Kitchen Nightmares (2007–2014): Season 4, Episode 3 - PJ's Steakhouse - full transcript
(laid back music)
- [Gordon] This week,
I'm in Norfolk,
home of Alan Partridge.
But he's not the only
one-hit wonder in town.
- [Nick] Shit!
- [Gordon] Step forward Michelin
star winner, Nick Anderson.
- As soon as you say, "Oh,
I'm the chef owner of Rococo,"
they're, "Oh wow," you know.
It does stand for something.
- But Nick's stuck in the past
and he's about to lose the lot.
Everyone is so dead
stuck in a rut
and this place is gonna
fucking close
unless you do
something about it!
Now he's got to say au revoir
and aha to his former glories.
It's just trophies, isn't it?
Right now, they're going
in the fucking bin.
They are history.
- Bring it on.
- I can't spell it any clearer.
We are fucked.
(knife slices)
(upbeat rock music)
- King's Lynn, a
traditional market town
on the Norfolk coast
where the order of the day
is cheap and
cheerful local crab,
unless, that is, you're
eating at Rococo,
one of King's Lynn's most
expensive restaurants
run by former Michelin
star winner, Nick Anderson.
- I'm very proud when
people say, you know,
"Who are you, and what do you
do," and as soon as you say,
"Oh, I'm the chef
owner of Rococo,"
they're, "Oh, wow," you know.
It does stand for something.
- [GORDON] Or at
least it used to.
Now, Rococo is
struggling to survive.
- The debts are mounting
and there's no real
clear way forward.
- [Gordon] Nick's losing
2,000 pounds a week
and is facing closure.
And if that wasn't tough enough,
he lives above the restaurant
with his wife and two kids.
They'll all be homeless
if Rococo goes under.
- My first thought is for the
boys because what would we do?
I mean we'd have no, we'd
have no money.
It would just be so
depressing and miserable.
- We used to be very, very busy,
and I don't think we're
doing anything differently,
and we're just not
getting the people.
It's like, you know, you've
organised a special party
and everybody's decided they're
not gonna bother coming.
- [Gordon Voiceover]
I'm here in King's Lynn
and I've got just one week
to save Rococo from ruin
and put Nick back in the game.
- Well, I really, really,
really hope
he'll like Nick's food.
- I'm reasonably
confident he's not gonna
sort of put his fork
down and go,
"That's disgusting or minging,"
or anything like that.
I feel fairly confident my
food will stand the test.
- Beautiful church.
How fortunate that any
restaurant to be next to that.
Jesus, looks like a fucking
sofa bed in the window.
Hello.
- [Lawrence] Hiya.
- [Gordon] How are you?
- Fine, how are you?
I'm Lawrence.
- Good.
Lawrence, good to see you.
Is Nick here?
- He is indeed.
- [Gordon] Thank you.
This is quaint.
Oh, it's very small, isn't it?
Hello.
- Hi.
- [Gordon] How are you?
- Pleased to meet you.
- Likewise, good to see you.
How are you?
- I'm alright, a bit warm.
- Yeah, you look very warm, huh,
very hot.
- It's boiling in here.
- [Gordon] It doesn't
seem very busy out there.
- [Nick] No, it's just
falling away all the time.
Tonight, eight people.
- [Gordon] Yeah, on a
Saturday night,
eight customers booked.
- On a Saturday, yeah.
- [Gordon] How would you
describe Rococo?
- Rococo is a full a la
carte restaurant.
- [Gordon] Yeah.
What style of food is it?
- Modern British.
- I mean, we're in the
height of summer now
so everything's sort of--
- Well, I'm about, I'm about,
I'm about to have a menu change.
We're just coming to the
end of the spring menu now
and we're going into the summer.
- [Gordon] Spring menu at
the end of fucking July?
Spring was two months ago.
- [Nick] Yeah, well, right.
- Right, I'll go in
the dining room.
I'll see you after lunch.
- [Nick] Okay.
- Thank you.
Right, oh dear.
Tiny kitchen.
Jesus, it's like going to
visit your gran.
I'll read the menu here.
It's so claustrophobic in here.
Huge sofas in a
little quaint room.
Oh, shit.
May I have a glass of
orange juice, please?
- Yeah, pleasure.
Ice?
- Is it cold?
- With ice, it will be.
And the orange juice is
already chilled, yeah.
- [Gordon] Yeah, that's
what I'm saying.
Is it fridged?
- Yeah.
- [Gordon] Yeah, no ice then,
thank you.
- No ice.
- Smart ass.
Pan roasted diver scallops
with cauliflower puree,
white raisin and caper dressing.
Hmm, that sounds very familiar.
Nick's got one of my
dishes on the menu.
He's been cooking for as
long as I have
and he's charging top
London prices,
so I just hope his
food measures up.
First test, a fish soup.
Excellent.
It smells
off.
Well, that's certainly
seen better days.
I just hope I won't be
saying the same about Nick
by the end of the lunch.
- Oh, you bastard.
That didn't work very well.
Shit.
Son of a bitch.
- Next mushroom and a
duck egg on toast
and it's one of my favourites
when it's done how I like it,
simply.
Why is it supposed to be looking
like something out a fucking
Barbie's dolls house?
Why can't it just look simple,
plain and mushrooms on toast.
It's like eating a wet
flannel, soggy, horrible bread.
The mushrooms are dirty.
Nick's obviously a frills
man, but if he's got any sense
he'll serve the next
dish as it was intended
because it's one of mine.
And where did this dish
originate from?
- [Lawrence] I couldn't tell you
where he thought the idea up.
- You couldn't?
- [Lawrence] No.
- No, go and ask him for me,
will you?
- [Lawrence] Yeah, sure.
- [Gordon] Thank you.
- [Lawrence] Where did you
get the idea for the scallops?
- [Nick] Oh, for fuck's sake!
- Thank fuck I don't serve
mine like that.
They taste frozen,
unfortunately, milky
and yeah, rubbery.
- He said they tasted
like they were frozen.
They were milky.
- The scallops?
- Try one, yeah.
- They're not frozen.
They're fresh scallops.
- [Gordon] Nick's got
to be joking.
He'd better put a smile on
my face with the next dish
because so far, this
lunch had been miserable.
- It's nearly there.
I'm just wondering if there's
any point in sending it
to be honest.
- [Gordon] If I were you Nick,
I wouldn't keep me waiting.
- [Nick] There you go, Lawrence.
- Thank you.
Oh.
You're like a hemorrhoid in
my asshole, you know that?
Can I just sit and enjoy
or try to enjoy
rather than trying to
dissect everything I eat?
Otherwise, you may as
well fucking sit down here
and take my place.
Would you mind?
- [Lawrence] No, no
problem at all.
- Thank you so much.
- Enjoy your meal.
When I'm nervous, I say stupid
things that I don't mean.
- At least you're not
having to cook for him.
- That sauce is so
sweet, it's unbelievable.
The duck itself actually
tastes quite nice
but then it's marred with
all that horrible sauce.
It's almost like
Benylin and baby veg.
20 quid as well.
I mean, you know, even
by London prices that's,
you know, that's up there.
There's someone here
that's trying to be flash.
And he may have gotten
away with that in the '90s,
but in 2006, his days
are numbered.
Right.
Nick, you're not gonna
like what I'm about to say.
I expected a nice quick, fast,
easy lunch
and unfortunately,
everything was painful.
You know, mushrooms on toast
was supposed to be
mushrooms on toast.
I got something that was
incredibly soggy,
full of grit and just
looked horrendous.
The duck was fucking delicious
and then everything else
around it was so unnecessary.
- [Nick] Right.
- You were fucking
successful 10 years ago
and you had a big following.
Unfortunately, nothing
has moved on.
- [Nick] No.
- You're in the bubble
and I'm about to burst it.
He's sat on his laurels,
clearly cooking still
from the '90s era,
touched success but that
fizzled very, very quickly.
Even his own customers
haven't sort of
hung around long enough
to tell him how fucking
long-winded the food's become.
So it's, yes, quite
sad in a way.
And he's clearly not
cooking for King's Lynn.
He's cooking for his ego.
- I feel slightly deflated.
I didn't think I'd get as
much criticism as I got.
But hey, I'm a big boy.
I'm not a 20-year-old.
I'm not gonna cry.
I'm 40.
So bring it on.
(laid back music)
- This week, I'm in King's
Lynn to help Nick Anderson,
a chef who once had a
Michelin star.
That sauce is so sweet,
it's unbelievable.
It's almost like Benylin.
But after eating his
food yesterday,
I'd say his glory days
are long gone.
I expected a nice quick, fast,
easy lunch
and unfortunately,
everything was painful.
Four years ago, Nick
was flying high
running a successful restaurant
at the Crown Hotel in Wales.
- I had a business turning over
a quarter million pounds a year.
Got to six out of 10 in the
Good Food guide, two AA rosettes
and a Michelin Star in 2001,
2002, 2003, three years.
- [Gordon] But in 2004,
Nick crashed and burned
when he and his backers
parted company.
He's never got over it.
- It was a very tough
time leaving Wales
and obviously, very
emotionally draining.
We'd just found out
Susannah was pregnant.
Obviously, I then had
the best part of a year
on the dole, bankruptcy
and trying, obviously, to
find some way of getting back.
- Nick opened Rococo hoping
to get back on his feet,
but with no one coming
in to eat there,
he's now haemorrhaging money.
This morning, I want to know
what the locals have got
against Rococo.
Hello.
How are you both?
- Very well, thank you.
- Have you been to Rococo's?
- No, I haven't.
- No?
Have you heard about Rococo's?
- I have heard about it.
- What's the reputation in
King's Lynn at the moment?
- It's quite expensive,
isn't it?
- And when you look at it,
you think are you gonna
get value for money.
- I think probably too
pricey, too small a portions.
I don't know.
Is King's Lynn too small for
a restaurant like Rococo's?
- They've hit the nail on the
head except for one thing.
It's not King's Lynn
that's the problem.
Rococo's has gone way
past it's sell by date.
I mean, pretentious food,
stuffy service
and fucking ridiculous prices,
even for London,
ridiculous prices.
Before I can drag Nick
into the real world,
I want to find out how
he runs his kitchen.
So I've arranged to meet him
and his sous chef, Tim Sanford
before tonight's service.
How are you today?
- I'm very well.
Nice to see you.
- Yeah?
Good to see you too.
Hello.
- Hello, chef.
- How are you?
- I'm okay, you?
- Gordon.
- Yeah, Tim.
- You're the sous,
obviously the sous chef
because there's only two of you.
- Yes, the sous chef, yeah.
- [Gordon] Is he the only
chef you've ever worked for?
- [Tim] Of this calibre, yes.
- [Gordon] And what
was it like last night?
- [Nick] Dead as a
dodo, absolutely no one.
- No one in at all?
- [Nick] No.
- Fuck me.
That's extraordinary.
How do you relieve the boredom?
How do you stimulate yourself
in terms of coming up
with new ideas?
- This sounds
absolutely dreadful
but sometimes, I do
watch Ready Steady Cook
and I pick up little
things from that, yeah.
- [Gordon] Fuck me!
- [Tim] Yeah, I know
it's dreadful.
- You're the first chef
I've ever, ever met
that's become, that's become
excited and stimulated
on the back of Ready
Steady Twat.
Just take me through
your fridges.
Like the meat fridge,
where would that be?
- [Nick] So I have my duck,
my lamb...
- [Gordon] Can I look
at the sausages?
They sound nice, Toulouse.
Are they actually from Toulouse?
- [Nick] Yes, they are.
- Amazing.
- [Nick] This is basically
fish trimmings,
scallop corals for fish soup,
rice pudding, madeleine mix.
- Right.
