The mod that gave you the follow up left out a lot of important information and gave a completely incorrect view of what happened post episode. Melissa made major improvements and the restaurant was doing quite well for a year before Gordon did the revisit episode. In the revisit he complimented her cooking and even praised her for her kitchen and fridge upkeep literally saying that he'd eat off the floor. They closed shortly after the revisit but that was as far as anyone can tell not because of failing success or anything Melissa did wrong. But was instead a combination of Billy already wanting to sell and because he got cancer and needed the money for treatment, he ended up passing away in 2015 from the cancer. Also I'll mention Melissa was actually pressured into the position under the assumption it was just a temporary position, and Billy never hired a replacement. Which from what I know is because no one would work for what he was paying her.
And THERES the reason he was so adamant to keep someone who literally said frame one that she cannot do the job and does not want to do the job. I fucking knew there had to be some reason she was being kept around.
Considering this episode was filmed at the literal height of the 2008 financial crisis, I absolutely cannot fault Melissa for being unwilling to quit a job she knew she was secure in. Yes, she bears a good portion of the responsibility as the head chef, but unemployment was BAD bad back then. At least she stuck around and continued to try, unlike Billy who damn near checked out the moment he was confronted about his failures.
Yeah ngl, being unable to understand that some people might have no choice and have to take any job they can get feels like such a privileged take, lol. Not everyone has good family to fall back on for support.
Omg fr, it’s hard enough for me to find a job quick enough in order to have a stable work environment after/if I quit my current one. It’s not an easy turnover, it takes usually 1-2 months for most employers to get back to me. And half the time those are chain restaurants
Yeah, it turns out she was pressured by the owner because she took the job thinking it was temporary and that he would hire a replacement soon, but he never did, so she was basically stuck in the position because no one else would work at the salary she was being paid. Literally, she got so shit talked in this video for no reason of her own except trying to find temporary work and randomly choosing the worst place.
I worked a steakhouse as my very first job… where they told me I might have to cook. I was there to be a dishwasher and I told them I can’t cook because I came from a very old school family where the men weren’t allowed to. They made me cook anyways… even though I told them I couldn’t and they made me anyway - with NO supervision. I had never even SEEN a gas grill before. Long story short - spilled grease plus fire, plus a terrified teenager who had no idea what he was doing, plus a bucket full of potatoes soaking in water used to try to put the fire out… equaled one fired teenager who was still trying to figure out why they thought it was a good idea to try to make him do that in the first place. Lol
She severely underestimates how influential a motorcycle rally can be. Motorcyclists can travel massive distances when they want to just for fun. Having a rally will bring in motorcyclists from ALL over across a huge distance, and then when they go back will talk about the restaurant. Which will bring people in from other towns and cities when they come there as they've heard of the place. In addition it will attract anyone interested in motorcycles in the town to the restaurant. Gordon sometimes comes up with weird idea's to bring people in, but ti's the weird idea's that WORK. It attracts certain groups of people that can be very influential even when you think they might not be and attracts people who are just curious. You might think it's weird but weird works.
It's not weird it's smart , weird is not being wise ro smart enough to understand it, weird is wanting to make everything a bland copy pasted clone everywhere.
@ I wasn't really using weird as in it actually being a weird thing. As it's not it's a smart thing like you said. I was meaning weird as in not what you would initially think of for the situation. "Normal" would be how he had the pizza making contest for the one restaurant, that makes obvious sense and is an instant thought of how to advertise a pizza place. While a motorcycle rally is very different from that for a restaurant. As it doesn't directly tie into what the restaurant is and what it does, it's not advertising the restaurant and it's food which would be the "normal" thing to do. It's instead drawing people in with the event, which leads people to the restaurant, which then causes people to talk about the restaurant, which would result in more people coming to the restaurant. Basically it's scale, the "normal" pizza making contest was good for attracting local people which works great for cities with a larger customer base as Anna Vincenzo's was in Baton Rouge and it had a population of around 85,000 when the episode was filmed. But for Handlebar the area of long island they're in was only around 12,000 at the time of filming. Which means while you want to attract local you also want to attract people from further away. So a "weird' advertising strategy is needed.
@@XC11301991 as an Indonesian I completely understand it because we have a lot of vehicle clubs and a food place can get a massive boost of revenue by being a go-to place for some of the vehicle clubs
My dad was a landlord of a 4 unit building for like 20 years until blackrock bought the entire block, tripled everyone's rent and evicted everyone who couldn't pay. He's a 74 year old cancer patient so he couldn't exactly refuse or keep up with the building maintenance anymore (he always did it himself, replacing ACs, fixing appliances, replacing windows, 0 contractors).
He’s sounds like one of the rare few and far between. Haven’t met a landlord who ever got their hands dirty and actually contributed to their units/complex aside from being entitled pricks to their tenants.
@ His "Work Crew" Was me and my sister, an engineer and MD respectively, my childhood involved a LOT of apartment repair and re-painting. Dad had good enough sense not to bring us in on the suicide & murder cases (because Cops in Illinois force property owners to clean up crime scenes, there is no CSI). and the property he owned was in a city that while being significantly lower population than Chicago somehow managed a per-capita murder rate similar to Chicago. Mostly due to being on the Cartel supply line to Chicago.
I mean... Melissa was doing the damn job lol. She was bad at it, but she was open to the help. That's better than a majority of the people on this show
Doing her job? She admitted she didn’t know/want to cook. Worst like Alicia said she’s fucking over everyone especially the waiters/waitresses because they don’t get tips.
She literally said she didn’t know/want to cook and never saw it as a career. And because of that the waiters/waitresses suffer because now they get less customers and less tips
Melissa strikes me as less "mwahaha, i can get money from these owners without actually working" and more "this place hired me when i wasn't qualified, I'll fucking take it I guess". Considering that she ended up going to culinary school after this experience and becoming a Michelin Star Chef, it feels like she was just in a rough patch in life and couldn't find the way through until Gordon came along and inspired her. Also, Fondue.
@ You don't have to apologize, I was curious where you heard that as I started looking around for confirmation after reading your comment but couldn't find it anywhere I looked.
@@-Offstar Tried looking for it as well, and the closest thing I found was another chef named Melissa that worked at several Michelin starred restaurants, though she was Chinese.
There were some unironically baffling takes in this. The chef seemed to just be in a depressive slump because she now works at a Michelin Star restaurant, Caroline just has a Jersey accent and not drunk, and the biker scene in the northeast US is INCREDIBLY strong. Biker rallies are a pretty good idea because if you are on a highway (like Handlebars is) then having a biker friendly reputation can be a surprisingly strong boon.
Yeah, it turns out the chef was pressured by the owner in this because she took the job thinking it was temporary and that he would hire a replacement soon, but he never did, so she was basically stuck in the position because no one else would work at the salary she was being paid. Literally, she got so shit talked in this video for no reason of her own except trying to find temporary work and randomly choosing the worst place.
1. From what I have heard, Melissa, the chef, later went to culinary school and still works as a chef to this day, but is MUCH happier and the quality of her work reflects that. So its safe to say that the owner wasn't wrong in his assesment that she was just really hard on herself and that it made her come off really apathetic. And even though the place closed down in 2009, I think that even Gordon would agree that it was worth it if it meant Melissa being inspired the way she was. And speaking of... 2. This establishment closed down about a year after the original episode aired. The location itself has changed hands many times and is still doing business as of me writting this. 3. Billy unfortunately passed away in 2015 after a long battle with cancer. About 6 years after this episode aired.
