This is the ‘most shocking thing’ about Kitchen Nightmares and it doesn’t make sense

Kitchen Nightmares has a tried-and-trusted formula: Gordon Ramsay walks into a restaurant, tears it (and its owners) apart, and helps them rebuild it. However, there’s one thing about the show that’s a bit baffling.

Ramsay kicked off his Kitchen Nightmares journey in 2004, starting with failing restaurants in the UK that (and there’s no polite way to put this) needed a kick up the backside. It made for incredible binge-worthy TV, with the chef’s signature potty mouth and anger getting a rise out of any eatery’s petulant staff.

He took his series stateside in 2007, beginning an 18-year-long journey across some of the worst places to eat in the US. Season 9 started airing in early January this year, following him on the Road to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

By this point, viewers know exactly what they’re getting – and it’s cathartic, that’s why the show’s YouTube channel has nearly seven million subscribers. Yet, after all these years, one part is increasingly hard to believe.

Why is nobody prepared for Gordon Ramsay on Kitchen Nightmares?

Fox

Ramsay has been eviscerating restaurant owners on Kitchen Nightmares for over two decades. So, answer me this: do any of them actually watch the show before agreeing to participate?

It’s a fair question, considering some of the places Ramsay helps (particularly in the later seasons) are absolutely horrible; there’s always fridges full of out-of-date and disgusting produce, dirty kitchens, and chefs serving up microwaved stuff to one of the most famous foodies in the world. Do they just think they’ll get away with it, are they lazy, or are they told to keep things exactly as they are?

This issue has been raised on the show’s subreddit, with one user writing: “To me, the most shocking thing about Kitchen Nightmares is that it’s been on for over eight seasons, yet none of these owners seems to have watched an episode of it before asking Gordon Ramsey to come save them.

“It’s the same bullsh*t at every restaurant on the show…. if these restauranteurs would actually watch a season of the show, they could probably figure out half of their problems.”

They have a point. You could pick out two or three episodes of Kitchen Nightmares that cover the full spectrum of problems (food storage, incompetent chefs, accounting issues, disorganized staffing).

However, as another viewer has pointed out, “there’s a reason why 90% of these restaurants close even after getting help from Gordon Ramsay, it’s because they are run by morons.”

There’s another possibility: the restaurant owners are ultimately happy to take a verbal beating from Ramsay, because he’ll renovate the place anyway.

“i think a lot of owners don’t think their restaurant is that bad but then Gordon shows up and tears them apart. They see it as a win ultimately because most of the time (ABC excluded) he gives them new kitchen equipment and remodels their dining room,” one user wrote.

In the meantime, find out which Kitchen Nightmares restaurants are open or closed in 2025 and check out our list of the biggest TV shows of 2025.