La Lanterna

The venue for the first programme is La Lanterna in Letchworth, Hertfordshire. Twenty-eight-year-old owner and head chef Alex offers modern Italian cuisine, a taste of Little Italy in England's first garden city, and the restaurant is run by his best mate, maitre d' Gavin, helped by Alex's ex-air hostess girlfriend Emily. Alex has no customers, cookers that don't work and an expensive menu that's about as authentically Italian as a Hawaiian Pizza. He re-mortgaged his house to buy the business, it's losing £1,000 a week, he hasn't slept for months but still runs round town in a flash car (number plate: A1CHEF) that's worth more than the restaurant. Running out of money, inspiration and energy, Alex is on the verge of losing EVERYTHING. It's a prime restaurant for a dose of TOUGH LOVE - Ramsay-style. But can a strict diet of brutal honesty, radical food surgery and undiluted energy turn things round, or is it only a matter of time before the lights go out at La Lanterna for good?

Alex Scott, propriétaire du restaurant «La Lanterne», un restaurant de spécialités italiennes, a une petite clientèle, une équipe peu zélée et moyennement motivée et un menu hors de prix. Lors de son audit, Gordon Ramsay pointe des évidences, comme la difficulté de travailler avec des proches, le manque de connaissances du chef en cuisine italienne, un décor peu attrayant et une organisation peu efficace. Gordon Ramsay prodigue ses conseils et donne une nouvelle impulsion à l'affaire.