Kitchen Nightmares (2007–2014): Season 4, Episode 4 - Revisited #1 - full transcript
(gentle music)
- [Gordon] How many
women does it take
to run a restaurant badly?
Three, and it's called Morgan's.
- He'd better watch out
because we're gonna get him.
- [Gordon] I'm grappling
with girl power
to save this restaurant.
You with us?
It's gonna be handbags at
dawn with mum.
- Don't tell me to shut up,
Gordon.
- Okay.
- Because I won't be spoken
to like that, all right?
- [Gordon] And sibling rivalry
is driving me demented.
- You tell these two
to do my role.
- Okay.
- And you can stick that,
Gordon.
- Okay, there you go.
- I'm sorry I can't do that,
I'm not doing it.
- Typical.
(dramatic music)
(knife whooshing)
(knife clinks)
(upbeat music)
Liverpool, a city that's
shedding its run-down
reputation.
With rocketing house prices
and three billion pounds
worth of investment,
it's rapidly becoming
hip and trendy.
18th-century Woolton Village
is one of the city's most
affluent and exclusive suburbs.
This is a typical sort of
footballers' wives hangout.
It must be a great catchment
for ladies who lunch,
especially with all these
amazing houses.
At Woolton's heart
lies Morgan's.
Three years ago, Sandy
Morgan was an antique dealer
before she changed her
shop into a restaurant.
- The idea actually started,
we were actually having
dinner one night,
and I just said, "Well, I
used to cook for friends here,
"now turn it into a restaurant,"
and I thought great, why not?
- [Gordon] Sandy runs it
with her two daughters,
Helen and Laura.
- We've pulled together,
fought together,
we've laughed together,
cried together,
every emotion you can
ever imagine.
How we're all still talking
to each other, I don't know.
- [Gordon] With no customers
and 100,000 pounds
worth of debt,
the women will lose
everything in six months.
- Sisters are definitely doing
it for themselves. (laughing)
Maybe that's why we need a bit
of testosterone from Gordon.
- Take care, thank you.
- Sure.
- From the outside it
looks very romantic,
a perfect high street
local eatery.
Let's get some dinner.
- My name is Helen.
- Helen, how are you, darling?
- Pleased to meet you.
- Lovely to meet you.
- Likewise, and this is?
- I'm Sandy.
- Sandy, pleased to meet you.
- I'm the mummy.
- What a beautiful place.
- Thank you.
- And this is?
- This is Laura.
- Hiya, I'm Laura.
- Laura, how are you, darling?
- Hello, I'm fine.
- This is nice.
- Gordon, welcome.
- It's beautiful.
- Do you like it?
- Do these girls serve
here as well?
- Everything, all good
all-rounders,
Gordon.
- Every single male
in Liverpool should be
in here today.
(women laugh)
How many's booked?
- There's a table of
two at half six.
- It's weird, I mean,
we're in September,
it's a sort of Indian
summer's evening out there.
- Yeah.
- And you've got two booked.
- Yes, that's it, it needs
a lot of tweaking. (laughs)
A lot of tweaking.
- Who's running the business?
- We all do.
- The three of us,
three of us taking
responsibility for maybe one
job.
- Three managers, sounds
like too many chiefs to me.
I'd better eat, yes?
(women laughing)
May I have the pleasure?
Right.
Beautiful little
smart restaurant,
very romantic, and
everything's slightly weird.
Apricots in a cream mashed
potato with Lincolnshire
sausage.
Vanilla and whisky sauce
served with a fillet of beef.
This isn't the sort of menu
that ladies who lunch want.
Even I don't know what
kind of menu this is.
- The food is
French-English a la carte.
- We sort of bring in a Thai
influence, you know, Spanish.
- It's English a la
carte really.
- On one plate
sometimes you can get
two or three different
nationalities.
(jaunty music)
- [Gordon] Phil is
Morgan's cocky
but inexperienced head chef.
- You've got to be confident
in your own ability,
haven't you?
Otherwise there's no
use being a chef.
- I need one soup, one
prawns, one sausage,
one beef, pink, and one
portion of veg, please.
- Greedy bastard, isn't he?
Two starters, two mains.
(Emma laughs)
- Thank you.
Lovely, pan-fried prawns.
Smoked paprika.
They're absolutely solid,
I mean really solid.
No thought, orange segments,
lemon segments in there,
and prawns that are just
bullets, hard disgusting
bullets.
- Here's your
Cumberland sausage.
- Cumberland sausage, thank you.
- Enjoy your meal.
- Thank you.
This dish is big enough
for a dinosaur.
It's like something
out of "Jurassic Park."
Fucking hell. (laughs)
Sausage en T-Rex, fucking hell.
A cherry tomato with a
mashed potato
laced with fucking apricots.
That is pretty dismal.
This huge dish of overpriced
stodge should be extinct.
No wonder the locals
aren't coming here.
No one's gonna sit down
and even attempt to eat
substantial mountains of food
that doesn't make sense
like that, nowhere near it.
- Sticky toffee pudding
with a butterscotch sauce
and vanilla ice cream.
(gentle music)
- Junior sous chef Emma is
Phil's long-suffering sidekick.
Her star turn is sticky toffee
pudding, but Phil hates it.
- Babe, you know my
feelings on this fucking--
- I know you don't like it but--
- Day one, I've always said
it should not be on our menu.
- Trial and error.
- He'll turn around and go,
"What is that, what is that?"
And he'll be told
it's the Morgan's
classic sticky toffee
pudding. (cheers mockingly)
- Mm, smells nice, fucking hell.
Mm.
It's the first time this
evening I'm glad to be here.
This is nice, light,
not too sticky.
The person who made that dish
doesn't put fucking apricot
and mashed potato together,
and vanilla and whisky.
- Is the verdict in yet?
- (laughs) Fucking hell.
- Got to care, haven't
you, what he thinks.
I do anyway.
- Hello everyone, here's Gordon.
- Hello.
- He's come to just meet you.
- Emma, how are you?
- Nice to meet you, I'm fine.
- Good to see you
and you're the?
- Chef de partie,
desserts and starters.
- And this is?
- Phil, head chef.
- Phil.
Chef de cuisine.
- Yeah, well.
Beg to differ, well, yeah, yeah,
no, yeah.
- Okay, anyway, it
started off good.
I arrived and I thought
it was actually
quite a stunning,
intimate little place.
Then the food arrived.
Solid rock hard prawns.
- Oh, the prawns.
- You dig deeper and you
come across the mashed potato
that's got laced with
fucking apricots,
- Tomato.
- tomatoes,
and a redcurrant jus.
- Jus.
- It's a, it's a, it's a--
- Red wine.
- It's a red wine syrup.
- Red wine syrup.
- What the fuck were you
thinking about
putting apricots inside
mashed potatoes?
- Do you know what, right,
I actually took the recipe
from the "Good Food" magazine.
- The "Good Food" magazine?
- Yeah.
- That's a bullshit answer.
What were you thinking
about putting it together?
- Well, why not, it's different?
- You've got every right to be
slightly fucked off about it,
'cause I would be if I
cooked that shit.
And here we are in the
current situation on our arse,
and the chef over there wants
to fucking laugh about it.
- What the fuck do you
want me to do about it?
You're standing there
fucking just mouthing me off.
Do you know what I mean?
- Fuck that.
You've just shown me over
the last three minutes
your attitude stinks.
- It doesn't at all.
- And you can't take criticism.
And if you're gonna--
- I can take criticism,
it's just ways and means
of going about it
and putting criticism across.
It's the way you speak,
you speak arrogantly.
- How would you like to
be spoken to?
- Just like a normal person,
like anyone would
speak to anyone.
- Uh-huh.
Now let's go the other way,
shall we?
Please be so kind to
remove the apricots
from the mashed potato.
- See, now you're being
a fucking sarcastic--
- No, but I don't know how.
- No, no.
- I mean, listen, we've
got a problem here, yeah,
and there's a fucking
issue with the food.
Now fucking Mr. Chipmunk in the
fucking corner is pissed off
at the fact that I'm telling
him something constructive.
- See--
- If I can't get
over that hurdle,
- No, there's no, there's no--
- I may as well fuck off
back on the train now,
do you understand?
- You need a bit of tact.
- Have a word with the chef,
yeah?
- He needs a bit of tact.
- I mean, he's gonna fucking--
- I tell you what,
excuse me, I'm standing here,
so, you know,
- Sorry.
- if you want to talk
to me, you talk to me.
- I'm talking to the owner.
- Stop treating me
like I'm a fucking kid.
- Fuck me.
- [Sandy] Did you like anything
about the three courses?
- There was one saving
grace, yeah, there was.
The sticky toffee pudding
was fucking delicious.
(everyone laughs)
- [Sandy] Oh, thank you, Gordon.
- I just wish I had it
for my fucking starter.
- You're welcome.
- Fuck's sake.
- [Sandy] That's the nitty
gritty over with anyway,
isn't it?
- Set it off,
I'd rather have the
camera not be on me.
- Shit dinner, beautiful
restaurant inside, great
potential,
then trying to fucking
tell the chef
some form of constructive
criticism, he's got a problem,
not just with his food
but with his fucking gob.
You've got every right to be
slightly fucked off about it.
(gentle music)
'Cause I would be if I
cooked that shit.
Morgan's restaurant is an
all-women-run business.
Trouble is it's not being
run very well.
And the chef over there wants
to fucking laugh about it.
- What do you want me
to do about it?
You're standing there
fucking just mouthing me off.
- [Gordon] It's serving
mountains of expensive stodge.
But there's a much
bigger problem.
The women can't decide
who's in charge,
a recipe for disaster.
(women chattering faintly)
- Can you just try
and sort it out for me, please?
- It's a struggle sometimes and,
you know,
we kick off and we scream
at each other and stuff.
Do you know what's
wrong with her?
- It just is a nightmare, and
I've resigned so many times.
- [Gordon] Sandy claims
to be running Morgan's,
but I wonder how good a
manager she really is.
I've decided to look at
her accounts and find out.
- Come on.
- All right.
How long have you been here?
- About two years.
- Nice.
So where's the office?
- Sort of here.
- That's the office there?
- Yeah.
- God, how do you manage?
- I don't, it's difficult.
We need something bigger,
definitely.
- Bloody hell.
- It's hell 'cause I
can't lay anything out.
- [Gordon] Look at it all
jammed in there like that.
- [Sandy] I know, I know.
- Sandy's accounts books
are completely haywire.
Where is your target?
- I need to do that.
- Yeah but--
- No, I--
- Those are just till--
- No, no, I've got that
written down.
I have got that written down.
- Where's that?
- Well, I can't put my
hands on it right now, but--
- Can't put your hands
on it right now.
What have you got out
of it in three years?
(gentle music)
- Money, financially?
- Yeah.
- Well, we haven't,
(laughs) I haven't.
- [Gordon] How much have
you lost in three years?
- I don't know.
- [Gordon] Running a
restaurant is a full-time job,
not an occasional hobby.
If Sandy can't even
organise the books,
it's little wonder
she's hired a chef
whose mouth is bigger
than his talent.
- Right, Chef?
- Morning.
- Morning.
- How are you?
- Not too bad, you?
- Yeah, very well, thank you.
- Have a nice kip?
- Yeah, slightly concerned
but a good sleep.
Yourself?
- No, not a good kip at all.
- Damn, why?
- 'Cause of last night.
- Uh-huh.
- [Phil] But that was
last night, this is today.
- That's a good attitude.
- Today's another day.
We live and learn.
- How long you been cooking?
Phil's got more
confidence than ability.
He's never had any
formal training.
But Sandy makes his job tougher
because she won't pay
him for preparation time.
- The menu, right, it's just
basically been thrown together.
I'm not allowed to come
in at nine in the morning.
- [Gordon] What do you
mean you're not allowed to?
- Well, Sandy doesn't
want us to come in
at nine o'clock in the
morning, I get in at--
- [Gordon] So how do you
get ready for service?
- I come in at four o'clock,
and it's a case of
throwing it together.
- Even I can't get fucking ready
from four o'clock in
the afternoon.
Now it's starting to make sense
why you're fucking so
defensive, totally understand.