Fun fact: Famous professional wrestler Mick Foley shows up to the opening of this restaurant in this episode, appears on camera, and not a single person took any notice
To be fair, imitation crab is still seafood. It's usually made from pollock, which is also the most popular source of frozen fish sticks. Pollock is like tuna, though, where it's one of the most valuable and sought after fish. They're awesome when fresh, but most people have only ever experienced them in their cheapest form.
@@whensomethingcriesagain It's possible that cod might be an alternative. I know that Wendy's claims to use cod for their fish sandwiches, while most other fast food places use pollock patties
Melissa went on to culinary school and then became a Michelin Star Chef. I feel like you're putting all the hate and frustration on her, and I don't really know why. She needed a job, got hired as a chef, and did the bare minimum to keep it. Yeah, she could have put more effort into it, but the owners could have put more effort into running the damn place, so I don't think it's fair to use that as a main criticism. We straight up see her serve something that Gordon motherfucking Ramsey thought tasted pretty good, so she clearly has some vague concept of what she's doing. I know it's usually a situation of "the head chef can't cook and won't admit it", but she clearly said that she wasn't qualified. They didn't fire or demote her, and job security is a rare thing to find. And considering how blunt she was about it in front of the owners, I'm willing to bet she has said it before, and this is just the owner covering his ass.
She's still complacent though and is definitely playing a part in why the restaurant is failing. Just because everyone else is shit at there jobs, doesn't mean you have to join them. Have integrity and be better.
@Jesse-Pinkthem You do it for yourself. If you accept mediocrity, then you never grow. If you have no integrity, then your word is meaningless, and who wants to work with someone who can't be trusted to follow through. Both things make you a better person and increase the chances of finding success.
I want to say just one thing in defense of Melissa always smiling with this stuff. I myself have a hard time not smiling when I'm nervous or anxious, so it could be something like that instead of her being an evil gremlin.
I mean we literally watched other episode if by now you still think humans react the same way and that smiling = bad then you need to get yout head checked also make me remember when my teacher at school harassed me and punished me because i was "too smiley" thanks miss and mister to shame me for being happy and good living ? Now im depressed i guess stupid shitty socity.
Yeah, it turns out she was pressured by the owner because she took the job thinking it was temporary and that he would hire a replacement soon, but he never did, so she was basically stuck in the position because no one else would work at the salary she was being paid. Literally, she got so shit talked in this video for no reason of her own except trying to find temporary work and randomly choosing the worst place. So like if I was stuck in a shitty position, I would also smile through the pain.
Nah, if you're hired for a job and you don't do the job then you're actively taking from the people who hired you. She's putting the owners' and every other staff member's livelihoods at risk. It's so weird that people think that it's justified to behave as unethically as possible if it's for the sake of making a living. If she wanted to secure her own livelihood the best way for her to do that was to actually try to do her job.
@@infinityseven5924 Why should she try when she’s already getting paid for not trying? If that’s the standard that the owners are willing to pay her for, that’s on them. If the business is so important to the owner, it’s on the owner to fire employees that lose them money
@infinityseven5924 it really isnt peoples responsibility to be a bleeding heart and consider every way their life effects others. Getting paid to not be out on the streets and hungry outweighs coddling ignorant owners who are blind as bats. Its not an issue of ethics its self preservation, they wanted her, they got her, its not a persons job to shoot themselves in the foot when theyre given a boon.
1:05:11 No shade at all here, but... Ma'am, do you know what a motorcycle rally is? It boils down to bunch of people who have ridden all day getting together to eat and drink- typically large amounts of both. (My dad used to go to rallys a lot before he crashed his bike, basing my info on his experience)
And when it was the Indian restaurant having a parade she was all for it… Sometimes it’s not about giving out samples it’s about welcoming a niche community that your competitors aren’t focusing on.
@@davidkoudelka10 The Karens were probably worse when she was a waitress. At least as the owner she can kick someone out when they refuse to be reasonable.
The ONLY explanation that makes any sense as to why someone would think you’re as bad as a landlord is that MAYBE they assumed you’re in the US. Where restaurants can pay staff $2 an hour and let customers treat them like garbage. They don’t know that you subsidize the businesses with youtube money, bought them to get your family out of a bind, and allow staff to bounce between buildings for extra shifts to avoid cutting hours. That person was speaking from a place of full ignorance.
I get excited anytime I see you've posted a new video on Kitchen Nightmares video, I really "fondue"! Okay, suggestions... how about "Blackberry's"? A soul food restaurant that had it all, show related trauma, frustrating owner, and one of the absolute WORST dishes Gordon ever ate! Gotta hand it to him, he is the bravest man ever, I doubt anyone else would have eaten it.
Oh, also have to mention the fact that this chef claims to not even want to be a chef and thinks everything she makes is garbage... was able to fix something Gordon actually liked! While the most egocentric chefs elsewhere can't get a single dish right!
Cockroaches? “It’s raw”? Shitty owners who don’t know how to own a restaurant owning a restaurant? Alicia telling us how badly this kitchen is a nightmare? You know I’m here for it!
According to what I saw in chat, Melissa was okay. Gordon liked the fillet. It was clean. But what caused the downfall was Billy reverting it back to the old menu and managment ways. They tried to switch back, but it was too late.
One thing I will say about Melissa not communicating is that being able to organise staff effectively when under pressure is a skill in itself, and not one everyone will possess. There's a lot of Kitchen Nightmares episodes where the head chef will be trying to do everything themselves and not making use of their team. But communicating like this is part of the job of being a head chef...
Fondue 😁 I just wanna say that I found your channel recently and you are quickly becoming my favorite VTuber! The fact that you have so much life experience to pull from is also a breath of fresh air online.
Alicia it is not the workers job to care about your business. The cook was open about her lack of ability or desire to cook, she still needs a paycheck. It is entirely on the owner for not taking action.
As someone who has worked in a restaurant for quite a while I can tell that most people don't really complain about their food being bad, they just never come back, that's why most restaurants in this show have owners saying "but people don't complain about the food" but also have empty dining rooms.
@@Raaslenyeah I don't realize how people don't get this. it's like almost all the owners have that mindset but it's like.. do youuu complain when you go out to eat and it's bad? I guarantee not all of them do so they're really just lacking any awareness.
@ Yeah, in my experience customers only take the time to complain if the food is really, really bad, or if there is something actually wrong with it. If the food is just "meh" or simply bad, people won't bother complaining and just never return.
I hope I have the pleasure of randomly eating at one of your restaurants. I’m a kiwi who’d love to visit Canada. Also your channel has really helped me through a really bad year so I hope you know how much you’re appreciated!
These episodes have been so fun. The extra level of insight you add really makes the show so much better. Also I’m glad most of the super gross stuff is blurry from the copyright nonsense 😅
my grandmother once said "food can sense your passion. if you give your food love, it will feel it and share it. if you give your food apathy, your food will be apathetic as well." which is just japanese old lady speak, but it always stuck with me.
1:05:01 - Bike nights are really popular (Where I'm from at least) and tend to drive a lot of business with local clubs or people who just want to see the bikes.
Every restaurant owner that calls for Kitchen Nightmares' help says the exact same thing - "I never received a complaint about food." PEOPLE DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THE FOOD, THEY GO AWAY AND NEVER COME BACK!!! Jesus Christ, the same thing happened to Brazil's version, it's always the same kind of people running their business to the ground in every country!
