and \u2018Ramsay\u2019s Hotel Hell\u2019 are among a long list of television enterprises which have boosted Ramsay\u2019s international fame. This raises the question: are these really an indication of his restaurant-running genius, or is he simply all yell<\/span> talk?<\/p>\n

We all know TV-land is built upon smoke and mirrors, and a large helping of bullshit. Are Ramsay\u2019s endeavours to \u2018help\u2019 failing restaurants (and now, hotels) simply a recipe for television magic, or are they actually designed to turn the fortunes of floundering small businesses? According the Daily Mail, up to 60% of the restaurants featured<\/a> on Ramsay\u2019s seven seasons of Kitchen Nightmares have since closed. Some, it seems, did not even survive long enough to gather around the dining room and watch their episode air.<\/p>\n

While these kinds of numbers may seem alarming, the sad fact of the matter is that around half of all restaurants don\u2019t survive past their first few years. Running a restaurant is challenging stuff, with high costs, low margins and a great deal of competition to deal with. Brandishing an incredible 16 Michelin stars, it seems even Gordon Ramsay couldn\u2019t bring some of these \u2018nightmare kitchens\u2019 back from the brink.<\/p>\n

After seven successful seasons, Ramsay has now called it quits on this particular show (although, he\u2019s got no shortage of others in the works, including Hotel Hell). While the producers of the show swear black and blue that their intentions were always pure, and all efforts were made to improve the fate of the businesses in question, sometimes there is simply no helping people.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t ask to take part in a show called Kitchen Nightmares if your restaurant business is booming and therefore it is not surprising that many of the restaurants which Gordon has visited over the ten years are now closed,\u201d says a spokesperson for Ramsay, to the Daily Mail. \u201cWith the huge exposure that comes with being on the TV show, all the tools are there for success but it\u2019s up to the owners to translate this into long term business which sadly isn\u2019t always possible.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Meanwhile, there are a number of commentators publicly airing their grievances with the show, and its depiction of the restaurants and their owners.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brothers are part of a small restaurant chain that lobbied heavily to be on Kitchen Nightmares. In the end, the show passed on them. The funny thing was that none of these restaurants were failing. The one they were most interested in has been in business for 150 years and has zero chance of going under. Also, they were well aware that the show would make them look like clueless idiots. They just wanted the free renovations that being on the show would bring.\u201d ex-restauranteur John Reese, on Quora<\/cite><\/a><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Whether or not John\u2019s story bears merit, there is no doubt television producers need to add a certain amount of drama to any story. Ratings are, after all, of paramount importance to television networks. Nevertheless, there seems to be a certain amount of common sense and good business acumen in Ramsay\u2019s advice to the \u2018struggling\u2019 restaurants, including:<\/p>\n