Kitchen Nightmares: Defensive And Irresponsible Won't Do At All Commentary by Maja Seif
September 27, 2007
The Dillons-Purnima Restaurant episode of Kitchen Nightmares featured Gordon Ramsay at his angriest ever in a Nightmares show - U.K. or U.S. Martin Hyde, General Manager at Dillons at the time of shooting, proved to be the most defensive and irresponsible restaurant staffer ever seen in a Nightmares episode.
As many may know, after the filming of this episode, Hyde filed a lawsuit against FOX and Ramsay, claiming, among other things, that Kitchen Nightmares' production team had planted the rotten meat Ramsay discovered in the kitchen, and a wobbly chair. Hyde also claimed that Ramsay hired actors to pose as diners in an attempt to make the restaurant appear busier than it actually was. Additionally, Hyde says he was forced to quit in order to avoid the humiliation of being fired on camera.
Well, well, well... Mr. Hyde... Tsk, tsk, tsk... Now that we've seen the show, are you still sticking to your story?
Let's just start with the rotten meat. Was it planted? None of the kitchen staff claimed to have never seen the meat before Ramsay brought it to their attention. In fact, all Hyde himself said in the clip shown on the episode was something to the effect of, "Isn't that the chef's responsibility?"
Um... Well, Mr. Hyde - yes and no. One would hope that a chef would not be so lazy and just plain disgusting as to keep rotting meat, and vegetables for that matter, in her kitchen. In fact, if a chef did, and I was the manager of that chef, I would call her on it immediately and perhaps fire her, depending on other factors. If it continued to the point that the entire basement and food storage areas of the restaurant were filled nearly to capacity with rotting food, I might fire the chef. Heck - if I were that manager, I might even have to take to heart as advice something the talking Donald Trump doll my best friend owns says, which is: "I should fire myself for hiring you."
And, Mr. Hyde, are you actually saying that Ramsay and his production crew planted all of that rotting food? Are you telling us that the enormous amount of rotting food filling the basement and the kitchen of the restaurant you managed was secretly brought in by the truckload by Ramsay and his production crew - perhaps in the middle of the night when all of the restaurant staff were sleeping, before anyone could notice? Did he also covertly drug the owners and kitchen staff of the restaurant so they would not deny that they had any knowledge of their disgusting rat-turd-covered, cockroach-infested basement? If that's what you want us to believe, Mr. Hyde, you are indeed asking a lot.
Now - let's look at the next accusation Hyde has peppered his lawsuit with - paid actors posing as diners.
I've actually addressed this before, in my last article, previous to this episodes' airing. It is pretty well understood that one of the things Ramsay does in his restaurant re-dos is to find ways to bring people in once the transformation has been put in place. In this episode, Ramsay hired a bus covered with Purnima Restaurant banners, which carried Ramsay and Dillons' staff atop it, along with traditional Indian musicians. They paraded through the city on the bus shouting out to passers-by - encouraging them to come and try the new Dillons, now named Purnima. In addition, Ramsay brought in a chef that was apparently already well-known in the area. In addition to that, the restaurant is located off-Broadway in the heart of Manhattan.
So, Martin Hyde - are you saying all of those things couldn't have possibly affected the number of people who chose to dine at the new Indian restaurant recently made-over by world-famous chef, author, and television star, Gordon Ramsay? You still believe he actually paid people to go in and dine?
Hmmm... I guess it's possible. Not probable, but possible, yes. It's also possible, since we now have tools that help us to grasp things, that natural selection will eliminate our opposable thumbs. Not probable, but possible.
Now... what's next? Oh, yes - Martin Hyde was forced to quit in order to avoid being fired on camera.
Hyde, when you made that claim, were you.....
Maja Seif is a freelance writer residing in the Sacramento, California area. Holder of a B.A. in Journalism, she has published feature articles in Outword Magazine and has experience writing political news and opinion pieces, as well as marketing material. Reality television is one of her favorite diversions, so writing for Reality TV Calendar is a perfect combination of two of her hobbies. You can reach her at: maja.m.seif@gmail.com
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