It's not entirely your
fucking fault.
What I want to do is
fucking work together on it.
- No, sound, I look
forward to it.
- Do you still wanna punch me?
- No, I'll save that
till next week.
(Gordon chuckles)
- Okay, good.
(gentle music)
It's two hours before
Saturday service,
Morgan's only busy
night of the week.
With no preparation done,
the kitchen's in chaos.
There's not even enough food.
Labels and just odds
and sods thrown in here.
What the fuck is that?
Fucking dog shit.
So what do you need
now for service?
'Cause the place looks sparse.
If there's 30 people coming
for dinner tonight--
- Yeah, no,
it's freaking me out a bit.
- Um--
- It's freaking me out as well.
- Carrots, broccoli, beans,
bread, prawns.
- And is this normal this
time of the afternoon
for you to go off to the
shops like that?
Yeah.
- Yeah, yeah.
- So you don't actually
get the stuff back then
for at least another hour.
- Sometimes I don't get
it till six o'clock.
- When the customers are
walking through the door?
Fuck me.
Unbelievable.
The head chef should
order supplies,
but Sandy's been buying
from a supermarket
because she doesn't want to
pay Phil to do it for her.
Before we get any further,
what I wanted to say
to both of you
is the fucking supermarket
is not good enough.
- No, it's not.
- If this restaurant's got
any chance of fucking surviving,
yeah--
- [Phil] The cost of fucking--
- If we had a dinner
party at home,
we wouldn't be sat here
at fucking four o'clock
looking for a fucking list,
let alone running a
fucking restaurant.
(gentle jaunty music)
Beans, okay, French beans,
vegetables.
- Okay, I think beans, beans,
beans.
- Ooh, sorry.
- Oh God no, no beans,
hold on, round the next one.
Runner beans, they're good.
- Show me.
No, no, they're sliced, they're
pre-packed, fucking hell.
How are you, mate?
- Sorry.
- Fucking hell.
- This way.
Do you want raw ones, Gordon?
- What did we get yesterday?
- I think it was raw, yeah.
- Yeah, are you sure?
- [Assistant] How many
would you like?
- Oh, couple of,
well, kilo, no, not,
a few pounds.
All of those and some
more if you have them.
Have you got some more
than what's out?
- This is ridiculous,
you know that?
Sandy's panic-buying
fillet steak,
but she should have
had it delivered
from a cheaper wholesaler.
Sandy, it's fucking
five past five,
where's the fillet steak?
- Well, it's here somewhere.
No, sirloin, sirloin.
They must know we're coming.
- No.
That's never happened before
that there's not been fillet.
- Rump steak, rump steak, no.
How much is that please?
- 53.89.
- 53.89.
If we had to buy this produce
on last night's takings,
we'll be 30 quid fucking short.
I've got a fucking headache,
let's go.
Thank you, bye-bye.
- Thank you, bye.
(gentle music)
- It's seven o'clock, and
the restaurant is filling up.
Morgan's is a stunning,
beautiful fucking restaurant.
Unfortunately the food is shit.
The chef's way inexperienced,
he's self-taught,
and he's cooking with
fucking expensive ingredients
bought from the local
supermarket.
And Sandy is just
another prime example
of an individual that's
opened a restaurant
without having a clue
how to run one.
Tonight I'm gonna be
watching Phil closely.
- Chef, one beef, one chicken,
more well to medium please.
- Phil's menu is
poorly designed,
but can he actually cook?
Just watch your cooking,
yeah, standards now, yeah.
- Yeah.
- Are you happy with that?
- No.
- No, no, nor am I.
You're a chef, hey, not a
fucking coalman.
- No, I know.
- No, no.
(energetic music)
Phil's just plain careless,
and I won't put up with it.
Watch that chicken, it's
burning again.
That pan's on fire.
- Have we got any basil?
- Fucking hell.
Kitchen's started to
act like fucking slobs
and happy to cook
charcoal and then send it.
That's not good,
fucking ridiculous.
- [Phil] I tell you
what, he's fucking sharp.
- That's how he's got
where he is, isn't it?
- [Phil] His eyes are
fucking everywhere.
- [Gordon] A customer has
sent back a creme brulee.
It's like fucking baby vomit.
Do you know why it
goes like that?
- I think, um--
- Quick.
- Whisked too far?
- No, no, no no,
under the grill far too long.
Don't eat that unless
you're prepared to die.
Phil's biggest problem is that
he just doesn't concentrate.
He's simply out of his
depth, making silly mistakes.
- I just feel as if I'm
just not in control at all
of my own fucking, my own job,
it's shit.
- [Gordon] Dotty Sandy's
supposed to be
in charge of this mess.
Sandy what are you doing?
- I'm just helping
him out a bit,
get rid of some of these plates.
He's got a lot on tonight
and we've got no dishwasher,
so I thought I'd give him
a bit of a lift.
- [Gordon] You're helping
out by washing up plates.
- Yeah, well, you know.
- Sandy's
interfering everywhere,
doing everyone else's job
and achieving nothing.
Sandy, two seconds darling.
Are you lost?
Are you wondering what to do?
- I'm trying to do a
little bit of everything,
really, to keep it all going.
- Okay, do I know that, you are.
What is your role tonight,
what exactly are you doing?
- Well, I've been waiting on,
behind the bar.
- Waiting on?
Waiting on what?
- Tables.
- Tables, okay.
Now you're doing--
- Serving the wine.
- Have you seen the size
of that fucker?
He's more than capable
of washing and drying
his own fucking plates--
- Well, I'm not gonna,
I'm not gonna do it all night.
- Welcome to the fucking
lunatic asylum.
Sandy's so busy doing the dishes
that she forgot a
customer's order for gravy.
- [Helen] I have to say sorry.
- He's been waiting 15 minutes
and complains to Helen.
So they've cleared three
main courses from that table,
and one guy's sat there
with his sausage,
yeah, looking for some
fucking sauce.
Why is no one being
straight with you
and telling you what they need?
What do they want?
- Excuse me, it's just gravy,
Phil--
- Start making it, start
making it, yeah.
- He's waiting there,
food's going cold while
he's waiting there.
- They've cleared the
fucking plates.
They've cleared three plates.
- But it's only for one.
It is only for one guy, and
he's quite happy to wait.
- You've got to stop
kidding yourself.
He's not quite happy to wait.
- No, of course he's not.
- His guests
have cleared their main courses.
- [Sandy] Yeah.
- It's like a fucking
kindergarten
in here, you know that?
A fucking--
- Isn't this catering life,
though, Gordon?
- No, is it,
fuck catering life,
nothing like it, no.
This is shambolic, it's not
catering at all, fuck me.
How long for the gravy, Phil?
- At least five minutes, Chef.
- At least five minutes.
Fuck me, catering my
fucking arse.
- I asked for, yeah, some
kind of sauce or a gravy,
which came, took a while
to come, to be fair,
15 minutes, thereabouts,
and I paid 15 quid.
(melancholy music)
- At last I understand
what I'm facing.
The chef's slipshod
concentration
is producing terrible food.
But he was hired by Sandy
and she's the real problem,
an amateur restaurateur
messing in a business
she knows nothing about.
It's depressing to watch a
restaurant sink this low.
Helen, that's the
saddest main course
I've ever seen in my
entire life.
39 years of age and seeing that.
Don't take it personally.
I want to know if anyone is
gonna take responsibility
for tonight's catastrophe.
What did you experience
out there tonight?
- In general a lot of people
were quite happy out there,
to be honest with you, you know,
I've had no
complaints all night.
- What fascinates me about you
is you're either totally
fucking oblivious
to what's going on in
your own establishment,
or you're fucking living a
nightmare inside your mind.
You cannot see what's going on?
- I can see what's going
on, Gordon, I'm not stupid.
I'm not stupid, I can see
what's going on.
But I can't deal with all
these things on my own.
I've been trying to keep
this afloat for three years
by doing a little bit
of everything.
- Well, thank you.
- Okay.
- And Helen.
- It was diabolical.
The whole thing is just a sham.
- Thank you, and do
you know what,
you're the most fucking
honest person
in here, you know that?
And the more honest you're
gonna be, okay,
the more chance this place
has got of fucking survival.
Goodnight.
- Goodnight, thanks Gordon.
(upbeat music)
- [Gordon] 50% of
British restaurants
close down within three years,
often because their naive owners
know nothing about the business.
Sandy and her daughters
can't decide who's in charge.
There's sibling rivalry
simmering away.
Helen and Laura are
both desperate
to control the restaurant,
but from what I've seen,
only one sister stands out.
- There's certain
issues with family,
and my sister wants to
do it, and I wanna do it,
but at the moment we're
sharing it between each other.
And I think what we need
is a kick up the backside,
and we all need to realise
that, you know, this is it,
and we need to pull together.
- One person
to control it, yeah.
Are you capable of running
this place, you personally?
- Yeah, I am capable
of running it.
I think I'm the practical
one in the family.
I'm a bit more grounded
than the other two. (laughs)
They're fantastic but very
similar and a bit airy-fairy.
- We are in the shit,
are we not?
- [Helen] Yeah, definitely.
- [Gordon] That's the reason
why I need to open things up.
- Yeah.
- Everything come out,
identify the issues and
start tackling them.
(gentle music)
- To save the restaurant,
there's got to be a
radical management shakeup,
so today I'm gonna be
cruel to be kind.
All I saw last night was
just individuals
running around like headless
chickens, acting like children.
Hence the reason why we're
in a fucking playground.
Right, what's your role?
- General manager,
front of house.
- Bollocks, no chance,
no chance.
And this is serious now.
You, sadly, whether you
like it or not, okay,
are not capable of
becoming a general manager
in that establishment.
We've got far too many chiefs--
- Yeah, I agree with you there.
- And insufficient Indians,
now--
- You need to delegate
to other people
and tell them what to do.
- She can't do it.
- No.
- She goes and washes up
for 15 minutes
to make sure the kitchen
porter's there next week,
and she goes and talks--
- She needs to delegate jobs,
though, I agree with you,
to make sure that
- And that is the
- what she's doing is--
- restaurant manager's job.
Your job, yeah--
- Front of house,
that's where I want to be.
- You're the host.
Meeting and greeting
and sitting people down.
Yes?
- Yeah, happy with that.
Your position is the
assistant manager.
- Who's the manager then?
- Don't get defensive, can
I just do one at a time?
- Yes.
- Yeah.
No one's leading
unless they've got
defined roles--
- Excuse me,
I'm sorry to interrupt
you there, Gordon.
- [Gordon] Yeah, go on.
- I was away last night,
and if I had of been there,
things maybe would have been
slightly different.
- Yeah, okay.
- But the whole shoulders
of the restaurant
weight on, you know,
you coming in,
you wouldn't have changed
anything last night
because it was just dire.
- It was shambolic, sweetheart,
and it was best in your interest
not to be there last night.
Excuse me.
One thing you've got is
balls, you know that?
I like the way that you
fucking blatantly know
what the problems are,
but you've got to get it off
your chest, you know that.
And what are you scared
about being the manager?
Confrontation?
- No, it's not so much that.
It's actually being given
sole responsibility,
'cause at the moment,
and my sister's
just walked off there
'cause she's obviously
upset about--
- Yeah, are you gonna,
Laura, are you gonna come in or?
(Laura speaks faintly)
Yeah?
Thank you.
- Maybe you can prove
yourself, you know, with time.
- [Gordon] This is
not a discussion
to separate you two or to argue
amongst you two, okay.
- Of course it isn't, I know.
- But unfortunately one, two,
three
are doing all the same job--
- [Laura] I'm sorry, you've
got it completely wrong.
- Let me just finish
what I'm trying to say,
and once we've all
defined our roles,
then we can put it into the pot.
- Fine, okay, yeah.
- Yeah?
And clearly you're upset.
- Yeah, I am.
- [Gordon] Clearly you're upset,
and that is a stinky attitude.
And how can you walk away
like a child?
- 'Cause I'm the one
who's run the business on my own
when these two were on
holiday together.
You tell these two
to do my role,
and you can stick that, Gordon.
- Okay, there you go.
- I'm sorry, I apologise,
I'm not doing this.
- Typical, typical.