Nick's fridges are packed
with the best ingredients
but no one's coming
to eat it all.
Is he mad?
You have the most
extraordinary ingredients,
do you know that?
And if you don't sell it,
you eat it.
- Yeah, things like,
you know, meat and fish.
- So really, it's a
big advantage,
the restaurant being
fucking empty
because you live like a king.
Amazing, no?
Staff food here, Tim, must
be fucking extraordinary.
- It is.
- [Gordon] Huh?
- Yeah.
- [Gordon] Well, you
look well on it.
- Thank you.
- Fuck me!
If Nick's in trouble,
he could be buying cheaper
produce on his doorstep.
So why isn't he?
With things like the
shrimps in the freezer--
- Yeah.
- You're on an estuary,
you know, 20 miles.
- We struggle to get them fresh.
We always used to be
able to get them fresh.
- No.
- Seriously.
- You mustn't forget, I
have been doing my homework.
- [Nick] Yeah, yeah.
- I've been here.
I know how many boats
are still active.
- [Nick] The fishing
fleet, the fishing fleet--
- I can tell you what
they caught on Saturday.
I can tell you what's in
the market tomorrow morning.
Trust me.
- Okay.
- Oh, fuck me.
I get the feeling
Nick's having me on.
Is he cooking then?
Everything has to look
immaculate
with the best of cheese
and the best of sausage and
the best of rack of lamb.
He's in King's Lynn, yeah,
not sat in the fucking
harbour of Monaco.
And every customer hasn't
got five grand
to blow on a fucking
bottle of wine.
Before I tackle the
business, I need to see
what Tim and Nick
are capable of,
and so I want to watch them in
action during a busy service.
But things have sunk so
low at Rococo,
the only way of being able
to fill the place tonight
is by rounding up Nick's friends
and some local business people.
And when you opened, you know,
in '91,
was the food the same then?
- [Nick] No.
- The duck egg with
wild mushrooms,
I thought that was part
of the history
in terms of been on the
menu for a decade.
- It wasn't from the
very beginning
but it was a dish that
sort of came along probably
not, yeah, not long after,
'94, something like that.
- [Gordon] So 12 years then,
not 10 years?
- Yes.
- [Gordon] Nick's menu
belongs in a museum,
not a restaurant.
But I suppose with
twelve years of practise,
service should be a doddle.
Baby veg is such a
throwback to the '90s
but Nick's obviously
very attached to them.
- Okay.
- That's finished?
- [Nick] Yeah.
Well.
- [Gordon] Is this slow,
or is it me?
Is this normal pace of service?
- [Nick] Yeah.
- [Gordon] Nick's so busy
primping and preening,
he seems to have forgotten the
whole point of being a chef,
feeding your customers.
- Sorry about the mains, guys.
- [Man] That's all right.
- That's not normal for
that to sit there
so long like that, is it?
- No, I fucked up.
I forgot the black pudding
and I dropped the pomme puree
into the sauce for the halibut.
- Fucking hard work.
Everything just seems so
difficult, so long winded.
The kitchen's soulless.
There's no atmosphere.
There's no, no oomph.
For someone who's
earned his stripes,
Nick's making a hash out
of tonight's service.
- Shit!
Now, I've just lost my
fucking red wine reduction.
- [Gordon] I'm
beginning to think
this is a man who's
lost the plot.
- The salad's died in the heat,
a bit like it's fucking creator.
- [Gordon] So how was
that for you?
- Absolutely horrendous.
- Is that the normal
way to work?
- It's certainly the way
that I've worked, yeah.
- I'm worried, because
there's so much fucking around
that goes on that is
so unnecessary.
You're screwing yourselves.
It's painful.
It's like open heart surgery
without an anaesthetic.
It's fucking piling crap
on top of crap
and using crap on crap.
Everything is fucking
so fucking over tweaked
in a way that you've
just gone past
any form of normality with food.
You think that the more I
add and put in,
it's just gonna get better,
but it's not.
- [Nick] Even worse.
- Less is more.
- He's slagged everything
off about my food,
I'm disappointed because I think
he could have at least said
something along the lines of,
"I can clearly see you
can cook meat.
"I can clearly see you
can cook fish."
He could have said something
positive to keep our morale up.
I do feel
choked.
- Last night, I could see
just how much of a rut
Nick has got himself into.
Sticking with the same old food
has stifled his cooking
and ruined his business.
I need a way to get him
thinking about the future
and not the past.
I spotted a collection of
old food guides
he's been holding on to.
I'd like him to let them go.
Who wants to come in and
read a Good Food Guide?
It's trophies, isn't it?
Because you're in there,
aren't you?
- Yep.
- That's the kind of stuff
you have upstairs, yeah,
for your little meditation time,
you know,
when you've had a
real shit night
and you're slightly concerned,
and you wanna sort of, you know,
increase the size of your cock.
You lay on the bed and
cover yourself
in all your Good Food Guides.
When you get a writeup
in the Guide,
they've judged you for what?
- [Nick] For that year.
- [Gordon] The previous year.
- Yes, yep.
- [Gordon] By then,
you moved on.
- Yes.
- So you're reminiscing.
Right now, they're going
in the fucking bin.
Come on then.
I'll hold the bag open and
you can get them in, yeah?
I don't give a fuck how
much you paid for them,
you know that.
- 15 years of history, 15
years of everything else,
of course it's sad.
It's difficult sometimes to
accept change is necessary.
It really is.
- Nick's road to recovery
is just starting.
He needs to embrace change.
But after a decade working
with the same dishes,
I wonder if he can
actually cook anything new.
Things have got slightly
static in terms of creativity.
- [Nick] Yes.
- Come here, my little
fucking Rottweiler.
- Sorry, chef.
- You mentioned to me
the other day
about Ready Steady Twat, yeah?
- Oh, no.
- No, no, no, don't look
at me like that.
Come back to me with
some form of inspiration.
There's ingredients, let's look.
I've bought some basic
local ingredients
and I'm giving Nick
and Tim just 20 minutes
to come up with some dishes
that we can make money on.
Onion, leeks, potatoes.
Oh, look at this baby here.
Fresh,
beautiful.
You've both got a bag each.
Don't copy him, and you
don't copy him.
- [Nick] Fine.
- Ready?
- Yeah, how long?
- Steady.
Cook.
(upbeat music)
How long?
Fucking hell, you know how long.
This could be the first
time in years
Nick's faced a full
sized vegetable.
Now you're fucking sweating,
aren't you?
You've seen it on the telly.
You've sat there in front
of the fucking sofa.
Now you're fucking doing it.
Okay, Nick, please tell me
you're not looking for a cutter.
Where's my cutters?
Where's my cutters?
Whee.
Nick, don't burn your mackerel.
Don't get huffy with me.
Come on, Nick.
10 seconds to go.
Three.
Two.
One.
Serve!
Thank you.
Well done.
Timmy.
- [Tim] Yes, chef.
- Good.
Nick, what is it?
- It's simply grilled mackerel,
a little bit of thyme,
some lemon juice.
- [Gordon] Good.
- Fillets of mackerel on
a bed of sauteed potatoes
with garlic and butter.
- Would you serve that
dish in your restaurant?
- I think so.
- Good.
Would you serve this
dish in this restaurant?
- No, I wouldn't.
- Why not?
- Because I think it's crap.
It needs a lot of
work doing to it.
- You think it's crap?
- [Tim] Yeah.
- [Gordon] And it needs a
lot of work doing to it.
- [Tim] Yeah.
- Mackerel is filleted?
- Yes, it is, yes, so I
could cook it quicker.
I gutted it.
- You are so paranoid,
it's unbelievable.
Presentation is there
for 30 seconds.
It's the flavour that
holds the memory.
It's the flavour that
holds the memory.
- [Tim] Yeah.
- Right, Nick, have a taste.
The mackerel's nice.
It's slightly bitter inside
because the guts are still
in there, unfortunately.
But the top of the
mackerel's nice.
I like that.
Nick's buckled under pressure.
Tim's held his own,
but they both failed the
most important test of all.
The leeks and the potato, I
wanted a soup as my starter.
And then the fucking
mackerel, I wanted filleted
on a fucking warm potato salad.
Nothing more, boom, boom,
starter, main, yeah?
Two pound 38, I gotta make money
because I've got to fucking
open my business tomorrow, okay?
So you both chose to
do one dish.
The winner is
none of you.
Clear down.
Fucking hell.
I'm so frustrated
because I can't get anything
out of fucking Nick.
And I've got to make some
big changes in this place.
Otherwise, he's fucked.
- It takes a little while for
things to sink in with me.
I'm not, I'm not, really,
as a rule,
I'm not an impulsive person.
I don't act, you know, without
thinking things through.
And I fully suspect
that Gordon's gonna get
even more frustrated with
me as the week goes on.
But I'll probably get
more frustrated with him.
- [Gordon] It's not just
Nick I can't work out.
If Rococo doesn't have
any customers,
how has Nick managed to
keep the business
and the family afloat
for the past 18 months.
I'm gonna talk to his
wife Susannah.
- We don't go anywhere.
We don't ever go out anymore
since having the children.
And there's nowhere to go
and we haven't got any money.
So I think he needs a sort
of real kick or a boost
or a real something to
get him inspired again.
And you know, when it's not busy
and when it's crap like
that, he just, you know,
he's miserable, which
I suppose you would be.
- [Gordon] Anyone would be.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Fuck.
How long can you continue
staying open along these lines?
- Not long.
The thing that happens is
every kind of six months,
Nick has a meltdown and goes,
"Oh, everything's
fucking shit, everything,
"what are we gonna do,
what are we gonna do,
"what are we gonna do?
"We need some money, we
need some money."
If it hadn't been literally
for like a month ago,
a couple of friends/customers
wanted to invest
a little bit of money into it,
I can't remember how
much it was now,
we would, it would have gone,
I think.
- If I had to close the
door tonight--
- [Susannah] Yeah.
- I mean, fucking bam,
shut down.
- [Susannah] Yeah, yeah.
- [Gordon] How much will
I owe tomorrow morning?
- A hundred.
- [Gordon] A hundred grand?
- Yeah.
- [Gordon] You haven't got that?
- No.
- [Gordon] Has Nick got it?
- No.
- No.
It's worse than I thought.
Even though he's in 100,000
pounds worth of debt,
Nick's still shelling out
on all the expensive produce
he used when he was doing well.
I need to get him to stop.
He told me he couldn't buy
shrimps on his doorstep.
Well, I don't think he
tried hard enough.
One thing I got fucked
off last week with
was when you said you can't
buy fresh fucking shrimps.
These guys go out every day.
Hello, gentlemen.
- [Man] Hello.
- That looks like a
good catch there.
He told me that he
can't get fresh shrimps.
(man laughs)
Are they fresh from
this morning?
- Yeah.
- [Gordon] And is that a
normal catch in the morning?
- [Man] That's average.
- Average.
And you give me shit
because I get upset
because yours are in the
fucking freezer.
(man laughs)
Hello.
Yeah, no, no, I mean,
can I have a little taste?
- Yeah, sure.
- Yeah?
Or would you wanna stick
to your frozen ones?
Get your fucking ass
on that boat.
Let's go, huh.
Unbelievable.
You'll turn round and
say, "No, let me get,
"Let me get my frozen ones,"
yeah?
They are beautiful.
Amazing.
No shrimps my fucking ass.
Beautiful.
See?
- [Nick] Yeah.
- Frozen fucking shrimps.
- [Nick] I went to the
fishmongers, I told you.
I went to the fishmongers.
- [Gordon] Another excuse!
No more fucking excuses!
Nick's excuses won't get him
out of the financial shit,
and I still don't think
he's faced the fact
that his spending habits
have to change and soon.