1:05:29 no.. I get it. It’s like a free ad without using food. Some local places I revisited bc they threw events like this. Like ice fishing and they didn’t serve anything but a pizza place through the event. I went to the place a little later pizza was mid but it got me to go once.
14:48 It's reality TV. The reason they talk shit about the place they work is probably because they were fed a lineup of questions to get them to start seeing the flaws of the place as mountains instead of molehills. But also there's a phenomenon with this show where, because Ramsey is present, the people around the restaurants (both customers and staff) suddenly become a lot more critical of everything because either they want to look smart for the camera or they reason that his presence means there is something wrong that they have to keep an eye out for even if they were fine with everything previously. This continues even after he leaves, even to the places that improved. People will go to the place just because they see the restaurant as a spectacle to pick apart rather than a place of service.
ah yes back at it again watching people who don't know the first thing about running a restaurant try to tell Gordon Ramsey that it's he who doesn't know what he's talking about
I don't blame Melissa for staying on for the paycheck. I do blame both the owners for being clueless about how unqualified she is and for keeping her on even when that became clear. I'm not saying it's not scummy of Melissa to do that especially when the restaurant is going belly-up, but like getting paid to do just about nothing isn't the kind of gig most people would give up willingly. She needed to get fired.
I also don't blame her considering its 2008 and it would probably destroy her livelihood if she left that job also she only took the position thinking it was going to be temporary but then the owner couldn't find anyone else to take position cuz no one wanted to do that position for the salary he was paying so she was stuck between a rock and a hard place
Your chat has a real kink for drinker it's crazy like its the first time i see so many people looking out and thinking so much about everyone being a potential drinker like lmao wtf
Nah if it's 2008 I'm not quitting my job out of altruism. Knowing that maybe the owners, who've proven to be bad at managing their restaurant, are turning it around and thriving without me won't be as comforting a thought as you might believe while I'm living in a box
Hear hear. It's so important to keep the time it was filmed in mind. So many people already seem to have forgotten about the financial crisis of that time. You weren't just going to give up a stable job like that, and if I'd been pressured into a job I was unqualified for, I would have been tempted to stick to it out of spite on top of that.
Thank you. Finally I see some people that aren't shiting on the chef because yeah, it's 2008. Do you really think she's just going to ruin her whole livelihood because these idiots don't realize she can't cook? That's unfair to her and she took the job in the first place thinking it was temporary and then the owner just couldn't find anyone else to take the job because he was paying a shit salary for it.
I love listening to these videos while I draw, Alicia. And there are some lines that pop up that just have me ROLLIN’! You have a subscriber for life! Please don’t stop with these commentaries! I am a food service veteran myself, so I also love hearing your “stories from The Front”! You’re doing a fantastic job!
TBFondu I've worked jobs where I ended up in a similar position the Melissa. I told them straight up when they hired me I needed training. I continued to tell them I needed training as they handed me work. Then as I dropped the job I told them they never trained me. All the managers looked at each other and spent 10 minutes telling me I HAD been trained because look how good a job I was doing. Complete clown show but that was mid economic crash and I GTFO as soon as another job appeared.
I hate the conceit in most of the owners that appear in this program. Their business is sinking and when Gordon comes to help, they act like they're expecting him to pat their backs and say "there, there, you are doing everything perfectly, it's just that people is evil"
51:50 as a barely functioning alcoholic, thank you. I will never, EVER, get behind the wheel. People who do, people who they can think they can drive because it's their "normal" are deluded.
1:05:13 at the time this was filmed and where this is located in the US, it makes sense to have a motorcycle rally. Even in 2025, small town USA would get lit for that ish. They are events in small to medium sized towns.
There are also large motorcycle scenes in Canada as well. Plenty of small towns here in Ontario get a lot of motorcycle traffic during the summer, especially if they're on the lakes.
People genuinely think "owner," just means slapping your name on something and collecting passive income, cuz theyre used to seeing like... celebrity chefs who own like 30+ places and CLEARLY dont work at all of them.
Fondu :P Also why fire Melissa just demote her to cleaning tables or a waitress or better yet take the time to sit down with her and teach her how to cook. Just saying if it gets to a point where she can't do anything then fire her. plus as Someone said Melissa Having zero confidence plays a big factor in this she needs a confidence booster
Yeah, it turns out she was pressured by the owner because she took the job thinking it was temporary and that he would hire a replacement soon, but he never did, so she was basically stuck in the position because no one else would work at the salary she was being paid. Literally, she got so shit talked in this video for no reason of her own except trying to find temporary work and randomly choosing the worst and probably close to the only place during the fucked year of 2008.
I love cooking and when I was younger I wanted to be a chef, until I got older and realized I do not do well in a job where I am under such pressure, so now I just cook for myself and my family, oh yeah and fondue
yeah, this is the reality for most people. even people who really like to cook and are great at it, there's always a difference between doing something for enjoyment and having it as a career. often times it's better to keep the things you really like as hobbies because doing them for work can end up completely sapping your energy to enjoy it anymore. or it just ends up being ill fitting for you. this is especially true when the career environment is starkly different than the regular environment where you would participate in the hobby, cooking great food at home is a completely different environment than being a professional cook or chef that is constantly under pressure and often working with people who are less than polite.
Really happy i found your channle, these kitchen nightmare commentaries have been fun. Also the hellsing abridged reactions. Also this video reminded me i should try making fondue
Apparently the restaurant was doing fine before closure but when Billy was diagnosed with cancer that's when they sold off the restaurant. He fought throughout that time before passing in 2015.
I love the way she says “it’s a disaster” I quote that all the time. That and the way that one Italian guy in one of the episodes said “whatever”. I think he had both an American Italian accent and a speech impediment and the way he pronounced it was just so iconic to me. “Wuh evah”
I don't know if your chat has pretty bad takes / a lack of empathy in general, but it often does regarding this specific show, and I appreciate you regularly calling that out nonsense.
10:33 if a restaurant owner wanted to could they not just sit on their ass for the most part and collect the profits. I think that’s what the person meant.
Sorry but most of us take the jobs we can get just to get by. We hardly ever intend a job to be our career unless we really have a career in mind. Gotta take it day by day and hope you can pay your bills. You need to take care of yourself before you start feeling empathetic to the others. It sounds shitty but you really only have yourself and your wellbeing at the end of the day so I don't hold it against her for working there when she was unqualified...yeah she should be looking for another job that she is qualified for but sometimes you take what you can get.
Its just so funny to see Alicia get so worked up over a restaurant called the HANDLEBAR which most would assume relates to motorcycles in some way and claims that it doesn't make any sense. Like what? XD Anyway yeah, this episode is pretty frustrating and it makes no sense why they didn't fire Mellissa. And I don't think the wife was drunk at all. I agree with the one chatter in that she was just so drained and could've been crying and stuff instead of drinking. Or maybe she was drinking after she got there before Gordon came to talk to her. I have no clue. Great reaction Alicia!
Yeah, it turns out the chef was pressured by the owner because she took the job thinking it was temporary and that he would hire a replacement soon, but he never did, so she was basically stuck in the position because no one else would work at the salary she was being paid. Literally, she got so shit talked in this video for no reason of her own except trying to find temporary work and randomly choosing the worst place. So if you were pressured by your boss, would you really feel comfortable enough to reveal that you don't feel a passion when it's 2008 and the job market is shit while you keep being told to keep it up when you aren't really doing much and risk losing what's essentially your livelihood because who knows when you'll get another job?
