Kitchen Nightmares (2007–2014): Season 5, Episode 2 - Leone's - full transcript
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- [Gordon] This week
I'm in Paris,
but just as I
thought it was safe
to go back in the kitchen,
- Stop it.
Get out.
- Jesus XXX, what's the matter?
- Let go.
I've seen some bad
kitchens in my time,
but not quite as disorganised
and fucking chaotic as this.
I think you're a fake.
- Well, I'm just gonna leave.
(xxx laughing)
- Just Gordon Ramsay's
gonna fucking leave.
- You're lazy, you put
nothing into it
and you deserve a kick
up the fucking arse.
(knife whooshing)
(upbeat music)
Paris, France, capital
of the culinary world
and a city where I spent my
formative years as a chef.
Having lived here for
three years,
I'm just so happy to be
back in Paris.
The French are a nation
of meat lovers,
each eating an average of 90
kilos of the stuff every year.
A vegetarian
restaurant in Paris.
My God!
In the heart of The Marie,
one of Paris's premier
neighbourhoods
for gastronomic delights,
Piccolo Teatro, a tiny
vegetarian restaurant
run by Scot, Rachel McNelly,
is struggling to survive.
- It's nice to be your
own boss, if you like,
but it's also very stressful,
you know.
I think if the restaurant
was doing well
and it didn't have all
the debts that it had,
then I would probably be
sleeping a lot better.
- Millions of hungry
Parisians and tourists
flock past every day.
But only a few are
choosing to eat at Piccolo,
and those that do
wish they hadn't.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
Since Rachel took over
the business,
she's been losing nearly five
and a half grand every month.
The debts are spiralling
out of control
And if things don't pick up,
she'll be closed in
three months.
Piccolo Teatro, fuck me,
this is a first.
I spent 3 years working my
butt off in a Parisian kitchen,
and I know just how
tough it can be.
Hello.
- Hello.
- [Gordon] How are you?
- I'm well thank you,
nice to meet you.
- Nice to see you.
Likewise, good to see you too.
Now, how does a beautiful
Scot find herself
in the middle of Paris running
a vegetarian restaurant?
- [Rachel] How did I
end up in Paris?
- [Gordon] Yeah.
- A Frenchman originally.
- Oh, okay.
- Well, I'm vegetarian
for, since, I can remember,
so I was attracted to
this restaurant.
- Brilliant, I'm
dying to get in.
The quicker I can get in,
the quicker I can get out.
- Indeed.
- I'm joking.
Look at the size of it,
it's minute.
Rachel runs the place
with the help of her
best friend, Stephanie,
her only waitress.
You've been friends since four?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Amazing.
There are just two chefs,
commis chef Fiona only
works three mornings a week.
Daniel is the head chef
and resident philosopher.
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
- [Rachel] Daniel.
- aniel, (speaking in
foreign language).
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language).
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language).
Where is the kitchen?
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
Is this one from
Glasgow as well?
Where's he from?
- [Rachel] Brazil.
- He's Brazilian, okay.
What dish would you like
to recommend for lunch?
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language).
- Yeah, it's
absolutely delicious.
It's not on the menu
at the moment.
- Is this normal?
- [Rachel] Oh, yes.
- Yes.
Welcome to the madhouse.
So you've got a pistachio nut,
a walnut and now a
Brazilian nut.
Classic.
- And there was a couple
here the other day,
who had just got
engaged that day,
and they ordered the humus,
and they said it was the best
they'd ever had in their lives.
- That's amazing.
- So, you might want to try it.
I cannot believe I'm sat
here in the middle of Paris.
If my chefs, Monsieur Guy
Savoy and Joel Robuchon,
could see me now, they would
beat the crap out of me,
you know that?
To start, the famous
humus salad,
topped with raisins and
dried onions.
Get off there.
I love humus, but
that's disgusting.
So how would you
describe the food?
- Not particularly
spectacularly exceptional.
- Is this girl for real?
Fucking hell.
Next up, carrot gratin.
Which if done properly,
should have a gorgeous
bubbling cheese crust.
Okay, so that's the
gratin there?
- Yeah, bon appetite.
- Hoo, hoo-hoo!
Ugh!
It's almost a bit of an
insult to a vegetarian.
Fine, they don't eat meat,
but they deserve some
form of respect
in terms of cooking
vegetables properly.
Steph, have you got two
minutes please?
- [Steph] Okay.
- Yeah.
Time for this bunch of
jokers to face the music.
The joking and the fun and
the singing and all that crap,
that's fine when you've
got a success.
The food was shit.
It wasn't nearly there.
It was a mess.
- Most of the customers
that come here
do actually leave satisfied
and do enjoy the food.
- Okay, I'm deeply concerned,
because I've got to get him
in the right frame of mind,
and standing out being
a vegetarian restaurant
in the middle of Paris,
it's a fucking hard task.
- Okay.
- Thank you.
Bad food and bad attitude,
this is going to be tough.
(gentle music)
There's a lot riding
on Piccolo succeeding,
Rachel's got a young
son to support
and her dad has invested
at least 50,000 pounds
in the business.
She needs to spill the beans.
You haven't paid rent
since last October?
- Since October, 1,600 a month.
- Fuck me.
And the tax man's owed
10,000 euros.
There is a bank loan
which hasn't been paid,
for, about six months.
- It's going to take a
lot of hard work
to pull Piccolo back
from the brink.
And, seriously, how badly do
you want to save the business?
- Badly, yeah, absolutely, yeah.
Of course I do, I don't have
anything else here, you know,
it's my life, it's
my livelihood.
Piccolo clearly needs a
massive shake-up,
but before I make any changes,
I need to see how Daniel
runs the kitchen.
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
It's Saturday night,
but at 7:00 p.m., with the
first table already seated,
Rachel seems agitated.
- He's not ready,
and there's hardly
anything on the menu, so--
- He's not ready?
- If you'd like to do
some cooking yourself.
- What's he been doing
for the last three hours,
that's what I want to know?
- Oh, he's pretty chilled out,
that's just the way he is.
- Daniel's first order
is for two garden salads.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
(upbeat music)
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
Almost 20 minutes later,
he's still fiddling
with the salads.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
Is this how he
normally functions?
- I would say so.
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
- This is a joke.
I've never seen anything
like this, Rachel.
- I've not seen
anything like this.
- This Brazilian nut has
lost his marbles.
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
It's burning.
(Gordon speaking in foreign
language) It's burnt.
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
Rache, there's a pan
here burning.
I'm trying to change
the pan for him
and he's just telling
me to leave it there.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
What's the matter with him?
Less, less, less, less, less.
(Rachel and Daniel speaking
in foreign language)
There are now eight
people in the restaurant
and barely anyone is
getting served.
I mean, I've seen some
bad kitchens in my time,
but not quite as disorganised
and fucking chaotic as this.
Daniel is clearly hard to
handle, but Rachel is the boss.
- [Gordon] Are you alright?
- No, I'm not alright, I'm
really fucking pissed off.
In three fucking hours
he could have made a
fucking dish or two,
and he's fucking doing
it on purpose.
He should be fucking ashamed,
I'm ashamed.
I'm fucking ashamed to go and
see any fucking customers.
- This guy's killing
your business.
This is so sad, you know that?
- Well, he needs to get
his fucking act in gear
and he needs to do something,
'cause we're gonna
fucking fall out big time.
Anyway, I'm going inside
to see what's going on.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
- Daniel's lack of
respect is disgusting.
Get him out, send him home
and fucking, you know,
salvage something.
Get some money in the till.
This is happening now,
and apparently it happened
last weekend as well.
The guy's a joke.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
Why is he talking to
the customers?
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
We've asked nicely.
Where are the heavies
when you need them?
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
Let's go, come on.
Come on there, Daniel, please,
let's go.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
Careful, careful.
Let go.
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
What's the matter?
Let go.
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
- Well, it wasn't a very
good experience.
- It was entertaining.
- It was entertaining.
- Highly entertaining.
- It was dinner theatre,
with the plates crashing
around in the background,
and our food wasn't very
good, to put it politely.
The couscous was crunchy,
the tart was completely
burnt to a crisp.
- Burnt, quite burnt.
- It looks like I'm going
to have to take Daniel
to the nut-house myself.
(Daniel laughing)
- He is very hard to control
and that is a problem.
A fucking shame on a Saturday
night, what a fucking mess.
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
- He's still here.
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
- Fuck me.
Fuck me.
Let's start again.
We could not have
continued with that.
- We can't, and I can't take
him back now after that,
because that's just
totally unexpected,
it's completely
disrespectful to me.
- How much did we take?
- 150 euros, fucking disaster.
- You may have lost your chef,
but, fuck me, you've got
your restaurant back.
(upbeat music)
I spent 3 years working
in Paris in my early 20s,
so coming back should have
been a dream come true.
But last night, vegetarian
restaurant Piccolo Teatro
hit rock bottom.
How are we?
I've called a crisis meeting
with the remaining staff.
- [Rachel] We're alright.
- Good, Fiona.
- Yeah?
- Enchante.
- Enchante.
- How are you today?
- Fine.
- Good.
And you are the daytime cook?
- Morning chef, yeah.
- Excellent.
Fiona can't work evenings,
so Rachel is on the lookout
for a new head chef.
In the meantime, I'll
need Stephanie to help out
in the kitchen during service.
What I'm trying to say to you,
is when you see how easy
it is, you'll be amazed.
- I can help for a wee while.
- A wee while.
Cooking at this level
doesn't have to be difficult,
any of us could do it.
I've only got four days
to turn things around,
so there needs to be a big
change in attitude round here.
I know it's nice to have a
little sort of cosy restaurant
in the middle of The Marie,
but we've got to start thinking
about some form of discipline.
- [Rachel] Yeah, I think
Daniel is exceptional, and--
- Can I just say one thing,
it's very complicated
working for a friend,
it's very complicated for her,
and it's very
complicated for me.
- Friendship, whatever, it's
got nothing to do with it,
it's a business first.
- [Steph] Yes.
- And the quicker we start
getting our minds round
turning it into a business
everything else follows suit.
But before we do anything,
and I mean seriously
before we do anything,
this place needs a good
fucking clean.
- Clean, yeah.
- Yeah.
(gentle music)
Rachel opens for
lunch at weekends,
but there's no way we
can serve lunch today.
Where do you start?
Fucking hell.
With the fucking pigeon food.
Nice, nice.
Oh, fucking hell, what is that?
- Carrot lasagna.
- Carrot lasagna?
- Yeah.
- Fuck me.
Watch out, there's a
lasagna coming,
don't touch it, it bites.
Steph.
- This is food which
Gordon wants to throw out,
which once it's had a wash
it'll be perfectly fine.