Tonight, I'm gonna allow Nick
to cook his menu for
the final time.
I'm gonna do some tough talking
to try and shake him out
of his cocoon.
The sauces are like varnish,
aren't they?
Why are they so heavy
in the middle of summer?
- [Nick] It's the only
way I now how to sauce.
- Oh, fucking hell!
The only way I know
how to sauce.
I wouldn't charge 20
quid for that in Chelsea.
Nicholas,
Enoki mushrooms, they look like
fucking tadpoles on Viagra, huh.
Is it on there because it's
oriental, the word enoki?
- Yes.
- [Gordon] Poor bastards.
Are you ready to stab me yet?
- No.
- Oh?
What's the idea behind
the two sauces?
The resemblance of a
pearl necklace
that I used to give my
ex-girlfriend.
What a lovely portion of pork.
Why'd you put the black
pudding on there?
- Because I'm over precious,
Gordon.
- Is there anything
registering--
- [Nick] Yeah.
- In terms of all that
time we're wasting--
- Yes.
- Farting and fannying around?
I think we can fit 10
more people in
and still get it done
within the timeframe.
I feel like stripping
you stark bullock naked
and putting a fucking
sign on saying,
customers, come and eat my food!
I'm fucking serious.
I just can't get
anything out of him.
It's so hard because he's
like in a daze.
When I poke him, I poke him
for a reaction, to wake him up,
to get him out of that
fucking comatized attitude.
And so every time I wanna
dig him in the ribs,
I want someone to
come back to me
with something of a
pair of bollocks.
It's like he's sort of put
it to the back of his mind
and it's not really
that important
because getting all my
pretentious ingredients
is far more important than
being 100 grand in debt.
I can't spell it any clearer.
We are fucked!
(laid back music)
This week, I'm in Norfolk
to help shake a chef
out of his culinary coma.
The sauces are like varnish,
aren't they?
Why are they so heavy
in the middle of summer?
- [Nick] It's the only
way I know how to sauce.
- Oh, fucking hell!
Last night, I tried to
get through to him
with some tough love.
Are you ready to stab me yet?
- No.
- This morning, I'm
hoping to start afresh.
(doorbell rings)
Strange.
Nick's in there, so why
isn't he letting me in?
(knocking on door)
Pathetic, absolutely pathetic.
Kick me out.
Who the fuck does he
think he is?
I've taken some shit in my time,
but this is the first time
a chef has ever locked
me out of a restaurant.
(doorbell rings)
I'll sit here and wait
till fucking lunch time.
I'll go in as a paying customer.
Fucking asshole.
(knocking on door)
What's the matter?
- [Nick] I'm fed up.
- [Gordon] Fed up?
Can we talk?
- Yeah.
- [Gordon] Yeah?
- [Nick] I bawled my fucking
eyes out last night, Gordon.
- We're the same age.
You've got two kids upstairs,
you know,
depending on this fucking
succeeding, you know.
So yes, you're pissed off.
Yeah, you hate my guts.
But let's just have a
go at fucking working
and turning it around.
I don't want you
cooking like that
because I think you can do
better with half the frills.
You can't give up.
- Was there nothing at all
about last night that you saw
as even remotely good?
- If I didn't think it was
possible to turn it around,
I wouldn't be here
and you wouldn't have
asked for my fucking help.
- [Nick] No.
- Unfortunately, the reason
why you're more fucked off
is the level of sensitivity.
And I'm glad you feel
the way you do
because it shows that you care.
- Well, I'm certainly at
the bottom, that's for sure.
(church bell rings)
- Well, at least he's
talking to me now.
So I'm going to strike
while the iron's hot
and hit him with my big idea.
It's time to start from scratch.
You're gonna have to seriously
consider changing the name.
I need an unpretentious feel--
- [Susannah] A name
that people will.
- That's like fuck me,
get in there.
Nick, any names?
- [Nick] Not yet.
- There must be
something in there.
Roll them out to me,
just shout at me
for once.
- [Nick] Number eleven?
- No, because there was--
- [Gordon] Too formal.
The church is called St.
Margaret's.
I don't know, Maggie's.
No, no, it's got nothing
to do with you.
- No, no.
- It's a new identity.
I say Maggie's you know
in terms of not casualness
but just unpretentious,
something that everyone
can relate to.
Nick, you're nervous
of Maggie's?
- I'm not nervous.
I'm just not that keen,
that's all.
- Okay, I'm just trying to
throw options in the pot.
We need a fresh start.
The name is not critical.
The change is crucial.
- I don't like the
name Maggie's.
I think to me, it just says
Maggie's caravan, stop
and get a bacon roll.
- Here we go.
Well, Nick can stew in
his own juices
over the loss of six
letters of the alphabet,
but he's not gonna stop
me tearing up his menu.
Anything you're worried about?
Oh, that delayed silence.
Fuck me, I could kill you.
Finally, a smile.
I just hope he's happy
with the new food.
I've swapped his
expensive ingredients
for cheaper local alternatives
so we can lower the prices.
And these simple dishes
can be prepared quickly.
That is just a nice summery,
chill,
chunky, rustic, yeah, gazpacho.
And there's a duck salad,
pan fried mackerel on
a bed of warm potatoes.
One nice fillet,
on.
And a simple cheese souffle.
Into your oven, please, Nick,
a hot oven.
220, perfect.
So you love the name Maggie's?
- Adore it, chef.
No, I hate it.
- You hate it.
Why'd you hate it?
- It just makes me think of
somewhere that you'd pick up
a bacon buttie at the
side of the road.
- [Gordon] Really?
- Yes.
- What's the alternatives?
Nicholas.
I'm beginning to lose
patience with Nick.
No answer.
Time's running out.
I don't know how long you
think you've got
but I can't tell you any longer.
Here, Mr. Anderson, we're
scared of fucking change!
No one wants to change
anything because it's safe.
Safe means we're in the shit.
- I'm not scared of change.
- No, I'm just trying to
inject a bit of energy.
But right now, like I said,
no one's with me on this one.
No one's clinging for changes.
No one's dynamic for changes,
and everyone's so dead
stuck in a rut.
And this place is gonna
fucking close
unless you do
something about it!
One, I'm pissed off more
than anything.
I don't feel anyone fucking
pulling on the rope.
Quite frankly, it's not good
enough to sort itself out.
That's why we're in the shit.
So I don't feel that
surge of support,
that really sort of, you know,
bang, this is all
I've got in life.
It's not there.
So if they haven't got it,
what fucking chance have I got?
I can't work out why Nick
won't let go of the past.
I need help from people
who know him best.
First stop, Susannah.
- [Susannah] I can't work out
whether it's just his pride--
- Yeah.
- [Susannah] Or whether it's,
you know,
saying goodbye to Rococo.
- [Gordon] You're in
King's Lynn.
- [Susannah] Yeah.
- [Gordon] You're not in
Knightsbridge.
He thinks Maggie's sounds cheap
and he doesn't want his
food to be cheap,
but we're not turning
it into cheap.
- [Susannah] I know.
- [Gordon] If he's not
happy with that,
why doesn't he come back
to me with it?
- [Susannah] I know.
- I don't care if he calls it
Frankie's, Maggie's, Uncle Mays.
I don't give a toss about that.
- No.
- [Gordon] Rococo's myth is
feeding his ego, nothing more.
- [Susannah] Yeah.
- But I swear to god,
I look at that man in
the eyes every morning
and there's not 100 grand of
debt in each fucking eyeball.
- [Susannah] Yeah.
- That is wrong.
- [Susannah] Yeah.
- If Nick goes down, he's
taking everyone with him,
wife, kids and his staff.
It's an amazing place
and an amazing setting,
quaint fucking town hall,
you know, an amazing square.
This place should be
fucking rammed.
- Yeah.
- People should be queuing up
to stand in a queue to
come and eat in here.
- Yeah, that's right.
- You know you've got
everything here.
- That's the way it is, yeah.
We've got to sort it out.
- I see someone that is hurting.
For what reason?
Glory days, Michelin star?
- Possibly.
Possibly, yeah.
- [Gordon] There's got
to be a reason somewhere.
- I would have said that.
- Four years ago, Nick was
top of the bill in Norfolk
and his stage was the
Crown Hotel in Wales.
But when he and his
backers parted company,
Nick had to leave
the restaurant.
I don't think he's
ever got over it.
This is where it hurts.
Have you been back in there?
- Not for a long time.
- [Gordon] No.
- Not for a long time.
- I brought you here
to face your failures.
I had a situation once when
I had two Michelin stars
in a restaurant
called Aubergine,
and I worked my fucking ass
for these guys for five years.
And because I didn't wanna
go down the direction
that they were going down,
I cut the fucking cord
and I got out of it.
And it's been the most
important fucking day
of my entire fucking
cooking career.
You have to turn a new leaf.
I've never been back
in that door,
and I've always wanted to
go in there and just eat.
But instead, I used to
just walk past.
- [Nick] Yes.
- And there's like two or
three bin bags
outside the front door.
And do you know what?
It makes me feel so happy
because when I was there,
I used to put out 18
to 20 bin bags,
and that told me they're
nowhere near as busy.
- [Nick] As busy.
- It was that moment
when you think
the most important day in
my entire life,
turning the fucking leaf.
And for the short time
I've known you,
I don't think you've ever
turned the leaf.
- [Nick] No.
- [Gordon] That was then, yeah?
- This is now.
- [Gordon] Why didn't the
fucking penny drop earlier?
- [Nick] I don't know,
stubbornness maybe, I don't
know.
I've been massaging my
own ego with the food
without seeing the fact that,
why are the other
restaurants busy?
Because they're not
trying to be pretentious.
- [Gordon] You have got to start
afresh and fucking move on.
It's taken me the best
part of a week,
but I think Nick may have
finally got the message.
(upbeat music)
It's my last day in Norfolk.
Tonight, we relaunch the
restaurant, and there's good
news.
- I've made a decision, Gordon.
I'm gonna run with Maggie's.
- Maggie's doesn't mean
it's a fucking greasy spoon.
- [Nick] No.
- In six months' time,
the name is irrelevant
but it's the new--
- [Nick] Well, that's where
I got to be perfectly honest.
- [Gordon] It's just a name.
- [Nick] why get all
precious about it?
- Skip?
- [Nick] Skip.
- Thank you, gentlemen.
Now, I need another miracle.
We've got to get the
people of King's Lynn
to give Nick's new
restaurant a go.
I just hope they can
forgive his sins.
- I just wanna tell you
about our new restaurant.
- Okay.
- It's a replacement
of Rococo's.
- It's outside the marketplace.
- [Woman] I like it, yes,
I've been there.
- Well it used to be,
no, you haven't, you liar.
- No!
- No, you haven't.
It's only just been called
Maggie's today!
- We've changed the name.
We've changed the interior.
It's affordable, and
the food's great.
- [Gordon] Now I've got
through to Nick,
there's no stopping him.
He's agreed to dump the
intimidating 90's decor
and replace it with a
simple and fresh interior.
- Oh, is it open tonight?
It's my birthday tomorrow.
Is it?
- Yes, it is.
What time would you
like to come?
- [Woman] Tomorrow, about
eight o'clock.
- [Gordon] You got a
reservation there?
- [Lawrence] Yeah.
- Well done.
When you get going, you
can't stop you.
You know that, huh?
We've only got a few
hours left to clear out
the final traces of Rococo
before we throw open
the doors at Maggie's,
but something's already made
it back in from the bin.
What is that?
No...
- They're not going back.
I'm just gonna take
them upstairs.
- You're taking them upstairs?
Are you gonna lay on
the sofa again
and play with your
fucking widger with them?
- [Nick] No, no, no.
- What are you doing
with the Guides?