We decide, typical.
- No, she's worked
so hard, Gordon, you
don't know--
- Sit down, sit down.
- All he's trying to do
is define roles for people.
- I know,
but you haven't been here.
- Are you running away?
- Laura.
(Laura yelling faintly)
- Come over, come over.
- No, 'cause you don't know
my role, what about the--
- Laura,
grow up.
- No.
- Calm down.
- I can't do that.
- What about the big
sister here?
You're not even listening.
- She's fantastic, but
when she runs out I have to
pick the shit up.
- I don't run out.
- Calm down.
- I'm always back in
the morning.
- Calm down.
- Laura it's completely
stupid walking off.
- Let her walk off, let
her walk off.
- What's your role?
(gentle music)
- General manager,
front of house.
- Bollocks, no chance.
Morgan's restaurant was being
run like a ladies lunch club,
until I made Helen
general manager.
One thing you've got is
balls, you know that.
Her sister Laura didn't
like it one bit.
- You tell these two
to do my role,
and you can stick that Gordon,
- Okay, there you go.
I'm sorry, I apologise,
I'm not doing this.
- Typical.
Well, that's tough.
They either change or
go bankrupt.
Morgan's can only survive
by attracting local people.
Before I redesign the menu,
I have to find out what
they really want.
What do you look for when you
go out to your local eatery?
- Something quick, tasty,
simple.
- Have you heard of Morgan's?
- Yeah.
- And, feedback?
- Not too good, I'm afraid.
(woman in blue laughs)
- What would you look for
in your local restaurant?
- To be treated nice
by the staff,
and to be treated as
an individual.
- Good, and how much would
you expect to pay for dinner?
What would you be happy with?
- I don't pay, my
boyfriend will pay.
(gentle music)
- Morgan's menu belongs
in a bad expensive gastro pub.
My plan is to modernise
it with fresh ingredients
and lower the prices.
We've stripped it back to basics
and honed in on good,
local, honest produce
and kept it very, very simple.
Something light and vibrant,
a salmon for instance,
poached in a really nice
autumnal broth.
It doesn't get any
better than that.
(crowd chatting faintly)
(gentle music)
We're gonna buy one item here,
something simple,
something local.
Morgan's middle-class
neighbourhood is full of
foodies.
They love fresh,
tasty ingredients
served up in healthy,
attractive dishes.
Incredibly, Sandy and Phil
haven't realised this,
even though there's a
great organic market
on their doorstep.
- I'm Sandy.
- Here is Sandy.
- Nice to meet you.
- Slightly dotty.
Guess where she gets
her meat from?
- I hope it's not a supermarket.
- It is a supermarket, yeah,
that's right.
However, that's stopped now.
We're gonna look for
some lamb steak,
something simple,
something local,
and something not too expensive.
- Okay.
- This is excellent
locally-produced lamb.
It just gives a little bit of
excitement from the waitresses
to sort of, A, this is
local organic lamb,
B, we got it from the
farmers market
this morning in our street,
and it just starts to
make it feel
a little bit more
fucking romantic.
Thank you.
- Okay.
- How much is that please?
- The girls will be excited
about that.
- Would be 53.06.
We don't do Tesco Club points,
so call it 50 quid for cash.
(gentle music)
- Okay, lamb steaks, yes?
- Yes.
- Little bit of rosemary,
little bit of garlic.
Phil's a self-taught chef
who knows very little,
so I'll have to start
from scratch with him.
What you've got to do
is just remember
you're stepping up to the
challenge, huh, big time.
This lamb steak is my first dish
designed for Morgan's
traditional menu.
Get some colour on there,
not quite.
We'll serve it for Sunday
lunch tomorrow.
And then finally gravy,
lamb sauce over the top.
Now, if anyone complains
paying 12.50 for a lamb steak,
it's clean, it's local,
it's fresh.
That for me oozes
value for money.
- It's just about going
back to basics.
Really simple dish, tasty,
easy to do.
He just wants me to succeed,
like.
(gentle music)
- Sunday isn't a day of rest
in the restaurant business.
There's lots of
money to be made.
Incredibly, Morgan's
was closed on Sundays,
but to test my new team
and my new menu,
I've decided to open for lunch.
It's Helen's day off,
so sensitive assistant
manager Laura is in charge.
Laura?
Or supposed to be.
Where in the fuck is everyone?
Today was her big chance
to impress me.
She says she's got a
business degree.
Laura?
So who's running it today?
- None of the managers are in,
none of our
so-called assistants.
- I'm not sure
whether Laura is in today.
- So who's leading it today?
Who's running the
fucking restaurant today?
- Basically Laura on
her own probably.
- Will she be in?
- It's a fucking joke.
What's worse is Laura's
responsibility
to sort out the reservations.
Where's the table
plan for today?
- [Emma] Laura must have it.
- We're just the chefs.
- My host Sandy hasn't
turned up either.
The fucking plot thickens.
- She was having pains in her
chest last night, so, yeah.
- This place needs a person
to come in in the morning,
open up, and fucking inspire
everyone, check on the kitchen,
work with the kitchen, table
plan, and give some oomph.
But it's like a freak
house here, you know that?
It's 12:45 and Laura's
still not here.
- [Laura] You've reached
Laura's phone.
If you'd like to leave a
message I'll call you back.
- Hi Laura, good
afternoon it's Gordon,
I'm in the restaurant.
I can't believe I'm
chasing the management
to come into work in
their own restaurant
on such a crucial day.
(gentle music)
I've been told Sandy's
at home resting.
Sandy?
(dog barks)
Sandy?
But she won't even answer.
Oh, fucking hell.
Sunday, bloody Sunday.
If you're not
prepared to face up
to the responsibilities of
running a fucking business,
then why open it in
the first place?
Pathetic, fucking pathetic.
Morning.
- Morning.
- Laura finally turns up
but no apology.
(sighs) One o'clock.
To cap it all she can't even
find her own table plan.
- Has anybody seen the
page out the book?
- No.
- Her first customers
are due in 20 minutes.
Two hours ago we were in the
same, you know, situation.
That's why I said we were
looking for it.
- [Laura] Oh, I'm sorry, Gordon.
- Now she's just being rude.
Laura?
Laura, come here a minute,
come here a minute.
Come here a minute.
- Is this because things ran
quite smoothly last night,
so it's like a ploy to
sort of mess things up?
- [Gordon] I'll run the fucking
show if you don't show me
some form of fucking
business study degree
that you've been fucking
harping on that you've got.
- I'm sorry, I just can't.
- Well, stop being so
fucking stupid.
Now you're blaming me for
the fucking reservation book?
Two hours ago when
you were in bed,
we were in here looking for
the fucking thing, it's gone.
Can we move on and try to get
some form or shape in
this restaurant?
Isn't that the most
sensible thing to do?
But let me just tell you,
what I've witnessed in
the last three hours here,
hello, you can shake your
head and run off again,
this time I don't give a fuck.
But don't dare blame me
for this chaotic mess.
- You don't have to be so rude.
- Laura, come here a minute.
- Right, I'm just gonna go.
- Oh, not again, not again.
Not again, bollocks,
unbelievable.
Hi, Helen.
I'm desperate for a
real manager.
I'm just concerned, Helen,
you know that.
I'm just like, fucking
staff have gone.
The two are in the kitchen.
Okay, thank you, bye-bye, bye.
(gentle music)
- Helen's on her way in,
but I have to run it
until she gets here.
- Emma, as soon as you've
served the starters,
come round and jump on
the main courses, yeah?
How are you, welcome,
good to see you.
How many, my darling?
- We're 12 in.
- Now we're up against it.
A birthday party for 12
have turned up unannounced.
Clear your space,
clear your area,
so you've got a nice clean,
yeah, area
to think and fucking work in,
yeah?
Welcome good to see you.
Been a bit of a manic morning
for a Sunday.
- Thank you.
- Just face the music and dance.
- [Gordon] At least
someone's happy.
- For what we're
about to receive,
may the great architect
of the universe
make us truly thankful,
amen.
- Amen.
- With Phil in the kitchen,
they might well need the
Almighty's help.
I hope to God he remembers
what I've taught him.
Er, vegetable soup?
Now I'm reduced to
waiting on tables.
It's how I started out.
The birthday man himself,
thank you.
You're allowed a second portion.
And the third vegetable soup?
- Oh, I knew there
would be something.
- [Gordon] What's wrong,
talk to me?
- [Phil] I forgot to
put the sauce on.
- Come on, come on, think,
concentrate,
concentrate, come on.
What I need in here is
for you to stay on top it,
you know that, yeah?
Yeah.
- Yeah?
Before you start sending
out a main course,
in your mind have a
little rehearsal.
Lamb, cabbage, potato, carrot,
sauce, just run it through,
and the more you test your
mind, you can't forget.
The cavalry has arrived at last,
Helen.
Am I happy to see you.
What I'm more pissed
with anything
is just that the most amazing
fucking potential lunch,
fully booked, waiting list for
lunch, and fucking, you know,
a golden opportunity going
down the drain, yeah?
However, you're here,
yeah, stabilise the ship.
- Thank you for all your
help this morning, then.
(gentle music)
- Come on, Phil, don't
forget what's in the oven.
- No, no, I know,
I know, I know.
- Yeah, and start organising
how you're gonna start dressing
nine main courses with Emma.
- Emma?
- Yes, Chef.
- Just another, please,
we need more plates.
- [Gordon] Phil's
concentration deserts him,
and he's making charcoal again.
Oh dear, look at that.
At least one chef here has
high standards.
Phil's sous chef Emma turns
out to be a dark horse.
She's quick, diligent
and passionate.
Her talents go beyond
sticky toffee pudding.
Phil can't cope without her.
- It's like home cooking,
isn't it?
It's like this has really kicked
everything into touch now.
It's beautiful.
(diners chatting and laughing)
- It means the world to me
to see it busy on a Sunday,
'cause it just wasn't,
and that's why I'm here
now, so that things go well,
and we take a lot of money,
and they'll be all
back next Sunday.
- I was right to put
Helen in charge.
We've just about got
away with it.
But with Sandy ignoring
me and Laura's strops,
it's not good enough.
You've got to understand
I'm feeling sick.
I arrived here this morning
and it was pandemonium.
So whilst I totally respect
you weren't feeling well,
I could still do with
your support.
- [Sandy] You have my support.
- We're drawing the line today
and we're moving forward.
It's not a lifestyle,
it's a business,
and we're gonna treat it
like a business.
I want you to let your
chef do his job.
And if he doesn't do
that job, get rid of him.
- What about my--
- Really sorry,
but if you don't
fucking act and cook
and run this place
like a head chef,
then don't expect to be here.
(gentle music)
I've been really struggling with
how to re-launch this
shambolic restaurant,
but I've had an idea,
to invite some local
celebrities and create a stir.
Around here, it's littered with
WAGs, actresses and actors.
Hollyoaks is filmed
round the corner,
and it's a perfect
opportunity to get
some really good publicity
for the restaurant.
So it's the neighbourhood,
and the minute anyone spots
anyone famous in there,
they all wanna descend upon
it, so that creates a buzz.
It's a race against
time for Phil.
He's got to master some
classic and healthy recipes
to lure those ladies who lunch.
Taste and tell me
what that needs.
- Salt.
- Salt, yeah, good.
Emma's the best thing
in the kitchen.
With her helping Phil, we may
succeed with the relaunch.
You are the second chef.
There's no reason why not
you can't run this place
down the line on his day off,
you know.
- Well, that's my intention.
- You're more than capable.
I really mean that.
And if you can be
that passionate
about a sticky toffee pudding,
fuck knows what you're
gonna be like
when you're let loose on
fucking meat or fish, huh?
For the relaunch, I've thought
of a new role for Sandy
to stop her meddling.
Why don't we, for the
first time ever,
in between courses start
auctioning off some of these
items?
- Oh, wow, I'm very
impressed with that.
- Yeah?
Selling antiques is what
she's good at,
and there's plenty around
to keep her occupied.
Just in between courses, yeah?
- It's a really,
seriously good idea.
- We can start moving
some of this stuff.
- Yeah.
The great thing is of all,
he's actually defined everyone's
role, and that's it now.
