Amy's Baking Company

"Amy's Baking Company" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of Kitchen Nightmares, and the 82nd episode of the series overall. The episode first aired on May 10, 2013 and centered on Gordon Ramsay attempting to help Amy and Samy Bouzaglo, owners of Amy's Baking Company in Scottsdale, Arizona.^[2]

The episode marked the first time in the series that conflict with the owners prevented Ramsay from completing the restaurant's transformation.^[3] The owners' actions received negative attention in social media. Their online responses were then further spread in social media in a manner which Forbes called an example of how a business should not react to comments posted on social media.^[4]

A follow-up episode, titled "Return to Amy's Baking Company", aired as the season 7 premiere on April 11, 2014.^[5]

Synopsis

Amy and Samy Bouzaglo, the wife and husband owners, explain the history of their restaurant: Samy invested over a million dollars to build the restaurant in 2006 in order to fulfill Amy's dream. About two years prior to the episode's filming, bloggers began writing negative reviews of the restaurant's food. Amy says the reviews are "lies" and states that they cost the restaurant a "tremendous amount of business".^[1][6]

One of the verandas of Amy's Baking Company where customers can choose to dine.

The day before Ramsay arrives, the camera crew witnesses an intense argument between Samy and a customer. It starts when the customer complains to Samy that he and his friend have been waiting for a pizza for over an hour, causing Samy to lash out at him and order the two customers leave, but not before insisting the customer pay for the drinks he received. Samy then turns his attention to the customer's friend, while Amy threatens to call the police. Just when it appears that Samy and the customer will come to blows, a cameraman steps in and escorts the customers out of the restaurant. Amy then berates the other customers in the restaurant before storming back into the kitchen.

Upon his arrival, Ramsay is initially overwhelmed with the kitchen's good hygiene and organization, though becomes more wary when Amy admits that she closes the restaurant if either she or Samy are not there. After initial discussion, Ramsay prepares to sample the dishes. Despite liking the desserts, he has a rather negative response towards the other menu items: The fig and pear prosciutto pizza was very sweet and the dough was under-cooked; the blue ribbon burger was also under-cooked (despite asking for it to be medium rare) and the bun was dripping with grease; the red pepper ravioli was what he called "confusing" and found out that it was mass-produced frozen ravioli despite the menu advertising it as freshly made; and finally the salmon burger was overcooked and the presentation of it was unappealing. At one point during the sampling, Ramsay learns from one of the servers, Miranda,^[7] that she nor the other servers make any tips, but that they instead go to Samy. Ramsay discusses this with Samy, who justifies the policy by saying he does much of the front-of-house work. Later during dinner service, Ramsay criticizes Amy and Samy for the food he was served during lunch and Amy responds by denying any wrongdoing because Samy refused to tell her the problems about the food. He also criticizes Amy for using frozen ravioli instead of making it fresh, and announces to the customers that ravioli is off the menu, which doesn't sit well with Amy. Throughout the night, customers are seen complaining about the long wait, and several customers are shown sending back their dishes they didn't like. At one point, Amy accidentally gives the wrong table number to Miranda. Subsequently, when giving food to Katy Cipriano,^[7] another server, as well as the table number, Katy asks, "Are you sure?". Amy responds by accusing her of having an attitude problem and demands that she should leave. When Ramsay witnesses a customer giving a tip intended for the servers and Samy taking it for himself, Samy states that the waiting staff receive an hourly wage, but Gordon reveals the restaurant's tipping policy to the customer, to which he replies, "That's horrible.".^[4] Ramsay and Samy then have a profanity-laced argument and at one point Samy utters the infamous phrase "I am the gangster, not you". The restaurant eventually closes, and Amy fires Katy. Despite Samy's attempt to convince her otherwise, Katy leaves in tears.

Ramsay returns to the restaurant the next day, only to find it closed. Ramsay takes this opportunity to talk to Henry and Jessica who previously worked in the restaurant. Ramsay then attempts to talk to Amy and Samy, telling them what they are doing wrong, though Amy refuses to listen. As a result, Ramsay realizes he can't help them and leaves the restaurant, and in a concluding monologue, states that this is the first time he has met two restaurant owners that he could not help. Before leaving the area he cites the fact that the restaurant has gone through a hundred staff members, states that Amy and Samy have upset the local community and are incapable of accepting criticism, and believes they would not have adhered to any changes he would have implemented to improve the restaurant anyway.^[3]

Production

The episode was shot in December 2012. On December 10 a local media interview with a diner described his altercation with Samy during taping. The diner saw what he thought was an act for the purposes of the show, but a producer told him that "what was happening was real". The diner went on to explain that police were on the scene by the time he left the restaurant. The diner reported that police were responding to a "911 hangup call" from the restaurant, and that they left after "concluding everything was fine".^[8]

Reception and reaction

Entrance of the restaurant

The episode premiered on May 10, 2013, viewed by approximately 3.34 million people. It earned a 1.2/5 share in the 18–49 demographic, meaning it was seen by 1.2% of all 18- to 49-year-olds and 5% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast.^[9] The episode met with praise from reviewers, with one critic writing, "The episode is nothing short of amazing."^[10]

After the show aired, the restaurant became a momentary tourist attraction.^[11] The restaurant received extensive negative feedback on their official Facebook page. When the owners Amy and Samy responded by excoriating people who posted negative comments, it provoked more of the same, not only on Facebook, but also on Yelp and Reddit. Forbes used the reactions as a poster example of how a business should not react to comments from social media.^[4][12] The owners later claimed that they were hacked, and that they had not posted any of the comments.^[13][14] This prompted more negative responses and the original comments and responses were eventually removed.^[13] As a result of the Kitchen Nightmares episode and Facebook posts, awareness of the incident caused the "meltdown" to go viral and become a short-lived internet meme.^[4]

The company hired a local public relations firm, and a second Facebook page was eventually taken down as well, while another one called "I support Amy's Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro 100 percent" appeared on May 15.^[15] A press release announced that they would be holding a "Grand Re-Opening" on May 21, 2013.^[16] On April 11, 2014, Kitchen Nightmares aired a special episode revolving around the events at Amy’s Baking Company during and after the episode aired with a new, specially-recorded interview with the owners conducted by local reporter Ana Garcia.^[17] Amy's Baking Company permanently closed on September 1, 2015.^[18][19]

References