102 - Dillons
Airdate - 09/26/2007
Dillons in New York City is in need of help. There are three managers that don’t have specific jobs. The menu has everything from Italian food to hamburgers to Shepard’s Pie to traditional Indian food. “An American-Irish restaurant with an Indian-ness added to it,” is how one manager describes the ambiance. There’s also a prevalence of flies in the kitchen and dining room. Yet on top of all that, the establishment is losing money.
Gordon Ramsay walks the two blocks from his own restaurant in Manhattan to Dillons. He’s appalled by the flashing LED sign on the restaurant that proclaims “real Indian cuisine.” In the empty lunchtime dining room, Gordon sits down at a table that is wobbly and swats at the flies. He reviews the giant menu, and is right to assume that there are two kitchens at work. Gordon orders an assortment of dishes.
Since the Indian chefs do not cook American food, Andrew the operations manager has to take over on the non-Indian dishes. Of course, he is out of the items that Gordon has ordered. He is forced to serve frozen salmon. Before digging into the first course, Gordon prays that he will not get food poisoning. Even worse, he finds meat in the “assorted vegetarian appetizer plate.”
Next comes the Indian fare, but Gordon notices that his plate is not clean. There’s also a rotten tomato as the garnish. He cuts into what he has been told is beef, but it’s clearly lamb. Andrew sheepishly emerges from the kitchen to face the wrath of Gordon and confesses that he has prepared the salmon salad. Gordon makes him eat it, which Andrew does begrudgingly. Gordon goes into the kitchen and has owner Mohammed translate to his Indian chef that the food is bland. The chef says that he made a mistake because he was nervous.
How to begin fixing Dillons? Gordon doesn’t understand why there are three managers, but nothing is actually being managed. He watches as the dinner service begins and notices that the multiple styles of menu are confusing the customers. Back in the kitchen, Gordon yells at the cooks for putting a vat of chicken on the floor. Yet he can’t find a manager to translate this to them.
Forty minutes into service, and no food has been served. This is because of kitchen chaos. Andrew is delegating. Khan the floor manager is ineffectual. Martin the general manager isn’t helping at all. He’s too busy on his cell phone. Gordon summons Martin when he finds that one cook has no job even though they are busy. Gordon calls Martin a fake and says that he gets off on hanging out with the waitresses. He accuses Martin of taking advantage of the owner Mohammed by not doing his job. “General manager? General toss pot,” Gordon says to him.