- And you can see why
I don't want you to eat
anything from the fridge.
- [Rachel] It's got
cinnamon in it,
I don't, there--
- It's off.
- I know it's off.
- Yeah, I know.
- When was the last time
that was cleaned?
It's a blessing in disguise
that meat hasn't been
cooked in this kitchen.
Fucking hell.
With hygiene standards this low,
they would have been
wheeling out the customers
by the coffin load.
That's food in there, no?
- No, ugh!
- No?
Why the fuck would anyone,
look at the flies up there.
Rachel used to be the
waitress here,
and what's crystal clear
is that she's still
acting like one.
Fucking hell.
You've got to take
responsibility,
this is your money here, huh?
Rotten and fresh food
stored together,
none of this is safe to eat.
- [Producer] Why have you
let it get into this state?
- Dunno, no, (laughs) I'm
gonna start cleaning again.
(gentle music)
- Now I've got to work
out how on earth
do you make a vegetarian
restaurant in Paris successful?
Fewer than 2% of the French
population are vegetarian,
but 27 million tourists
flock to Paris every year,
surely some of them are veggies?
Are you a vegetarian?
- (speaking in foreign
language) No, no, no, no.
I like meat. (laughs)
- You like meat?
Have you ever been to a
vegetarian restaurant?
- No.
- No.
- (laughs) No.
- Are you vegetarians?
- [Together] No.
- Finding a vegetarian in Paris,
is like looking for a
needle in a haystack.
Are you vegetarians?
- No.
- Why not?
- Because I like meat.
- Are you vegetarian?
- Yes, I eat some fish,
but I'm vegetarian.
- The only way Piccolo
will survive,
is by serving veggie food
that even meat eaters will love.
All good food comes
out of a small kitchen.
It's time to get started
on Piccolo's drop-dead
delicious new menu.
Until Rachel finds a
new head chef,
I'm relying on part
time commis chef, Fiona.
Kidney beans in first, yeah?
Beans in.
A rich, spicy two bean chilli
should have the veggies and
carnivores chomping at the bit.
Keep it all nice and fresh.
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
Summertime, exactly.
Lovely, yeah?
There's also a very cheesy
tomato and aubergine gratin
to replace that tasteless
slop I was served yesterday.
Seasoning is really
important, you know that?
- [Fiona] I never put
salt in my--
- You never put salt in
your cooking?
- No.
- Never?
- [Fiona] Not never.
- [Gordon] Okay.
- But I'm vegetarian French.
- Vegetarian French, you
can still season things,
I know their food is
bland in general,
but you can still season it,
yes?
Hmm, look at that, look,
hmm, salt, ooh, salt.
I'm gonna, salt, oooh, salt.
- (laughing) Okay, I'll use it.
- Ooh, and in England
we go like this,
it brings you good luck, yes?
- [Fion] (laughing) Yes.
- So now every day I want
you to put salt.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Fiona's worked a few
extra hours today
and it's that sort of
commitment this business needs.
5:30, go and pick up
your daughter.
- Okay.
- Merci, huh?
- Thank you.
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
(Fiona speaking in
foreign language)
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
- A very good day. I'm happy.
Stephanie has agreed to
cook tonight.
But at 6 o'clock neither
she nor Rachel
are anywhere to be seen.
If they think I'm their new
head chef, they can go spin.
Earlier Rachel went off
to feed her pregnant cats,
Stephanie had to go and sleep
because she wasn't
feeling very well,
and, look, we're an hour
away from opening
and there's not one fucker
in here, bar myself.
So, yeah, if you're going
to open a restaurant,
fucking don't play at it,
work at it.
(gentle music)
- [Rachel] No sign of Steph yet?
- [Gordon] No, do you want
to call her or?
- I will call her, yeah,
I just sort of expected
she would have been back.
I'll give her a ring.
No kittens yet.
- [Gordon] Rachel's up
to her neck in debt,
the business is on its knees
and yet it all seems a
big joke to her.
- Right, try and hurry up, okay?
Okay.
- I'm starting to feel
like they're taking the
mickey out of me.
I need to know, you know,
are you seriously interested
in turning this around?
I don't get the feeling
and I'm just, like,
what the fuck am I doing
here, busting my arse off
in your establishment to
help turn this around?
You went home and you
said this morning
you'd be back at 3:30.
- I had to go feed my cat
who's about to give birth.
I had no choice, and I
had to have a shower.
- I thought we were going
to be doing some stuff
in the kitchen together,
so that you didn't get--
- [Steph] No, nobody
said anything about that.
- Right.
- [Fiona] You said you'd be
back soon, but never mind.
- Okay, are we gonna get
serious or, because, you know,
shall I tell you how I feel?
I'd rather fuck off home.
That's how I feel.
Because I don't feel
any form of commitment.
- I think it's an incredibly
admirable enterprise
what you're doing, and I think
Rachel's totally committed.
- Stop, stop, stop, stop,
stop, stop, stop, come on.
Let's get a little bit
real than that, let's--
- [Steph] Look, I'm committed
to her but I'm not, you know,
- I just don't get it with you.
- [Steph] I mean, I
want things to be right.
- I think you're a fake.
I don't, I don't get
any fucking,
I'm not asking you to lay down
a red carpet or kiss my arse,
I just, I want commitment and
I don't feel that, that's all.
- No, well, you're not
gonna get that
if you tell people
they're a fake.
- [Gordon] Well, you've
just arrived.
- Yes, and I'm just gonna leave.
I'm really committed to Rachel,
but I just refuse to be
harassed and insulted.
- Harassed, insulted?
- [Steph] Yes.
- Incredible.
Harassed and insulted, fuck me,
take a good look at yourself.
- [Steph] Thank you.
- It's really unfair,
I've got lots of
fucking work tonight,
and you leave me in the
fucking lurch.
- Yeah, but I can't work
because he's arrived here.
- Right, well,
fucking leave then.
- Fuck it.
Bye bye.
- [Rachel] Cheers, Steph,
nice one.
- Sorry.
- [Rachel] Fucking hell, man.
- We're now down to one
member of staff.
(gentle music)
And I just don't know
if she's committed to
saving her business.
I've never worked with such
fucking limpets in all my life.
I've had enough,
Rachel can sort out this
staff crisis herself.
- Yeah, Gordon Ramsay's
gonna fucking leave,
mad panic trying to find
somebody to work,
with about 10 fucking
minutes to go,
so I just went to the
Scottish pub,
and they said to come over here,
and one of the girls in
there phoned somebody
and I've found somebody.
So she's coming in 10 minutes,
she's going to be in the
restaurant in 10 minutes.
I think I've just been in
so many crises
that I'm just starting to get
sort of less stressed about it,
you know.
- [Gordon] Leaving Rachel alone
is the best thing I
could have done.
- Gosh, there's no much
in the fridges.
There's some salad.
- [Gordon] She's found
a temporary waitress
and has decided to go
into the kitchen herself.
- Okay, so I'm actually
going to be in the kitchen,
because, normally my friend's
supposed to be in the kitchen,
and she's walked out, so.
Ooh!
- [Gordon] That's pretty good.
- Hello.
- Okay, so who's doing
the dining room?
- I've found a waitress
to come and--
- Okay, so what will you do--
- So, I'm gonna be in here.
(upbeat music)
- I'm giving Rachel
one last chance
to prove she really wants
to save this restaurant.
Yeah?
Tart's in the oven.
So you get the plate out
and put the salad on there.
Thankfully these new
dishes are foolproof.
The chilli's ready to go.
- So that's the gratin and
the chilli for table five.
- [Gordon] And the gratins
simply need heating up.
The first of Piccolo's
new hearty dishes
are already hitting the spot.
- I love vegetarian food.
(laughs)
- And about four minutes
now for the main course.
- [Rachel] Don't forget to
give them some bread, yeah?
- On table eight.
- Dad, can I phone you back?
Oh, right, oh, cool.
What, and they're coming
to do some work?
Oh, magic, okay.
- Rachel's dad has a
financial stake in Piccolo
and has been looking for
a new head chef.
- Speak to you later, bye.
Ooh, my dad's coming over with
somebody and she's a chef,
so she's coming over
tomorrow with my dad
for, I don't know if she's
coming over for how long,
but it's gonna help out
anyway, for the time-being.
Oh, that's good news.
- Rachel has just been
thrown a lifeline.
Fucking hell, what a night.
It started off as a disaster,
I felt at 6:30 this afternoon
that I really wanted to
get the fuck out of here,
to be honest.
No substance, no commitment,
and two sort of dizzies playing
at running a restaurant, so.
Stephanie fucked off,
and her attitude stinks,
and Rachel's finally woken up.
I'm glad she's started to sweat,
because that's what it's
like running a restaurant,
and if she really wants
this to succeed,
then get used to working like
this, because it's a business.
Got this phenomenal possibility
of a great success here,
but it needs a commitment,
and that doesn't mean a
commitment from a waitress,
it means a commitment
from a boss,
somebody who's
running the place,
so, you know, you proved
tonight that you can do it,
so fucking well done, okay?
- Cheers.
- Now things are
finally looking up,
it's time to deal with one
of Rachel's biggest mistakes,
not opening for weekday lunch.
(upbeat music)
Hoards of hungry tourists
swarm to The Marie
looking for a quick,
cheap lunch,
and many head for the snack bar
at the end of Rachel's street.
She should be working hard
to grab a slice of the action
but doesn't think it's worth it.
We opened at lunch time
for about a month
and it was a complete
waste of time, really.
There was just nobody here,
there was no customers,
we had maybe two,
three sometimes,
paying someone in the
kitchen, someone in the thing,
then because you're doing
a starter and main course
there's a lot of washing up.
(laughs)
- Let's go get some business.
I'll prove that by offering
a quick, good value lunch
Rachel could earn some
much needed cash.
Madam, madam, madam.
Madam, madam, madam.
(speaking in foreign language)
But I know this stubborn Scot
will take some convincing.
So unbeknownst to her,
I'll be opening the
restaurant for lunch myself.
Always dreamt of having my
own restaurant in Paris,
and finally it's here.
Chez Moi a Paris.
Unfortunately it's a fucking
vegetarian restaurant,
so, yeah, soup and a roll, fuck.
(upbeat music)
If the soup's good they'll
be back for dinner.
They've all sat down at the
same time, now I'm in the shit.
There's roasted vine tomato
soup with cheese on toast
for a bargain price
of six euros,
and you don't have to
be veggie to enjoy that.
Service, fuck, it's me again.
Lovely.
Beautifully roasted
this morning.
Two, four, six, eight, 10,
bingo, bingo.
Rachel'd better appreciate this,
I don't even work this
hard in my own restaurant.
Coming up, four.
