Boodles Restaurant - Kitchen Nightmares Update - Open or Closed?

In this Kitchen Nightmares episode, Gordon Ramsay visits Boodles Restaurant in Madison Heights, Michigan.

Boodles Restaurant is owned by Bruno Ferguson.

The restaurant is located north of downtown Detroit.

Boodles is a family run restaurant that has been open for over 40 years.

Owner Bruno is 84 years old and opened the restaurant with his wife in 1985.

Bruno previously worked in restaurants in Manhattan and wanted to travel.

He joined the merchant marine and says this prepared him for owning a restaurant.

Bruno says that the menu is mostly American, it reminds him of New York cuisine.

His son Kevin is the General Manager and has worked at the restaurant since he was 6.

Kevin thinks that his father is obsessed with the restaurant and that is why they’ve been in business so long.

Bruno used to do tableside cooking but no one wants to train to do them.

Head Chef Joe has worked at the restaurant for over 40 years.

He thinks the food is excellent but the staff disagree especially Dana, Kevin’s wife.

Dana says that he did used to be excellent and is skilled but need to have more pride in what he does.

She has been a server at the restaurant for over 20 years.

Dana says that Kevin has been ready to take over the restaurant from his father for 20 years.

She thinks that Bruno is holding back the transition and only letting him work part time.

Bruno says that he isn’t in a position to hand it over to him as he isn’t capable of running it 7 days a week.

Joe thinks that Kevin doesn’t have his head in the entire business.

This is supported by Sous Chef Charlie who says he doesn’t know enough about the back of house.

The serving staff describe the situation as chaos as there are no systems in place.

The staff say that Kevin only focuses on running the bar and not running the back of house.

A ticket blows across the kitchen onto the floor and Joe can’t find the ticket.

Meanwhile, the customers are left waiting 2 hours for their food from the missing ticket.

Dana says that Bruno deserves to retire rather than having to come to the restaurant.

She says that he is declining and struggling to run the restaurant.

Bruno says that they would close in 6 months if he handed it over to Kevin.

They are in $1.5 million of debt currently.

Gordon arrives at the restaurant and thinks that it smells a bit.

He is greeted by Tiffany, Bruno and Kevin.

Bruno takes him to a table and Tiffany tells the kitchen that Gordon has arrived.

At the table, Gordon comments to Tiffany that Bruno is non stop and wonders if he is powered by Duracell.

Gordon takes a look at the menu and thinks that the place looks dark and dingy.

It is dated and there is a Christmas tree in the entrance.

Tiffany says that they keep it dark so that customers can’t see the flaws.

Gordon thinks that the menu is quite expensive and a meal can cost upwards of $200.

He orders calamari, escargot and steak diane.

Gordon questions what Kevin is doing behind the bar other than looking at himself in the mirror.

The servers ask the kitchen staff about the wait times and they are ignored.

The communication is also poor between the staff as well as the front of house.

Gordon is still waiting for his food and it is very slow for food to come out.

Joe says if they don’t want to wait then they can leave.

The issue is that the tickets aren’t put up in the order they came in.

One table has been waiting over an hour for food but the table next to them that arrived after has their food.

Gordon’s escargot arrives and he is surprised to see the snails stuffed inside mushrooms.

They are also smothered in garlic and taste disgusting.

Gordon is disappointed as they are one of his favourite dishes.

He asks Tiffany to find out where they are from and Joe says that they are canned.

The calamari are next and it is rubbery and chewy.

Gordon asks Bruno who oversees front of house and he says that Kevin schedules the front of house.

One customer sends back a steak as it isn’t cooked well done, the easiest way to cook/ruin a steak.

The steak diane arrives covered in a split sauce with a lumpy mashed potato.

The steak is bland, with no colour and tastes frozen.

Customers leave as they don’t want to eat anything else from the restaurant.

Bruno reveals that he is in the kitchen washing dishes and Kevin is standing watching.

Gordon asks the staff to gather for a meeting and says the restaurant leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

He says that food looks and tastes dated and Joe says he is proud of his food.

Gordon thinks that it seems like they have given up and finds it sad Bruno is running around the restaurant.

Kevin thinks he is being helpful and Gordon thinks it is disrespectful to let him do everything.

Gordon sits with Bruno, who tells him that he has knee problems and wears knee braces.

Bruno says that Kevin needs to step up and learnt the business fully.

Gordon tells Bruno to go home and rest but he still wants to wash the dishes.

He returns to observe an evening service to find out where the issues are in the restaurant.

Kevin says that he is anxious about the service and wants to prove himself.

Gordon says that he is making excuses as he says that he is running the servers, the bar and greeting the customers.

He is confused by a drill that Joe uses to mix the mashed potato.

Gordon finds Bruno’s office just off the kitchen, inside are stacks of papers.