- Well, it's history, isn't it?
- Just when I thought I was
fucking getting somewhere.
Have you got any paraffin?
- I never look at them, ever.
- Is your photo in any of them,
Nick?
- No, there's never been photos.
- You don't need them.
Fuck me!
Fucking hell.
What else have you
sneaked back in?
- Nothing.
- Nothing.
Finally, all the old
fashioned remnants of Rococo
have been stripped out, and
in it's place is Maggie's,
relaxed, informal and
most important, welcoming.
I've created a fixed price menu
made up of modern rustic dishes.
The big pull for the
locals will be the cost.
At 21 pounds, it's half
the price of Rococo.
Big night tonight, 44 booked.
- Yes, 42, 44, yeah.
- Yeah.
Can we take any more, Lawrence?
- [Lawrence] Yes.
- If we can do them.
- [Lawrence] Yeah.
- Yeah, definitely.
If Maggie's does 54
covers tonight,
I'm running round that
square and the cemetery
stark bullock naked.
(Nick laughs)
Menu, everyone happy
with the menu?
Three starters, three main
course and three deserts, yeah?
We've gone through
all the fucking,
you know, roller coaster,
highly strung,
highly emotional, upsetting,
bullying.
It's all gone.
Tonight is the night.
Really make it work.
- Good luck.
Thank you all for your
very hard work this week,
and let's make Maggie's work.
- If we get through this one
tonight and he pulls it off,
you know, I'll be a lot happier.
Of course I'll be a lot happier.
My worry is in the kitchen,
not with Tim but with Nick.
If he gets in the shit early on,
let's hope he's got the
charisma, the personality,
the drive, the determination
to get out of it.
This is not just a man
starting off afresh.
This is a man that is
desperately in the shit,
up to his eyeballs with
100 grand of debt.
And fuck me, every
plate he cooks,
he has to really
seriously mean it.
(upbeat music)
- Good evening.
Great table by the window.
There you are, a
wine list there.
- [Nick] Okay, one crispy
duck salad on order.
- [Tim] Yes, chef.
- Two gazpacho, good.
Chicken, mackerel, lamb.
- [Gordon] Nice,
absolutely stunning.
Good.
Two souffle.
They're very hot, Lawrence.
Please be careful, yes?
Excellent.
The starter has gone within
seven minutes, fantastic.
Maggie's is filling up
with the locals.
There'll be more
people in tonight
than Nick would usually
have in all week.
- [Nick] How long for your duck,
Tim?
- [Tim] Ready when you are.
- [Nick] Okay, duck's out.
Yeah?
- [Tim] Yes.
- Nice.
Thank you.
That's fine.
Don't play with it,
don't play with it.
Peas.
Despite the fact that
we've got rid
of Nick's fancy ingredients,
he's still fiddling.
He can't afford to
switch off tonight.
What are all those little
burnt bits in the potato?
What are they?
- [Nick] Just the chives
from a previous batch.
- Come on, come on, come on,
Nick.
Get Tim to put the
peas on there.
Don't keep on squashing
it down so much.
- Is it done yet?
- [Nick] Yeah, over here.
- Calm down, slow down,
guys, and work as a team,
like you're sort of almost
in love with each other.
There you go.
The new menu's doing the trick.
The pace has picked up
in the kitchen,
but it's getting busy,
and now Nick has taken
his eye off the orders.
- Do you hear that guys?
Table two has already gone.
Thank you.
What do you mean?
- Where's that ticket, please,
Tim?
What is going on?
Thank you, that's what I want.
What is going on?
- I don't know what's going on.
This never happens.
- Nick, stop my man, yeah?
We're doing the same
course again twice over.
- It's all right.
The next order is a
chicken and a mackerel.
- Come on, guys, not tonight.
Of all nights, not tonight,
yeah?
I didn't know you had a
lamb on there.
I thought it was a
chicken and mackerel.
- [Lawrence] Chicken
and mackerel.
- Oh, fuck me.
Oh, fuck me.
- [Nick] Take that one with you.
- Nick's just screwed himself.
They've just started to cook
one table's order twice over.
Brilliant.
It doesn't need to be as
panicky as it is.
Fuck me.
This is home cooking.
A big deep breath and
just compose yourself
and be comfortable doing
three or four things
at the same time and
bring it together.
The restaurant is now
at it's busiest.
So if Nick doesn't take
control now, we're in trouble.
- [Tim] Oh, bollocks,
it's sinking.
- Tim, we need two duck now!
Move it, move it!
Come on, service, please.
You have three souffles out!
Yeah, that's for nine.
Two souffle, three duck, yeah?
Two souffle, three duck, Tim?
- [Tim] Yes, chef.
- Good.
Right, we've got seven
chicken and two lamb, yeah?
- Yes, chef.
- And you've got your
sides on the go, yes?
- [Tim] Pardon?
- You've got your side
orders on the go, chef?
- [Tim] Yes, sauteing.
- Look at these carrots, Gordon.
- [Gordon] Finally, for
the first time this week,
I'm beginning to see Nick
might just have what it takes
to run his restaurant.
- Souffle.
- 20 seconds, 30 seconds.
Plating the chicken, Tim.
Are you ready with that souffle?
- [Tim] Nearly, chef.
(customers chatter)
- [Nick] Finished with
the ducks, Tim?
- We're through the worst.
All the mains have been served,
and I think Nick's even
enjoyed himself.
Just there you know that, Nick,
just.
So Nick's had a good night,
but are we back in favour
with the locals?
- I think the prices
are right for--
- [Woman] Yes, exactly.
- For you to come and have
a meal on a regular basis
rather than just a special
occasion, which it used to be.
- Definitely come again,
wouldn't we?
Definitely, definitely
we'd come again.
- [Gordon] Nick's got
the stamp of approval.
Making a fresh start has worked.
So if Nick wants to
bask in the glory again,
he'd better stick to
the new regime.
How do you feel?
- Good, good.
- [Gordon] Truthfully?
- Yes, truthfully.
- [Gordon] Yeah?
- We've just taken about
two and a half grand.
- Got off to a shaky start.
Can you do it again tomorrow?
That's the big question.
- Yes.
- You can, yeah?
Good, I'm glad to hear it.
I can't do any more, and
it's over to you now.
- [Nick] Yeah.
- Yeah?
- This is just the beginning.
And it's gonna go forward,
and it's gonna evolve,
and it's gonna get better
and better and better.
And it's just that it
will never be,
it will never be what it was,
because clearly, there
weren't enough people
coming for what it was,
so it needs to be different,
and watch this space.
- Tonight's service
was a tough one,
tough, but we got there.
Can they cope on the back
of that performance tonight?
It's gonna be very tough
for them to cope,
very, very tough indeed,
because they're gonna
have to wake up
in terms of that's normal.
I'm nervous about this one
more than any other restaurant
I've ever worked in
because I don't feel
that surge of excitement
to get it right.
(upbeat music)
Mr. Anderson, we're
scared of fucking change!
No one wants to change--
Last time I was in King's Lynn,
I spent a week trying to
convince Nick Anderson
that his glory days
were long gone.
Go on, argue with me.
Come back to me.
By the end of the week, we'd
not just changed the food,
we'd launched a brand
new restaurant, Maggie's.
Skip?
- [Nick] Skip.
- Thank you, gentlemen.
Seven weeks later, I'm
back in King's Lynn
to make an unexpected visit.
Nice, whole roasted lemon sole,
local, with cockle butter.
Hello, how are you?
- [Woman] Hiya!
- Jesus.
Wow, the first
change is obvious.
Nick's got customers.
Nice buzz, very nice buzz.
(customers chatter)
Good evening.
- Good evening.
- [Gordon] How are you?
- Very well.
- [Gordon] Good to see you.
- Good evening.
- [Gordon] Chef, how are you?
- Very well, thank you.
- [Gordon] Timmy, how are you?
- Smashing.
- [Gordon] Smashing, good man.
- Away, thank you, table one.
- Fuck me.
Oh, dear, hey.
You have got your shit together.
Seriously, turnover?
- We're averaging four and
a half to five grand a week.
Top week's been eight.
- Top week's been eight?
- [Nick] Yeah.
- [Gordon] That's great.
One big question.
Have you got a spare
table of one anywhere?
- [Nick] Yep.
- Thank fuck for that.
I've not gone all this way
and not eating.
The first thing that struck
me when I walked in here,
you know, was the buzz.
The place is full, 47
covers on a Wednesday night.
King's Lynn is empty, you know.
This must be the busiest
place within miles.
The thing that struck me
about the menu
is everything is sourced
locally, which is nice.
If it tastes as good as
reads, then it's down to him.
He can't fuck this one.
I'll go for the whole sole,
the local sole, please,
with the cockle butter.
And just maybe before I start,
can I try an onion bhaji?
I'm trying to figure out what
the fuck they're doing here.
Where did that one come from?
- Timmy I think suggested it.
- [Gordon] Timmy the cat.
- Timmy the cat.
- So far so good,
but I'm reserving judgement
until after I've eaten.
Not the kind of thing you'd
expect to find on the menu here.
However, it's fucking delicious,
so who am I to complain?
There is nothing pretentious
about what's been put on
the plate here.
And the minute the food arrives,
you don't think about some
pretentious chef in the corner
trying to massage his ego.
It's good, honest, simple
food, that's all it has to be.
It's not fucking rocket science.
Thank you.
Lovely.
And that's local?
- [Lawrence] Yes.
- You haven't even asked
me how my dinner is yet.
- I wouldn't even dream of
it, not until you've finished.
I'll let you start
before it gets cold.
- Fucking hell.
Jesus.
Fish, cockle butter, parsley,
sauteed local ceps and
sauteed potatoes.
Rustic, simple and so
unpretentious.
It's extraordinary and
miles in front
to what I experienced the
last time around here.
That was nice, Nick, very nice.
- Thank you, thank you.
- Simple, honest and
great flavours.
For you, what's changed
in terms of--
- I've got it, I've got
it back in here.
- [Gordon] Have you though?
- Yeah, really.
- [Gordon] Is it in there?
- Yeah.
- This is the first time
I can quite honestly say,
and I mean really
fucking honestly,
you're cooking for your
customers, not your ego.
It's only gonna be a
matter of time
before you're financially
fucking stable...
- Well, we're nearly
there already.
- Seriously?
- The VAT man's paid
right up to date.
All the supplies are back
within 30 days,
and the wine suppliers
are paid up to scratch.
- Timmy, the bhaji was
delicious, by the way.
- [Tim] Good.
- [Gordon] Can I have the
recipe, please?
- No.
- You tight little fucker.
I fucking, I've given
you my recipes.
You've had a personality
transplant, haven't you?
Where did you get this from?
There's a lot more chefs
I'd like to give it to.
Tell me where the shop is, and
I'll send the fuckers to it.
All jokes apart, don't
fucking change.
- No, I won't.
- And don't put your fucking
ego in front of your customers.
- I'll show you the menu, I'll
show you the menu tomorrow.
- No, no.
Don't put your fucking ego
in front of your customers.
- I won't.
- Your success is the
buzz in that dining room.
The minute that buzz
has gone, you're fucked.
- Yeah.
- Keep it there.
- Definitely.
- Yes?
- Yeah.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
- I really mean that.
- Thank you very much.
- Stubborn fucker,
but well done.
Yeah, I'm amazed.
What a fucking turn around,
extraordinary.
Good, honest, simple food,
local produce, great service,
no bits of bullshit
with olive oil
and all pretentious
crap everywhere.
No fucking flea-bitten
sofas sat there.
No canapes.
Just a really good evening,
nice buzz.
And I really hope he
fucking makes it.
He's got a recipe for
success here,
and he'd be stupid to change it.
Really good.