- Serve the other people first.
- Right, very kind, thank you.
(speaking in foreign language)
Did you leave a tip, by the way?
- Oh, there's a little
something extra.
- [Gordon] Okay, good man,
good man.
Excellent.
Right, six soups, yes?
Not opening for lunch
in such a prime location
is either madness or laziness.
- This soup was the best
soup we've ever had.
- It was really, really yummy.
- This was fabulous for
us, in terms of price.
- Twenty past two, I
feel like a pig in shit.
Fucking marvellous.
Now all I've got to do
is show Rachel
what her laziness is
costing her.
Morning.
- Hello.
- [Gordon] How are
you my darling?
- I'm alright, I'm a bit tired,
'cause my cat gave
birth in the night.
- That's fantastic.
- So I was awake
looking after her.
- How many cats have you got?
- There's only two, luckily.
- A wee bowl of soup?
If someone opened my
restaurant without telling me,
believe me, I'd
notice immediately.
Good.
- Did you make this soup?
- I did make this soup, yeah.
I've had a fucking busy morning.
- [Rachel] What have
you been up to?
- Did you not see the
sign outside?
- [Rachel] No.
- [Gordon] No?
- Aah!
- That one there.
I don't know what we've taken,
and I'm not fucking around
by any means, but for me--
- Did you take all that
this morning?
- On six euros a head,
I swear to God,
I am not fucking around, and--
- I don't know why I
believe you.
- [Gordon] Help me count it.
- I'm just not quite sure
I believe you actually,
but anyway, okay,
I think at six euros that's
an awful lot of people
that you've served soup
for this morning.
- Oh, fuck me, was I the chef.
I swear to God, they
were standing up there,
and there was a queue,
and they were coming in
and coming out.
I cooked and I
served on my jack.
Right, 200 and--
- [Rachel] 300.
- That's 430.
Clearly, money talks.
Seriously, as an eye-opener,
it worked, 450 euros.
- I am absolutely fucking
astonished really.
It's really exciting, if
we could do that every day
then the whole business
could turn around,
just from lunch time alone.
(upbeat music)
- [Gordon] I'm nearing the
end of my week in Paris,
where I'm trying to save
vegetarian restaurant
Piccolo Teatro and rescue
a damsel in distress.
- Soon as you don't
have the support
of all your family and
different friends
and, you know, quite often I
will phone my mum or my dad
and be, aww, down the phone,
you know.
- [Gordon] It's been
disaster after disaster.
- [Rachel] Cheers, Steph,
nice one.
- Sorry.
- [Rachel] Fucking hell, man.
But the cavalry has
just strolled into town.
Hearing of Rachel's crisis,
her father, Brian, who
has invested in Piccolo,
has flown in from Scotland,
bringing 22 year old chef,
India.
Sorry, first name, excuse me?
- Brian.
- Brian, nice to see you,
welcome.
Am I pleased to see you.
- And this is India.
This is India, my daughter.
- How are you, my darling?
- Pleased to meet you.
- From where?
- Edinburgh.
- Edinburgh, lovely.
- India's gonna be your
right-hand man.
- I can't wait.
- Or something.
- [Gordon] We need it.
- I've got to go back
to the hotel,
pick up my whites and
get back in here.
- [Gordon] I like Brian already,
and I need to bring
him up to speed.
- Look, soup with the cheese
on toast for six euros.
- And you took 400 euro?
- But at 450 euros we've
had about 90 people in here.
- Really?
- Six euros.
- [Brian] Why would you
disbelieve him?
- Quite fucking incredible.
- Well, it just shows you
what you're doing wrong.
- Exactly.
I'll be more
enthusiastic and motivated
if there's money coming in.
- What do you think's
wrong with the business?
- Well, I think a bit more
has to be put into it,
a bit more commitment
from Rachel.
I think her weaknesses
are running a business.
- Now, just take charge.
- Good, and you're
going to be here
for the next three months,
right?
(Gordon and Brian laughing)
Thank God for Brian.
Now all I hope is that
India's got what it takes.
- And I'll be leaving my work,
my family,
first time abroad on my
own, it'll be very hard,
but I'm sure I'll do good
and I'll produce good food.
(upbeat music)
- I know Paris is an exciting
place for a young chef,
I was the same age as India
when I came to live here.
And there it is there,
83 Rue de la Roquette,
20-meter squared flat,
absolutely minute.
It's amazing, I used to sit
there with the windows open
and just have this amazing
baguette, yeah, cafe creme,
and just sit there and
think about recipes, ideas,
and then walk up and
down the street,
go inside boulangerie,
patisseries
and then come up with
dessert ideas,
run back and start
writing them down.
Paris is an inspiring city.
I want to start India
off on the right foot
by showing her the incredible
produce she'll be using
if she stays here.
(speaking in foreign language)
(grocer speaking in
foreign language)
This is beautiful stuff.
The quicker India learns
French, the better.
(India and Gordon speaking
in foreign language)
That's fantastic.
Voila, merci.
The color's amazing, (speaking
in foreign language) huh?
(Grocer speaking in
foreign language)
Beautiful.
- Yeah, absolutely beautiful.
- Flavour, look and
the colour of them, uh?
If India's as enthusiastic
in the kitchen,
there may be hope for
Piccolo yet.
- [India] I'm your best friend,
merci.
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
- Excellent, off you go.
Some exciting stuff there, no?
- Quite amazing.
- Huh?
Lovely, and your French
sounded fantastic.
- [India] Ah, thank you.
- Back at Piccolo,
Brian's pep talk
seemed to have done the trick,
Rachel has arrived early.
Tonight's India's first service,
so I'm going to be on hand
to help out if she needs me.
How old were you when you
first started cooking?
- 15.
- [Gordon] 15, really?
- Well, no, sorry, 15
when I was a KP,
and then just turned 16
and they were like, get in.
- [Gordon] Really?
That's good, that's very good.
- Yeah.
- Mushrooms, okay?
A little bit of seasoning.
I've added a new hot starter,
a classic on any bistro menu.
Pan fried wild mushrooms
on hot buttered brioche.
A little bit of parsley
in there, okay,
and just let them all
sort of cascade.
Now, have a little taste
of the geroles.
Full of flavour.
India in the kitchen for the
first time, work as a team.
Now, if you guys aren't talking,
yeah,
she won't know what's going on,
and you won't have any
clue what's going on.
We're just going to start off
a brand new relationship, yeah?
Thank fuck you're here.
- Yeah.
- I was 22 when I came to
Paris for the first time,
you know that?
And I was absolutely
shitting myself.
- I'm shitting myself too.
(laughs)
- Yeah, good, that's a
healthy sign, yeah?
India's got seven years
experience as an assistant chef,
but tonight I want to see
whether she's got the ability
to take charge of this kitchen.
We'll organise the tickets
from left to right,
and as we send the starters,
we'll just put a little
criss-cross off there.
- Okay.
- For the main course,
you have aubergine, mozzarella
and tomatoes in basil.
- So, no, you tell me,
what are you going to do?
- Two soup and a tart.
- Good.
What was I concerned about?
This kitchen's never known
such speed and efficiency.
(customers chattering)
- [Rachel] Can I get a
mousse and a tarte Tatin?
- And where's the ticket,
please?
It would be a lot easier if
we'd got a ticket for a dessert.
- Okay, I'm on it.
- [Gordon] Right now the
only weak link in this team
is the boss.
- [Rachel] Okay, the mushrooms.
- [Gordon] I want to
make damn sure
she knows how lucky she is.
What's the difference
between her and Daniel?
Just go back four nights ago.
Seriously, no, but in terms of
he couldn't get a salad out.
This is being real now.
This is, you know, you've
got a fucking gem in there.
- No, no, no, absolutely.
- Absolute gem.
Now the kitchen's in safe hands,
I want Rachel to realise
that to make money,
Piccolo's vegetarian food
needs to have mass appeal.
(upbeat music)
Paris screams sex, glamour,
indulgence and hedonism,
everything that vegetarian
food isn't but needs to be.
(upbeat music)
Chin chin!
- Hey!
- To Piccolo.
- Cheers.
(all laughing)
- There's too many titties.
- I brought you here tonight
to sort of confirm that Paris
is about sexiness, indulgence,
lots of cream, lots of
butter and they flaunt it,
- Lots of cream,
butter and cheese
in my restaurant would be--
- History, history.
- I want everyone to
come in and say,
"Ooh, quel bon suprise!"
- [Gordon] Okay, good.
- I had a yummy dinner tonight
and I'm not veggie
and I loved it.
- Thank you.
Tomorrow we're going
out on the street
and we're going to make your
restaurant fucking sexy.
(singing in foreign language)
Last night Rachel got
excited about food.
Maybe we're finally on
the same wavelength.
This afternoon we're going out
on the streets of gay Paris,
armed with tempting tarts,
on a mission to
convince everyone
that vegetarian food
has changed.
The objective today, taking
boring, bland vegetarian food
to something sexy, vibrant
and a pure indulgence.
While India fills the
savoury tarts
with a tasty herb goats cheese,
Commis chef Fiona and
I are making
a very naughty chocolate
mousse to fill the sweet ones.
That would give any French
tart a run for its money.
Don't worry about the calories,
okay?
Yeah?
Bedtime, yes?
(Fiona laughing)
(upbeat music)
Brian, you're doing a grand job.
Vegetarian food is no
longer boring.
Lovely.
Hmm, hmm.
- That's lovely.
- It's time to put Piccolo on
the gastronomic map of Paris.
(upbeat music)
To make sure no one can miss us,
we've enlisted the help of a
few of Paris's finest tarts.
Are you a vegetarian tart?
Help yourself please.
Gracias, gracias.
I love vegetarian tarts.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
Vegetarian.
If the enthusiasm of these
punters is anything to go by,
it's going to be busy
for tonight's launch.
- Absolutely delicious.
- [Gordon] Piccolo's future
looks so much rosier,
but it depends on whether
India is ready
to trade her settled
life in Edinburgh
for this head chef's
job in Paris.
- I've spoken to Rachel,
I'll take the position
as long as she--
- That's great news.
- Gets her finger out her arse.
And starts working hard
and in there on time.
As soon as you go away,
it better not,
- No, no.
- Keep it up.
- You've got to stand
strong on that.
- Yeah, yeah.
- And you're 10 years
younger than the owner.
But you're 10 years more mature.
And don't fall in love.
- No, I won't, fuck 'em.
(laughs)
I'm too busy. (laughs)
- Exactly.
I want to make sure Brian's
going to keep the pressure on,
as I'm still worried
about Rachel's attitude.
They're going to have to
seriously run it as a business
and make money, which they've
got every chance of doing.
- I hope finally she
gets the message.
