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00:01This week, I'm in Norfolk, home of Alan Partridge.
00:08But he's not the only one-hit wonder in town.
00:12Shit!
00:14Step forward, Michelin star winner Nick Anderson.
00:18As soon as you say, oh, I'm the chef-owner of Rococo,
00:21they're, oh, wow, you know, it does stand for something.
00:25But Nick's stuck in the past, and he's about to lose the lot.
00:28Everyone's so dead stuck in a rut, and this place is gonna fucking close unless you do something about it.
00:34Now he's got to say au revoir and ah-ha to his former glories.
00:38It's trophies, isn't it? Right now, they're going in the fucking bin.
00:42They are history. Bring on.
00:45I can't spell it any clearer. We are fucked.
00:58King's Lynn, a traditional market town on the Norfolk coast where the order of the day is cheap and cheerful local crab.
01:10And less that is, you're eating at Rococo, one of King's Lynn's most expensive restaurants run by former Michelin star winner Nick Anderson.
01:18I'm very proud when people say, you know, who are you and what do you do?
01:24And as soon as you say, oh, I'm the chef-owner of Rococo, they're, oh, wow, you know, it does stand for something.
01:31Or at least it used to. Now Rococo is struggling to survive.
01:35The debts are mounting, and there's no real clear way forward.
01:42Nick's losing 2,000 pounds a week and is facing closure.
01:46And if that wasn't tough enough, he lives above the restaurant with his wife and two kids.
01:50They'll all be homeless if Rococo goes under.
01:53Well, I first thought it was for the boys, because what would we do?
01:57I mean, we'd have no, we'd have no money out. It would just be so depressing and miserable.
02:01We used to be very, very busy, and I don't think we're doing anything differently.
02:08And we're just not getting the people.
02:10It's like, you know, you've organised a special party and everybody's decided they're not going to bother coming.
02:18I'm here in King's Lynn, and I've got just one week to save Rococo from ruin and put Nick back in the game.
02:25Well, I really, really, really hope he'll like Nick's food.
02:28I'm reasonably confident he's not going to sort of put his fork down and go,
02:32that's disgusting or minging or anything like that.
02:34I'm fairly confident that my food will stand the test.
02:38Beautiful church.
02:40How fortunate.
02:41And your restaurant will be next to that.
02:47Jesus.
02:48Looks like a fucking sofa bed in the window.
02:51Hello.
02:52Hiya.
02:53How are you?
02:54Hi, how are you?
02:55Good, very well, thank you.
02:56Is Nick here?
02:57He is indeed.
02:59This is quaint.
03:03It's very small, isn't it?
03:04Hello.
03:05Hello.
03:06Hi.
03:07How are you?
03:08Pleased to meet you.
03:09Likewise, good to see you.
03:10How are you?
03:11I'm all right.
03:12A bit warm.
03:13Yeah, you look very warm.
03:14Very hot.
03:15Spoiling, I think.
03:16Doesn't seem very busy out there.
03:17No, it's just falling away all the time.
03:19Tonight, eight people.
03:20Yeah, on a Saturday night, eight customers booked.
03:22How would you describe Rococo?
03:24Rococo is a full a la carte restaurant.
03:26Yeah.
03:27What style of food is it?
03:28Modern British.
03:29I mean, we're in the height of summer now, so everything's sort of like...
03:31Well, I'm about to have a menu change.
03:34This is, we're just coming at the end of the spring menu now.
03:36We're going into the summer.
03:37Spring, we're in the fucking July.
03:39Spring was...
03:40Yeah.
03:41Two months ago.
03:42Right.
03:43Right, I'll go in the dining room.
03:44I'll see you after lunch.
03:45Okay.
03:47Right.
03:48God, dear.
03:53Tiny kitchen.
03:54Jesus.
03:55It's like going to visit your gran.
03:57I'll need the menu here.
04:01It's so claustrophobic in here.
04:03Huge sofas and a little quaint room.
04:06Oh, shit.
04:07May I have a glass of orange juice, please?