(laid back electronic music)
(customers chatter)
Maggie's done.
- [Gordon] This week,
I'm in Norfolk,
home of Alan Partridge.
But he's not the only
one-hit wonder in town.
- [Nick] Shit!
- [Gordon] Step forward Michelin
star winner, Nick Anderson.
- As soon as you say, "Oh,
I'm the chef owner of Rococo,"
they're, "Oh wow," you know.
It does stand for something.
- But Nick's stuck in the past
and he's about to lose the lot.
Everyone is so dead
stuck in a rut
and this place is gonna
fucking close
unless you do
something about it!
Now he's got to say au revoir
and aha to his former glories.
It's just trophies, isn't it?
Right now, they're going
in the fucking bin.
They are history.
- Bring it on.
- I can't spell it any clearer.
We are fucked.
(knife slices)
(upbeat rock music)
- King's Lynn, a
traditional market town
on the Norfolk coast
where the order of the day
is cheap and
cheerful local crab,
unless, that is, you're
eating at Rococo,
one of King's Lynn's most
expensive restaurants
run by former Michelin
star winner, Nick Anderson.
- I'm very proud when
people say, you know,
"Who are you, and what do you
do," and as soon as you say,
"Oh, I'm the chef
owner of Rococo,"
they're, "Oh, wow," you know.
It does stand for something.
- [GORDON] Or at
least it used to.
Now, Rococo is
struggling to survive.
- The debts are mounting
and there's no real
clear way forward.
- [Gordon] Nick's losing
2,000 pounds a week
and is facing closure.
And if that wasn't tough enough,
he lives above the restaurant
with his wife and two kids.
They'll all be homeless
if Rococo goes under.
- My first thought is for the
boys because what would we do?
I mean we'd have no, we'd
have no money.
It would just be so
depressing and miserable.
- We used to be very, very busy,
and I don't think we're
doing anything differently,
and we're just not
getting the people.
It's like, you know, you've
organised a special party
and everybody's decided they're
not gonna bother coming.
- [Gordon Voiceover]
I'm here in King's Lynn
and I've got just one week
to save Rococo from ruin
and put Nick back in the game.
- Well, I really, really,
really hope
he'll like Nick's food.
- I'm reasonably
confident he's not gonna
sort of put his fork
down and go,
"That's disgusting or minging,"
or anything like that.
I feel fairly confident my
food will stand the test.
- Beautiful church.
How fortunate that any
restaurant to be next to that.
Jesus, looks like a fucking
sofa bed in the window.
Hello.
- [Lawrence] Hiya.
- [Gordon] How are you?
- Fine, how are you?
I'm Lawrence.
- Good.
Lawrence, good to see you.
Is Nick here?
- He is indeed.
- [Gordon] Thank you.
This is quaint.
Oh, it's very small, isn't it?
Hello.
- Hi.
- [Gordon] How are you?
- Pleased to meet you.
- Likewise, good to see you.
How are you?
- I'm alright, a bit warm.
- Yeah, you look very warm, huh,
very hot.
- It's boiling in here.
- [Gordon] It doesn't
seem very busy out there.
- [Nick] No, it's just
falling away all the time.
Tonight, eight people.
- [Gordon] Yeah, on a
Saturday night,
eight customers booked.
- On a Saturday, yeah.
- [Gordon] How would you
describe Rococo?
- Rococo is a full a la
carte restaurant.
- [Gordon] Yeah.
What style of food is it?
- Modern British.
- I mean, we're in the
height of summer now
so everything's sort of--
- Well, I'm about, I'm about,
I'm about to have a menu change.
We're just coming to the
end of the spring menu now
and we're going into the summer.
- [Gordon] Spring menu at
the end of fucking July?
Spring was two months ago.
- [Nick] Yeah, well, right.
- Right, I'll go in
the dining room.
I'll see you after lunch.
- [Nick] Okay.
- Thank you.
Right, oh dear.
Tiny kitchen.
Jesus, it's like going to
visit your gran.
I'll read the menu here.
It's so claustrophobic in here.
Huge sofas in a
little quaint room.
Oh, shit.
May I have a glass of
orange juice, please?
- Yeah, pleasure.
Ice?
- Is it cold?
- With ice, it will be.
And the orange juice is
already chilled, yeah.
- [Gordon] Yeah, that's
what I'm saying.
Is it fridged?
- Yeah.
- [Gordon] Yeah, no ice then,
thank you.
- No ice.
- Smart ass.
Pan roasted diver scallops
with cauliflower puree,
white raisin and caper dressing.
Hmm, that sounds very familiar.
Nick's got one of my
dishes on the menu.
He's been cooking for as
long as I have
and he's charging top
London prices,
so I just hope his
food measures up.
First test, a fish soup.
Excellent.
It smells
off.
Well, that's certainly
seen better days.
I just hope I won't be
saying the same about Nick
by the end of the lunch.
- Oh, you bastard.
That didn't work very well.
Shit.
Son of a bitch.
- Next mushroom and a
duck egg on toast
and it's one of my favourites
when it's done how I like it,
simply.
Why is it supposed to be looking
like something out a fucking
Barbie's dolls house?
Why can't it just look simple,
plain and mushrooms on toast.
It's like eating a wet
flannel, soggy, horrible bread.
The mushrooms are dirty.
Nick's obviously a frills
man, but if he's got any sense
he'll serve the next
dish as it was intended
because it's one of mine.
And where did this dish
originate from?
- [Lawrence] I couldn't tell you
where he thought the idea up.
- You couldn't?
- [Lawrence] No.
- No, go and ask him for me,
will you?
- [Lawrence] Yeah, sure.
- [Gordon] Thank you.
- [Lawrence] Where did you
get the idea for the scallops?
- [Nick] Oh, for fuck's sake!
- Thank fuck I don't serve
mine like that.
They taste frozen,
unfortunately, milky
and yeah, rubbery.
- He said they tasted
like they were frozen.
They were milky.
- The scallops?
- Try one, yeah.
- They're not frozen.
They're fresh scallops.
- [Gordon] Nick's got
to be joking.
He'd better put a smile on
my face with the next dish
because so far, this
lunch had been miserable.
- It's nearly there.
I'm just wondering if there's
any point in sending it
to be honest.
- [Gordon] If I were you Nick,
I wouldn't keep me waiting.
- [Nick] There you go, Lawrence.
- Thank you.
Oh.
You're like a hemorrhoid in
my asshole, you know that?
Can I just sit and enjoy
or try to enjoy
rather than trying to
dissect everything I eat?
Otherwise, you may as
well fucking sit down here
and take my place.
Would you mind?
- [Lawrence] No, no
problem at all.
- Thank you so much.
- Enjoy your meal.
When I'm nervous, I say stupid
things that I don't mean.
- At least you're not
having to cook for him.
- That sauce is so
sweet, it's unbelievable.
The duck itself actually
tastes quite nice
but then it's marred with
all that horrible sauce.
It's almost like
Benylin and baby veg.
20 quid as well.
I mean, you know, even
by London prices that's,
you know, that's up there.
There's someone here
that's trying to be flash.
And he may have gotten
away with that in the '90s,
but in 2006, his days
are numbered.
Right.
Nick, you're not gonna
like what I'm about to say.
I expected a nice quick, fast,
easy lunch
and unfortunately,
everything was painful.
You know, mushrooms on toast
was supposed to be
mushrooms on toast.
I got something that was
incredibly soggy,
full of grit and just
looked horrendous.
The duck was fucking delicious
and then everything else
around it was so unnecessary.
- [Nick] Right.
- You were fucking
successful 10 years ago
and you had a big following.
Unfortunately, nothing
has moved on.
- [Nick] No.
- You're in the bubble
and I'm about to burst it.
He's sat on his laurels,
clearly cooking still
from the '90s era,
touched success but that
fizzled very, very quickly.
Even his own customers
haven't sort of
hung around long enough
to tell him how fucking
long-winded the food's become.
So it's, yes, quite
sad in a way.
And he's clearly not
cooking for King's Lynn.
He's cooking for his ego.
- I feel slightly deflated.
I didn't think I'd get as
much criticism as I got.
But hey, I'm a big boy.
I'm not a 20-year-old.
I'm not gonna cry.
I'm 40.
So bring it on.
(laid back music)
- This week, I'm in King's
Lynn to help Nick Anderson,
a chef who once had a
Michelin star.
That sauce is so sweet,
it's unbelievable.
It's almost like Benylin.
But after eating his
food yesterday,
I'd say his glory days
are long gone.
I expected a nice quick, fast,
easy lunch
and unfortunately,
everything was painful.
Four years ago, Nick
was flying high
running a successful restaurant
at the Crown Hotel in Wales.
- I had a business turning over
a quarter million pounds a year.
Got to six out of 10 in the
Good Food guide, two AA rosettes
and a Michelin Star in 2001,
2002, 2003, three years.
- [Gordon] But in 2004,
Nick crashed and burned
when he and his backers
parted company.
He's never got over it.
- It was a very tough
time leaving Wales
and obviously, very
emotionally draining.
We'd just found out
Susannah was pregnant.
Obviously, I then had
the best part of a year
on the dole, bankruptcy
and trying, obviously, to
find some way of getting back.
- Nick opened Rococo hoping
to get back on his feet,
but with no one coming
in to eat there,
he's now haemorrhaging money.
This morning, I want to know
what the locals have got
against Rococo.
Hello.
How are you both?
- Very well, thank you.
- Have you been to Rococo's?
- No, I haven't.
- No?
Have you heard about Rococo's?
- I have heard about it.
- What's the reputation in
King's Lynn at the moment?
- It's quite expensive,
isn't it?
- And when you look at it,
you think are you gonna
get value for money.
- I think probably too
pricey, too small a portions.
I don't know.
Is King's Lynn too small for
a restaurant like Rococo's?
- They've hit the nail on the
head except for one thing.
It's not King's Lynn
that's the problem.
Rococo's has gone way
past it's sell by date.
I mean, pretentious food,
stuffy service
and fucking ridiculous prices,
even for London,
ridiculous prices.
Before I can drag Nick
into the real world,
I want to find out how
he runs his kitchen.
So I've arranged to meet him
and his sous chef, Tim Sanford
before tonight's service.
How are you today?
- I'm very well.
Nice to see you.
- Yeah?
Good to see you too.
Hello.
- Hello, chef.
- How are you?
- I'm okay, you?
- Gordon.
- Yeah, Tim.
- You're the sous,
obviously the sous chef
because there's only two of you.
- Yes, the sous chef, yeah.
- [Gordon] Is he the only
chef you've ever worked for?
- [Tim] Of this calibre, yes.
- [Gordon] And what
was it like last night?
- [Nick] Dead as a
dodo, absolutely no one.
- No one in at all?
- [Nick] No.
- Fuck me.
That's extraordinary.
How do you relieve the boredom?
How do you stimulate yourself
in terms of coming up
with new ideas?
- This sounds
absolutely dreadful
but sometimes, I do
watch Ready Steady Cook
and I pick up little
things from that, yeah.
- [Gordon] Fuck me!
- [Tim] Yeah, I know
it's dreadful.
- You're the first chef
I've ever, ever met
that's become, that's become
excited and stimulated
on the back of Ready
Steady Twat.
Just take me through
your fridges.
Like the meat fridge,
where would that be?
- [Nick] So I have my duck,
my lamb...
- [Gordon] Can I look
at the sausages?
They sound nice, Toulouse.
Are they actually from Toulouse?
- [Nick] Yes, they are.
- Amazing.
- [Nick] This is basically
fish trimmings,
scallop corals for fish soup,
rice pudding, madeleine mix.
- Right.
Nick's fridges are packed
with the best ingredients
but no one's coming
to eat it all.