- But you need to make sure
that she stays
disciplined on it.
That's one big ask from you,
that she has to discipline.
- Well, all I can do is try.
I can only do so much,
anyone like yourself,
or anyone who she may listen
to for advice, business advice,
can only do so much,
it's down to her.
- [Gordon] Thank you.
(upbeat music)
In just a few hours
we're launching Piccolo's
new sexy vegetarian menu,
and India's decided to
add one of her own dishes.
- I've got beetroot and
goats cheese mixed salad,
and the dressing is chive,
basil and olive oil.
- [Gordon] So we can do
that as a starter?
- [Rachel] Yeah,
that looks nice.
- [Gordon] Would you
like a taste?
That's lovely.
Nice.
- Lovely.
- All the dishes on the new menu
are indulgent, rich and filling,
like this toffee
apple tarte Tatin.
So, when we cut
through the apples,
it's got this really
nice dark caramel, yeah?
And creamy pea and
courgette cheese tart.
- [India] Beautiful.
- The goats cheese is lovely.
Little blocks like that,
as it cooks it just
melts across there.
After all the disasters,
tonight's launch needs to mark
a new beginning for Piccolo
and for Rachel.
You are the boss and
what you say goes,
and they're all going
to follow suit.
If they see you not
giving a fig,
and you over-relaxed and
over-comfortable,
everybody else does it,
and you've got such an
amazing chance here.
- I need to, to lead
more as a boss.
And if anyone that I'm employing
is not going to listen to me,
then they can fuck off,
basically.
- New menu, new chef,
new attitude.
(upbeat music)
- Six.
- Six?
I like that,
Rachel's talking the talk,
but at opening time she's
still not ready.
Right, ready to open
the doors up?
- I need some bread first.
- [Gordon] Who's going to
get the bread?
- Gordon.
- [Gordon] Where the fuck
am I going to get bread
at this time of night?
- It'll be fine.
I'm chilled, I'm chilled.
- Yeah.
You're always chilled, what
are you talking about? (laughs)
- [Gordon] Rachel's also
left it to the last minute
to get an extra waitress.
- Okay, bye bye, bye.
- [India] Is that Laura?
- She's going to see a show,
she can't.
Oh, fuck.
- Her constant careless
and unprofessional attitude
is really depressing me.
How about thank you,
you miserable wee bitch?
That's right, with a
capital fucking B.
And may we have a ticket
for the dessert tonight please,
chef?
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
No ticket, no food.
Our tarts have
worked their magic
and the restaurant is
filling up quickly.
(upbeat music)
- Right, all at the same
time you've got one tart,
one gratin and one salad,
- Piccolo's new menu is
a million miles
from the bland, brown
slop they were serving
just a few days ago.
So, think with me, two
tarts in the oven, okay?
- Okay.
- If we both think about
them we don't forget them.
- Okay.
- [Gordon] There's
also a beautiful
creamy chilled melon soup,
and India's beetroot
salad is an instant hit.
- I like a bit of beet.
- [Gordon] I like that salad,
by the way.
- [India] It's nice
and fresh and--
- [Gordon] Yeah, it's delicious.
- I have a feeling you
all have better than me.
Hmm.
- So what tables are ready,
four and?
Just four?
- Seven.
- Seven?
- [Gordon] The only problem is
the rather charmless service.
- You can put it anywhere.
- Right, okay.
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
That means move your arse.
- Thank you very much.
- [Gordon] At least the food
is keeping everyone happy.
Make sure they save
room for dessert.
- The entrees were beautiful.
- Yeah.
- The mushroom thing was
just spectacular.
- I always thought vegetarian
food was bland, boring,
but obviously it's not.
It's beautiful,
absolutely beautiful.
- Vegetarian cooking
has changed.
Rabbit food is out,
sexy, indulgent,
vegetarian cuisine is in.
Yeah, nice, yeah?
Tonight proves that
Piccolo has the potential
to be a success,
but I'm still very
worried about the future.
I'm not a hundred
percent convinced
that Rachel has the right
attitude to run a business,
and if this doesn't work
and she doesn't make
money in this place,
unfortunately she's only
got herself to blame.
Because it's all here.
Right, listen, don't
let me down.
- Okay.
- And so far, yeah, you've
done a fucking good job.
You know that, keep it up.
Stay nice and calm.
And work hard.
Yeah?
And I know damn well you
can do it, okay?
Keep in touch.
- Okay, I will.
- Yeah?
Best of British.
See you later.
Well done, eh?
Good luck.
- Thank you, thank you so much,
thank you.
- Thank fuck you're here.
Remember that.
- Okay.
- Now make it yours, yes?
- Thank you.
- By the end of the night,
Piccolo's took a record
breaking 1000 euros,
10 times more than the
first night I arrived.
You're not the head waitress,
you're the boss, okay?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
Right, goodbye.
- Okay, see ya.
- I'll see you soon, and
good luck, yes?
- Thanks very much
for helping us.
- Okay, keep it going.
- Cool, cool.
- If not I'll come
back and run it.
I'd love to have my own
restaurant
in Paris, you know that?
Good luck.
- Cool, thanks a lot.
- See you soon, yes?
- Cheers, thanks.
- Take care.
- Everything about
the restaurant,
I think is going to change
thanks to this experience,
so really, really pleased.
- There's just one last
thing I've been dying to do
before I leave Paris.
Fucking hell, have I missed you.
Ah!
Hmm.
Fucking hell.
Aah!
(gentle music)
I'm back in Paris and
there's bad news.
Piccolo Teatro has
closed for good.
When I left six weeks ago,
the place had huge potential,
a great new menu and a talented
young chef in the kitchen.
What a shame.
I want to know why it all
went so wrong.
And the first person I've
arranged to meet is India.
Nice to see you.
- Nice to see you.
- What a shame that
we're meeting here.
- Yeah.
- I was hoping to be
back in The Marie.
- Me too, me too.
- Seeing you in the kitchen.
Mm-hm.
- Damn, what happened?
You had to go home, pick
up your stuff, et cetera?
- Yeah, I arrived back in Paris,
it was a shambles,
complete shambles.
It was a mess, there was flies,
mice--
- [Gordon] What, when
you came back?
- Yeah, took me, like, four
days to clean the restaurant.
- But where was Rachel?
- She wasn't there.
It was me and her father.
We opened up and we done a
lunch service--
- You opened up without her?
- Yup, I made a
beautiful menu up,
I done all your dishes and
added some more dishes on,
and we done a great
lunch service,
but then Brian just says, no,
that's it, I've had enough.
- What a shame.
- I'm so sad not to be
here, I love it so much.
And I love the food.
It's a shame.
- Rachel's laziness
has cost India her job.
I want to make sure her
career doesn't suffer.
Let's look at getting you some
work experience in London.
If she's not going to, you
know, take full advantage
of your level of excitement
then, fuck it, I will.
- Okay.
- Okay?
(gentle music)
I just can't believe
how irresponsible and
selfish Rachel's been.
She's agreed to meet me today
and I want to hear what
she's got to say for herself.
- Excuse me.
- Yeah, where's madam?
- Not coming.
- Oh, come on.
Surely she can face the music
and at least have a word.
- I've asked her.
I've just asked her.
- Oh, that's ridiculous.
- 15 minutes ago.
- Huh?
- Refuses to come up.
Gordon, I have no
control over my daughter.
- Rachel's immaturity
is incredible.
Brian's been propping up
her business for years,
and now that the merde
has hit the fan,
she's leaving him to it.
What a shame.
What an absolute fucking shame.
- Well, I'm sorry and
I can only apologise.
- Brian, you've got
nothing to be sorry about.
- Yeah.
- I'm more sorry for you.
- Well, these things
happen Gordon,
- We left with her set up,
I didn't leave it in a
shit condition,
and Rachel didn't try,
I mean, you know, did--
- No.
From India's point of
view, India did her best,
she came over and finally
she didn't get the back-up,
India didn't get the back-up,
so.
I felt, well, I probably
didn't get the back-up either,
so, I couldn't see it going on.
- In an attempt to salvage
something from the mess
and recoup his investment,
Brian is selling the business.
What about the debts?
What happens to the debts?
- [Brian] There was two
loans on the business
and I paid one of them off.
- You're an amazing guy,
you've bailed her out.
40 minutes late Rachel
decides to show her face.
Take a seat.
How are you?
- I'm fine, very well,
thank you.
- Uh-huh?
When India came back
excited and motivated
to come and support
your business
and she walked into a shit-hole.
- Yeah, it was a mess, it
was a disaster.
- Why?
- The place was as it was
when you left.
- You're lazy, you put
nothing into it,
and you deserve a kick up
the fucking arse, missy.
And I'm amazed, I really am.
- The point is that I
have been stressed out,
I've been stressed out and
since I decided to close down,
I feel a big weight has
lifted off my shoulders,
I'm sleeping for the
first time in three years.
- You had every possibility,
Rachel,
of making this successful.
- It's a decision I've made,
and I'm feeling very
happy about it.
- And it's fascinating to
watch you in a very cocky way--
- I'm not being cocky at all,
I'm saying that I'm feeling--
- Use your father's
money and abuse it.
You're very lucky.
- Right, I've had enough.
- Oh!
- [Rachel] I've had
enough of your abuse.
I don't need this
interrogation, I don't need it.
Sorry, I'm out of here.
- Abuse?
- [Rachel] I don't need it.
- What can I say Gordon,
what can I say?
Again, thanks for coming and--
- Oh, fuck me.
Restaurants close easily,
especially when the owners
aren't committed 110%
to put it back on track.
(upbeat music)
The only saving grace
from my week at Piccolo
is that I discovered India.
I've offered her work experience
at my London restaurant,
Boxwood.
- Just got
butterflies in my tummy,
just want to get in the
kitchen and start working.
- [Gordon] She'll be joining
a brigade of 18 chefs
led by head chef Stuart Gillies.
- How are you?
Good to meet you.
- Young, tenacious, talented,
yeah, and dying to learn.
- [Stuart] And you love food?
- [India] I love it.
- Right, that's the starting
qualification for me,
love food.
- There's no way on earth
I'm going to let a talented
young girl like India
forget her dream.
I think she'll be at home
here and she can shine.
If Rachel can't spot the
talent in India,
then I definitely can.
This girl's got a great future.
- [Stuart] We've got 40
covers coming in,
so get your head in gear.
- That was cool.
- Try the Wagyu beef.
- Okay.
Okay.
- Indulge come on, Hen,
I didn't say that much.
- I think that's nice.
- A vegetarian's delight.
Carpaccio of Wagyu beef
with fucking caviar.
- I love it. (laughs)
- [Gordon] Get in there,
my girl.