We're all gonna stick to it,
and life should be a lot better.
(gentle music)
- [Gordon] We're fully booked
for the relaunch today,
and I'm nervous.
I've staked my
reputation on Morgan's.
Key to my strategy is Phil's
ability to cook my new menu.
But I'm still not
convinced about him.
Right, chicken in, skin
side down first, olive oil.
Why not butter?
- Butter, butter will
burn on the pan, like.
- Yeah, mm-hmm.
He has to concentrate on
getting the basics right.
If you can just slow
down for me,
and fucking think a
little bit harder,
we're fucking 90% of the
way there, you know that?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, do not get distracted.
Excellent.
Morning.
- Morning.
- How are you?
- Fine thanks, Gordon.
- [Gordon] You can come
through, come through.
- What?
- Come through.
- Oh right, let me
put these down.
- Just going through two
or three dishes.
Chicken with lentils,
and then poached salmon
in an autumn broth,
and nice crispy skin.
- Mm, tasty, very tasty.
- You have got to realise
the potential here.
- Okay.
- 48 booked for tonight.
Normal restaurants are
struggling
to get fucking five in.
(gentle music)
It's time for a pep talk,
and my ragtag team
needs some help,
even from sensitive flowers.
Laura has finished sulking and
has decided to lend a hand.
- Laura, welcome back.
- Thank you.
- Concerned about
assistant manager, manager,
or just concerned about
running the place?
- Just concerned that the
place is running smoothly.
- [Gordon] Good.
- I still expected him
to roar, but for now,
I'm quite happy, I'm
quite stable.
He unsettles me. (laughs)
(gentle music)
- Fucking big night tonight,
yeah?
Could be something quite
major, don't fuck it.
When the shit hits the
fan, we stay united.
We've all got our jobs to
do with no interference.
No interference.
- I'm very happy, I'm very happy
(laughing) to take a back seat.
- [Gordon] The celebrities
have taken the bait.
First in are Hollyoaks stars
Sarah Dunn and Jennifer Biddall.
- Hey.
- [Gordon] The footballers'
wives have come too,
including Louise Owen,
Michael's wife.
And next in is Sheree Murphy.
Where WAGs hang out,
others will surely follow.
My strategy has paid off.
(diners chatting)
Good to see you.
Hungry?
- Starving.
- Yes, gonna eat desert as well?
- Yes.
- Yeah?
There's no skinny minnies here,
are there?
We've got proper foodies.
- [Helen] Okay, who doesn't
need to be behind the bar?
There's no one on the floor,
there's five people
behind the bar.
- [Gordon] Helen's
cracking the whip
and keeping Sandy and
the waitresses in line.
The new menu's going down well.
- Can I get the roast
chicken breast, please?
- Table seven, one risotto,
three chicken.
- [Gordon] But Phil
has a problem.
- [Helen] Laura, an
order's been taken,
you took it on table six,
and there's no check
in the kitchen
and nothing on the top there.
- [Gordon] An order has
gone missing.
and the customers are waiting.
- [Helen] They've been
waiting 20 minutes.
Can you go and sort it out,
please.
- Did you get a table six in?
- No.
- No, come on guys.
- It was the smoked haddock.
And smoked salmon for
me, and chicken and lamb.
- Starters out straight
away, please, Em, yeah?
It's not your fault, yeah,
one haddock, one salmon,
one chicken, one lamb, please,
Phil, yeah.
- [Emma] No problem.
- Try and push that
table forward.
- Yeah.
- Fucking hell,
a night like tonight,
d'you know what I mean?
Thank fuck the kitchen's
solid, that's all I'm saying.
(sighs) Oh God, two risottos,
yes?
- Yes.
- Good man.
Don't drop, yeah?
- No.
- [Gordon] Will Phil
keep his concentration
and cook my menu well enough
to impress Woolton's glitterati?
- This is doing my
fucking nut in.
It's very hard to keep
fucking concentration.
- [Gordon] Despite the cock up,
everyone seems happy.
(diners laughing)
I just hope the customers want
to bid for Sandy's antiques.
(diners cheering and clapping)
- Sandy may be clueless
about running restaurants,
but when it comes to selling
antiques, she's a natural.
- Mr. Ramsay, what are
you gonna start us off at?
20 pounds, right, somebody
will help you, 20 pounds.
(diners laughing)
20 pounds we're bid, 20.
- I was gonna say a fiver.
- 30 here.
(diners laughing)
Any advance on 40?
- 50 pounds.
- 50 pounds is bid.
- One risotto, three chicken.
(jaunty music)
- 70 over there, 80, 90.
100 pounds, that's your bid,
thank you.
(gavel bangs)
- [Helen] Dirty chef's
a happy chef.
- Like a pig in shit.
Let's go, we got table 10.
- 45, thank you, we're
selling at 45 pounds now.
- I'll get it, I'll get it.
- Ooh, 50 just in time.
- Ooh.
(diners laughing)
- [Auctioneer] 50 pounds, 50.
- [Gordon] The local celebrities
are flashing their cash,
but what do they
think of the food?
- It's very nice. (laughs)
- It's delicious, actually,
'cause it's a bit crispy
but it's also very
tender as well.
It's lovely, really, really
nice, I'm really impressed.
- I'd definitely
come back again.
- It's been somewhere that I've
never actually come along to
'cause I've heard good
and bad things about it,
but yeah, I'd
definitely come back.
- [Gordon] Phil's
cooked his heart out
and not burnt a thing.
- I feel more in control.
(laughing)
As he says that,
he's just fucking knocked
the salt over, fucking hell.
(Emma laughs)
What a twat.
- [Gordon] Emma's played a
vital role too.
- I just think it's
gone well today.
It's been a pleasure to
work today, actually.
- Selling at 65 pounds.
(gavel slams)
- [Gordon] Morgan's
is transformed.
Just a week ago it was in
chaos under dotty Sandy,
serving up tasteless
stodge from a supermarket.
(gavel slams)
- 140 pounds,
thank you very much indeed.
- Right, good, huh?
- That's what I do, it's like--
- Well, you're in your
element, for God's sake,
I've never seen you so
fucking happy.
(Sandy laughs)
How much have you taken
fucking selling antiques,
what did we sell?
- Five or 600 pounds.
- Five or 600 pounds.
- Fantastic.
- Sorry, in 15 minutes?
- Yeah.
- That's fucking good news.
Fucking hell.
(both laugh)
Tonight you found your role.
Don't take that the wrong way,
but that's what you're
good at doing.
- I agree with you.
- And you have been
the toughest nut
I've ever attempted to crack,
yeah?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
Dining room, I just
want you two to combine.
No one's in competition
with each other, you know,
you both have an amazing
fucking role, yeah?
The kitchen, solid.
I cannot tell you the
difference from tonight
in comparison to what
went on seven days ago.
It's extraordinary.
And the minute you
start changing it
and reverting back to the
old ways, you're fucked.
(upbeat music)
I'm back in Liverpool.
It's a month after I turned
failing bistro Morgan's
into a packed
neighbourhood restaurant.
But there's been a
shocking development.
Helen's told me that following
a row, she's let someone go.
I'm on the search for Phil.
He's left Morgan's and
he's set up camp here,
so dying to get hold of
him and find out
what the fuck's going on really.
Jesus, what the fuck are
you doing here?
How are you, mate?
- Hi mate, great, how are you?
- How are you?
- Sound, I'm sound, sound.
- Good to see you.
- Feeling sound.
- You're looking well.
- I feel well.
- [Gordon] What happened?
- She said that she's
had loads of complaints,
so my services were not
required no more.
There's not a lot I can
do about it now,
so I've moved on and I aim
to put my mark on here.
(Phil speaking faintly)
(gentle music)
- [Gordon] Without me there,
Phil's concentration went again.
But it's actually good news.
Now as a sous chef, he'll train
under an experienced head chef.
- Just trying to stay focused,
do what I'm supposed to do,
listen, and concentrate
more on my job.
I just feel less stressed.
Do you wanna take that, please?
- [Gordon] It's for the best
that Phil has left Morgan's,
- Going with the scallops.
- and I'm pleased for him.
I'm off to the restaurant
to find out the owner's
side of the story.
I'm worried about what's
happened to my menu
and just who's cooking it.
Slightly nervous because
it was a month ago,
fucking hard work,
and I came across an owner
that was totally clueless
when it came to
running a business.
Ladies.
- Hello.
- Hello, Gordon.
- How are you, darling, well?
- Fine, thank you.
- Good to see you.
Are you well?
- Hello, yeah.
- Nice to see you.
- How are you?
- Got that colour back
on your cheeks again.
How are you darling?
- Welcome back to the family.
Lovely to see you.
- You've been
in the hairdresser?
- Oh yes, of course.
- You're looking
immaculate as ever.
- Thank you very much,
that's lovely.
- Ah,
so who's in the kitchen?
Emma's still here, I hope?
- Emma's now--
- Emma's been--
- Emma is now our head chef.
- Is she?
- Emma has been, yes.
- That's fantastic news.
My biggest worry about Phil
was the level of his
concentration.
- We had to let him go.
- We thought that, you
know, where we wanna be,
and Emma was the next step,
and she's been there for
us and dedicated, and 100%
we've had from her, so.
- Yeah.
- Hello.
So Emma, the dark horse
of the kitchen,
has been rewarded for all
her hard work.
Have you taken the reins?
- Yeah, I've tried to.
- Good for you,
- I'm getting more confident.
I remember you saying to me,
"Come out of your corner,
you're like a little mouse."
yeah,
- Yeah.
- Everyone said to me,
"Oh, Emma's got very
authoritative in the kitchen."
- I'm pleased, I'm so pleased.
That means the whole place
is being run by females.
- By females.
- Which is working fucking well.
Well, I'm dying to eat,
I can't believe
how quiet this is.
- Can't wait to feed you.
- The beef looks fantastic out
there with the celeriac mash.
- The braised beef, yeah.
- [Gordon] And braised
with apricots?
- Definitely not.
- It's lovely, that sauce, now.
Head chefs are
predominantly male,
and it's just good that
I'm having a go,
and someone's given me
the chance to have a go.
I think it's up to me to
prove myself now.
- So last week we took
just under 4,000 pound.
- [Helen] Yeah.
- Helen's computerised
the accounts,
a big contrast to Sandy's chaos.
The week before I came here,
you barely hit 1,500 pound.
- We were losing, then
we broke even,
and now we're in profit,
and we have done for three
weeks, we've been in profit.
- You seem a lot more confident
than you did a month ago
in terms of your role defined.
- Yeah.
Well, people have sort
of had confidence in me,
which is, you know, the
first thing about,
you can portray what you wanna
do and put your foot down,
and people don't listen to you.
But once you've been
given a defined role
and people start
believing in you,
then it actually gives you
power and wings
to wanna fly and do
what you're doing.
(gentle music)
- It's great to see the
restaurant full.
And Emma is so tuned
into the menu
that she's even added a dish
of her own, braised beef.
Thank you.
Lovely, thank you.
Look how tender that beef is.
This is falling apart,
almost like it's
melting on your fork.
Mm, wow.
That's delicious. (laughs)
Fucking hell.
It's so upsetting,
you know that,
in comparison to the dinner
I had last time I was here,
you just cannot compare.
This is delicious.
Food was delicious.
- Great.
- Great.
- Really good.
Absolutely spot on.
- I wanted to impress you.
- Yeah, you certainly did that.
Don't stop, yeah.
- We won't.
- Goodnight.
- Goodnight.
- Ladies.
- Thank you.
- Not a man in sight, fuck me.
(all laughing)
- Not a man in sight is
just the way we like it.
Thank you.
- Not a man in sight,
just the way we like it.
(relaxed music)
- Would you like to
come through?
- [Gordon] The
ladies of Morgan's
are now making money
against all the odds.
Girl power has saved
this restaurant.
- Would you like to see
the wine list?
- I'm happy Morgan's
is now running
as a neighbourhood restaurant.
Helen's in control of
the business.
Emma clearly knows what the fuck
she's doing in the kitchen,
and she seems so much
more confident.
Happy customers, happy staff,
and the food was delicious.
Thank God for that.