Is he mad?
You have the most
extraordinary ingredients,
do you know that?
And if you don't sell it,
you eat it.
- Yeah, things like,
you know, meat and fish.
- So really, it's a
big advantage,
the restaurant being
fucking empty
because you live like a king.
Amazing, no?
Staff food here, Tim, must
be fucking extraordinary.
- It is.
- [Gordon] Huh?
- Yeah.
- [Gordon] Well, you
look well on it.
- Thank you.
- Fuck me!
If Nick's in trouble,
he could be buying cheaper
produce on his doorstep.
So why isn't he?
With things like the
shrimps in the freezer--
- Yeah.
- You're on an estuary,
you know, 20 miles.
- We struggle to get them fresh.
We always used to be
able to get them fresh.
- No.
- Seriously.
- You mustn't forget, I
have been doing my homework.
- [Nick] Yeah, yeah.
- I've been here.
I know how many boats
are still active.
- [Nick] The fishing
fleet, the fishing fleet--
- I can tell you what
they caught on Saturday.
I can tell you what's in
the market tomorrow morning.
Trust me.
- Okay.
- Oh, fuck me.
I get the feeling
Nick's having me on.
Is he cooking then?
Everything has to look
immaculate
with the best of cheese
and the best of sausage and
the best of rack of lamb.
He's in King's Lynn, yeah,
not sat in the fucking
harbour of Monaco.
And every customer hasn't
got five grand
to blow on a fucking
bottle of wine.
Before I tackle the
business, I need to see
what Tim and Nick
are capable of,
and so I want to watch them in
action during a busy service.
But things have sunk so
low at Rococo,
the only way of being able
to fill the place tonight
is by rounding up Nick's friends
and some local business people.
And when you opened, you know,
in '91,
was the food the same then?
- [Nick] No.
- The duck egg with
wild mushrooms,
I thought that was part
of the history
in terms of been on the
menu for a decade.
- It wasn't from the
very beginning
but it was a dish that
sort of came along probably
not, yeah, not long after,
'94, something like that.
- [Gordon] So 12 years then,
not 10 years?
- Yes.
- [Gordon] Nick's menu
belongs in a museum,
not a restaurant.
But I suppose with
twelve years of practise,
service should be a doddle.
Baby veg is such a
throwback to the '90s
but Nick's obviously
very attached to them.
- Okay.
- That's finished?
- [Nick] Yeah.
Well.
- [Gordon] Is this slow,
or is it me?
Is this normal pace of service?
- [Nick] Yeah.
- [Gordon] Nick's so busy
primping and preening,
he seems to have forgotten the
whole point of being a chef,
feeding your customers.
- Sorry about the mains, guys.
- [Man] That's all right.
- That's not normal for
that to sit there
so long like that, is it?
- No, I fucked up.
I forgot the black pudding
and I dropped the pomme puree
into the sauce for the halibut.
- Fucking hard work.
Everything just seems so
difficult, so long winded.
The kitchen's soulless.
There's no atmosphere.
There's no, no oomph.
For someone who's
earned his stripes,
Nick's making a hash out
of tonight's service.
- Shit!
Now, I've just lost my
fucking red wine reduction.
- [Gordon] I'm
beginning to think
this is a man who's
lost the plot.
- The salad's died in the heat,
a bit like it's fucking creator.
- [Gordon] So how was
that for you?
- Absolutely horrendous.
- Is that the normal
way to work?
- It's certainly the way
that I've worked, yeah.
- I'm worried, because
there's so much fucking around
that goes on that is
so unnecessary.
You're screwing yourselves.
It's painful.
It's like open heart surgery
without an anaesthetic.
It's fucking piling crap
on top of crap
and using crap on crap.
Everything is fucking
so fucking over tweaked
in a way that you've
just gone past
any form of normality with food.
You think that the more I
add and put in,
it's just gonna get better,
but it's not.
- [Nick] Even worse.
- Less is more.
- He's slagged everything
off about my food,
I'm disappointed because I think
he could have at least said
something along the lines of,
"I can clearly see you
can cook meat.
"I can clearly see you
can cook fish."
He could have said something
positive to keep our morale up.
I do feel
choked.
- Last night, I could see
just how much of a rut
Nick has got himself into.
Sticking with the same old food
has stifled his cooking
and ruined his business.
I need a way to get him
thinking about the future
and not the past.
I spotted a collection of
old food guides
he's been holding on to.
I'd like him to let them go.
Who wants to come in and
read a Good Food Guide?
It's trophies, isn't it?
Because you're in there,
aren't you?
- Yep.
- That's the kind of stuff
you have upstairs, yeah,
for your little meditation time,
you know,
when you've had a
real shit night
and you're slightly concerned,
and you wanna sort of, you know,
increase the size of your cock.
You lay on the bed and
cover yourself
in all your Good Food Guides.
When you get a writeup
in the Guide,
they've judged you for what?
- [Nick] For that year.
- [Gordon] The previous year.
- Yes, yep.
- [Gordon] By then,
you moved on.
- Yes.
- So you're reminiscing.
Right now, they're going
in the fucking bin.
Come on then.
I'll hold the bag open and
you can get them in, yeah?
I don't give a fuck how
much you paid for them,
you know that.
- 15 years of history, 15
years of everything else,
of course it's sad.
It's difficult sometimes to
accept change is necessary.
It really is.
- Nick's road to recovery
is just starting.
He needs to embrace change.
But after a decade working
with the same dishes,
I wonder if he can
actually cook anything new.
Things have got slightly
static in terms of creativity.
- [Nick] Yes.
- Come here, my little
fucking Rottweiler.
- Sorry, chef.
- You mentioned to me
the other day
about Ready Steady Twat, yeah?
- Oh, no.
- No, no, no, don't look
at me like that.
Come back to me with
some form of inspiration.
There's ingredients, let's look.
I've bought some basic
local ingredients
and I'm giving Nick
and Tim just 20 minutes
to come up with some dishes
that we can make money on.
Onion, leeks, potatoes.
Oh, look at this baby here.
Fresh,
beautiful.
You've both got a bag each.
Don't copy him, and you
don't copy him.
- [Nick] Fine.
- Ready?
- Yeah, how long?
- Steady.
Cook.
(upbeat music)
How long?
Fucking hell, you know how long.
This could be the first
time in years
Nick's faced a full
sized vegetable.
Now you're fucking sweating,
aren't you?
You've seen it on the telly.
You've sat there in front
of the fucking sofa.
Now you're fucking doing it.
Okay, Nick, please tell me
you're not looking for a cutter.
Where's my cutters?
Where's my cutters?
Whee.
Nick, don't burn your mackerel.
Don't get huffy with me.
Come on, Nick.
10 seconds to go.
Three.
Two.
One.
Serve!
Thank you.
Well done.
Timmy.
- [Tim] Yes, chef.
- Good.
Nick, what is it?
- It's simply grilled mackerel,
a little bit of thyme,
some lemon juice.
- [Gordon] Good.
- Fillets of mackerel on
a bed of sauteed potatoes
with garlic and butter.
- Would you serve that
dish in your restaurant?
- I think so.
- Good.
Would you serve this
dish in this restaurant?
- No, I wouldn't.
- Why not?
- Because I think it's crap.
It needs a lot of
work doing to it.
- You think it's crap?
- [Tim] Yeah.
- [Gordon] And it needs a
lot of work doing to it.
- [Tim] Yeah.
- Mackerel is filleted?
- Yes, it is, yes, so I
could cook it quicker.
I gutted it.
- You are so paranoid,
it's unbelievable.
Presentation is there
for 30 seconds.
It's the flavour that
holds the memory.
It's the flavour that
holds the memory.
- [Tim] Yeah.
- Right, Nick, have a taste.
The mackerel's nice.
It's slightly bitter inside
because the guts are still
in there, unfortunately.
But the top of the
mackerel's nice.
I like that.
Nick's buckled under pressure.
Tim's held his own,
but they both failed the
most important test of all.
The leeks and the potato, I
wanted a soup as my starter.
And then the fucking
mackerel, I wanted filleted
on a fucking warm potato salad.
Nothing more, boom, boom,
starter, main, yeah?
Two pound 38, I gotta make money
because I've got to fucking
open my business tomorrow, okay?
So you both chose to
do one dish.
The winner is
none of you.
Clear down.
Fucking hell.
I'm so frustrated
because I can't get anything
out of fucking Nick.
And I've got to make some
big changes in this place.
Otherwise, he's fucked.
- It takes a little while for
things to sink in with me.
I'm not, I'm not, really,
as a rule,
I'm not an impulsive person.
I don't act, you know, without
thinking things through.
And I fully suspect
that Gordon's gonna get
even more frustrated with
me as the week goes on.
But I'll probably get
more frustrated with him.
- [Gordon] It's not just
Nick I can't work out.
If Rococo doesn't have
any customers,
how has Nick managed to
keep the business
and the family afloat
for the past 18 months.
I'm gonna talk to his
wife Susannah.
- We don't go anywhere.
We don't ever go out anymore
since having the children.
And there's nowhere to go
and we haven't got any money.
So I think he needs a sort
of real kick or a boost
or a real something to
get him inspired again.
And you know, when it's not busy
and when it's crap like
that, he just, you know,
he's miserable, which
I suppose you would be.
- [Gordon] Anyone would be.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Fuck.
How long can you continue
staying open along these lines?
- Not long.
The thing that happens is
every kind of six months,
Nick has a meltdown and goes,
"Oh, everything's
fucking shit, everything,
"what are we gonna do,
what are we gonna do,
"what are we gonna do?
"We need some money, we
need some money."
If it hadn't been literally
for like a month ago,
a couple of friends/customers
wanted to invest
a little bit of money into it,
I can't remember how
much it was now,
we would, it would have gone,
I think.
- If I had to close the
door tonight--
- [Susannah] Yeah.
- I mean, fucking bam,
shut down.
- [Susannah] Yeah, yeah.
- [Gordon] How much will
I owe tomorrow morning?
- A hundred.
- [Gordon] A hundred grand?
- Yeah.
- [Gordon] You haven't got that?
- No.
- [Gordon] Has Nick got it?
- No.
- No.
It's worse than I thought.
Even though he's in 100,000
pounds worth of debt,
Nick's still shelling out
on all the expensive produce
he used when he was doing well.
I need to get him to stop.
He told me he couldn't buy
shrimps on his doorstep.
Well, I don't think he
tried hard enough.
One thing I got fucked
off last week with
was when you said you can't
buy fresh fucking shrimps.
These guys go out every day.
Hello, gentlemen.
- [Man] Hello.
- That looks like a
good catch there.
He told me that he
can't get fresh shrimps.
(man laughs)
Are they fresh from
this morning?
- Yeah.
- [Gordon] And is that a
normal catch in the morning?
- [Man] That's average.
- Average.
And you give me shit
because I get upset
because yours are in the
fucking freezer.
(man laughs)
Hello.
Yeah, no, no, I mean,
can I have a little taste?
- Yeah, sure.
- Yeah?
Or would you wanna stick
to your frozen ones?
Get your fucking ass
on that boat.
Let's go, huh.
Unbelievable.
You'll turn round and
say, "No, let me get,
"Let me get my frozen ones,"
yeah?
They are beautiful.
Amazing.
No shrimps my fucking ass.
Beautiful.
See?
- [Nick] Yeah.
- Frozen fucking shrimps.
- [Nick] I went to the
fishmongers, I told you.
I went to the fishmongers.
- [Gordon] Another excuse!
No more fucking excuses!
Nick's excuses won't get him
out of the financial shit,
and I still don't think
he's faced the fact
that his spending habits
have to change and soon.
Tonight, I'm gonna allow Nick
to cook his menu for
the final time.