How did the chef even get hired in the first place? How are the owners be so blind, and deaf, cause im sure she would be saying all the time how unequip she is as a head chef
Honestly considering I worked as a janitor in a store where the boss also had me do jobs meant for a maintenance crew or someone needing to be called in because she was a cheapskate.
Yeah, it turns out she was pressured by the owner because she took the job thinking it was temporary and that he would hire a replacement soon, but he never did, so she was basically stuck in the position because no one else would work at the salary she was being paid. Literally, she got so shit talked in this video for no reason of her own except trying to find temporary work and randomly choosing the worst place. So they didn't care and couldn't exactly leave because 2008 was a shit year.
There's an episode I kinda want to see someday, which is the one on Mama Maria's. It's one I really feel for the owner on, but it also has a moment that's pretty scary.
The Motorcycle rally is a great way to advertise restaurants and such. Motorcycle communities tend to ride and eat together. A lot of Bar and Grill places will do various motorcycle rallies and rides or Bike Night events for those communities and they'll come in droves together for food and alcohol and have a great time. I've worked as a cook to three different bar and grills and they all do these kinds of events. Those nights and events are some of the busiest, most packed nights we have.
That doesn't mean they do that. There are an unfortunate amount of people who don't know their own rights and let bosses who do know them walk over them.
Only way its cheaper to buy precut lettuce if the time doesn't allow it to prep it and its cheaper as anything else. Worked in a kitchen that did buy precut lettuce and prepealed precut potatoes because we sold so much of it as a delivery didn't arrive one day we had to get the emergency potatoes out of the basement 8 ppl pealed and cutted potatoes for 4h 🤣 and there where gone in 2.5h
I would recommend both Michion’s episode of Kitchen Nightmares (where they will assure you that they do NOT microwave the salad) and Food Wars because you are both a restaurant owner and anime fan Also Fondue
About tipping culture. I was just recently in a Eastern European country, We knew some phrases because we prepared. What we didn't know is what the word for Tips is. Because it was in Latvian, we didn't realize there was a charge on the bill for tipping and that's why we gave a second tip. I get tips but there is so much shady stuff around i'd rather have my meal a bit more expensive so the waitress/waiters are paid enough and no tips.
As someone who has served at a multi course fondue restaurant: Our plain meat is our worst and always will be. Flavor wise it just is. Our filet, our chicken, our pork, it's all kinds bland. Buuuuuut, our teriyaki marinated sirloin, our memphis style pork, our herb encrusted chicken, those are all phenomenal. It's because they combine the taste of the broth that cooks it with the herbs, spices or whatever it marinated in, rather than just relying on the taste of the broth or oil that can wash away the more subtle flavors in the meat.
Is it just me, where is this construction worker showing signs that he's not a true construction worker. As in he was the low man on the totem pole and once he got tired of not doing his job or being bossed around or some combination he said f*** it and let's open a restaurant. And now he's just bar man because that's the only thing he truly has a niche for and that's just being there at the bar making sure drinks are being done properly chatting and drinking on the job maybe
haha just watched your KN video about the restaurant called charlys for the second time and just said "I hope a new video will come out soon" and BAM like 30/40 minutes ago a new KN video. Love your content and your spirit. Its nice listening to you.
The mod that gave you the follow up left out a lot of important information and gave a completely incorrect view of what happened post episode. Melissa made major improvements and the restaurant was doing quite well for a year before Gordon did the revisit episode. In the revisit he complimented her cooking and even praised her for her kitchen and fridge upkeep literally saying that he'd eat off the floor. They closed shortly after the revisit but that was as far as anyone can tell not because of failing success or anything Melissa did wrong. But was instead a combination of Billy already wanting to sell and because he got cancer and needed the money for treatment, he ended up passing away in 2015 from the cancer. Also I'll mention Melissa was actually pressured into the position under the assumption it was just a temporary position, and Billy never hired a replacement. Which from what I know is because no one would work for what he was paying her.
Boost
Boost x2
And THERES the reason he was so adamant to keep someone who literally said frame one that she cannot do the job and does not want to do the job. I fucking knew there had to be some reason she was being kept around.
Boost and thank for the information. Sad the man passed from Cancer.
Dang hope melissa got a new job somewhere
Melissa having zero confidence in herself and impressing Gordan with her soup is always hilarious to me.
Right? I never understood that & I don't think it's ever covered in the episode if she actually made that soup.
Considering this episode was filmed at the literal height of the 2008 financial crisis, I absolutely cannot fault Melissa for being unwilling to quit a job she knew she was secure in. Yes, she bears a good portion of the responsibility as the head chef, but unemployment was BAD bad back then. At least she stuck around and continued to try, unlike Billy who damn near checked out the moment he was confronted about his failures.
+ Sorry not sorry but it's still owners fault to not fire her if it was that big of a deal too.
Yeah ngl, being unable to understand that some people might have no choice and have to take any job they can get feels like such a privileged take, lol. Not everyone has good family to fall back on for support.
ngl feels like we're in another possible financial crisis by now
Omg fr, it’s hard enough for me to find a job quick enough in order to have a stable work environment after/if I quit my current one. It’s not an easy turnover, it takes usually 1-2 months for most employers to get back to me. And half the time those are chain restaurants
Yeah, it turns out she was pressured by the owner because she took the job thinking it was temporary and that he would hire a replacement soon, but he never did, so she was basically stuck in the position because no one else would work at the salary she was being paid. Literally, she got so shit talked in this video for no reason of her own except trying to find temporary work and randomly choosing the worst place.
"Noone has ever spoken to me like that before." You were a construction guy in Long Island, I'm calling bullshit. Fondue
LMFAO, right? I have a different blue-collar job...ever other word is some form of "Fuck".
I worked a steakhouse as my very first job… where they told me I might have to cook. I was there to be a dishwasher and I told them I can’t cook because I came from a very old school family where the men weren’t allowed to.
They made me cook anyways… even though I told them I couldn’t and they made me anyway - with NO supervision. I had never even SEEN a gas grill before.
Long story short - spilled grease plus fire, plus a terrified teenager who had no idea what he was doing, plus a bucket full of potatoes soaking in water used to try to put the fire out… equaled one fired teenager who was still trying to figure out why they thought it was a good idea to try to make him do that in the first place. Lol
hopefully you've learned to cook well enough now that you're at least not starting grease fires every time you're in the kitchen lol
@@AliceBunny05 i'd hope someone would also learn to make reports to osha n stuff for this kind of stupid owner.
She severely underestimates how influential a motorcycle rally can be. Motorcyclists can travel massive distances when they want to just for fun. Having a rally will bring in motorcyclists from ALL over across a huge distance, and then when they go back will talk about the restaurant. Which will bring people in from other towns and cities when they come there as they've heard of the place. In addition it will attract anyone interested in motorcycles in the town to the restaurant. Gordon sometimes comes up with weird idea's to bring people in, but ti's the weird idea's that WORK. It attracts certain groups of people that can be very influential even when you think they might not be and attracts people who are just curious. You might think it's weird but weird works.
There are a lot of places in Texas where if you know a motorcycle group frequents there it's a good place to eat.
I think it's a Canadian thing. Don't think they understand this part of American culture.
It's not weird it's smart , weird is not being wise ro smart enough to understand it, weird is wanting to make everything a bland copy pasted clone everywhere.