04:09Yeah, a bit of ice.
04:10Ice.
04:11Is it cold?
04:12With ice it will be.
04:13And the orange juice is already chilled, yeah.
04:14Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
04:15Is it fridged?
04:16Yeah.
04:17Yeah, no ice then, thank you.
04:18No ice.
04:19Smart arse.
04:20Pan-roasted diverse scallops with cauliflower puree, white raisin, caper dressing.
04:23That sounds very familiar.
04:25Nick's got one of my dishes on the menu.
04:27He's been cooking for as long as I have, and he's charging top London prices.
04:31So I just hope his food measures up.
04:35First test, a fish soup.
04:37Excellent.
04:38And, er, smells.
04:41Off.
04:42Well, that's certainly seen better days.
04:45I just hope I won't be saying the same about Nick by the end of the lunch.
04:49Oh, you bastard.
04:50It doesn't work very well.
04:53Shit.
04:55Son of a bitch.
04:57Next, mushroom and a duck egg on toast, and it's one of my favourites.
05:02When it's done how I like it.
05:04Simply.
05:05Why is it supposed to be looking like something out of a fucking Barbie's doll's house?
05:08Why can't it just look simple, plain and mushrooms on toast?
05:12It's like eating a wet flannel.
05:14Soggy, horrible bread.
05:16Mushrooms are dirty.
05:18Nick's obviously a frills man.
05:20But if he's got any sense, he'll serve the next dish as it was intended.
05:24Because it's one of mine.
05:25And where did this dish originate from?
05:28I couldn't tell you where you thought the idea of.
05:30You couldn't?
05:31No.
05:32Go and ask him for me, will you?
05:33Yeah, sure.
05:34Where did you get the idea for the scallies?
05:38Oh, for fuck's sake.
05:41Thank fuck I don't serve mine like that.
05:44They taste frozen, unfortunately.
05:46Milky and, er...
05:47Peanut.
05:48Yeah, rubbery.
05:49They taste like they're frozen and they're milky.
05:51Scallies?
05:52I'll try one.
05:53Yeah.
06:00They're not frozen.
06:02Fresh scallops.
06:03Nick's got to be joking.
06:05He'd better put a smile on my face with the next dish because, so far, this lunch has been miserable.
06:11It's nearly there.
06:12Just wondering if there's any point in sending it, to be honest.
06:15If I were you, Nick, I wouldn't keep me waiting.
06:20Here you go, Lawrence.
06:22All right.
06:25Cool.
06:28Um...
06:29You're like a hemorrhoid in my arsehole, you know that?
06:31Can I just sit and enjoy, or try to enjoy, rather than trying to dissect everything I eat?
06:36Otherwise, you may as well fucking sit down here and take my place.
06:39Would you mind?
06:40No, no problem at all.
06:41Thank you so much.
06:42Join me out.
06:43I'm nervous.
06:44I'm nervous.
06:45I say stupid things I don't mean.
06:46At least.
06:47You're not having a cup for it.
06:51That sauce is so sweet, it's unbelievable.
06:53The duck itself actually tastes quite nice, but then it's marred with all that horrible sauce.
06:57It's almost like Benilin and baby veg.
07:0020 quid as well.
07:02I mean, you know, even by London prices, that's, you know, that's up there.
07:07There's someone here that's trying to be flash, and he may have got away with that in the 90s, but in 2006, these days are numbered.
07:14Right, Nick, you're not going to like what I'm about to say.
07:23I expected a nice, quick, fast, easy lunch, and unfortunately everything was painful.
07:29You know, mushrooms on toast was supposed to be mushrooms on toast.
07:32I got something that was incredibly soggy, full of grit, and just looked horrendous.
07:37The duck was fucking delicious, and then everything else around it was so unnecessary.
07:41Right.
07:42You were fucking successful ten years ago, and you had a big following.
07:46Unfortunately, nothing has moved on.
07:48No.
07:49You're in the bubble, and I'm about to burst it.
07:53Some of these laurels clearly cooking still from the 90s era.