I'm gonna do some tough talking
to try and shake him out
of his cocoon.
The sauces are like varnish,
aren't they?
Why are they so heavy
in the middle of summer?
- [Nick] It's the only
way I now how to sauce.
- Oh, fucking hell!
The only way I know
how to sauce.
I wouldn't charge 20
quid for that in Chelsea.
Nicholas,
Enoki mushrooms, they look like
fucking tadpoles on Viagra, huh.
Is it on there because it's
oriental, the word enoki?
- Yes.
- [Gordon] Poor bastards.
Are you ready to stab me yet?
- No.
- Oh?
What's the idea behind
the two sauces?
The resemblance of a
pearl necklace
that I used to give my
ex-girlfriend.
What a lovely portion of pork.
Why'd you put the black
pudding on there?
- Because I'm over precious,
Gordon.
- Is there anything
registering--
- [Nick] Yeah.
- In terms of all that
time we're wasting--
- Yes.
- Farting and fannying around?
I think we can fit 10
more people in
and still get it done
within the timeframe.
I feel like stripping
you stark bullock naked
and putting a fucking
sign on saying,
customers, come and eat my food!
I'm fucking serious.
I just can't get
anything out of him.
It's so hard because he's
like in a daze.
When I poke him, I poke him
for a reaction, to wake him up,
to get him out of that
fucking comatized attitude.
And so every time I wanna
dig him in the ribs,
I want someone to
come back to me
with something of a
pair of bollocks.
It's like he's sort of put
it to the back of his mind
and it's not really
that important
because getting all my
pretentious ingredients
is far more important than
being 100 grand in debt.
I can't spell it any clearer.
We are fucked!
(laid back music)
This week, I'm in Norfolk
to help shake a chef
out of his culinary coma.
The sauces are like varnish,
aren't they?
Why are they so heavy
in the middle of summer?
- [Nick] It's the only
way I know how to sauce.
- Oh, fucking hell!
Last night, I tried to
get through to him
with some tough love.
Are you ready to stab me yet?
- No.
- This morning, I'm
hoping to start afresh.
(doorbell rings)
Strange.
Nick's in there, so why
isn't he letting me in?
(knocking on door)
Pathetic, absolutely pathetic.
Kick me out.
Who the fuck does he
think he is?
I've taken some shit in my time,
but this is the first time
a chef has ever locked
me out of a restaurant.
(doorbell rings)
I'll sit here and wait
till fucking lunch time.
I'll go in as a paying customer.
Fucking asshole.
(knocking on door)
What's the matter?
- [Nick] I'm fed up.
- [Gordon] Fed up?
Can we talk?
- Yeah.
- [Gordon] Yeah?
- [Nick] I bawled my fucking
eyes out last night, Gordon.
- We're the same age.
You've got two kids upstairs,
you know,
depending on this fucking
succeeding, you know.
So yes, you're pissed off.
Yeah, you hate my guts.
But let's just have a
go at fucking working
and turning it around.
I don't want you
cooking like that
because I think you can do
better with half the frills.
You can't give up.
- Was there nothing at all
about last night that you saw
as even remotely good?
- If I didn't think it was
possible to turn it around,
I wouldn't be here
and you wouldn't have
asked for my fucking help.
- [Nick] No.
- Unfortunately, the reason
why you're more fucked off
is the level of sensitivity.
And I'm glad you feel
the way you do
because it shows that you care.
- Well, I'm certainly at
the bottom, that's for sure.
(church bell rings)
- Well, at least he's
talking to me now.
So I'm going to strike
while the iron's hot
and hit him with my big idea.
It's time to start from scratch.
You're gonna have to seriously
consider changing the name.
I need an unpretentious feel--
- [Susannah] A name
that people will.
- That's like fuck me,
get in there.
Nick, any names?
- [Nick] Not yet.
- There must be
something in there.
Roll them out to me,
just shout at me
for once.
- [Nick] Number eleven?
- No, because there was--
- [Gordon] Too formal.
The church is called St.
Margaret's.
I don't know, Maggie's.
No, no, it's got nothing
to do with you.
- No, no.
- It's a new identity.
I say Maggie's you know
in terms of not casualness
but just unpretentious,
something that everyone
can relate to.
Nick, you're nervous
of Maggie's?
- I'm not nervous.
I'm just not that keen,
that's all.
- Okay, I'm just trying to
throw options in the pot.
We need a fresh start.
The name is not critical.
The change is crucial.
- I don't like the
name Maggie's.
I think to me, it just says
Maggie's caravan, stop
and get a bacon roll.
- Here we go.
Well, Nick can stew in
his own juices
over the loss of six
letters of the alphabet,
but he's not gonna stop
me tearing up his menu.
Anything you're worried about?
Oh, that delayed silence.
Fuck me, I could kill you.
Finally, a smile.
I just hope he's happy
with the new food.
I've swapped his
expensive ingredients
for cheaper local alternatives
so we can lower the prices.
And these simple dishes
can be prepared quickly.
That is just a nice summery,
chill,
chunky, rustic, yeah, gazpacho.
And there's a duck salad,
pan fried mackerel on
a bed of warm potatoes.
One nice fillet,
on.
And a simple cheese souffle.
Into your oven, please, Nick,
a hot oven.
220, perfect.
So you love the name Maggie's?
- Adore it, chef.
No, I hate it.
- You hate it.
Why'd you hate it?
- It just makes me think of
somewhere that you'd pick up
a bacon buttie at the
side of the road.
- [Gordon] Really?
- Yes.
- What's the alternatives?
Nicholas.
I'm beginning to lose
patience with Nick.
No answer.
Time's running out.
I don't know how long you
think you've got
but I can't tell you any longer.
Here, Mr. Anderson, we're
scared of fucking change!
No one wants to change
anything because it's safe.
Safe means we're in the shit.
- I'm not scared of change.
- No, I'm just trying to
inject a bit of energy.
But right now, like I said,
no one's with me on this one.
No one's clinging for changes.
No one's dynamic for changes,
and everyone's so dead
stuck in a rut.
And this place is gonna
fucking close
unless you do
something about it!
One, I'm pissed off more
than anything.
I don't feel anyone fucking
pulling on the rope.
Quite frankly, it's not good
enough to sort itself out.
That's why we're in the shit.
So I don't feel that
surge of support,
that really sort of, you know,
bang, this is all
I've got in life.
It's not there.
So if they haven't got it,
what fucking chance have I got?
I can't work out why Nick
won't let go of the past.
I need help from people
who know him best.
First stop, Susannah.
- [Susannah] I can't work out
whether it's just his pride--
- Yeah.
- [Susannah] Or whether it's,
you know,
saying goodbye to Rococo.
- [Gordon] You're in
King's Lynn.
- [Susannah] Yeah.
- [Gordon] You're not in
Knightsbridge.
He thinks Maggie's sounds cheap
and he doesn't want his
food to be cheap,
but we're not turning
it into cheap.
- [Susannah] I know.
- [Gordon] If he's not
happy with that,
why doesn't he come back
to me with it?
- [Susannah] I know.
- I don't care if he calls it
Frankie's, Maggie's, Uncle Mays.
I don't give a toss about that.
- No.
- [Gordon] Rococo's myth is
feeding his ego, nothing more.
- [Susannah] Yeah.
- But I swear to god,
I look at that man in
the eyes every morning
and there's not 100 grand of
debt in each fucking eyeball.
- [Susannah] Yeah.
- That is wrong.
- [Susannah] Yeah.
- If Nick goes down, he's
taking everyone with him,
wife, kids and his staff.
It's an amazing place
and an amazing setting,
quaint fucking town hall,
you know, an amazing square.
This place should be
fucking rammed.
- Yeah.
- People should be queuing up
to stand in a queue to
come and eat in here.
- Yeah, that's right.
- You know you've got
everything here.
- That's the way it is, yeah.
We've got to sort it out.
- I see someone that is hurting.
For what reason?
Glory days, Michelin star?
- Possibly.
Possibly, yeah.
- [Gordon] There's got
to be a reason somewhere.
- I would have said that.
- Four years ago, Nick was
top of the bill in Norfolk
and his stage was the
Crown Hotel in Wales.
But when he and his
backers parted company,
Nick had to leave
the restaurant.
I don't think he's
ever got over it.
This is where it hurts.
Have you been back in there?
- Not for a long time.
- [Gordon] No.
- Not for a long time.
- I brought you here
to face your failures.
I had a situation once when
I had two Michelin stars
in a restaurant
called Aubergine,
and I worked my fucking ass
for these guys for five years.
And because I didn't wanna
go down the direction
that they were going down,
I cut the fucking cord
and I got out of it.
And it's been the most
important fucking day
of my entire fucking
cooking career.
You have to turn a new leaf.
I've never been back
in that door,
and I've always wanted to
go in there and just eat.
But instead, I used to
just walk past.
- [Nick] Yes.
- And there's like two or
three bin bags
outside the front door.
And do you know what?
It makes me feel so happy
because when I was there,
I used to put out 18
to 20 bin bags,
and that told me they're
nowhere near as busy.
- [Nick] As busy.
- It was that moment
when you think
the most important day in
my entire life,
turning the fucking leaf.
And for the short time
I've known you,
I don't think you've ever
turned the leaf.
- [Nick] No.
- [Gordon] That was then, yeah?
- This is now.
- [Gordon] Why didn't the
fucking penny drop earlier?
- [Nick] I don't know,
stubbornness maybe, I don't
know.
I've been massaging my
own ego with the food
without seeing the fact that,
why are the other
restaurants busy?
Because they're not
trying to be pretentious.
- [Gordon] You have got to start
afresh and fucking move on.
It's taken me the best
part of a week,
but I think Nick may have
finally got the message.
(upbeat music)
It's my last day in Norfolk.
Tonight, we relaunch the
restaurant, and there's good
news.
- I've made a decision, Gordon.
I'm gonna run with Maggie's.
- Maggie's doesn't mean
it's a fucking greasy spoon.
- [Nick] No.
- In six months' time,
the name is irrelevant
but it's the new--
- [Nick] Well, that's where
I got to be perfectly honest.
- [Gordon] It's just a name.
- [Nick] why get all
precious about it?
- Skip?
- [Nick] Skip.
- Thank you, gentlemen.
Now, I need another miracle.
We've got to get the
people of King's Lynn
to give Nick's new
restaurant a go.
I just hope they can
forgive his sins.
- I just wanna tell you
about our new restaurant.
- Okay.
- It's a replacement
of Rococo's.
- It's outside the marketplace.
- [Woman] I like it, yes,
I've been there.
- Well it used to be,
no, you haven't, you liar.
- No!
- No, you haven't.
It's only just been called
Maggie's today!
- We've changed the name.
We've changed the interior.
It's affordable, and
the food's great.
- [Gordon] Now I've got
through to Nick,
there's no stopping him.
He's agreed to dump the
intimidating 90's decor
and replace it with a
simple and fresh interior.
- Oh, is it open tonight?
It's my birthday tomorrow.
Is it?
- Yes, it is.
What time would you
like to come?
- [Woman] Tomorrow, about
eight o'clock.
- [Gordon] You got a
reservation there?
- [Lawrence] Yeah.
- Well done.
When you get going, you
can't stop you.
You know that, huh?
We've only got a few
hours left to clear out
the final traces of Rococo
before we throw open
the doors at Maggie's,
but something's already made
it back in from the bin.
What is that?
No...
- They're not going back.
I'm just gonna take
them upstairs.
- You're taking them upstairs?
Are you gonna lay on
the sofa again
and play with your
fucking widger with them?
- [Nick] No, no, no.
- What are you doing
with the Guides?
- Well, it's history, isn't it?
- Just when I thought I was
fucking getting somewhere.