@ I wasn't really using weird as in it actually being a weird thing. As it's not it's a smart thing like you said. I was meaning weird as in not what you would initially think of for the situation. "Normal" would be how he had the pizza making contest for the one restaurant, that makes obvious sense and is an instant thought of how to advertise a pizza place. While a motorcycle rally is very different from that for a restaurant. As it doesn't directly tie into what the restaurant is and what it does, it's not advertising the restaurant and it's food which would be the "normal" thing to do. It's instead drawing people in with the event, which leads people to the restaurant, which then causes people to talk about the restaurant, which would result in more people coming to the restaurant. Basically it's scale, the "normal" pizza making contest was good for attracting local people which works great for cities with a larger customer base as Anna Vincenzo's was in Baton Rouge and it had a population of around 85,000 when the episode was filmed. But for Handlebar the area of long island they're in was only around 12,000 at the time of filming. Which means while you want to attract local you also want to attract people from further away. So a "weird' advertising strategy is needed.
@@XC11301991
as an Indonesian I completely understand it because we have a lot of vehicle clubs and a food place can get a massive boost of revenue by being a go-to place for some of the vehicle clubs
"It's the kitchen nightmare episode that made Alicia mad."
do you have any idea how little that narrows it down fondue for brains?
Braindue!
fondue just means melted. So melbrained.
My dad was a landlord of a 4 unit building for like 20 years until blackrock bought the entire block, tripled everyone's rent and evicted everyone who couldn't pay. He's a 74 year old cancer patient so he couldn't exactly refuse or keep up with the building maintenance anymore (he always did it himself, replacing ACs, fixing appliances, replacing windows, 0 contractors).
Sounds like he was one of the few good ones, respect.
yeah everyone just tends to shit on landlords but I have had neutral to good experiences myself
black rock is like the imaginary bogeyman conservatives and far leftists want you to be scared of
He’s sounds like one of the rare few and far between. Haven’t met a landlord who ever got their hands dirty and actually contributed to their units/complex aside from being entitled pricks to their tenants.
@ His "Work Crew" Was me and my sister, an engineer and MD respectively, my childhood involved a LOT of apartment repair and re-painting. Dad had good enough sense not to bring us in on the suicide & murder cases (because Cops in Illinois force property owners to clean up crime scenes, there is no CSI). and the property he owned was in a city that while being significantly lower population than Chicago somehow managed a per-capita murder rate similar to Chicago. Mostly due to being on the Cartel supply line to Chicago.
I mean... Melissa was doing the damn job lol. She was bad at it, but she was open to the help. That's better than a majority of the people on this show
idk what your standard for "doing the job" is, but microwaving food as a chef is a clear lack of effort.
⬆️, yes!
Doing her job? She admitted she didn’t know/want to cook. Worst like Alicia said she’s fucking over everyone especially the waiters/waitresses because they don’t get tips.
She literally said she didn’t know/want to cook and never saw it as a career. And because of that the waiters/waitresses suffer because now they get less customers and less tips
@@aron1089 She's now a Michelin star chef, for what it's worth
Melissa strikes me as less "mwahaha, i can get money from these owners without actually working" and more "this place hired me when i wasn't qualified, I'll fucking take it I guess". Considering that she ended up going to culinary school after this experience and becoming a Michelin Star Chef, it feels like she was just in a rough patch in life and couldn't find the way through until Gordon came along and inspired her.
Also, Fondue.
Where did you get the information that she became a michelin star chef? I can't find anything about that.
@@-Offstar same here
@@-Offstar It was listed several times in the comments of the episode, enough that I felt I could trust it. If that's not true, then I'm sorry.
@ You don't have to apologize, I was curious where you heard that as I started looking around for confirmation after reading your comment but couldn't find it anywhere I looked.
@@-Offstar Tried looking for it as well, and the closest thing I found was another chef named Melissa that worked at several Michelin starred restaurants, though she was Chinese.
Alicia and chat being stunned like a deer in headlights whenever Gordon actually eats something good in US Kitchen Nightmares is hillarious :v
to be fair it is something to be surprised at when it happens
Brain.exe has stopped working 😂
It’s so funny the restaurant owners have 100% confidence in Melissa’s cooking abilities, meanwhile she has 0% confidence in herself 😂
"I never really had complaints about the food -"
You're a restaurant; people not showing up is a complaint about the food!
Wait until she watches "Mama Cheri's" and "The Black Peral"
literally some of the Best eps
Blackberry, Peter’s would be great
The Black Pearl, BlackBerry’s, Capri, Leone’s, DownCity would be really fucking fun to see
I don’t think she’ll see Cheri’s she’s said she likes the drama ones more than the calmer ones
I like Mill Street Bistro and the Old mill.
@@aron1089 yeh but like Cheris is such a based episode, the revisit not as much but absolutely the first one is one of the best UK eps
There were some unironically baffling takes in this. The chef seemed to just be in a depressive slump because she now works at a Michelin Star restaurant, Caroline just has a Jersey accent and not drunk, and the biker scene in the northeast US is INCREDIBLY strong. Biker rallies are a pretty good idea because if you are on a highway (like Handlebars is) then having a biker friendly reputation can be a surprisingly strong boon.
Yeah, it turns out the chef was pressured by the owner in this because she took the job thinking it was temporary and that he would hire a replacement soon, but he never did, so she was basically stuck in the position because no one else would work at the salary she was being paid. Literally, she got so shit talked in this video for no reason of her own except trying to find temporary work and randomly choosing the worst place.
1. From what I have heard, Melissa, the chef, later went to culinary school and still works as a chef to this day, but is MUCH happier and the quality of her work reflects that.
So its safe to say that the owner wasn't wrong in his assesment that she was just really hard on herself and that it made her come off really apathetic.
And even though the place closed down in 2009, I think that even Gordon would agree that it was worth it if it meant Melissa being inspired the way she was.
And speaking of...
2. This establishment closed down about a year after the original episode aired. The location itself has changed hands many times and is still doing business as of me writting this.
3. Billy unfortunately passed away in 2015 after a long battle with cancer. About 6 years after this episode aired.
Got a source for Melissa's post-Handlebar culinary career? I can't find anything.
Also supposedly the restaurant was sold because his diagnosis for cancer
Fun fact: Famous professional wrestler Mick Foley shows up to the opening of this restaurant in this episode, appears on camera, and not a single person took any notice
Poor duud is too down to earth for his own good sometimes. lol
When?
@@stargazer1998 during the relaunch. You see him come in, and he's at Dee Snyder's table later on.
To be fair, imitation crab is still seafood. It's usually made from pollock, which is also the most popular source of frozen fish sticks. Pollock is like tuna, though, where it's one of the most valuable and sought after fish. They're awesome when fresh, but most people have only ever experienced them in their cheapest form.
Imitation crab is to seafood as chicken nuggets is to chicken
Isn't monkfish more common as imitation crab?
@@whensomethingcriesagain Not according to the packages I've read
@@whensomethingcriesagain It's possible that cod might be an alternative. I know that Wendy's claims to use cod for their fish sandwiches, while most other fast food places use pollock patties
Melissa went on to culinary school and then became a Michelin Star Chef. I feel like you're putting all the hate and frustration on her, and I don't really know why. She needed a job, got hired as a chef, and did the bare minimum to keep it. Yeah, she could have put more effort into it, but the owners could have put more effort into running the damn place, so I don't think it's fair to use that as a main criticism. We straight up see her serve something that Gordon motherfucking Ramsey thought tasted pretty good, so she clearly has some vague concept of what she's doing. I know it's usually a situation of "the head chef can't cook and won't admit it", but she clearly said that she wasn't qualified. They didn't fire or demote her, and job security is a rare thing to find. And considering how blunt she was about it in front of the owners, I'm willing to bet she has said it before, and this is just the owner covering his ass.