Customers are left waiting for meals and there is no organisation at all.

Food is sat on the pass with no idea of the table number.

Dana says the food is put in the window with no tickets and it is a free for all with who takes what.

Joe has lost another ticket and doesn’t know what happened to it, meanwhile the customers are kept waiting.

He says that he is lost and Gordon can see that he isn’t calling anything out.

One server tries to take some food that another server says is hers.

Gordon says that there is no personality in the dining room.

Kevin is ruining the business and Joe is silent.

A customer returns a dish with mushrooms when the ticket says no mushrooms.

Gordon catches a steak that is overcooked and a server is missing a dish.

He tells the chefs to speak to each other as they are on two different islands.

Gordon gets Kevin into the kitchen to try and get him to step up and manage the staff.

Kevin isn’t sure how to manage the staff and asks Gordon for advice.

Gordon says it is simple, the staff need to cook a table at a time rather than picking and choosing which dishes they cook.

Kevin very casually speaks to them and then walks off before they acknowledge him and it appears Charlie wasn’t even listening.

A server comes for her food but it’s been sat there so long that it is cold.

Gordon calls Charlie out on the fact he has been using the same tongs on chicken, salmon, shrimp, beef and in fact everything he’s been cooking.

He also dropped the tongs on the floor, picked them up and continued using them!

Gordon calls Kevin out as he should be responsible for this as the General Manager.

He tells Dana to shut down the restaurant and asks the guests to leave.

After the service, Gordon asks to speak with Kevin and asks the cameras to leave.

Kevin says that he doesn’t realise that the practices were that bad.

Gordon says that he was eager to leave the kitchen as soon as he got in there.

Kevin admits that his focus has been the bar and Gordon says it is pointless if the food is poor quality.

He says he can understand why his dad won’t give over control of the restaurant to him.

Gordon says that he needs to act quickly as the restaurant is haemorrhaging money.

He says that he lost his father a long time ago and it’s a gift that his father has the restaurant to give to him.

Kevin says that he needs to step up and learn the back of the house.

Gordon meets with the front of house and tells them about Bruno wearing knee braces.

Kevin says that he is not just struggling with physical issues but is also starting to struggle with cognitive issues.

He is getting confused about what time of day it is at times.

Dana says that it is getting rare that Kevin tells him his father has had a good day.

It is hard to see him unable to retire.

Overnight, Gordon’s team have given the restaurant a makeover.

The dining room has been given a light and modern finish.

The furniture has been replaced and there is new lighting.

The kitchen has been revamped and they have been given new equipment.

There are new plates, pots and pans and more.

The menu has been revamped and the dishes have been given an uplift.

The staff love the look of the menu and the taste of the dishes.

Gordon reveals that they are bringing back the tableside Steak Diane.

He teaches Kevin and other staff how to prepare the dish, which takes just two minutes.

Gordons team teach the kitchen how to cook the dishes and how to organize the kitchen.

Bruno returns to the restaurant and loves the new look of the restaurant.

Gordon tells Bruno that he needs to take a backseat and pass the reigns to Kevin.

Bruno agrees to take a step back and thinks that Gordon has helped Kevin to step up.

On relaunch night, the customers love the new look of the restaurant.

The Steak Diane is popular with customers.

Kevin wants to prove to his father that he has stepped up.

The kitchen stuff struggle to prioritise what they should be cooking.

The kitchen is backed up and Gordon gets Kevin to give them a pep talk.

Gordon pulls him to the side as he isn’t happy with how Kevin starts to speak to them.

He tells Kevin to step up and tell the staff how to prioritise in the kitchen.

Kevin feels like the service is already failing as customers are left waiting for food.

Gordon tells the staff to slow down the orders to allow them to catch up.

The kitchen is panicking as the orders build up.

Joe and Charlie are communicating better and they start to catch up with the food.

When the customers receive the food, they are enjoying the taste.

Bruno and Kevin’s mum are sat having dinner and she has ordered the Steak Diane.

Bruno describes Kevin cooking the Steak Diane at the table as a full circle moment.

The kitchen starts to communicate and steps up to get the final dishes out.

Kevin has realised that he was blaming everyone else and it was him not stepping up.

Charlie can see that Kevin is trying to help and is stepping up.

Bruno thinks that Gordon has given Kevin the confidence to take over.

Gordon takes Kevin aside and tells him that he has everything set now.

He has good girls at the front of house and the back is also working better.

Gordon thinks that they can get out of debt if they step up.

What Happened Next at Boodles Restaurant?

Three months later, Kevin says that they are doing well.

Charlie has stepped up and is producing excellent food.

Bruno has not retired but they are managing him and finding things for him to do.

Boodles is open.

Boodles Restaurant aired on 18th August 2026.

The episode was filmed in May 2025 and is Kitchen Nightmares season 10 episode 6.

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