Morgan's has got it right.
Thank fuck for that.
(dramatic music)
- [Gordon] How many
women does it take
to run a restaurant badly?
Three, and it's called Morgan's.
- He'd better watch out
because we're gonna get him.
- [Gordon] I'm grappling
with girl power
to save this restaurant.
You with us?
It's gonna be handbags at
dawn with mum.
- Don't tell me to shut up,
Gordon.
- Okay.
- Because I won't be spoken
to like that, all right?
- [Gordon] And sibling rivalry
is driving me demented.
- You tell these two
to do my role.
- Okay.
- And you can stick that,
Gordon.
- Okay, there you go.
- I'm sorry I can't do that,
I'm not doing it.
- Typical.
(dramatic music)
(knife whooshing)
(knife clinks)
(upbeat music)
Liverpool, a city that's
shedding its run-down
reputation.
With rocketing house prices
and three billion pounds
worth of investment,
it's rapidly becoming
hip and trendy.
18th-century Woolton Village
is one of the city's most
affluent and exclusive suburbs.
This is a typical sort of
footballers' wives hangout.
It must be a great catchment
for ladies who lunch,
especially with all these
amazing houses.
At Woolton's heart
lies Morgan's.
Three years ago, Sandy
Morgan was an antique dealer
before she changed her
shop into a restaurant.
- The idea actually started,
we were actually having
dinner one night,
and I just said, "Well, I
used to cook for friends here,
"now turn it into a restaurant,"
and I thought great, why not?
- [Gordon] Sandy runs it
with her two daughters,
Helen and Laura.
- We've pulled together,
fought together,
we've laughed together,
cried together,
every emotion you can
ever imagine.
How we're all still talking
to each other, I don't know.
- [Gordon] With no customers
and 100,000 pounds
worth of debt,
the women will lose
everything in six months.
- Sisters are definitely doing
it for themselves. (laughing)
Maybe that's why we need a bit
of testosterone from Gordon.
- Take care, thank you.
- Sure.
- From the outside it
looks very romantic,
a perfect high street
local eatery.
Let's get some dinner.
- My name is Helen.
- Helen, how are you, darling?
- Pleased to meet you.
- Lovely to meet you.
- Likewise, and this is?
- I'm Sandy.
- Sandy, pleased to meet you.
- I'm the mummy.
- What a beautiful place.
- Thank you.
- And this is?
- This is Laura.
- Hiya, I'm Laura.
- Laura, how are you, darling?
- Hello, I'm fine.
- This is nice.
- Gordon, welcome.
- It's beautiful.
- Do you like it?
- Do these girls serve
here as well?
- Everything, all good
all-rounders,
Gordon.
- Every single male
in Liverpool should be
in here today.
(women laugh)
How many's booked?
- There's a table of
two at half six.
- It's weird, I mean,
we're in September,
it's a sort of Indian
summer's evening out there.
- Yeah.
- And you've got two booked.
- Yes, that's it, it needs
a lot of tweaking. (laughs)
A lot of tweaking.
- Who's running the business?
- We all do.
- The three of us,
three of us taking
responsibility for maybe one
job.
- Three managers, sounds
like too many chiefs to me.
I'd better eat, yes?
(women laughing)
May I have the pleasure?
Right.
Beautiful little
smart restaurant,
very romantic, and
everything's slightly weird.
Apricots in a cream mashed
potato with Lincolnshire
sausage.
Vanilla and whisky sauce
served with a fillet of beef.
This isn't the sort of menu
that ladies who lunch want.
Even I don't know what
kind of menu this is.
- The food is
French-English a la carte.
- We sort of bring in a Thai
influence, you know, Spanish.
- It's English a la
carte really.
- On one plate
sometimes you can get
two or three different
nationalities.
(jaunty music)
- [Gordon] Phil is
Morgan's cocky
but inexperienced head chef.
- You've got to be confident
in your own ability,
haven't you?
Otherwise there's no
use being a chef.
- I need one soup, one
prawns, one sausage,
one beef, pink, and one
portion of veg, please.
- Greedy bastard, isn't he?
Two starters, two mains.
(Emma laughs)
- Thank you.
Lovely, pan-fried prawns.
Smoked paprika.
They're absolutely solid,
I mean really solid.
No thought, orange segments,
lemon segments in there,
and prawns that are just
bullets, hard disgusting
bullets.
- Here's your
Cumberland sausage.
- Cumberland sausage, thank you.
- Enjoy your meal.
- Thank you.
This dish is big enough
for a dinosaur.
It's like something
out of "Jurassic Park."
Fucking hell. (laughs)
Sausage en T-Rex, fucking hell.
A cherry tomato with a
mashed potato
laced with fucking apricots.
That is pretty dismal.
This huge dish of overpriced
stodge should be extinct.
No wonder the locals
aren't coming here.
No one's gonna sit down
and even attempt to eat
substantial mountains of food
that doesn't make sense
like that, nowhere near it.
- Sticky toffee pudding
with a butterscotch sauce
and vanilla ice cream.
(gentle music)
- Junior sous chef Emma is
Phil's long-suffering sidekick.
Her star turn is sticky toffee
pudding, but Phil hates it.
- Babe, you know my
feelings on this fucking--
- I know you don't like it but--
- Day one, I've always said
it should not be on our menu.
- Trial and error.
- He'll turn around and go,
"What is that, what is that?"
And he'll be told
it's the Morgan's
classic sticky toffee
pudding. (cheers mockingly)
- Mm, smells nice, fucking hell.
Mm.
It's the first time this
evening I'm glad to be here.
This is nice, light,
not too sticky.
The person who made that dish
doesn't put fucking apricot
and mashed potato together,
and vanilla and whisky.
- Is the verdict in yet?
- (laughs) Fucking hell.
- Got to care, haven't
you, what he thinks.
I do anyway.
- Hello everyone, here's Gordon.
- Hello.
- He's come to just meet you.
- Emma, how are you?
- Nice to meet you, I'm fine.
- Good to see you
and you're the?
- Chef de partie,
desserts and starters.
- And this is?
- Phil, head chef.
- Phil.
Chef de cuisine.
- Yeah, well.
Beg to differ, well, yeah, yeah,
no, yeah.
- Okay, anyway, it
started off good.
I arrived and I thought
it was actually
quite a stunning,
intimate little place.
Then the food arrived.
Solid rock hard prawns.
- Oh, the prawns.
- You dig deeper and you
come across the mashed potato
that's got laced with
fucking apricots,
- Tomato.
- tomatoes,
and a redcurrant jus.
- Jus.
- It's a, it's a, it's a--
- Red wine.
- It's a red wine syrup.
- Red wine syrup.
- What the fuck were you
thinking about
putting apricots inside
mashed potatoes?
- Do you know what, right,
I actually took the recipe
from the "Good Food" magazine.
- The "Good Food" magazine?
- Yeah.
- That's a bullshit answer.
What were you thinking
about putting it together?
- Well, why not, it's different?
- You've got every right to be
slightly fucked off about it,
'cause I would be if I
cooked that shit.
And here we are in the
current situation on our arse,
and the chef over there wants
to fucking laugh about it.
- What the fuck do you
want me to do about it?
You're standing there
fucking just mouthing me off.
Do you know what I mean?
- Fuck that.
You've just shown me over
the last three minutes
your attitude stinks.
- It doesn't at all.
- And you can't take criticism.
And if you're gonna--
- I can take criticism,
it's just ways and means
of going about it
and putting criticism across.
It's the way you speak,
you speak arrogantly.
- How would you like to
be spoken to?
- Just like a normal person,
like anyone would
speak to anyone.
- Uh-huh.
Now let's go the other way,
shall we?
Please be so kind to
remove the apricots
from the mashed potato.
- See, now you're being
a fucking sarcastic--
- No, but I don't know how.
- No, no.
- I mean, listen, we've
got a problem here, yeah,
and there's a fucking
issue with the food.
Now fucking Mr. Chipmunk in the
fucking corner is pissed off
at the fact that I'm telling
him something constructive.
- See--
- If I can't get
over that hurdle,
- No, there's no, there's no--
- I may as well fuck off
back on the train now,
do you understand?
- You need a bit of tact.
- Have a word with the chef,
yeah?
- He needs a bit of tact.
- I mean, he's gonna fucking--
- I tell you what,
excuse me, I'm standing here,
so, you know,
- Sorry.
- if you want to talk
to me, you talk to me.
- I'm talking to the owner.
- Stop treating me
like I'm a fucking kid.
- Fuck me.
- [Sandy] Did you like anything
about the three courses?
- There was one saving
grace, yeah, there was.
The sticky toffee pudding
was fucking delicious.
(everyone laughs)
- [Sandy] Oh, thank you, Gordon.
- I just wish I had it
for my fucking starter.
- You're welcome.
- Fuck's sake.
- [Sandy] That's the nitty
gritty over with anyway,
isn't it?
- Set it off,
I'd rather have the
camera not be on me.
- Shit dinner, beautiful
restaurant inside, great
potential,
then trying to fucking
tell the chef
some form of constructive
criticism, he's got a problem,
not just with his food
but with his fucking gob.
You've got every right to be
slightly fucked off about it.
(gentle music)
'Cause I would be if I
cooked that shit.
Morgan's restaurant is an
all-women-run business.
Trouble is it's not being
run very well.
And the chef over there wants
to fucking laugh about it.
- What do you want me
to do about it?
You're standing there
fucking just mouthing me off.
- [Gordon] It's serving
mountains of expensive stodge.
But there's a much
bigger problem.
The women can't decide
who's in charge,
a recipe for disaster.
(women chattering faintly)
- Can you just try
and sort it out for me, please?
- It's a struggle sometimes and,
you know,
we kick off and we scream
at each other and stuff.
Do you know what's
wrong with her?
- It just is a nightmare, and
I've resigned so many times.
- [Gordon] Sandy claims
to be running Morgan's,
but I wonder how good a
manager she really is.
I've decided to look at
her accounts and find out.
- Come on.
- All right.
How long have you been here?
- About two years.
- Nice.
So where's the office?
- Sort of here.
- That's the office there?
- Yeah.
- God, how do you manage?
- I don't, it's difficult.
We need something bigger,
definitely.
- Bloody hell.
- It's hell 'cause I
can't lay anything out.
- [Gordon] Look at it all
jammed in there like that.
- [Sandy] I know, I know.
- Sandy's accounts books
are completely haywire.
Where is your target?
- I need to do that.
- Yeah but--
- No, I--
- Those are just till--
- No, no, I've got that
written down.
I have got that written down.
- Where's that?
- Well, I can't put my
hands on it right now, but--
- Can't put your hands
on it right now.
What have you got out
of it in three years?
(gentle music)
- Money, financially?
- Yeah.
- Well, we haven't,
(laughs) I haven't.
- [Gordon] How much have
you lost in three years?
- I don't know.
- [Gordon] Running a
restaurant is a full-time job,
not an occasional hobby.
If Sandy can't even
organise the books,
it's little wonder
she's hired a chef
whose mouth is bigger
than his talent.
- Right, Chef?
- Morning.
- Morning.
- How are you?
- Not too bad, you?
- Yeah, very well, thank you.
- Have a nice kip?
- Yeah, slightly concerned
but a good sleep.
Yourself?
- No, not a good kip at all.
- Damn, why?
- 'Cause of last night.
- Uh-huh.
- [Phil] But that was
last night, this is today.
- That's a good attitude.
- Today's another day.
We live and learn.
- How long you been cooking?
Phil's got more
confidence than ability.
He's never had any
formal training.
But Sandy makes his job tougher
because she won't pay
him for preparation time.
- The menu, right, it's just
basically been thrown together.
I'm not allowed to come
in at nine in the morning.
- [Gordon] What do you
mean you're not allowed to?
- Well, Sandy doesn't
want us to come in
at nine o'clock in the
morning, I get in at--
- [Gordon] So how do you
get ready for service?
- I come in at four o'clock,
and it's a case of
throwing it together.
- Even I can't get fucking ready
from four o'clock in
the afternoon.
Now it's starting to make sense
why you're fucking so
defensive, totally understand.
It's not entirely your
fucking fault.
What I want to do is
fucking work together on it.