She's still complacent though and is definitely playing a part in why the restaurant is failing. Just because everyone else is shit at there jobs, doesn't mean you have to join them. Have integrity and be better.
She is not a Michelin Star chef.
@@TheHuntsman-qe9iz "have integrity and be better"? For what she was probably being paid? Lmao
@Jesse-Pinkthem You do it for yourself. If you accept mediocrity, then you never grow. If you have no integrity, then your word is meaningless, and who wants to work with someone who can't be trusted to follow through. Both things make you a better person and increase the chances of finding success.
You got a source for her culinary career and Michelin star? I can't find anything.
I want to say just one thing in defense of Melissa always smiling with this stuff. I myself have a hard time not smiling when I'm nervous or anxious, so it could be something like that instead of her being an evil gremlin.
I mean we literally watched other episode if by now you still think humans react the same way and that smiling = bad then you need to get yout head checked also make me remember when my teacher at school harassed me and punished me because i was "too smiley" thanks miss and mister to shame me for being happy and good living ? Now im depressed i guess stupid shitty socity.
@@SquaulDuNeant I'm depressed too and I smile all the time. All the time there's other people around.😶
Yeah, it turns out she was pressured by the owner because she took the job thinking it was temporary and that he would hire a replacement soon, but he never did, so she was basically stuck in the position because no one else would work at the salary she was being paid. Literally, she got so shit talked in this video for no reason of her own except trying to find temporary work and randomly choosing the worst place. So like if I was stuck in a shitty position, I would also smile through the pain.
Blaming the chef for not quitting and putting her life security at risk is crazy Alicia. The owners should do their job and fire her if she’s bad.
Exactly, that was driving me crazy.
Nah, if you're hired for a job and you don't do the job then you're actively taking from the people who hired you. She's putting the owners' and every other staff member's livelihoods at risk. It's so weird that people think that it's justified to behave as unethically as possible if it's for the sake of making a living. If she wanted to secure her own livelihood the best way for her to do that was to actually try to do her job.
@@infinityseven5924 Why should she try when she’s already getting paid for not trying? If that’s the standard that the owners are willing to pay her for, that’s on them. If the business is so important to the owner, it’s on the owner to fire employees that lose them money
@infinityseven5924 it really isnt peoples responsibility to be a bleeding heart and consider every way their life effects others. Getting paid to not be out on the streets and hungry outweighs coddling ignorant owners who are blind as bats. Its not an issue of ethics its self preservation, they wanted her, they got her, its not a persons job to shoot themselves in the foot when theyre given a boon.
@@infinityseven5924 truth
1:05:11 No shade at all here, but... Ma'am, do you know what a motorcycle rally is? It boils down to bunch of people who have ridden all day getting together to eat and drink- typically large amounts of both. (My dad used to go to rallys a lot before he crashed his bike, basing my info on his experience)
And when it was the Indian restaurant having a parade she was all for it… Sometimes it’s not about giving out samples it’s about welcoming a niche community that your competitors aren’t focusing on.
She's Canadian, I don't think she knows about motorcycle rallies like they are here in the US.
@@XC11301991this is not a US thing. Also pretty much a thing here in Austria. Especially in summer.
@@N1GHT_ST0RM She's not from Austria
@@XC11301991 Wow. Never knew it was possible to miss a point this much. Jesus.
I honestly feel so bad for all the pressure, Karens, and ungrateful jerks Alicia had to deal with over the years as a restaurant manager.😅
@@davidkoudelka10 The Karens were probably worse when she was a waitress. At least as the owner she can kick someone out when they refuse to be reasonable.
Oh no, I'm on my way to culinary business 😅. Wish me luck guys
@@GuyChooo Genuinely, I wish you the best!😁👍❤️ Don’t be dissuaded by the horror stories!
The ONLY explanation that makes any sense as to why someone would think you’re as bad as a landlord is that MAYBE they assumed you’re in the US. Where restaurants can pay staff $2 an hour and let customers treat them like garbage. They don’t know that you subsidize the businesses with youtube money, bought them to get your family out of a bind, and allow staff to bounce between buildings for extra shifts to avoid cutting hours. That person was speaking from a place of full ignorance.
I get excited anytime I see you've posted a new video on Kitchen Nightmares video, I really "fondue"!
Okay, suggestions... how about "Blackberry's"? A soul food restaurant that had it all, show related trauma, frustrating owner, and one of the absolute WORST dishes Gordon ever ate! Gotta hand it to him, he is the bravest man ever, I doubt anyone else would have eaten it.
Oh, also have to mention the fact that this chef claims to not even want to be a chef and thinks everything she makes is garbage... was able to fix something Gordon actually liked! While the most egocentric chefs elsewhere can't get a single dish right!
Billy’s wife isn’t drunk when she shows up to take over for Billy, she just sounds like that
Cockroaches? “It’s raw”? Shitty owners who don’t know how to own a restaurant owning a restaurant? Alicia telling us how badly this kitchen is a nightmare? You know I’m here for it!
According to what I saw in chat, Melissa was okay. Gordon liked the fillet. It was clean. But what caused the downfall was Billy reverting it back to the old menu and managment ways. They tried to switch back, but it was too late.
One thing I will say about Melissa not communicating is that being able to organise staff effectively when under pressure is a skill in itself, and not one everyone will possess. There's a lot of Kitchen Nightmares episodes where the head chef will be trying to do everything themselves and not making use of their team.
But communicating like this is part of the job of being a head chef...
Fondue 😁 I just wanna say that I found your channel recently and you are quickly becoming my favorite VTuber! The fact that you have so much life experience to pull from is also a breath of fresh air online.
Alicia keeps saying the owner's wife is drunk but that's just how people from Long Island sound.
If they closed in 2009, I have to imagine the recession played a huge role in killing any chances they had.
And considering they were already heavily in debt, their chances even with turning the business around were slim to begin with.
I think Billy havin cancer didn't help either
Alicia it is not the workers job to care about your business. The cook was open about her lack of ability or desire to cook, she still needs a paycheck. It is entirely on the owner for not taking action.
20:23 "we don't get complaints about the food so it ain't a concern."
Bro people come to a restaurant for food
As someone who has worked in a restaurant for quite a while I can tell that most people don't really complain about their food being bad, they just never come back, that's why most restaurants in this show have owners saying "but people don't complain about the food" but also have empty dining rooms.
@@Raaslenyeah I don't realize how people don't get this. it's like almost all the owners have that mindset but it's like.. do youuu complain when you go out to eat and it's bad? I guarantee not all of them do so they're really just lacking any awareness.
@ Yeah, in my experience customers only take the time to complain if the food is really, really bad, or if there is something actually wrong with it. If the food is just "meh" or simply bad, people won't bother complaining and just never return.
It amazes me this is such a recurring theme in Kitchen Nightmares.
If she thinks Billy is a baby, just wait until she watches the Blackberry episode, or Mill Street Bistro
Or Sebastian's
Man I got so excited thought the thumbnail was nino’s
“HELLO! IM NI- no? Oh sorry wrong restaurant. My bad.”
Cant wait till she reacts to the kitchen nightmares uk runaway girl
@@itsafiqueamirule6959she's said in the past shes not planning on watching the uk version bc she believes itll be less exciting
Saying the chefs a bad person is wild
I hope I have the pleasure of randomly eating at one of your restaurants. I’m a kiwi who’d love to visit Canada. Also your channel has really helped me through a really bad year so I hope you know how much you’re appreciated!