Have you got any paraffin?
- I never look at them, ever.
- Is your photo in any of them,
Nick?
- No, there's never been photos.
- You don't need them.
Fuck me!
Fucking hell.
What else have you
sneaked back in?
- Nothing.
- Nothing.
Finally, all the old
fashioned remnants of Rococo
have been stripped out, and
in it's place is Maggie's,
relaxed, informal and
most important, welcoming.
I've created a fixed price menu
made up of modern rustic dishes.
The big pull for the
locals will be the cost.
At 21 pounds, it's half
the price of Rococo.
Big night tonight, 44 booked.
- Yes, 42, 44, yeah.
- Yeah.
Can we take any more, Lawrence?
- [Lawrence] Yes.
- If we can do them.
- [Lawrence] Yeah.
- Yeah, definitely.
If Maggie's does 54
covers tonight,
I'm running round that
square and the cemetery
stark bullock naked.
(Nick laughs)
Menu, everyone happy
with the menu?
Three starters, three main
course and three deserts, yeah?
We've gone through
all the fucking,
you know, roller coaster,
highly strung,
highly emotional, upsetting,
bullying.
It's all gone.
Tonight is the night.
Really make it work.
- Good luck.
Thank you all for your
very hard work this week,
and let's make Maggie's work.
- If we get through this one
tonight and he pulls it off,
you know, I'll be a lot happier.
Of course I'll be a lot happier.
My worry is in the kitchen,
not with Tim but with Nick.
If he gets in the shit early on,
let's hope he's got the
charisma, the personality,
the drive, the determination
to get out of it.
This is not just a man
starting off afresh.
This is a man that is
desperately in the shit,
up to his eyeballs with
100 grand of debt.
And fuck me, every
plate he cooks,
he has to really
seriously mean it.
(upbeat music)
- Good evening.
Great table by the window.
There you are, a
wine list there.
- [Nick] Okay, one crispy
duck salad on order.
- [Tim] Yes, chef.
- Two gazpacho, good.
Chicken, mackerel, lamb.
- [Gordon] Nice,
absolutely stunning.
Good.
Two souffle.
They're very hot, Lawrence.
Please be careful, yes?
Excellent.
The starter has gone within
seven minutes, fantastic.
Maggie's is filling up
with the locals.
There'll be more
people in tonight
than Nick would usually
have in all week.
- [Nick] How long for your duck,
Tim?
- [Tim] Ready when you are.
- [Nick] Okay, duck's out.
Yeah?
- [Tim] Yes.
- Nice.
Thank you.
That's fine.
Don't play with it,
don't play with it.
Peas.
Despite the fact that
we've got rid
of Nick's fancy ingredients,
he's still fiddling.
He can't afford to
switch off tonight.
What are all those little
burnt bits in the potato?
What are they?
- [Nick] Just the chives
from a previous batch.
- Come on, come on, come on,
Nick.
Get Tim to put the
peas on there.
Don't keep on squashing
it down so much.
- Is it done yet?
- [Nick] Yeah, over here.
- Calm down, slow down,
guys, and work as a team,
like you're sort of almost
in love with each other.
There you go.
The new menu's doing the trick.
The pace has picked up
in the kitchen,
but it's getting busy,
and now Nick has taken
his eye off the orders.
- Do you hear that guys?
Table two has already gone.
Thank you.
What do you mean?
- Where's that ticket, please,
Tim?
What is going on?
Thank you, that's what I want.
What is going on?
- I don't know what's going on.
This never happens.
- Nick, stop my man, yeah?
We're doing the same
course again twice over.
- It's all right.
The next order is a
chicken and a mackerel.
- Come on, guys, not tonight.
Of all nights, not tonight,
yeah?
I didn't know you had a
lamb on there.
I thought it was a
chicken and mackerel.
- [Lawrence] Chicken
and mackerel.
- Oh, fuck me.
Oh, fuck me.
- [Nick] Take that one with you.
- Nick's just screwed himself.
They've just started to cook
one table's order twice over.
Brilliant.
It doesn't need to be as
panicky as it is.
Fuck me.
This is home cooking.
A big deep breath and
just compose yourself
and be comfortable doing
three or four things
at the same time and
bring it together.
The restaurant is now
at it's busiest.
So if Nick doesn't take
control now, we're in trouble.
- [Tim] Oh, bollocks,
it's sinking.
- Tim, we need two duck now!
Move it, move it!
Come on, service, please.
You have three souffles out!
Yeah, that's for nine.
Two souffle, three duck, yeah?
Two souffle, three duck, Tim?
- [Tim] Yes, chef.
- Good.
Right, we've got seven
chicken and two lamb, yeah?
- Yes, chef.
- And you've got your
sides on the go, yes?
- [Tim] Pardon?
- You've got your side
orders on the go, chef?
- [Tim] Yes, sauteing.
- Look at these carrots, Gordon.
- [Gordon] Finally, for
the first time this week,
I'm beginning to see Nick
might just have what it takes
to run his restaurant.
- Souffle.
- 20 seconds, 30 seconds.
Plating the chicken, Tim.
Are you ready with that souffle?
- [Tim] Nearly, chef.
(customers chatter)
- [Nick] Finished with
the ducks, Tim?
- We're through the worst.
All the mains have been served,
and I think Nick's even
enjoyed himself.
Just there you know that, Nick,
just.
So Nick's had a good night,
but are we back in favour
with the locals?
- I think the prices
are right for--
- [Woman] Yes, exactly.
- For you to come and have
a meal on a regular basis
rather than just a special
occasion, which it used to be.
- Definitely come again,
wouldn't we?
Definitely, definitely
we'd come again.
- [Gordon] Nick's got
the stamp of approval.
Making a fresh start has worked.
So if Nick wants to
bask in the glory again,
he'd better stick to
the new regime.
How do you feel?
- Good, good.
- [Gordon] Truthfully?
- Yes, truthfully.
- [Gordon] Yeah?
- We've just taken about
two and a half grand.
- Got off to a shaky start.
Can you do it again tomorrow?
That's the big question.
- Yes.
- You can, yeah?
Good, I'm glad to hear it.
I can't do any more, and
it's over to you now.
- [Nick] Yeah.
- Yeah?
- This is just the beginning.
And it's gonna go forward,
and it's gonna evolve,
and it's gonna get better
and better and better.
And it's just that it
will never be,
it will never be what it was,
because clearly, there
weren't enough people
coming for what it was,
so it needs to be different,
and watch this space.
- Tonight's service
was a tough one,
tough, but we got there.
Can they cope on the back
of that performance tonight?
It's gonna be very tough
for them to cope,
very, very tough indeed,
because they're gonna
have to wake up
in terms of that's normal.
I'm nervous about this one
more than any other restaurant
I've ever worked in
because I don't feel
that surge of excitement
to get it right.
(upbeat music)
Mr. Anderson, we're
scared of fucking change!
No one wants to change--
Last time I was in King's Lynn,
I spent a week trying to
convince Nick Anderson
that his glory days
were long gone.
Go on, argue with me.
Come back to me.
By the end of the week, we'd
not just changed the food,
we'd launched a brand
new restaurant, Maggie's.
Skip?
- [Nick] Skip.
- Thank you, gentlemen.
Seven weeks later, I'm
back in King's Lynn
to make an unexpected visit.
Nice, whole roasted lemon sole,
local, with cockle butter.
Hello, how are you?
- [Woman] Hiya!
- Jesus.
Wow, the first
change is obvious.
Nick's got customers.
Nice buzz, very nice buzz.
(customers chatter)
Good evening.
- Good evening.
- [Gordon] How are you?
- Very well.
- [Gordon] Good to see you.
- Good evening.
- [Gordon] Chef, how are you?
- Very well, thank you.
- [Gordon] Timmy, how are you?
- Smashing.
- [Gordon] Smashing, good man.
- Away, thank you, table one.
- Fuck me.
Oh, dear, hey.
You have got your shit together.
Seriously, turnover?
- We're averaging four and
a half to five grand a week.
Top week's been eight.
- Top week's been eight?
- [Nick] Yeah.
- [Gordon] That's great.
One big question.
Have you got a spare
table of one anywhere?
- [Nick] Yep.
- Thank fuck for that.
I've not gone all this way
and not eating.
The first thing that struck
me when I walked in here,
you know, was the buzz.
The place is full, 47
covers on a Wednesday night.
King's Lynn is empty, you know.
This must be the busiest
place within miles.
The thing that struck me
about the menu
is everything is sourced
locally, which is nice.
If it tastes as good as
reads, then it's down to him.
He can't fuck this one.
I'll go for the whole sole,
the local sole, please,
with the cockle butter.
And just maybe before I start,
can I try an onion bhaji?
I'm trying to figure out what
the fuck they're doing here.
Where did that one come from?
- Timmy I think suggested it.
- [Gordon] Timmy the cat.
- Timmy the cat.
- So far so good,
but I'm reserving judgement
until after I've eaten.
Not the kind of thing you'd
expect to find on the menu here.
However, it's fucking delicious,
so who am I to complain?
There is nothing pretentious
about what's been put on
the plate here.
And the minute the food arrives,
you don't think about some
pretentious chef in the corner
trying to massage his ego.
It's good, honest, simple
food, that's all it has to be.
It's not fucking rocket science.
Thank you.
Lovely.
And that's local?
- [Lawrence] Yes.
- You haven't even asked
me how my dinner is yet.
- I wouldn't even dream of
it, not until you've finished.
I'll let you start
before it gets cold.
- Fucking hell.
Jesus.
Fish, cockle butter, parsley,
sauteed local ceps and
sauteed potatoes.
Rustic, simple and so
unpretentious.
It's extraordinary and
miles in front
to what I experienced the
last time around here.
That was nice, Nick, very nice.
- Thank you, thank you.
- Simple, honest and
great flavours.
For you, what's changed
in terms of--
- I've got it, I've got
it back in here.
- [Gordon] Have you though?
- Yeah, really.
- [Gordon] Is it in there?
- Yeah.
- This is the first time
I can quite honestly say,
and I mean really
fucking honestly,
you're cooking for your
customers, not your ego.
It's only gonna be a
matter of time
before you're financially
fucking stable...
- Well, we're nearly
there already.
- Seriously?
- The VAT man's paid
right up to date.
All the supplies are back
within 30 days,
and the wine suppliers
are paid up to scratch.
- Timmy, the bhaji was
delicious, by the way.
- [Tim] Good.
- [Gordon] Can I have the
recipe, please?
- No.
- You tight little fucker.
I fucking, I've given
you my recipes.
You've had a personality
transplant, haven't you?
Where did you get this from?
There's a lot more chefs
I'd like to give it to.
Tell me where the shop is, and
I'll send the fuckers to it.
All jokes apart, don't
fucking change.
- No, I won't.
- And don't put your fucking
ego in front of your customers.
- I'll show you the menu, I'll
show you the menu tomorrow.
- No, no.
Don't put your fucking ego
in front of your customers.
- I won't.
- Your success is the
buzz in that dining room.
The minute that buzz
has gone, you're fucked.
- Yeah.
- Keep it there.
- Definitely.
- Yes?
- Yeah.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
- I really mean that.
- Thank you very much.
- Stubborn fucker,
but well done.
Yeah, I'm amazed.
What a fucking turn around,
extraordinary.
Good, honest, simple food,
local produce, great service,
no bits of bullshit
with olive oil
and all pretentious
crap everywhere.
No fucking flea-bitten
sofas sat there.
No canapes.
Just a really good evening,
nice buzz.
And I really hope he
fucking makes it.
He's got a recipe for
success here,
and he'd be stupid to change it.
Really good.
(laid back electronic music)
(customers chatter)
Maggie's done.