- No, sound, I look
forward to it.
- Do you still wanna punch me?
- No, I'll save that
till next week.
(Gordon chuckles)
- Okay, good.
(gentle music)
It's two hours before
Saturday service,
Morgan's only busy
night of the week.
With no preparation done,
the kitchen's in chaos.
There's not even enough food.
Labels and just odds
and sods thrown in here.
What the fuck is that?
Fucking dog shit.
So what do you need
now for service?
'Cause the place looks sparse.
If there's 30 people coming
for dinner tonight--
- Yeah, no,
it's freaking me out a bit.
- Um--
- It's freaking me out as well.
- Carrots, broccoli, beans,
bread, prawns.
- And is this normal this
time of the afternoon
for you to go off to the
shops like that?
Yeah.
- Yeah, yeah.
- So you don't actually
get the stuff back then
for at least another hour.
- Sometimes I don't get
it till six o'clock.
- When the customers are
walking through the door?
Fuck me.
Unbelievable.
The head chef should
order supplies,
but Sandy's been buying
from a supermarket
because she doesn't want to
pay Phil to do it for her.
Before we get any further,
what I wanted to say
to both of you
is the fucking supermarket
is not good enough.
- No, it's not.
- If this restaurant's got
any chance of fucking surviving,
yeah--
- [Phil] The cost of fucking--
- If we had a dinner
party at home,
we wouldn't be sat here
at fucking four o'clock
looking for a fucking list,
let alone running a
fucking restaurant.
(gentle jaunty music)
Beans, okay, French beans,
vegetables.
- Okay, I think beans, beans,
beans.
- Ooh, sorry.
- Oh God no, no beans,
hold on, round the next one.
Runner beans, they're good.
- Show me.
No, no, they're sliced, they're
pre-packed, fucking hell.
How are you, mate?
- Sorry.
- Fucking hell.
- This way.
Do you want raw ones, Gordon?
- What did we get yesterday?
- I think it was raw, yeah.
- Yeah, are you sure?
- [Assistant] How many
would you like?
- Oh, couple of,
well, kilo, no, not,
a few pounds.
All of those and some
more if you have them.
Have you got some more
than what's out?
- This is ridiculous,
you know that?
Sandy's panic-buying
fillet steak,
but she should have
had it delivered
from a cheaper wholesaler.
Sandy, it's fucking
five past five,
where's the fillet steak?
- Well, it's here somewhere.
No, sirloin, sirloin.
They must know we're coming.
- No.
That's never happened before
that there's not been fillet.
- Rump steak, rump steak, no.
How much is that please?
- 53.89.
- 53.89.
If we had to buy this produce
on last night's takings,
we'll be 30 quid fucking short.
I've got a fucking headache,
let's go.
Thank you, bye-bye.
- Thank you, bye.
(gentle music)
- It's seven o'clock, and
the restaurant is filling up.
Morgan's is a stunning,
beautiful fucking restaurant.
Unfortunately the food is shit.
The chef's way inexperienced,
he's self-taught,
and he's cooking with
fucking expensive ingredients
bought from the local
supermarket.
And Sandy is just
another prime example
of an individual that's
opened a restaurant
without having a clue
how to run one.
Tonight I'm gonna be
watching Phil closely.
- Chef, one beef, one chicken,
more well to medium please.
- Phil's menu is
poorly designed,
but can he actually cook?
Just watch your cooking,
yeah, standards now, yeah.
- Yeah.
- Are you happy with that?
- No.
- No, no, nor am I.
You're a chef, hey, not a
fucking coalman.
- No, I know.
- No, no.
(energetic music)
Phil's just plain careless,
and I won't put up with it.
Watch that chicken, it's
burning again.
That pan's on fire.
- Have we got any basil?
- Fucking hell.
Kitchen's started to
act like fucking slobs
and happy to cook
charcoal and then send it.
That's not good,
fucking ridiculous.
- [Phil] I tell you
what, he's fucking sharp.
- That's how he's got
where he is, isn't it?
- [Phil] His eyes are
fucking everywhere.
- [Gordon] A customer has
sent back a creme brulee.
It's like fucking baby vomit.
Do you know why it
goes like that?
- I think, um--
- Quick.
- Whisked too far?
- No, no, no no,
under the grill far too long.
Don't eat that unless
you're prepared to die.
Phil's biggest problem is that
he just doesn't concentrate.
He's simply out of his
depth, making silly mistakes.
- I just feel as if I'm
just not in control at all
of my own fucking, my own job,
it's shit.
- [Gordon] Dotty Sandy's
supposed to be
in charge of this mess.
Sandy what are you doing?
- I'm just helping
him out a bit,
get rid of some of these plates.
He's got a lot on tonight
and we've got no dishwasher,
so I thought I'd give him
a bit of a lift.
- [Gordon] You're helping
out by washing up plates.
- Yeah, well, you know.
- Sandy's
interfering everywhere,
doing everyone else's job
and achieving nothing.
Sandy, two seconds darling.
Are you lost?
Are you wondering what to do?
- I'm trying to do a
little bit of everything,
really, to keep it all going.
- Okay, do I know that, you are.
What is your role tonight,
what exactly are you doing?
- Well, I've been waiting on,
behind the bar.
- Waiting on?
Waiting on what?
- Tables.
- Tables, okay.
Now you're doing--
- Serving the wine.
- Have you seen the size
of that fucker?
He's more than capable
of washing and drying
his own fucking plates--
- Well, I'm not gonna,
I'm not gonna do it all night.
- Welcome to the fucking
lunatic asylum.
Sandy's so busy doing the dishes
that she forgot a
customer's order for gravy.
- [Helen] I have to say sorry.
- He's been waiting 15 minutes
and complains to Helen.
So they've cleared three
main courses from that table,
and one guy's sat there
with his sausage,
yeah, looking for some
fucking sauce.
Why is no one being
straight with you
and telling you what they need?
What do they want?
- Excuse me, it's just gravy,
Phil--
- Start making it, start
making it, yeah.
- He's waiting there,
food's going cold while
he's waiting there.
- They've cleared the
fucking plates.
They've cleared three plates.
- But it's only for one.
It is only for one guy, and
he's quite happy to wait.
- You've got to stop
kidding yourself.
He's not quite happy to wait.
- No, of course he's not.
- His guests
have cleared their main courses.
- [Sandy] Yeah.
- It's like a fucking
kindergarten
in here, you know that?
A fucking--
- Isn't this catering life,
though, Gordon?
- No, is it,
fuck catering life,
nothing like it, no.
This is shambolic, it's not
catering at all, fuck me.
How long for the gravy, Phil?
- At least five minutes, Chef.
- At least five minutes.
Fuck me, catering my
fucking arse.
- I asked for, yeah, some
kind of sauce or a gravy,
which came, took a while
to come, to be fair,
15 minutes, thereabouts,
and I paid 15 quid.
(melancholy music)
- At last I understand
what I'm facing.
The chef's slipshod
concentration
is producing terrible food.
But he was hired by Sandy
and she's the real problem,
an amateur restaurateur
messing in a business
she knows nothing about.
It's depressing to watch a
restaurant sink this low.
Helen, that's the
saddest main course
I've ever seen in my
entire life.
39 years of age and seeing that.
Don't take it personally.
I want to know if anyone is
gonna take responsibility
for tonight's catastrophe.
What did you experience
out there tonight?
- In general a lot of people
were quite happy out there,
to be honest with you, you know,
I've had no
complaints all night.
- What fascinates me about you
is you're either totally
fucking oblivious
to what's going on in
your own establishment,
or you're fucking living a
nightmare inside your mind.
You cannot see what's going on?
- I can see what's going
on, Gordon, I'm not stupid.
I'm not stupid, I can see
what's going on.
But I can't deal with all
these things on my own.
I've been trying to keep
this afloat for three years
by doing a little bit
of everything.
- Well, thank you.
- Okay.
- And Helen.
- It was diabolical.
The whole thing is just a sham.
- Thank you, and do
you know what,
you're the most fucking
honest person
in here, you know that?
And the more honest you're
gonna be, okay,
the more chance this place
has got of fucking survival.
Goodnight.
- Goodnight, thanks Gordon.
(upbeat music)
- [Gordon] 50% of
British restaurants
close down within three years,
often because their naive owners
know nothing about the business.
Sandy and her daughters
can't decide who's in charge.
There's sibling rivalry
simmering away.
Helen and Laura are
both desperate
to control the restaurant,
but from what I've seen,
only one sister stands out.
- There's certain
issues with family,
and my sister wants to
do it, and I wanna do it,
but at the moment we're
sharing it between each other.
And I think what we need
is a kick up the backside,
and we all need to realise
that, you know, this is it,
and we need to pull together.
- One person
to control it, yeah.
Are you capable of running
this place, you personally?
- Yeah, I am capable
of running it.
I think I'm the practical
one in the family.
I'm a bit more grounded
than the other two. (laughs)
They're fantastic but very
similar and a bit airy-fairy.
- We are in the shit,
are we not?
- [Helen] Yeah, definitely.
- [Gordon] That's the reason
why I need to open things up.
- Yeah.
- Everything come out,
identify the issues and
start tackling them.
(gentle music)
- To save the restaurant,
there's got to be a
radical management shakeup,
so today I'm gonna be
cruel to be kind.
All I saw last night was
just individuals
running around like headless
chickens, acting like children.
Hence the reason why we're
in a fucking playground.
Right, what's your role?
- General manager,
front of house.
- Bollocks, no chance,
no chance.
And this is serious now.
You, sadly, whether you
like it or not, okay,
are not capable of
becoming a general manager
in that establishment.
We've got far too many chiefs--
- Yeah, I agree with you there.
- And insufficient Indians,
now--
- You need to delegate
to other people
and tell them what to do.
- She can't do it.
- No.
- She goes and washes up
for 15 minutes
to make sure the kitchen
porter's there next week,
and she goes and talks--
- She needs to delegate jobs,
though, I agree with you,
to make sure that
- And that is the
- what she's doing is--
- restaurant manager's job.
Your job, yeah--
- Front of house,
that's where I want to be.
- You're the host.
Meeting and greeting
and sitting people down.
Yes?
- Yeah, happy with that.
Your position is the
assistant manager.
- Who's the manager then?
- Don't get defensive, can
I just do one at a time?
- Yes.
- Yeah.
No one's leading
unless they've got
defined roles--
- Excuse me,
I'm sorry to interrupt
you there, Gordon.
- [Gordon] Yeah, go on.
- I was away last night,
and if I had of been there,
things maybe would have been
slightly different.
- Yeah, okay.
- But the whole shoulders
of the restaurant
weight on, you know,
you coming in,
you wouldn't have changed
anything last night
because it was just dire.
- It was shambolic, sweetheart,
and it was best in your interest
not to be there last night.
Excuse me.
One thing you've got is
balls, you know that?
I like the way that you
fucking blatantly know
what the problems are,
but you've got to get it off
your chest, you know that.
And what are you scared
about being the manager?
Confrontation?
- No, it's not so much that.
It's actually being given
sole responsibility,
'cause at the moment,
and my sister's
just walked off there
'cause she's obviously
upset about--
- Yeah, are you gonna,
Laura, are you gonna come in or?
(Laura speaks faintly)
Yeah?
Thank you.
- Maybe you can prove
yourself, you know, with time.
- [Gordon] This is
not a discussion
to separate you two or to argue
amongst you two, okay.
- Of course it isn't, I know.
- But unfortunately one, two,
three
are doing all the same job--
- [Laura] I'm sorry, you've
got it completely wrong.
- Let me just finish
what I'm trying to say,
and once we've all
defined our roles,
then we can put it into the pot.
- Fine, okay, yeah.
- Yeah?
And clearly you're upset.
- Yeah, I am.
- [Gordon] Clearly you're upset,
and that is a stinky attitude.
And how can you walk away
like a child?
- 'Cause I'm the one
who's run the business on my own
when these two were on
holiday together.
You tell these two
to do my role,
and you can stick that, Gordon.
- Okay, there you go.
- I'm sorry, I apologise,
I'm not doing this.
- Typical, typical.
We decide, typical.