I swear that the minute that he said that he liked the soup, Alicia's eyes got alot redder and her right eye started twitching.
These episodes have been so fun. The extra level of insight you add really makes the show so much better.
Also I’m glad most of the super gross stuff is blurry from the copyright nonsense 😅
my grandmother once said "food can sense your passion. if you give your food love, it will feel it and share it. if you give your food apathy, your food will be apathetic as well."
which is just japanese old lady speak, but it always stuck with me.
Makes sense, if you care about something you'll put effort in but if you don't you'll put bare minimum effort in.
1:05:01 - Bike nights are really popular (Where I'm from at least) and tend to drive a lot of business with local clubs or people who just want to see the bikes.
Every restaurant owner that calls for Kitchen Nightmares' help says the exact same thing - "I never received a complaint about food."
PEOPLE DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THE FOOD, THEY GO AWAY AND NEVER COME BACK!!!
Jesus Christ, the same thing happened to Brazil's version, it's always the same kind of people running their business to the ground in every country!
new season this year btw, dont know the exact date but i know its gonna start on the first trimester
@@boisq97 New season of the Brazilian version?
@@TwilightWolf032 yes
@@boisq97 :D
Quem será o Pé de Fava dessa nova temporada?
@@TwilightWolf032 não sei mas eu acabei de ver que é pra começar dia 11 de fevereiro, aparentemente 12 episodios
1:05:29 no.. I get it. It’s like a free ad without using food. Some local places I revisited bc they threw events like this. Like ice fishing and they didn’t serve anything but a pizza place through the event. I went to the place a little later pizza was mid but it got me to go once.
14:48 It's reality TV. The reason they talk shit about the place they work is probably because they were fed a lineup of questions to get them to start seeing the flaws of the place as mountains instead of molehills. But also there's a phenomenon with this show where, because Ramsey is present, the people around the restaurants (both customers and staff) suddenly become a lot more critical of everything because either they want to look smart for the camera or they reason that his presence means there is something wrong that they have to keep an eye out for even if they were fine with everything previously. This continues even after he leaves, even to the places that improved. People will go to the place just because they see the restaurant as a spectacle to pick apart rather than a place of service.
The soup being good just brought back flashbacks of Ratatouille. “She liked the soup! Who cooked the soup?!”.
ah yes back at it again watching people who don't know the first thing about running a restaurant try to tell Gordon Ramsey that it's he who doesn't know what he's talking about
I don't blame Melissa for staying on for the paycheck. I do blame both the owners for being clueless about how unqualified she is and for keeping her on even when that became clear.
I'm not saying it's not scummy of Melissa to do that especially when the restaurant is going belly-up, but like getting paid to do just about nothing isn't the kind of gig most people would give up willingly. She needed to get fired.
I also don't blame her considering its 2008 and it would probably destroy her livelihood if she left that job also she only took the position thinking it was going to be temporary but then the owner couldn't find anyone else to take position cuz no one wanted to do that position for the salary he was paying so she was stuck between a rock and a hard place
Your chat has a real kink for drinker it's crazy like its the first time i see so many people looking out and thinking so much about everyone being a potential drinker like lmao wtf
The chef: HELP! I'm being held here against my will!!!!
Always love that not only did Dee Snyder come, he brought the ultimate legend Mick Foley with him.
Oh and FONDUE.
Nah if it's 2008 I'm not quitting my job out of altruism. Knowing that maybe the owners, who've proven to be bad at managing their restaurant, are turning it around and thriving without me won't be as comforting a thought as you might believe while I'm living in a box
Hear hear. It's so important to keep the time it was filmed in mind. So many people already seem to have forgotten about the financial crisis of that time. You weren't just going to give up a stable job like that, and if I'd been pressured into a job I was unqualified for, I would have been tempted to stick to it out of spite on top of that.
Thank you. Finally I see some people that aren't shiting on the chef because yeah, it's 2008. Do you really think she's just going to ruin her whole livelihood because these idiots don't realize she can't cook? That's unfair to her and she took the job in the first place thinking it was temporary and then the owner just couldn't find anyone else to take the job because he was paying a shit salary for it.
I love listening to these videos while I draw, Alicia. And there are some lines that pop up that just have me ROLLIN’! You have a subscriber for life! Please don’t stop with these commentaries!
I am a food service veteran myself, so I also love hearing your “stories from The Front”! You’re doing a fantastic job!
16:11 the look of visible confusion was incredible
TBFondu I've worked jobs where I ended up in a similar position the Melissa.
I told them straight up when they hired me I needed training. I continued to tell them I needed training as they handed me work.
Then as I dropped the job I told them they never trained me. All the managers looked at each other and spent 10 minutes telling me I HAD been trained because look how good a job I was doing.
Complete clown show but that was mid economic crash and I GTFO as soon as another job appeared.
I hate the conceit in most of the owners that appear in this program. Their business is sinking and when Gordon comes to help, they act like they're expecting him to pat their backs and say "there, there, you are doing everything perfectly, it's just that people is evil"
And typically that attitude is why their businesses are sinking.
51:50 as a barely functioning alcoholic, thank you. I will never, EVER, get behind the wheel. People who do, people who they can think they can drive because it's their "normal" are deluded.
In the age of Uber, there's no excuse to get behind the wheel if one is drunk.
1:05:13 at the time this was filmed and where this is located in the US, it makes sense to have a motorcycle rally. Even in 2025, small town USA would get lit for that ish. They are events in small to medium sized towns.
There are also large motorcycle scenes in Canada as well. Plenty of small towns here in Ontario get a lot of motorcycle traffic during the summer, especially if they're on the lakes.
People genuinely think "owner," just means slapping your name on something and collecting passive income, cuz theyre used to seeing like... celebrity chefs who own like 30+ places and CLEARLY dont work at all of them.
its the socialist mindset. owning something makes you the devil
Fondu :P Also why fire Melissa just demote her to cleaning tables or a waitress or better yet take the time to sit down with her and teach her how to cook. Just saying if it gets to a point where she can't do anything then fire her. plus as Someone said Melissa Having zero confidence plays a big factor in this she needs a confidence booster
Yeah, it turns out she was pressured by the owner because she took the job thinking it was temporary and that he would hire a replacement soon, but he never did, so she was basically stuck in the position because no one else would work at the salary she was being paid. Literally, she got so shit talked in this video for no reason of her own except trying to find temporary work and randomly choosing the worst and probably close to the only place during the fucked year of 2008.
the handlebar sounds like the name of a gay club
West West signs were 100% a problem. Maybe not for the restaurant. But certainly for traffic.
I love cooking and when I was younger I wanted to be a chef, until I got older and realized I do not do well in a job where I am under such pressure, so now I just cook for myself and my family, oh yeah and fondue
yeah, this is the reality for most people. even people who really like to cook and are great at it, there's always a difference between doing something for enjoyment and having it as a career. often times it's better to keep the things you really like as hobbies because doing them for work can end up completely sapping your energy to enjoy it anymore. or it just ends up being ill fitting for you. this is especially true when the career environment is starkly different than the regular environment where you would participate in the hobby, cooking great food at home is a completely different environment than being a professional cook or chef that is constantly under pressure and often working with people who are less than polite.
I absolutely NEEEEED the black pearl reaction!!! I’m soooo curious what she’d say about those owners 😂 (also Fondue)
Really happy i found your channle, these kitchen nightmare commentaries have been fun.
Also the hellsing abridged reactions.