---
- [Gordon] This week
I'm in Paris,
but just as I
thought it was safe
to go back in the kitchen,
- Stop it.
Get out.
- Jesus XXX, what's the matter?
- Let go.
I've seen some bad
kitchens in my time,
but not quite as disorganised
and fucking chaotic as this.
I think you're a fake.
- Well, I'm just gonna leave.
(xxx laughing)
- Just Gordon Ramsay's
gonna fucking leave.
- You're lazy, you put
nothing into it
and you deserve a kick
up the fucking arse.
(knife whooshing)
(upbeat music)
Paris, France, capital
of the culinary world
and a city where I spent my
formative years as a chef.
Having lived here for
three years,
I'm just so happy to be
back in Paris.
The French are a nation
of meat lovers,
each eating an average of 90
kilos of the stuff every year.
A vegetarian
restaurant in Paris.
My God!
In the heart of The Marie,
one of Paris's premier
neighbourhoods
for gastronomic delights,
Piccolo Teatro, a tiny
vegetarian restaurant
run by Scot, Rachel McNelly,
is struggling to survive.
- It's nice to be your
own boss, if you like,
but it's also very stressful,
you know.
I think if the restaurant
was doing well
and it didn't have all
the debts that it had,
then I would probably be
sleeping a lot better.
- Millions of hungry
Parisians and tourists
flock past every day.
But only a few are
choosing to eat at Piccolo,
and those that do
wish they hadn't.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
Since Rachel took over
the business,
she's been losing nearly five
and a half grand every month.
The debts are spiralling
out of control
And if things don't pick up,
she'll be closed in
three months.
Piccolo Teatro, fuck me,
this is a first.
I spent 3 years working my
butt off in a Parisian kitchen,
and I know just how
tough it can be.
Hello.
- Hello.
- [Gordon] How are you?
- I'm well thank you,
nice to meet you.
- Nice to see you.
Likewise, good to see you too.
Now, how does a beautiful
Scot find herself
in the middle of Paris running
a vegetarian restaurant?
- [Rachel] How did I
end up in Paris?
- [Gordon] Yeah.
- A Frenchman originally.
- Oh, okay.
- Well, I'm vegetarian
for, since, I can remember,
so I was attracted to
this restaurant.
- Brilliant, I'm
dying to get in.
The quicker I can get in,
the quicker I can get out.
- Indeed.
- I'm joking.
Look at the size of it,
it's minute.
Rachel runs the place
with the help of her
best friend, Stephanie,
her only waitress.
You've been friends since four?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Amazing.
There are just two chefs,
commis chef Fiona only
works three mornings a week.
Daniel is the head chef
and resident philosopher.
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
- [Rachel] Daniel.
- aniel, (speaking in
foreign language).
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language).
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language).
Where is the kitchen?
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
Is this one from
Glasgow as well?
Where's he from?
- [Rachel] Brazil.
- He's Brazilian, okay.
What dish would you like
to recommend for lunch?
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language).
- Yeah, it's
absolutely delicious.
It's not on the menu
at the moment.
- Is this normal?
- [Rachel] Oh, yes.
- Yes.
Welcome to the madhouse.
So you've got a pistachio nut,
a walnut and now a
Brazilian nut.
Classic.
- And there was a couple
here the other day,
who had just got
engaged that day,
and they ordered the humus,
and they said it was the best
they'd ever had in their lives.
- That's amazing.
- So, you might want to try it.
I cannot believe I'm sat
here in the middle of Paris.
If my chefs, Monsieur Guy
Savoy and Joel Robuchon,
could see me now, they would
beat the crap out of me,
you know that?
To start, the famous
humus salad,
topped with raisins and
dried onions.
Get off there.
I love humus, but
that's disgusting.
So how would you
describe the food?
- Not particularly
spectacularly exceptional.
- Is this girl for real?
Fucking hell.
Next up, carrot gratin.
Which if done properly,
should have a gorgeous
bubbling cheese crust.
Okay, so that's the
gratin there?
- Yeah, bon appetite.
- Hoo, hoo-hoo!
Ugh!
It's almost a bit of an
insult to a vegetarian.
Fine, they don't eat meat,
but they deserve some
form of respect
in terms of cooking
vegetables properly.
Steph, have you got two
minutes please?
- [Steph] Okay.
- Yeah.
Time for this bunch of
jokers to face the music.
The joking and the fun and
the singing and all that crap,
that's fine when you've
got a success.
The food was shit.
It wasn't nearly there.
It was a mess.
- Most of the customers
that come here
do actually leave satisfied
and do enjoy the food.
- Okay, I'm deeply concerned,
because I've got to get him
in the right frame of mind,
and standing out being
a vegetarian restaurant
in the middle of Paris,
it's a fucking hard task.
- Okay.
- Thank you.
Bad food and bad attitude,
this is going to be tough.
(gentle music)
There's a lot riding
on Piccolo succeeding,
Rachel's got a young
son to support
and her dad has invested
at least 50,000 pounds
in the business.
She needs to spill the beans.
You haven't paid rent
since last October?
- Since October, 1,600 a month.
- Fuck me.
And the tax man's owed
10,000 euros.
There is a bank loan
which hasn't been paid,
for, about six months.
- It's going to take a
lot of hard work
to pull Piccolo back
from the brink.
And, seriously, how badly do
you want to save the business?
- Badly, yeah, absolutely, yeah.
Of course I do, I don't have
anything else here, you know,
it's my life, it's
my livelihood.
Piccolo clearly needs a
massive shake-up,
but before I make any changes,
I need to see how Daniel
runs the kitchen.
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
It's Saturday night,
but at 7:00 p.m., with the
first table already seated,
Rachel seems agitated.
- He's not ready,
and there's hardly
anything on the menu, so--
- He's not ready?
- If you'd like to do
some cooking yourself.
- What's he been doing
for the last three hours,
that's what I want to know?
- Oh, he's pretty chilled out,
that's just the way he is.
- Daniel's first order
is for two garden salads.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
(upbeat music)
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
Almost 20 minutes later,
he's still fiddling
with the salads.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
Is this how he
normally functions?
- I would say so.
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
- This is a joke.
I've never seen anything
like this, Rachel.
- I've not seen
anything like this.
- This Brazilian nut has
lost his marbles.
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
It's burning.
(Gordon speaking in foreign
language) It's burnt.
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
Rache, there's a pan
here burning.
I'm trying to change
the pan for him
and he's just telling
me to leave it there.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
What's the matter with him?
Less, less, less, less, less.
(Rachel and Daniel speaking
in foreign language)
There are now eight
people in the restaurant
and barely anyone is
getting served.
I mean, I've seen some
bad kitchens in my time,
but not quite as disorganised
and fucking chaotic as this.
Daniel is clearly hard to
handle, but Rachel is the boss.
- [Gordon] Are you alright?
- No, I'm not alright, I'm
really fucking pissed off.
In three fucking hours
he could have made a
fucking dish or two,
and he's fucking doing
it on purpose.
He should be fucking ashamed,
I'm ashamed.
I'm fucking ashamed to go and
see any fucking customers.
- This guy's killing
your business.
This is so sad, you know that?
- Well, he needs to get
his fucking act in gear
and he needs to do something,
'cause we're gonna
fucking fall out big time.
Anyway, I'm going inside
to see what's going on.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
- Daniel's lack of
respect is disgusting.
Get him out, send him home
and fucking, you know,
salvage something.
Get some money in the till.
This is happening now,
and apparently it happened
last weekend as well.
The guy's a joke.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
Why is he talking to
the customers?
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
We've asked nicely.
Where are the heavies
when you need them?
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
Let's go, come on.
Come on there, Daniel, please,
let's go.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
Careful, careful.
Let go.
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
What's the matter?
Let go.
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
- Well, it wasn't a very
good experience.
- It was entertaining.
- It was entertaining.
- Highly entertaining.
- It was dinner theatre,
with the plates crashing
around in the background,
and our food wasn't very
good, to put it politely.
The couscous was crunchy,
the tart was completely
burnt to a crisp.
- Burnt, quite burnt.
- It looks like I'm going
to have to take Daniel
to the nut-house myself.
(Daniel laughing)
- He is very hard to control
and that is a problem.
A fucking shame on a Saturday
night, what a fucking mess.
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
- He's still here.
(Daniel speaking in
foreign language)
- Fuck me.
Fuck me.
Let's start again.
We could not have
continued with that.
- We can't, and I can't take
him back now after that,
because that's just
totally unexpected,
it's completely
disrespectful to me.
- How much did we take?
- 150 euros, fucking disaster.
- You may have lost your chef,
but, fuck me, you've got
your restaurant back.
(upbeat music)
I spent 3 years working
in Paris in my early 20s,
so coming back should have
been a dream come true.
But last night, vegetarian
restaurant Piccolo Teatro
hit rock bottom.
How are we?
I've called a crisis meeting
with the remaining staff.
- [Rachel] We're alright.
- Good, Fiona.
- Yeah?
- Enchante.
- Enchante.
- How are you today?
- Fine.
- Good.
And you are the daytime cook?
- Morning chef, yeah.
- Excellent.
Fiona can't work evenings,
so Rachel is on the lookout
for a new head chef.
In the meantime, I'll
need Stephanie to help out
in the kitchen during service.
What I'm trying to say to you,
is when you see how easy
it is, you'll be amazed.
- I can help for a wee while.
- A wee while.
Cooking at this level
doesn't have to be difficult,
any of us could do it.
I've only got four days
to turn things around,
so there needs to be a big
change in attitude round here.
I know it's nice to have a
little sort of cosy restaurant
in the middle of The Marie,
but we've got to start thinking
about some form of discipline.
- [Rachel] Yeah, I think
Daniel is exceptional, and--
- Can I just say one thing,
it's very complicated
working for a friend,
it's very complicated for her,
and it's very
complicated for me.
- Friendship, whatever, it's
got nothing to do with it,
it's a business first.
- [Steph] Yes.
- And the quicker we start
getting our minds round
turning it into a business
everything else follows suit.
But before we do anything,
and I mean seriously
before we do anything,
this place needs a good
fucking clean.
- Clean, yeah.
- Yeah.
(gentle music)
Rachel opens for
lunch at weekends,
but there's no way we
can serve lunch today.
Where do you start?
Fucking hell.
With the fucking pigeon food.
Nice, nice.
Oh, fucking hell, what is that?
- Carrot lasagna.
- Carrot lasagna?
- Yeah.
- Fuck me.
Watch out, there's a
lasagna coming,
don't touch it, it bites.
Steph.
- This is food which
Gordon wants to throw out,
which once it's had a wash
it'll be perfectly fine.
- And you can see why
I don't want you to eat
anything from the fridge.
