In this Restaurant Impossible episode, Robert Irvine visits City Kids Wilderness Project in Jackson, Wyoming.
It’s a kids camp where they spend time in the wilderness.
The children usually come every year for 4 years.
There are up to 90 children in camp at any one time.
The children usually come from disadvantaged backgrounds, with a history of violence.
The camp has led to an increase in graduation rates, their student have a 96% graduation rate.
The average graduation rate for the district is just 65%.
Donors are a huge factor in keeping the camp open and the facilities come last on their priority list.
Robert arrives at the camp and meets the founder Randy and Executive Director Eloise.
They tell Robert about the opening of the ranch and what they need to continue.
They take him on a tour of the ranch.
They see the kitchen has dated residential cooking equipment from the 90s.
They have a storage room of tools, gear and clothing in a back room.
The older campers do not have a space and they do not have computers for the children.
Robert takes a quad bike through the grounds to see the rest of the outdoors space.
Robert meets a junior counsellor, Dion, who was a former camper and he learns how the camp helped him.
He had anger issues due to his parents divorce and the camp helped him channel it into something positive.
Robert meets Tom and Cheryl from his design team to give them a run down.
They want to make an outdoor space into an activity space.
They have three days and a bigger budget of $50,000, with a donation from Lexus.
Robert meets the kids who have been away for 12 days with their camping and survival gear.
He learns what problems they have at the camp.
The gears are old and worn out and need replacing.
The kids are all energised from the trip with hope for the future.
The design team have started work on the activity area and cleared out the storage room.
Robert follows the kids to the dining room and the kitchen.
Robert is inspired to do an Iron Chef competition.
He offers them $1200 as a prize for the winning group.
The kids in turn challenge him to white water raft with them.
Robert calls Tom to the kitchen.
He wants him to upgrade it from a residential kitchen to an industrial one to cater for the camp size.
The next day, Robert joins the kids and collects his gear for the white water rafting.
He continues to connect with the kids and learn more about them.
They all enjoy the white water rafting activity and getting to know each other.
Robert returns to the campsite and he feels the work is being done too slowly.
They are setting cobblestones in the activity area and the kitchen has some shelving being set up.
There will be a barbecue party at the camp to celebrate the renovations.
Robert asks Top Chef winner Stephanie Izzard to help set up the Iron Chef Challenge for him.
Four teams of three people will participate.
Stephanie, Diana, Randy and Robert will judge it.
The competition starts with just 30 mins to cook with the ingredients given to them.
Stephanie gives them advice on what they have chosen to cook.
The teams chose different variations of fried chicken and salad.
Team 4 wins the competition and they share the prize money with the leadership team for the camp.
On the third day, Robert checks on the renovation progress.
He plans a menu for the night with Stephanie, who will be helping out.
The kitchen is in its final stages and has been cleaned up.
Diana is shown the final look and she loves the change.
There is new equipment including cooking tops and a new dehydrator for packed food for the kids going camping.
Stephanie comes in to start cooking with Diana for the Barbecue party.
Robert goes horse-back riding and trains the kids on cooking meals from dehydrated ingredients in the outdoors.
They are gifted camping pots, pans and cooking utensils.
Robert gets back to the kitchen and they have made almost all the meals.
Cheryl is pulled away from her work for a bit to meet Dion.
Randy, Sara and Eloise are shown the new storage areas that are now fresh and bright.
They have a TV in the Rec area and there are computers for the older kids to use.
Robert shows them the outdoor space that has outdoor sitting, a grilling area and a fire pit.
The children are brought in to see the space and they love it all, saying it looks like a resort.
They love the new rec area and storage area.
The begin their barbecue party with the mix of foods prepared in the kitchen.
Stephanie is introduced who gives $10,000 on behalf of Lexus to the camp.
They also have been gifted new camping gear from life jackets to tents.
What Happened Next at City Kids Wilderness Project?
City Kids Wilderness Project is open.
Please consider making a donation here to allow them to keep up the great work they do.
City Kids Wilderness Project was Restaurant Impossible season 12 episode 7 and aired on 10th December 2015.
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Previous episode - Cape Horn Family Restaurant
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