Also this video reminded me i should try making fondue
Apparently the restaurant was doing fine before closure but when Billy was diagnosed with cancer that's when they sold off the restaurant. He fought throughout that time before passing in 2015.
I love the way she says “it’s a disaster” I quote that all the time. That and the way that one Italian guy in one of the episodes said “whatever”. I think he had both an American Italian accent and a speech impediment and the way he pronounced it was just so iconic to me. “Wuh evah”
Anyone else lowkey interested in her watching La Galleria 33?
I don't know if your chat has pretty bad takes / a lack of empathy in general, but it often does regarding this specific show, and I appreciate you regularly calling that out nonsense.
(they WERE 1000% right about Eeyore, though)
10:33 if a restaurant owner wanted to could they not just sit on their ass for the most part and collect the profits. I think that’s what the person meant.
maybe. buit that would be their right
Sorry but most of us take the jobs we can get just to get by. We hardly ever intend a job to be our career unless we really have a career in mind. Gotta take it day by day and hope you can pay your bills. You need to take care of yourself before you start feeling empathetic to the others. It sounds shitty but you really only have yourself and your wellbeing at the end of the day so I don't hold it against her for working there when she was unqualified...yeah she should be looking for another job that she is qualified for but sometimes you take what you can get.
It was also 2008, during the financial crisis. Jobs were very hard to come by practically everywhere, so makes sense she'd hold on.
Its just so funny to see Alicia get so worked up over a restaurant called the HANDLEBAR which most would assume relates to motorcycles in some way and claims that it doesn't make any sense. Like what? XD Anyway yeah, this episode is pretty frustrating and it makes no sense why they didn't fire Mellissa. And I don't think the wife was drunk at all. I agree with the one chatter in that she was just so drained and could've been crying and stuff instead of drinking. Or maybe she was drinking after she got there before Gordon came to talk to her. I have no clue. Great reaction Alicia!
Yeah, it turns out the chef was pressured by the owner because she took the job thinking it was temporary and that he would hire a replacement soon, but he never did, so she was basically stuck in the position because no one else would work at the salary she was being paid. Literally, she got so shit talked in this video for no reason of her own except trying to find temporary work and randomly choosing the worst place. So if you were pressured by your boss, would you really feel comfortable enough to reveal that you don't feel a passion when it's 2008 and the job market is shit while you keep being told to keep it up when you aren't really doing much and risk losing what's essentially your livelihood because who knows when you'll get another job?
The server is a nervous talker. My type of woman.... What I find nervous talkers cute.
How did the chef even get hired in the first place? How are the owners be so blind, and deaf, cause im sure she would be saying all the time how unequip she is as a head chef
Honestly considering I worked as a janitor in a store where the boss also had me do jobs meant for a maintenance crew or someone needing to be called in because she was a cheapskate.
Yeah, it turns out she was pressured by the owner because she took the job thinking it was temporary and that he would hire a replacement soon, but he never did, so she was basically stuck in the position because no one else would work at the salary she was being paid. Literally, she got so shit talked in this video for no reason of her own except trying to find temporary work and randomly choosing the worst place. So they didn't care and couldn't exactly leave because 2008 was a shit year.
There's an episode I kinda want to see someday, which is the one on Mama Maria's. It's one I really feel for the owner on, but it also has a moment that's pretty scary.
12:21 don’t know why but her memorizing the meme „East? I thought you said weast.“ after watching that SpongeBob pirate episode fills me proud 😊
Ah I remember this. The chef was pretty young and had barely any experience but did well with what she had. Restaurant got sold i believe
I'm just gonna say it. Billy would never actually make it in construction if it's that easy to tip him off.
lmao the subtitle writing : "long island's first gastro problem" when he said : "long island first gastropub" at the end.
The Motorcycle rally is a great way to advertise restaurants and such. Motorcycle communities tend to ride and eat together. A lot of Bar and Grill places will do various motorcycle rallies and rides or Bike Night events for those communities and they'll come in droves together for food and alcohol and have a great time. I've worked as a cook to three different bar and grills and they all do these kinds of events. Those nights and events are some of the busiest, most packed nights we have.
you still can't legally make less then minimum wage in the US after tips, if you do they have to pay the difference
That doesn't mean they do that. There are an unfortunate amount of people who don't know their own rights and let bosses who do know them walk over them.
For a place called Handlebars, Billy was never the one in the driver's seat
Bill reminds me of VLDL: "Rowan you can't walk away YOU'RE THE MANAGER!!"
Alicia: The codeword for today is...
Me: Fondue?
Alicia: Fondue!
Me: Called it!
Only way its cheaper to buy precut lettuce if the time doesn't allow it to prep it and its cheaper as anything else. Worked in a kitchen that did buy precut lettuce and prepealed precut potatoes because we sold so much of it as a delivery didn't arrive one day we had to get the emergency potatoes out of the basement 8 ppl pealed and cutted potatoes for 4h 🤣 and there where gone in 2.5h
If you haven't yet, you gotta watch the Mill St. Bistro double episode; run by probably the most arrogant man in the series
I would recommend both Michion’s episode of Kitchen Nightmares (where they will assure you that they do NOT microwave the salad) and Food Wars because you are both a restaurant owner and anime fan
Also Fondue
Who the hell microwaves a salad? That's just wrong
@ watch that episode to find out :3
Also, Joe smokes the meats.
Dude sounded like a narcissistic facebook mom with the 'it won't matter once I'm dead' guilt trip.
DAMN ALICIA!? The Eeyore callout is harsher than anything Gordon said this episode!
19:09
I'm getting flashbacks to that horrifying workplace safety PSA that played in Canada for a bit. I'm sure Alicia remembers that.
Thing is, the reason Dee Snider is there is because he's from that neighborhood, he grew up in Long Island
We gotta get the Ninos reaction 😭😂😂😂
About tipping culture. I was just recently in a Eastern European country, We knew some phrases because we prepared. What we didn't know is what the word for Tips is. Because it was in Latvian, we didn't realize there was a charge on the bill for tipping and that's why we gave a second tip.
I get tips but there is so much shady stuff around i'd rather have my meal a bit more expensive so the waitress/waiters are paid enough and no tips.
"I at least clean it better than before"
...In the words of Chris Rock "WHAT DO YOU WANT...A COOKIE?!"
Alicia out here like, "Fiance, ARISE".
As someone who has served at a multi course fondue restaurant:
Our plain meat is our worst and always will be. Flavor wise it just is. Our filet, our chicken, our pork, it's all kinds bland. Buuuuuut, our teriyaki marinated sirloin, our memphis style pork, our herb encrusted chicken, those are all phenomenal. It's because they combine the taste of the broth that cooks it with the herbs, spices or whatever it marinated in, rather than just relying on the taste of the broth or oil that can wash away the more subtle flavors in the meat.
Fondue, this was one of the more depressing stories of Kitchen Nightmares. R.I.P Bill
Is it just me, where is this construction worker showing signs that he's not a true construction worker. As in he was the low man on the totem pole and once he got tired of not doing his job or being bossed around or some combination he said f*** it and let's open a restaurant. And now he's just bar man because that's the only thing he truly has a niche for and that's just being there at the bar making sure drinks are being done properly chatting and drinking on the job maybe
haha just watched your KN video about the restaurant called charlys for the second time and just said "I hope a new video will come out soon" and BAM like 30/40 minutes ago a new KN video. Love your content and your spirit. Its nice listening to you.
The irony is that's not a handlebar mustache, those stick out horizontally, like handlebars. That's a horseshoe mustache.