- [Rachel] It's got
cinnamon in it,
I don't, there--
- It's off.
- I know it's off.
- Yeah, I know.
- When was the last time
that was cleaned?
It's a blessing in disguise
that meat hasn't been
cooked in this kitchen.
Fucking hell.
With hygiene standards this low,
they would have been
wheeling out the customers
by the coffin load.
That's food in there, no?
- No, ugh!
- No?
Why the fuck would anyone,
look at the flies up there.
Rachel used to be the
waitress here,
and what's crystal clear
is that she's still
acting like one.
Fucking hell.
You've got to take
responsibility,
this is your money here, huh?
Rotten and fresh food
stored together,
none of this is safe to eat.
- [Producer] Why have you
let it get into this state?
- Dunno, no, (laughs) I'm
gonna start cleaning again.
(gentle music)
- Now I've got to work
out how on earth
do you make a vegetarian
restaurant in Paris successful?
Fewer than 2% of the French
population are vegetarian,
but 27 million tourists
flock to Paris every year,
surely some of them are veggies?
Are you a vegetarian?
- (speaking in foreign
language) No, no, no, no.
I like meat. (laughs)
- You like meat?
Have you ever been to a
vegetarian restaurant?
- No.
- No.
- (laughs) No.
- Are you vegetarians?
- [Together] No.
- Finding a vegetarian in Paris,
is like looking for a
needle in a haystack.
Are you vegetarians?
- No.
- Why not?
- Because I like meat.
- Are you vegetarian?
- Yes, I eat some fish,
but I'm vegetarian.
- The only way Piccolo
will survive,
is by serving veggie food
that even meat eaters will love.
All good food comes
out of a small kitchen.
It's time to get started
on Piccolo's drop-dead
delicious new menu.
Until Rachel finds a
new head chef,
I'm relying on part
time commis chef, Fiona.
Kidney beans in first, yeah?
Beans in.
A rich, spicy two bean chilli
should have the veggies and
carnivores chomping at the bit.
Keep it all nice and fresh.
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
Summertime, exactly.
Lovely, yeah?
There's also a very cheesy
tomato and aubergine gratin
to replace that tasteless
slop I was served yesterday.
Seasoning is really
important, you know that?
- [Fiona] I never put
salt in my--
- You never put salt in
your cooking?
- No.
- Never?
- [Fiona] Not never.
- [Gordon] Okay.
- But I'm vegetarian French.
- Vegetarian French, you
can still season things,
I know their food is
bland in general,
but you can still season it,
yes?
Hmm, look at that, look,
hmm, salt, ooh, salt.
I'm gonna, salt, oooh, salt.
- (laughing) Okay, I'll use it.
- Ooh, and in England
we go like this,
it brings you good luck, yes?
- [Fion] (laughing) Yes.
- So now every day I want
you to put salt.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Fiona's worked a few
extra hours today
and it's that sort of
commitment this business needs.
5:30, go and pick up
your daughter.
- Okay.
- Merci, huh?
- Thank you.
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
(Fiona speaking in
foreign language)
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
- A very good day. I'm happy.
Stephanie has agreed to
cook tonight.
But at 6 o'clock neither
she nor Rachel
are anywhere to be seen.
If they think I'm their new
head chef, they can go spin.
Earlier Rachel went off
to feed her pregnant cats,
Stephanie had to go and sleep
because she wasn't
feeling very well,
and, look, we're an hour
away from opening
and there's not one fucker
in here, bar myself.
So, yeah, if you're going
to open a restaurant,
fucking don't play at it,
work at it.
(gentle music)
- [Rachel] No sign of Steph yet?
- [Gordon] No, do you want
to call her or?
- I will call her, yeah,
I just sort of expected
she would have been back.
I'll give her a ring.
No kittens yet.
- [Gordon] Rachel's up
to her neck in debt,
the business is on its knees
and yet it all seems a
big joke to her.
- Right, try and hurry up, okay?
Okay.
- I'm starting to feel
like they're taking the
mickey out of me.
I need to know, you know,
are you seriously interested
in turning this around?
I don't get the feeling
and I'm just, like,
what the fuck am I doing
here, busting my arse off
in your establishment to
help turn this around?
You went home and you
said this morning
you'd be back at 3:30.
- I had to go feed my cat
who's about to give birth.
I had no choice, and I
had to have a shower.
- I thought we were going
to be doing some stuff
in the kitchen together,
so that you didn't get--
- [Steph] No, nobody
said anything about that.
- Right.
- [Fiona] You said you'd be
back soon, but never mind.
- Okay, are we gonna get
serious or, because, you know,
shall I tell you how I feel?
I'd rather fuck off home.
That's how I feel.
Because I don't feel
any form of commitment.
- I think it's an incredibly
admirable enterprise
what you're doing, and I think
Rachel's totally committed.
- Stop, stop, stop, stop,
stop, stop, stop, come on.
Let's get a little bit
real than that, let's--
- [Steph] Look, I'm committed
to her but I'm not, you know,
- I just don't get it with you.
- [Steph] I mean, I
want things to be right.
- I think you're a fake.
I don't, I don't get
any fucking,
I'm not asking you to lay down
a red carpet or kiss my arse,
I just, I want commitment and
I don't feel that, that's all.
- No, well, you're not
gonna get that
if you tell people
they're a fake.
- [Gordon] Well, you've
just arrived.
- Yes, and I'm just gonna leave.
I'm really committed to Rachel,
but I just refuse to be
harassed and insulted.
- Harassed, insulted?
- [Steph] Yes.
- Incredible.
Harassed and insulted, fuck me,
take a good look at yourself.
- [Steph] Thank you.
- It's really unfair,
I've got lots of
fucking work tonight,
and you leave me in the
fucking lurch.
- Yeah, but I can't work
because he's arrived here.
- Right, well,
fucking leave then.
- Fuck it.
Bye bye.
- [Rachel] Cheers, Steph,
nice one.
- Sorry.
- [Rachel] Fucking hell, man.
- We're now down to one
member of staff.
(gentle music)
And I just don't know
if she's committed to
saving her business.
I've never worked with such
fucking limpets in all my life.
I've had enough,
Rachel can sort out this
staff crisis herself.
- Yeah, Gordon Ramsay's
gonna fucking leave,
mad panic trying to find
somebody to work,
with about 10 fucking
minutes to go,
so I just went to the
Scottish pub,
and they said to come over here,
and one of the girls in
there phoned somebody
and I've found somebody.
So she's coming in 10 minutes,
she's going to be in the
restaurant in 10 minutes.
I think I've just been in
so many crises
that I'm just starting to get
sort of less stressed about it,
you know.
- [Gordon] Leaving Rachel alone
is the best thing I
could have done.
- Gosh, there's no much
in the fridges.
There's some salad.
- [Gordon] She's found
a temporary waitress
and has decided to go
into the kitchen herself.
- Okay, so I'm actually
going to be in the kitchen,
because, normally my friend's
supposed to be in the kitchen,
and she's walked out, so.
Ooh!
- [Gordon] That's pretty good.
- Hello.
- Okay, so who's doing
the dining room?
- I've found a waitress
to come and--
- Okay, so what will you do--
- So, I'm gonna be in here.
(upbeat music)
- I'm giving Rachel
one last chance
to prove she really wants
to save this restaurant.
Yeah?
Tart's in the oven.
So you get the plate out
and put the salad on there.
Thankfully these new
dishes are foolproof.
The chilli's ready to go.
- So that's the gratin and
the chilli for table five.
- [Gordon] And the gratins
simply need heating up.
The first of Piccolo's
new hearty dishes
are already hitting the spot.
- I love vegetarian food.
(laughs)
- And about four minutes
now for the main course.
- [Rachel] Don't forget to
give them some bread, yeah?
- On table eight.
- Dad, can I phone you back?
Oh, right, oh, cool.
What, and they're coming
to do some work?
Oh, magic, okay.
- Rachel's dad has a
financial stake in Piccolo
and has been looking for
a new head chef.
- Speak to you later, bye.
Ooh, my dad's coming over with
somebody and she's a chef,
so she's coming over
tomorrow with my dad
for, I don't know if she's
coming over for how long,
but it's gonna help out
anyway, for the time-being.
Oh, that's good news.
- Rachel has just been
thrown a lifeline.
Fucking hell, what a night.
It started off as a disaster,
I felt at 6:30 this afternoon
that I really wanted to
get the fuck out of here,
to be honest.
No substance, no commitment,
and two sort of dizzies playing
at running a restaurant, so.
Stephanie fucked off,
and her attitude stinks,
and Rachel's finally woken up.
I'm glad she's started to sweat,
because that's what it's
like running a restaurant,
and if she really wants
this to succeed,
then get used to working like
this, because it's a business.
Got this phenomenal possibility
of a great success here,
but it needs a commitment,
and that doesn't mean a
commitment from a waitress,
it means a commitment
from a boss,
somebody who's
running the place,
so, you know, you proved
tonight that you can do it,
so fucking well done, okay?
- Cheers.
- Now things are
finally looking up,
it's time to deal with one
of Rachel's biggest mistakes,
not opening for weekday lunch.
(upbeat music)
Hoards of hungry tourists
swarm to The Marie
looking for a quick,
cheap lunch,
and many head for the snack bar
at the end of Rachel's street.
She should be working hard
to grab a slice of the action
but doesn't think it's worth it.
We opened at lunch time
for about a month
and it was a complete
waste of time, really.
There was just nobody here,
there was no customers,
we had maybe two,
three sometimes,
paying someone in the
kitchen, someone in the thing,
then because you're doing
a starter and main course
there's a lot of washing up.
(laughs)
- Let's go get some business.
I'll prove that by offering
a quick, good value lunch
Rachel could earn some
much needed cash.
Madam, madam, madam.
Madam, madam, madam.
(speaking in foreign language)
But I know this stubborn Scot
will take some convincing.
So unbeknownst to her,
I'll be opening the
restaurant for lunch myself.
Always dreamt of having my
own restaurant in Paris,
and finally it's here.
Chez Moi a Paris.
Unfortunately it's a fucking
vegetarian restaurant,
so, yeah, soup and a roll, fuck.
(upbeat music)
If the soup's good they'll
be back for dinner.
They've all sat down at the
same time, now I'm in the shit.
There's roasted vine tomato
soup with cheese on toast
for a bargain price
of six euros,
and you don't have to
be veggie to enjoy that.
Service, fuck, it's me again.
Lovely.
Beautifully roasted
this morning.
Two, four, six, eight, 10,
bingo, bingo.
Rachel'd better appreciate this,
I don't even work this
hard in my own restaurant.
Coming up, four.
- Serve the other people first.
- Right, very kind, thank you.