- No, she's worked
so hard, Gordon, you
don't know--
- Sit down, sit down.
- All he's trying to do
is define roles for people.
- I know,
but you haven't been here.
- Are you running away?
- Laura.
(Laura yelling faintly)
- Come over, come over.
- No, 'cause you don't know
my role, what about the--
- Laura,
grow up.
- No.
- Calm down.
- I can't do that.
- What about the big
sister here?
You're not even listening.
- She's fantastic, but
when she runs out I have to
pick the shit up.
- I don't run out.
- Calm down.
- I'm always back in
the morning.
- Calm down.
- Laura it's completely
stupid walking off.
- Let her walk off, let
her walk off.
- What's your role?
(gentle music)
- General manager,
front of house.
- Bollocks, no chance.
Morgan's restaurant was being
run like a ladies lunch club,
until I made Helen
general manager.
One thing you've got is
balls, you know that.
Her sister Laura didn't
like it one bit.
- You tell these two
to do my role,
and you can stick that Gordon,
- Okay, there you go.
I'm sorry, I apologise,
I'm not doing this.
- Typical.
Well, that's tough.
They either change or
go bankrupt.
Morgan's can only survive
by attracting local people.
Before I redesign the menu,
I have to find out what
they really want.
What do you look for when you
go out to your local eatery?
- Something quick, tasty,
simple.
- Have you heard of Morgan's?
- Yeah.
- And, feedback?
- Not too good, I'm afraid.
(woman in blue laughs)
- What would you look for
in your local restaurant?
- To be treated nice
by the staff,
and to be treated as
an individual.
- Good, and how much would
you expect to pay for dinner?
What would you be happy with?
- I don't pay, my
boyfriend will pay.
(gentle music)
- Morgan's menu belongs
in a bad expensive gastro pub.
My plan is to modernise
it with fresh ingredients
and lower the prices.
We've stripped it back to basics
and honed in on good,
local, honest produce
and kept it very, very simple.
Something light and vibrant,
a salmon for instance,
poached in a really nice
autumnal broth.
It doesn't get any
better than that.
(crowd chatting faintly)
(gentle music)
We're gonna buy one item here,
something simple,
something local.
Morgan's middle-class
neighbourhood is full of
foodies.
They love fresh,
tasty ingredients
served up in healthy,
attractive dishes.
Incredibly, Sandy and Phil
haven't realised this,
even though there's a
great organic market
on their doorstep.
- I'm Sandy.
- Here is Sandy.
- Nice to meet you.
- Slightly dotty.
Guess where she gets
her meat from?
- I hope it's not a supermarket.
- It is a supermarket, yeah,
that's right.
However, that's stopped now.
We're gonna look for
some lamb steak,
something simple,
something local,
and something not too expensive.
- Okay.
- This is excellent
locally-produced lamb.
It just gives a little bit of
excitement from the waitresses
to sort of, A, this is
local organic lamb,
B, we got it from the
farmers market
this morning in our street,
and it just starts to
make it feel
a little bit more
fucking romantic.
Thank you.
- Okay.
- How much is that please?
- The girls will be excited
about that.
- Would be 53.06.
We don't do Tesco Club points,
so call it 50 quid for cash.
(gentle music)
- Okay, lamb steaks, yes?
- Yes.
- Little bit of rosemary,
little bit of garlic.
Phil's a self-taught chef
who knows very little,
so I'll have to start
from scratch with him.
What you've got to do
is just remember
you're stepping up to the
challenge, huh, big time.
This lamb steak is my first dish
designed for Morgan's
traditional menu.
Get some colour on there,
not quite.
We'll serve it for Sunday
lunch tomorrow.
And then finally gravy,
lamb sauce over the top.
Now, if anyone complains
paying 12.50 for a lamb steak,
it's clean, it's local,
it's fresh.
That for me oozes
value for money.
- It's just about going
back to basics.
Really simple dish, tasty,
easy to do.
He just wants me to succeed,
like.
(gentle music)
- Sunday isn't a day of rest
in the restaurant business.
There's lots of
money to be made.
Incredibly, Morgan's
was closed on Sundays,
but to test my new team
and my new menu,
I've decided to open for lunch.
It's Helen's day off,
so sensitive assistant
manager Laura is in charge.
Laura?
Or supposed to be.
Where in the fuck is everyone?
Today was her big chance
to impress me.
She says she's got a
business degree.
Laura?
So who's running it today?
- None of the managers are in,
none of our
so-called assistants.
- I'm not sure
whether Laura is in today.
- So who's leading it today?
Who's running the
fucking restaurant today?
- Basically Laura on
her own probably.
- Will she be in?
- It's a fucking joke.
What's worse is Laura's
responsibility
to sort out the reservations.
Where's the table
plan for today?
- [Emma] Laura must have it.
- We're just the chefs.
- My host Sandy hasn't
turned up either.
The fucking plot thickens.
- She was having pains in her
chest last night, so, yeah.
- This place needs a person
to come in in the morning,
open up, and fucking inspire
everyone, check on the kitchen,
work with the kitchen, table
plan, and give some oomph.
But it's like a freak
house here, you know that?
It's 12:45 and Laura's
still not here.
- [Laura] You've reached
Laura's phone.
If you'd like to leave a
message I'll call you back.
- Hi Laura, good
afternoon it's Gordon,
I'm in the restaurant.
I can't believe I'm
chasing the management
to come into work in
their own restaurant
on such a crucial day.
(gentle music)
I've been told Sandy's
at home resting.
Sandy?
(dog barks)
Sandy?
But she won't even answer.
Oh, fucking hell.
Sunday, bloody Sunday.
If you're not
prepared to face up
to the responsibilities of
running a fucking business,
then why open it in
the first place?
Pathetic, fucking pathetic.
Morning.
- Morning.
- Laura finally turns up
but no apology.
(sighs) One o'clock.
To cap it all she can't even
find her own table plan.
- Has anybody seen the
page out the book?
- No.
- Her first customers
are due in 20 minutes.
Two hours ago we were in the
same, you know, situation.
That's why I said we were
looking for it.
- [Laura] Oh, I'm sorry, Gordon.
- Now she's just being rude.
Laura?
Laura, come here a minute,
come here a minute.
Come here a minute.
- Is this because things ran
quite smoothly last night,
so it's like a ploy to
sort of mess things up?
- [Gordon] I'll run the fucking
show if you don't show me
some form of fucking
business study degree
that you've been fucking
harping on that you've got.
- I'm sorry, I just can't.
- Well, stop being so
fucking stupid.
Now you're blaming me for
the fucking reservation book?
Two hours ago when
you were in bed,
we were in here looking for
the fucking thing, it's gone.
Can we move on and try to get
some form or shape in
this restaurant?
Isn't that the most
sensible thing to do?
But let me just tell you,
what I've witnessed in
the last three hours here,
hello, you can shake your
head and run off again,
this time I don't give a fuck.
But don't dare blame me
for this chaotic mess.
- You don't have to be so rude.
- Laura, come here a minute.
- Right, I'm just gonna go.
- Oh, not again, not again.
Not again, bollocks,
unbelievable.
Hi, Helen.
I'm desperate for a
real manager.
I'm just concerned, Helen,
you know that.
I'm just like, fucking
staff have gone.
The two are in the kitchen.
Okay, thank you, bye-bye, bye.
(gentle music)
- Helen's on her way in,
but I have to run it
until she gets here.
- Emma, as soon as you've
served the starters,
come round and jump on
the main courses, yeah?
How are you, welcome,
good to see you.
How many, my darling?
- We're 12 in.
- Now we're up against it.
A birthday party for 12
have turned up unannounced.
Clear your space,
clear your area,
so you've got a nice clean,
yeah, area
to think and fucking work in,
yeah?
Welcome good to see you.
Been a bit of a manic morning
for a Sunday.
- Thank you.
- Just face the music and dance.
- [Gordon] At least
someone's happy.
- For what we're
about to receive,
may the great architect
of the universe
make us truly thankful,
amen.
- Amen.
- With Phil in the kitchen,
they might well need the
Almighty's help.
I hope to God he remembers
what I've taught him.
Er, vegetable soup?
Now I'm reduced to
waiting on tables.
It's how I started out.
The birthday man himself,
thank you.
You're allowed a second portion.
And the third vegetable soup?
- Oh, I knew there
would be something.
- [Gordon] What's wrong,
talk to me?
- [Phil] I forgot to
put the sauce on.
- Come on, come on, think,
concentrate,
concentrate, come on.
What I need in here is
for you to stay on top it,
you know that, yeah?
Yeah.
- Yeah?
Before you start sending
out a main course,
in your mind have a
little rehearsal.
Lamb, cabbage, potato, carrot,
sauce, just run it through,
and the more you test your
mind, you can't forget.
The cavalry has arrived at last,
Helen.
Am I happy to see you.
What I'm more pissed
with anything
is just that the most amazing
fucking potential lunch,
fully booked, waiting list for
lunch, and fucking, you know,
a golden opportunity going
down the drain, yeah?
However, you're here,
yeah, stabilise the ship.
- Thank you for all your
help this morning, then.
(gentle music)
- Come on, Phil, don't
forget what's in the oven.
- No, no, I know,
I know, I know.
- Yeah, and start organising
how you're gonna start dressing
nine main courses with Emma.
- Emma?
- Yes, Chef.
- Just another, please,
we need more plates.
- [Gordon] Phil's
concentration deserts him,
and he's making charcoal again.
Oh dear, look at that.
At least one chef here has
high standards.
Phil's sous chef Emma turns
out to be a dark horse.
She's quick, diligent
and passionate.
Her talents go beyond
sticky toffee pudding.
Phil can't cope without her.
- It's like home cooking,
isn't it?
It's like this has really kicked
everything into touch now.
It's beautiful.
(diners chatting and laughing)
- It means the world to me
to see it busy on a Sunday,
'cause it just wasn't,
and that's why I'm here
now, so that things go well,
and we take a lot of money,
and they'll be all
back next Sunday.
- I was right to put
Helen in charge.
We've just about got
away with it.
But with Sandy ignoring
me and Laura's strops,
it's not good enough.
You've got to understand
I'm feeling sick.
I arrived here this morning
and it was pandemonium.
So whilst I totally respect
you weren't feeling well,
I could still do with
your support.
- [Sandy] You have my support.
- We're drawing the line today
and we're moving forward.
It's not a lifestyle,
it's a business,
and we're gonna treat it
like a business.
I want you to let your
chef do his job.
And if he doesn't do
that job, get rid of him.
- What about my--
- Really sorry,
but if you don't
fucking act and cook
and run this place
like a head chef,
then don't expect to be here.
(gentle music)
I've been really struggling with
how to re-launch this
shambolic restaurant,
but I've had an idea,
to invite some local
celebrities and create a stir.
Around here, it's littered with
WAGs, actresses and actors.
Hollyoaks is filmed
round the corner,
and it's a perfect
opportunity to get
some really good publicity
for the restaurant.
So it's the neighbourhood,
and the minute anyone spots
anyone famous in there,
they all wanna descend upon
it, so that creates a buzz.
It's a race against
time for Phil.
He's got to master some
classic and healthy recipes
to lure those ladies who lunch.
Taste and tell me
what that needs.
- Salt.
- Salt, yeah, good.
Emma's the best thing
in the kitchen.
With her helping Phil, we may
succeed with the relaunch.
You are the second chef.
There's no reason why not
you can't run this place
down the line on his day off,
you know.
- Well, that's my intention.
- You're more than capable.
I really mean that.
And if you can be
that passionate
about a sticky toffee pudding,
fuck knows what you're
gonna be like
when you're let loose on
fucking meat or fish, huh?
For the relaunch, I've thought
of a new role for Sandy
to stop her meddling.
Why don't we, for the
first time ever,
in between courses start
auctioning off some of these
items?
- Oh, wow, I'm very
impressed with that.
- Yeah?
Selling antiques is what
she's good at,
and there's plenty around
to keep her occupied.
Just in between courses, yeah?
- It's a really,
seriously good idea.
- We can start moving
some of this stuff.
- Yeah.
The great thing is of all,
he's actually defined everyone's
role, and that's it now.
We're all gonna stick to it,
and life should be a lot better.
