In this 24 Hours to Hell and Back episode, Gordon Ramsay visits The Park Restaurant and Bar in Oak Park, California.
The Park Restaurant is located close to picturesque ranches used in movies and television shows.
Sadly, most of the local area was destroyed in the recent California wild fires.
The restaurant is feeling the impact.
The owners Kirin and Angelika Stone of the restaurant sadly lost their home in the fire.
The stress has caused problems in their relationships.
After being open for three years they are at risk of losing the restaurant.
Kirin sacked the manager and the chef as they could not longer afford to pay them.
People think Katie is the manager as the owners are hard to get hold of.
Kirin hosts a TV show and is away for construction projects.
Angelika shuts herself away in the office when Kirin is away.
Gordon arrives in disguise with the local fireman.
He sends in Superbowl legend Rob Gronkowski with some friends as a distraction.
He finds the decor drab and dingy.
Gordon is confused at a disused part of the restaurant that looks like an oyster bar.
Gronk's table order oysters, wings, calamari and pizza.
Gordon's table orders a mix of dishes including sliders, tomahawk steak, meatballs and more
The food arrives for the Superbowl table.
The calamari is swimming in grease, the wings are horrible.
Gordon's table waits 25 minutes for food and the meatballs look grey and anaemic and are terrible.
The sprouts are soggy and the tomahawk is burnt.
Gordon stands up and asks Kirin to bring out the kitchen staff and he removes his disguise.
Gordon brands the food as awful and asks everyone to come outside to his Hell on Wheels truck.
They are shown hidden footage showing a filthy kitchen and expired produce.
There is freezer burnt food, meat in blood and clueless owners who drink in the restaurant.
Katie is upset as she is embarrassed that Gordon is there but Kirin is defensive and makes excuses.
Gordon calls the staff together for a meeting without the owners.
No one thinks anyone is in charge except Katie who is there day to day.
They have no head chef and the staff feel abandoned, with no structure.
When Kirin is there he pretends everything is perfect in the restaurant.
Gordon reveals the staffs feelings to Kirin and he remains defensive.
He cannot see that he is not running the restaurant.
In the kitchen, Kirin tells Gordon that they clean every night.
Gordon shows him the amount of grease in the trays.
There is a tray of half cooked chicken wings mixed in with brussel sprouts.
The staff admit they probably got in there whilst they were running around the back.
Gordon explains to the kitchen that this is dangerous.
The uncooked part contaminates the cooked part with bacteria.
There is a smell in the walk in and he finds a tub of month old meat soaking in blood.
Kirin continues to make excuses and the chefs clean the kitchen.
Gordon invites cooks Kevin and Mark to Hell on Wheels to learn the new menu for the restaurant.
Kevin reveals that he wants to go to culinary school to become a chef.
Gordon meets with Angelika to understand where they are.
She isn't happy at the amount of time she is spending away from the children.
The stress is taking it's toll.
She tries to talk to Kirin but he shuts down and won't talk to her.
They are in a financial mess and she doesn't know if they can pay the next month's rent.
Gordon returns to the truck and speaks with Mary, who tells them that they are both nervous.
Mark isn't passionate about food.
Kevin is eager to learn but neither is fit to lead a kitchen yet.
The oyster bar is removed.
Gordon asks two local chefs to audition for the head chef position with a burger cook off.
Gronk returns to help taste test the burgers and pick a new chef.
Both burgers look and taste great but the winner is Ozzy.
Gordon meets with Kirin to discuss the relationship with Angelika and the restaurants role in it.
She is in a role she doesn't want to be in.
He needs to let her leave the restaurant to save his marriage.
The new decor is revealed and there is a new stage and POS system.
Kirin tells Angelika that he wants to get a general manager.
This will take the pressure off of them as owners and improve the relationship.
Ozzy is welcomed into the team and Kirin thanks the staff.
For relaunch night, the previous customers return and love the new decor and atmosphere.
Mark is off sick with the flu so it will be just Ozzy and Kevin in the kitchen.
The customers love the food and the kitchen staff begin to find their rhythm.
A raw burger is returned and Gordon asks them to stop.
They regain the rhythm in the kitchen and the food starts to leave the kitchen again.
Angelika visits and tastes the new food and sees Kirin in the kitchen expediting.
What Happened Next at The Park Restaurant and Bar?
Three months later, Angelika has remained away from the restaurant.
The couple have separated.
Kirin said that Ozzy stopped turning up for work.
Ozzy says that Kirin didn't return his calls about further work.
Kevin left the restaurant.
He says that Kirin decided not to hire Ozzy.
He threw out the food that Gordon prepped the day before.
Kevin doesn't think that Gordon got through to Kirin.
The Park Restaurant and Bar closed in December 2020.
Reviews were mostly very positive after the show.
Yelp Reviews were mixed with both positive and negative reviews.
One customer branded it hit and miss on both food and service.
Trip Advisor reviews are few.
The one review so far after Gordon visited is average, branding the experience as nothing special.
The Park Restaurant and Bar is 24 Hours to Hell and Back season 3 episode 7.
It aired on February 18 2020 and the episode was filmed in November 2019.
More 24 Hours to Hell and Back
Next episode - Bear's Den Pizza
Previous episode - Southern Kitchen
It's really sad what happened to the restaurant. I hope Kevin isn't discouraged by what happened and continues to pursue his passion in cooking. Rooting for him for sure!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what "passion" for cooking you're talking about, neither Kirin nor Angelika had *any* restaurant/cooking experience and they also stated that to them it was an "investment", Kirin also said that his main work is a builder, where he even has/is heavily featured on a building TV show.
DeleteIt was also clear from the 3 months later part that he never took ozzy's calls about work and that he even lied about it, causing Kevin to also leave.