(speaking in foreign language)
Did you leave a tip, by the way?
- Oh, there's a little
something extra.
- [Gordon] Okay, good man,
good man.
Excellent.
Right, six soups, yes?
Not opening for lunch
in such a prime location
is either madness or laziness.
- This soup was the best
soup we've ever had.
- It was really, really yummy.
- This was fabulous for
us, in terms of price.
- Twenty past two, I
feel like a pig in shit.
Fucking marvellous.
Now all I've got to do
is show Rachel
what her laziness is
costing her.
Morning.
- Hello.
- [Gordon] How are
you my darling?
- I'm alright, I'm a bit tired,
'cause my cat gave
birth in the night.
- That's fantastic.
- So I was awake
looking after her.
- How many cats have you got?
- There's only two, luckily.
- A wee bowl of soup?
If someone opened my
restaurant without telling me,
believe me, I'd
notice immediately.
Good.
- Did you make this soup?
- I did make this soup, yeah.
I've had a fucking busy morning.
- [Rachel] What have
you been up to?
- Did you not see the
sign outside?
- [Rachel] No.
- [Gordon] No?
- Aah!
- That one there.
I don't know what we've taken,
and I'm not fucking around
by any means, but for me--
- Did you take all that
this morning?
- On six euros a head,
I swear to God,
I am not fucking around, and--
- I don't know why I
believe you.
- [Gordon] Help me count it.
- I'm just not quite sure
I believe you actually,
but anyway, okay,
I think at six euros that's
an awful lot of people
that you've served soup
for this morning.
- Oh, fuck me, was I the chef.
I swear to God, they
were standing up there,
and there was a queue,
and they were coming in
and coming out.
I cooked and I
served on my jack.
Right, 200 and--
- [Rachel] 300.
- That's 430.
Clearly, money talks.
Seriously, as an eye-opener,
it worked, 450 euros.
- I am absolutely fucking
astonished really.
It's really exciting, if
we could do that every day
then the whole business
could turn around,
just from lunch time alone.
(upbeat music)
- [Gordon] I'm nearing the
end of my week in Paris,
where I'm trying to save
vegetarian restaurant
Piccolo Teatro and rescue
a damsel in distress.
- Soon as you don't
have the support
of all your family and
different friends
and, you know, quite often I
will phone my mum or my dad
and be, aww, down the phone,
you know.
- [Gordon] It's been
disaster after disaster.
- [Rachel] Cheers, Steph,
nice one.
- Sorry.
- [Rachel] Fucking hell, man.
But the cavalry has
just strolled into town.
Hearing of Rachel's crisis,
her father, Brian, who
has invested in Piccolo,
has flown in from Scotland,
bringing 22 year old chef,
India.
Sorry, first name, excuse me?
- Brian.
- Brian, nice to see you,
welcome.
Am I pleased to see you.
- And this is India.
This is India, my daughter.
- How are you, my darling?
- Pleased to meet you.
- From where?
- Edinburgh.
- Edinburgh, lovely.
- India's gonna be your
right-hand man.
- I can't wait.
- Or something.
- [Gordon] We need it.
- I've got to go back
to the hotel,
pick up my whites and
get back in here.
- [Gordon] I like Brian already,
and I need to bring
him up to speed.
- Look, soup with the cheese
on toast for six euros.
- And you took 400 euro?
- But at 450 euros we've
had about 90 people in here.
- Really?
- Six euros.
- [Brian] Why would you
disbelieve him?
- Quite fucking incredible.
- Well, it just shows you
what you're doing wrong.
- Exactly.
I'll be more
enthusiastic and motivated
if there's money coming in.
- What do you think's
wrong with the business?
- Well, I think a bit more
has to be put into it,
a bit more commitment
from Rachel.
I think her weaknesses
are running a business.
- Now, just take charge.
- Good, and you're
going to be here
for the next three months,
right?
(Gordon and Brian laughing)
Thank God for Brian.
Now all I hope is that
India's got what it takes.
- And I'll be leaving my work,
my family,
first time abroad on my
own, it'll be very hard,
but I'm sure I'll do good
and I'll produce good food.
(upbeat music)
- I know Paris is an exciting
place for a young chef,
I was the same age as India
when I came to live here.
And there it is there,
83 Rue de la Roquette,
20-meter squared flat,
absolutely minute.
It's amazing, I used to sit
there with the windows open
and just have this amazing
baguette, yeah, cafe creme,
and just sit there and
think about recipes, ideas,
and then walk up and
down the street,
go inside boulangerie,
patisseries
and then come up with
dessert ideas,
run back and start
writing them down.
Paris is an inspiring city.
I want to start India
off on the right foot
by showing her the incredible
produce she'll be using
if she stays here.
(speaking in foreign language)
(grocer speaking in
foreign language)
This is beautiful stuff.
The quicker India learns
French, the better.
(India and Gordon speaking
in foreign language)
That's fantastic.
Voila, merci.
The color's amazing, (speaking
in foreign language) huh?
(Grocer speaking in
foreign language)
Beautiful.
- Yeah, absolutely beautiful.
- Flavour, look and
the colour of them, uh?
If India's as enthusiastic
in the kitchen,
there may be hope for
Piccolo yet.
- [India] I'm your best friend,
merci.
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
- Excellent, off you go.
Some exciting stuff there, no?
- Quite amazing.
- Huh?
Lovely, and your French
sounded fantastic.
- [India] Ah, thank you.
- Back at Piccolo,
Brian's pep talk
seemed to have done the trick,
Rachel has arrived early.
Tonight's India's first service,
so I'm going to be on hand
to help out if she needs me.
How old were you when you
first started cooking?
- 15.
- [Gordon] 15, really?
- Well, no, sorry, 15
when I was a KP,
and then just turned 16
and they were like, get in.
- [Gordon] Really?
That's good, that's very good.
- Yeah.
- Mushrooms, okay?
A little bit of seasoning.
I've added a new hot starter,
a classic on any bistro menu.
Pan fried wild mushrooms
on hot buttered brioche.
A little bit of parsley
in there, okay,
and just let them all
sort of cascade.
Now, have a little taste
of the geroles.
Full of flavour.
India in the kitchen for the
first time, work as a team.
Now, if you guys aren't talking,
yeah,
she won't know what's going on,
and you won't have any
clue what's going on.
We're just going to start off
a brand new relationship, yeah?
Thank fuck you're here.
- Yeah.
- I was 22 when I came to
Paris for the first time,
you know that?
And I was absolutely
shitting myself.
- I'm shitting myself too.
(laughs)
- Yeah, good, that's a
healthy sign, yeah?
India's got seven years
experience as an assistant chef,
but tonight I want to see
whether she's got the ability
to take charge of this kitchen.
We'll organise the tickets
from left to right,
and as we send the starters,
we'll just put a little
criss-cross off there.
- Okay.
- For the main course,
you have aubergine, mozzarella
and tomatoes in basil.
- So, no, you tell me,
what are you going to do?
- Two soup and a tart.
- Good.
What was I concerned about?
This kitchen's never known
such speed and efficiency.
(customers chattering)
- [Rachel] Can I get a
mousse and a tarte Tatin?
- And where's the ticket,
please?
It would be a lot easier if
we'd got a ticket for a dessert.
- Okay, I'm on it.
- [Gordon] Right now the
only weak link in this team
is the boss.
- [Rachel] Okay, the mushrooms.
- [Gordon] I want to
make damn sure
she knows how lucky she is.
What's the difference
between her and Daniel?
Just go back four nights ago.
Seriously, no, but in terms of
he couldn't get a salad out.
This is being real now.
This is, you know, you've
got a fucking gem in there.
- No, no, no, absolutely.
- Absolute gem.
Now the kitchen's in safe hands,
I want Rachel to realise
that to make money,
Piccolo's vegetarian food
needs to have mass appeal.
(upbeat music)
Paris screams sex, glamour,
indulgence and hedonism,
everything that vegetarian
food isn't but needs to be.
(upbeat music)
Chin chin!
- Hey!
- To Piccolo.
- Cheers.
(all laughing)
- There's too many titties.
- I brought you here tonight
to sort of confirm that Paris
is about sexiness, indulgence,
lots of cream, lots of
butter and they flaunt it,
- Lots of cream,
butter and cheese
in my restaurant would be--
- History, history.
- I want everyone to
come in and say,
"Ooh, quel bon suprise!"
- [Gordon] Okay, good.
- I had a yummy dinner tonight
and I'm not veggie
and I loved it.
- Thank you.
Tomorrow we're going
out on the street
and we're going to make your
restaurant fucking sexy.
(singing in foreign language)
Last night Rachel got
excited about food.
Maybe we're finally on
the same wavelength.
This afternoon we're going out
on the streets of gay Paris,
armed with tempting tarts,
on a mission to
convince everyone
that vegetarian food
has changed.
The objective today, taking
boring, bland vegetarian food
to something sexy, vibrant
and a pure indulgence.
While India fills the
savoury tarts
with a tasty herb goats cheese,
Commis chef Fiona and
I are making
a very naughty chocolate
mousse to fill the sweet ones.
That would give any French
tart a run for its money.
Don't worry about the calories,
okay?
Yeah?
Bedtime, yes?
(Fiona laughing)
(upbeat music)
Brian, you're doing a grand job.
Vegetarian food is no
longer boring.
Lovely.
Hmm, hmm.
- That's lovely.
- It's time to put Piccolo on
the gastronomic map of Paris.
(upbeat music)
To make sure no one can miss us,
we've enlisted the help of a
few of Paris's finest tarts.
Are you a vegetarian tart?
Help yourself please.
Gracias, gracias.
I love vegetarian tarts.
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
Vegetarian.
If the enthusiasm of these
punters is anything to go by,
it's going to be busy
for tonight's launch.
- Absolutely delicious.
- [Gordon] Piccolo's future
looks so much rosier,
but it depends on whether
India is ready
to trade her settled
life in Edinburgh
for this head chef's
job in Paris.
- I've spoken to Rachel,
I'll take the position
as long as she--
- That's great news.
- Gets her finger out her arse.
And starts working hard
and in there on time.
As soon as you go away,
it better not,
- No, no.
- Keep it up.
- You've got to stand
strong on that.
- Yeah, yeah.
- And you're 10 years
younger than the owner.
But you're 10 years more mature.
And don't fall in love.
- No, I won't, fuck 'em.
(laughs)
I'm too busy. (laughs)
- Exactly.
I want to make sure Brian's
going to keep the pressure on,
as I'm still worried
about Rachel's attitude.
They're going to have to
seriously run it as a business
and make money, which they've
got every chance of doing.
- I hope finally she
gets the message.
- But you need to make sure
that she stays
disciplined on it.