(gentle music)
- [Gordon] We're fully booked
for the relaunch today,
and I'm nervous.
I've staked my
reputation on Morgan's.
Key to my strategy is Phil's
ability to cook my new menu.
But I'm still not
convinced about him.
Right, chicken in, skin
side down first, olive oil.
Why not butter?
- Butter, butter will
burn on the pan, like.
- Yeah, mm-hmm.
He has to concentrate on
getting the basics right.
If you can just slow
down for me,
and fucking think a
little bit harder,
we're fucking 90% of the
way there, you know that?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, do not get distracted.
Excellent.
Morning.
- Morning.
- How are you?
- Fine thanks, Gordon.
- [Gordon] You can come
through, come through.
- What?
- Come through.
- Oh right, let me
put these down.
- Just going through two
or three dishes.
Chicken with lentils,
and then poached salmon
in an autumn broth,
and nice crispy skin.
- Mm, tasty, very tasty.
- You have got to realise
the potential here.
- Okay.
- 48 booked for tonight.
Normal restaurants are
struggling
to get fucking five in.
(gentle music)
It's time for a pep talk,
and my ragtag team
needs some help,
even from sensitive flowers.
Laura has finished sulking and
has decided to lend a hand.
- Laura, welcome back.
- Thank you.
- Concerned about
assistant manager, manager,
or just concerned about
running the place?
- Just concerned that the
place is running smoothly.
- [Gordon] Good.
- I still expected him
to roar, but for now,
I'm quite happy, I'm
quite stable.
He unsettles me. (laughs)
(gentle music)
- Fucking big night tonight,
yeah?
Could be something quite
major, don't fuck it.
When the shit hits the
fan, we stay united.
We've all got our jobs to
do with no interference.
No interference.
- I'm very happy, I'm very happy
(laughing) to take a back seat.
- [Gordon] The celebrities
have taken the bait.
First in are Hollyoaks stars
Sarah Dunn and Jennifer Biddall.
- Hey.
- [Gordon] The footballers'
wives have come too,
including Louise Owen,
Michael's wife.
And next in is Sheree Murphy.
Where WAGs hang out,
others will surely follow.
My strategy has paid off.
(diners chatting)
Good to see you.
Hungry?
- Starving.
- Yes, gonna eat desert as well?
- Yes.
- Yeah?
There's no skinny minnies here,
are there?
We've got proper foodies.
- [Helen] Okay, who doesn't
need to be behind the bar?
There's no one on the floor,
there's five people
behind the bar.
- [Gordon] Helen's
cracking the whip
and keeping Sandy and
the waitresses in line.
The new menu's going down well.
- Can I get the roast
chicken breast, please?
- Table seven, one risotto,
three chicken.
- [Gordon] But Phil
has a problem.
- [Helen] Laura, an
order's been taken,
you took it on table six,
and there's no check
in the kitchen
and nothing on the top there.
- [Gordon] An order has
gone missing.
and the customers are waiting.
- [Helen] They've been
waiting 20 minutes.
Can you go and sort it out,
please.
- Did you get a table six in?
- No.
- No, come on guys.
- It was the smoked haddock.
And smoked salmon for
me, and chicken and lamb.
- Starters out straight
away, please, Em, yeah?
It's not your fault, yeah,
one haddock, one salmon,
one chicken, one lamb, please,
Phil, yeah.
- [Emma] No problem.
- Try and push that
table forward.
- Yeah.
- Fucking hell,
a night like tonight,
d'you know what I mean?
Thank fuck the kitchen's
solid, that's all I'm saying.
(sighs) Oh God, two risottos,
yes?
- Yes.
- Good man.
Don't drop, yeah?
- No.
- [Gordon] Will Phil
keep his concentration
and cook my menu well enough
to impress Woolton's glitterati?
- This is doing my
fucking nut in.
It's very hard to keep
fucking concentration.
- [Gordon] Despite the cock up,
everyone seems happy.
(diners laughing)
I just hope the customers want
to bid for Sandy's antiques.
(diners cheering and clapping)
- Sandy may be clueless
about running restaurants,
but when it comes to selling
antiques, she's a natural.
- Mr. Ramsay, what are
you gonna start us off at?
20 pounds, right, somebody
will help you, 20 pounds.
(diners laughing)
20 pounds we're bid, 20.
- I was gonna say a fiver.
- 30 here.
(diners laughing)
Any advance on 40?
- 50 pounds.
- 50 pounds is bid.
- One risotto, three chicken.
(jaunty music)
- 70 over there, 80, 90.
100 pounds, that's your bid,
thank you.
(gavel bangs)
- [Helen] Dirty chef's
a happy chef.
- Like a pig in shit.
Let's go, we got table 10.
- 45, thank you, we're
selling at 45 pounds now.
- I'll get it, I'll get it.
- Ooh, 50 just in time.
- Ooh.
(diners laughing)
- [Auctioneer] 50 pounds, 50.
- [Gordon] The local celebrities
are flashing their cash,
but what do they
think of the food?
- It's very nice. (laughs)
- It's delicious, actually,
'cause it's a bit crispy
but it's also very
tender as well.
It's lovely, really, really
nice, I'm really impressed.
- I'd definitely
come back again.
- It's been somewhere that I've
never actually come along to
'cause I've heard good
and bad things about it,
but yeah, I'd
definitely come back.
- [Gordon] Phil's
cooked his heart out
and not burnt a thing.
- I feel more in control.
(laughing)
As he says that,
he's just fucking knocked
the salt over, fucking hell.
(Emma laughs)
What a twat.
- [Gordon] Emma's played a
vital role too.
- I just think it's
gone well today.
It's been a pleasure to
work today, actually.
- Selling at 65 pounds.
(gavel slams)
- [Gordon] Morgan's
is transformed.
Just a week ago it was in
chaos under dotty Sandy,
serving up tasteless
stodge from a supermarket.
(gavel slams)
- 140 pounds,
thank you very much indeed.
- Right, good, huh?
- That's what I do, it's like--
- Well, you're in your
element, for God's sake,
I've never seen you so
fucking happy.
(Sandy laughs)
How much have you taken
fucking selling antiques,
what did we sell?
- Five or 600 pounds.
- Five or 600 pounds.
- Fantastic.
- Sorry, in 15 minutes?
- Yeah.
- That's fucking good news.
Fucking hell.
(both laugh)
Tonight you found your role.
Don't take that the wrong way,
but that's what you're
good at doing.
- I agree with you.
- And you have been
the toughest nut
I've ever attempted to crack,
yeah?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
Dining room, I just
want you two to combine.
No one's in competition
with each other, you know,
you both have an amazing
fucking role, yeah?
The kitchen, solid.
I cannot tell you the
difference from tonight
in comparison to what
went on seven days ago.
It's extraordinary.
And the minute you
start changing it
and reverting back to the
old ways, you're fucked.
(upbeat music)
I'm back in Liverpool.
It's a month after I turned
failing bistro Morgan's
into a packed
neighbourhood restaurant.
But there's been a
shocking development.
Helen's told me that following
a row, she's let someone go.
I'm on the search for Phil.
He's left Morgan's and
he's set up camp here,
so dying to get hold of
him and find out
what the fuck's going on really.
Jesus, what the fuck are
you doing here?
How are you, mate?
- Hi mate, great, how are you?
- How are you?
- Sound, I'm sound, sound.
- Good to see you.
- Feeling sound.
- You're looking well.
- I feel well.
- [Gordon] What happened?
- She said that she's
had loads of complaints,
so my services were not
required no more.
There's not a lot I can
do about it now,
so I've moved on and I aim
to put my mark on here.
(Phil speaking faintly)
(gentle music)
- [Gordon] Without me there,
Phil's concentration went again.
But it's actually good news.
Now as a sous chef, he'll train
under an experienced head chef.
- Just trying to stay focused,
do what I'm supposed to do,
listen, and concentrate
more on my job.
I just feel less stressed.
Do you wanna take that, please?
- [Gordon] It's for the best
that Phil has left Morgan's,
- Going with the scallops.
- and I'm pleased for him.
I'm off to the restaurant
to find out the owner's
side of the story.
I'm worried about what's
happened to my menu
and just who's cooking it.
Slightly nervous because
it was a month ago,
fucking hard work,
and I came across an owner
that was totally clueless
when it came to
running a business.
Ladies.
- Hello.
- Hello, Gordon.
- How are you, darling, well?
- Fine, thank you.
- Good to see you.
Are you well?
- Hello, yeah.
- Nice to see you.
- How are you?
- Got that colour back
on your cheeks again.
How are you darling?
- Welcome back to the family.
Lovely to see you.
- You've been
in the hairdresser?
- Oh yes, of course.
- You're looking
immaculate as ever.
- Thank you very much,
that's lovely.
- Ah,
so who's in the kitchen?
Emma's still here, I hope?
- Emma's now--
- Emma's been--
- Emma is now our head chef.
- Is she?
- Emma has been, yes.
- That's fantastic news.
My biggest worry about Phil
was the level of his
concentration.
- We had to let him go.
- We thought that, you
know, where we wanna be,
and Emma was the next step,
and she's been there for
us and dedicated, and 100%
we've had from her, so.
- Yeah.
- Hello.
So Emma, the dark horse
of the kitchen,
has been rewarded for all
her hard work.
Have you taken the reins?
- Yeah, I've tried to.
- Good for you,
- I'm getting more confident.
I remember you saying to me,
"Come out of your corner,
you're like a little mouse."
yeah,
- Yeah.
- Everyone said to me,
"Oh, Emma's got very
authoritative in the kitchen."
- I'm pleased, I'm so pleased.
That means the whole place
is being run by females.
- By females.
- Which is working fucking well.
Well, I'm dying to eat,
I can't believe
how quiet this is.
- Can't wait to feed you.
- The beef looks fantastic out
there with the celeriac mash.
- The braised beef, yeah.
- [Gordon] And braised
with apricots?
- Definitely not.
- It's lovely, that sauce, now.
Head chefs are
predominantly male,
and it's just good that
I'm having a go,
and someone's given me
the chance to have a go.
I think it's up to me to
prove myself now.
- So last week we took
just under 4,000 pound.
- [Helen] Yeah.
- Helen's computerised
the accounts,
a big contrast to Sandy's chaos.
The week before I came here,
you barely hit 1,500 pound.
- We were losing, then
we broke even,
and now we're in profit,
and we have done for three
weeks, we've been in profit.
- You seem a lot more confident
than you did a month ago
in terms of your role defined.
- Yeah.
Well, people have sort
of had confidence in me,
which is, you know, the
first thing about,
you can portray what you wanna
do and put your foot down,
and people don't listen to you.
But once you've been
given a defined role
and people start
believing in you,
then it actually gives you
power and wings
to wanna fly and do
what you're doing.
(gentle music)
- It's great to see the
restaurant full.
And Emma is so tuned
into the menu
that she's even added a dish
of her own, braised beef.
Thank you.
Lovely, thank you.
Look how tender that beef is.
This is falling apart,
almost like it's
melting on your fork.
Mm, wow.
That's delicious. (laughs)
Fucking hell.
It's so upsetting,
you know that,
in comparison to the dinner
I had last time I was here,
you just cannot compare.
This is delicious.
Food was delicious.
- Great.
- Great.
- Really good.
Absolutely spot on.
- I wanted to impress you.
- Yeah, you certainly did that.
Don't stop, yeah.
- We won't.
- Goodnight.
- Goodnight.
- Ladies.
- Thank you.
- Not a man in sight, fuck me.
(all laughing)
- Not a man in sight is
just the way we like it.
Thank you.
- Not a man in sight,
just the way we like it.
(relaxed music)
- Would you like to
come through?
- [Gordon] The
ladies of Morgan's
are now making money
against all the odds.
Girl power has saved
this restaurant.
- Would you like to see
the wine list?
- I'm happy Morgan's
is now running
as a neighbourhood restaurant.
Helen's in control of
the business.
Emma clearly knows what the fuck
she's doing in the kitchen,
and she seems so much
more confident.
Happy customers, happy staff,
and the food was delicious.
Thank God for that.
Morgan's has got it right.
Thank fuck for that.
(dramatic music)