That's one big ask from you,
that she has to discipline.
- Well, all I can do is try.
I can only do so much,
anyone like yourself,
or anyone who she may listen
to for advice, business advice,
can only do so much,
it's down to her.
- [Gordon] Thank you.
(upbeat music)
In just a few hours
we're launching Piccolo's
new sexy vegetarian menu,
and India's decided to
add one of her own dishes.
- I've got beetroot and
goats cheese mixed salad,
and the dressing is chive,
basil and olive oil.
- [Gordon] So we can do
that as a starter?
- [Rachel] Yeah,
that looks nice.
- [Gordon] Would you
like a taste?
That's lovely.
Nice.
- Lovely.
- All the dishes on the new menu
are indulgent, rich and filling,
like this toffee
apple tarte Tatin.
So, when we cut
through the apples,
it's got this really
nice dark caramel, yeah?
And creamy pea and
courgette cheese tart.
- [India] Beautiful.
- The goats cheese is lovely.
Little blocks like that,
as it cooks it just
melts across there.
After all the disasters,
tonight's launch needs to mark
a new beginning for Piccolo
and for Rachel.
You are the boss and
what you say goes,
and they're all going
to follow suit.
If they see you not
giving a fig,
and you over-relaxed and
over-comfortable,
everybody else does it,
and you've got such an
amazing chance here.
- I need to, to lead
more as a boss.
And if anyone that I'm employing
is not going to listen to me,
then they can fuck off,
basically.
- New menu, new chef,
new attitude.
(upbeat music)
- Six.
- Six?
I like that,
Rachel's talking the talk,
but at opening time she's
still not ready.
Right, ready to open
the doors up?
- I need some bread first.
- [Gordon] Who's going to
get the bread?
- Gordon.
- [Gordon] Where the fuck
am I going to get bread
at this time of night?
- It'll be fine.
I'm chilled, I'm chilled.
- Yeah.
You're always chilled, what
are you talking about? (laughs)
- [Gordon] Rachel's also
left it to the last minute
to get an extra waitress.
- Okay, bye bye, bye.
- [India] Is that Laura?
- She's going to see a show,
she can't.
Oh, fuck.
- Her constant careless
and unprofessional attitude
is really depressing me.
How about thank you,
you miserable wee bitch?
That's right, with a
capital fucking B.
And may we have a ticket
for the dessert tonight please,
chef?
(Rachel speaking in
foreign language)
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
No ticket, no food.
Our tarts have
worked their magic
and the restaurant is
filling up quickly.
(upbeat music)
- Right, all at the same
time you've got one tart,
one gratin and one salad,
- Piccolo's new menu is
a million miles
from the bland, brown
slop they were serving
just a few days ago.
So, think with me, two
tarts in the oven, okay?
- Okay.
- If we both think about
them we don't forget them.
- Okay.
- [Gordon] There's
also a beautiful
creamy chilled melon soup,
and India's beetroot
salad is an instant hit.
- I like a bit of beet.
- [Gordon] I like that salad,
by the way.
- [India] It's nice
and fresh and--
- [Gordon] Yeah, it's delicious.
- I have a feeling you
all have better than me.
Hmm.
- So what tables are ready,
four and?
Just four?
- Seven.
- Seven?
- [Gordon] The only problem is
the rather charmless service.
- You can put it anywhere.
- Right, okay.
(Gordon speaking in
foreign language)
That means move your arse.
- Thank you very much.
- [Gordon] At least the food
is keeping everyone happy.
Make sure they save
room for dessert.
- The entrees were beautiful.
- Yeah.
- The mushroom thing was
just spectacular.
- I always thought vegetarian
food was bland, boring,
but obviously it's not.
It's beautiful,
absolutely beautiful.
- Vegetarian cooking
has changed.
Rabbit food is out,
sexy, indulgent,
vegetarian cuisine is in.
Yeah, nice, yeah?
Tonight proves that
Piccolo has the potential
to be a success,
but I'm still very
worried about the future.
I'm not a hundred
percent convinced
that Rachel has the right
attitude to run a business,
and if this doesn't work
and she doesn't make
money in this place,
unfortunately she's only
got herself to blame.
Because it's all here.
Right, listen, don't
let me down.
- Okay.
- And so far, yeah, you've
done a fucking good job.
You know that, keep it up.
Stay nice and calm.
And work hard.
Yeah?
And I know damn well you
can do it, okay?
Keep in touch.
- Okay, I will.
- Yeah?
Best of British.
See you later.
Well done, eh?
Good luck.
- Thank you, thank you so much,
thank you.
- Thank fuck you're here.
Remember that.
- Okay.
- Now make it yours, yes?
- Thank you.
- By the end of the night,
Piccolo's took a record
breaking 1000 euros,
10 times more than the
first night I arrived.
You're not the head waitress,
you're the boss, okay?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
Right, goodbye.
- Okay, see ya.
- I'll see you soon, and
good luck, yes?
- Thanks very much
for helping us.
- Okay, keep it going.
- Cool, cool.
- If not I'll come
back and run it.
I'd love to have my own
restaurant
in Paris, you know that?
Good luck.
- Cool, thanks a lot.
- See you soon, yes?
- Cheers, thanks.
- Take care.
- Everything about
the restaurant,
I think is going to change
thanks to this experience,
so really, really pleased.
- There's just one last
thing I've been dying to do
before I leave Paris.
Fucking hell, have I missed you.
Ah!
Hmm.
Fucking hell.
Aah!
(gentle music)
I'm back in Paris and
there's bad news.
Piccolo Teatro has
closed for good.
When I left six weeks ago,
the place had huge potential,
a great new menu and a talented
young chef in the kitchen.
What a shame.
I want to know why it all
went so wrong.
And the first person I've
arranged to meet is India.
Nice to see you.
- Nice to see you.
- What a shame that
we're meeting here.
- Yeah.
- I was hoping to be
back in The Marie.
- Me too, me too.
- Seeing you in the kitchen.
Mm-hm.
- Damn, what happened?
You had to go home, pick
up your stuff, et cetera?
- Yeah, I arrived back in Paris,
it was a shambles,
complete shambles.
It was a mess, there was flies,
mice--
- [Gordon] What, when
you came back?
- Yeah, took me, like, four
days to clean the restaurant.
- But where was Rachel?
- She wasn't there.
It was me and her father.
We opened up and we done a
lunch service--
- You opened up without her?
- Yup, I made a
beautiful menu up,
I done all your dishes and
added some more dishes on,
and we done a great
lunch service,
but then Brian just says, no,
that's it, I've had enough.
- What a shame.
- I'm so sad not to be
here, I love it so much.
And I love the food.
It's a shame.
- Rachel's laziness
has cost India her job.
I want to make sure her
career doesn't suffer.
Let's look at getting you some
work experience in London.
If she's not going to, you
know, take full advantage
of your level of excitement
then, fuck it, I will.
- Okay.
- Okay?
(gentle music)
I just can't believe
how irresponsible and
selfish Rachel's been.
She's agreed to meet me today
and I want to hear what
she's got to say for herself.
- Excuse me.
- Yeah, where's madam?
- Not coming.
- Oh, come on.
Surely she can face the music
and at least have a word.
- I've asked her.
I've just asked her.
- Oh, that's ridiculous.
- 15 minutes ago.
- Huh?
- Refuses to come up.
Gordon, I have no
control over my daughter.
- Rachel's immaturity
is incredible.
Brian's been propping up
her business for years,
and now that the merde
has hit the fan,
she's leaving him to it.
What a shame.
What an absolute fucking shame.
- Well, I'm sorry and
I can only apologise.
- Brian, you've got
nothing to be sorry about.
- Yeah.
- I'm more sorry for you.
- Well, these things
happen Gordon,
- We left with her set up,
I didn't leave it in a
shit condition,
and Rachel didn't try,
I mean, you know, did--
- No.
From India's point of
view, India did her best,
she came over and finally
she didn't get the back-up,
India didn't get the back-up,
so.
I felt, well, I probably
didn't get the back-up either,
so, I couldn't see it going on.
- In an attempt to salvage
something from the mess
and recoup his investment,
Brian is selling the business.
What about the debts?
What happens to the debts?
- [Brian] There was two
loans on the business
and I paid one of them off.
- You're an amazing guy,
you've bailed her out.
40 minutes late Rachel
decides to show her face.
Take a seat.
How are you?
- I'm fine, very well,
thank you.
- Uh-huh?
When India came back
excited and motivated
to come and support
your business
and she walked into a shit-hole.
- Yeah, it was a mess, it
was a disaster.
- Why?
- The place was as it was
when you left.
- You're lazy, you put
nothing into it,
and you deserve a kick up
the fucking arse, missy.
And I'm amazed, I really am.
- The point is that I
have been stressed out,
I've been stressed out and
since I decided to close down,
I feel a big weight has
lifted off my shoulders,
I'm sleeping for the
first time in three years.
- You had every possibility,
Rachel,
of making this successful.
- It's a decision I've made,
and I'm feeling very
happy about it.
- And it's fascinating to
watch you in a very cocky way--
- I'm not being cocky at all,
I'm saying that I'm feeling--
- Use your father's
money and abuse it.
You're very lucky.
- Right, I've had enough.
- Oh!
- [Rachel] I've had
enough of your abuse.
I don't need this
interrogation, I don't need it.
Sorry, I'm out of here.
- Abuse?
- [Rachel] I don't need it.
- What can I say Gordon,
what can I say?
Again, thanks for coming and--
- Oh, fuck me.
Restaurants close easily,
especially when the owners
aren't committed 110%
to put it back on track.
(upbeat music)
The only saving grace
from my week at Piccolo
is that I discovered India.
I've offered her work experience
at my London restaurant,
Boxwood.
- Just got
butterflies in my tummy,
just want to get in the
kitchen and start working.
- [Gordon] She'll be joining
a brigade of 18 chefs
led by head chef Stuart Gillies.
- How are you?
Good to meet you.
- Young, tenacious, talented,
yeah, and dying to learn.
- [Stuart] And you love food?
- [India] I love it.
- Right, that's the starting
qualification for me,
love food.
- There's no way on earth
I'm going to let a talented
young girl like India
forget her dream.
I think she'll be at home
here and she can shine.
If Rachel can't spot the
talent in India,
then I definitely can.
This girl's got a great future.
- [Stuart] We've got 40
covers coming in,
so get your head in gear.
- That was cool.
- Try the Wagyu beef.
- Okay.
Okay.
- Indulge come on, Hen,
I didn't say that much.
- I think that's nice.
- A vegetarian's delight.
Carpaccio of Wagyu beef
with fucking caviar.
- I love it. (laughs)
- [Gordon] Get in there,
my girl.