07:56Touched success, but that fizzled very, very quickly.
07:59Even his own customers haven't sort of hung around long enough to tell him how fucking long-winded the food's become.
08:04So it's, yeah, it's quite sad in a way.
08:06And he's clearly not cooking for Kings Lynn, he's cooking for his ego.
08:09I feel slightly deflated.
08:11I didn't think I'd get as much criticism as I got.
08:13But, hey, I'm a big boy.
08:15I'm not a 20-year-old.
08:16I'm not going to cry.
08:17I'm 40.
08:18So, bring it on.
08:32This week, I'm in Kings Lynn to help Nick Anderson,
08:34a chef who once had a Michelin star.
08:37That sauce is so sweet.
08:39It's unbelievable.
08:40It's almost like Benelit.
08:42But after eating his food yesterday, I'd say his glory days are long gone.
08:46I expected a nice, quick, fast, easy lunch.
08:50And, unfortunately, everything was painful.
08:53Four years ago, Nick was flying high running a successful restaurant at the Crown Hotel in Wales.
08:58I had a business turning over a quarter of a million pounds a year.
09:01Got to six out of ten in the Good Food Guide.
09:03Two AA Rosettes and a Michelin star in 2001, 2002, 2003.
09:09Three years.
09:10But in 2004, Nick crashed and burned when he and his backers parted company.
09:15He's never got over it.
09:17It was a very tough time leaving Wales.
09:19And, obviously, very emotionally draining.
09:22We'd just found out Susanna was pregnant.
09:24Obviously, I then had the best part of a year on the dole.
09:28That's good, isn't it?
09:29Bankruptcy.
09:30And trying, obviously, to find some way of getting back.
09:35Nick opened a Coco, hoping to get back on his feet.
09:38But with no-one coming in to eat there, he's now hemorrhaging money.
09:41This morning, I want to know what the locals have got against Rococo.
09:47Hello.
09:48How are you both?
09:49Have you been to Rococos?
09:50No, I haven't.
09:51No?
09:52Have you heard about Rococos?
09:53I have heard about them.
09:54What's the reputation in Kingsland at the moment?
09:55It's quite expensive, isn't it?
09:56And when you look at it, you think, how are you going to get value for money?
09:58I think probably too pricey, too small of portions.
10:01I don't know.
10:02Is Kingsland too small for a restaurant like Rococos?
10:04They've hit the nail on the head.
10:06It's a big deal.
10:07It's a big deal.
10:08Rococos.
10:09They've hit the nail on the head, except for one thing.
10:12It's not Kingsling that's the problem.
10:14Rococos has gone way past its sell-by date.
10:17I mean, pretentious food, stuffy service, and fucking ridiculous prices.
10:22Even for London, ridiculous prices.
10:25Before I can drag Nick into the real world, I want to find out how he runs his kitchen.
10:29So I've arranged to meet him and his sous chef, Tim Sanford, before tonight's service.
10:34How are you today?
10:35I'm very well.
10:36Good to see you, too.
10:37Hello.
10:38Hello, Chef.
10:39How are you?
10:40I'm okay, are you?
10:41Gordon.
10:42Yeah, Tim.
10:43You're obviously the sous chef.
10:44Yeah, the sous chef.
10:45Is he the only chef you've ever worked for?
10:46Of this caliber, yes.
10:47What was it like last night?
10:48Dead as a dodo.
10:49Absolutely no one.
10:50No one in at all?
10:51No.
10:52Fuck me.
10:53That's extraordinary.
10:54How do you relieve the boredom?
10:55How do you stimulate yourself in terms of coming up with new ideas?
10:57It sounds absolutely dreadful, but sometimes I do watch Ready Steady Cook and I pick up little
11:00things from there.
11:01Yeah.
11:02Fuck me.
11:03No, it's dreadful.
11:04You're the first chef I've ever, ever met that's becoming, that's become excited and
11:09stimulated on the back of Ready Steady Twat.
11:11I'm just taking you through your fridges, like meat fridge, where would that be?
11:15Yeah.
11:16So I have my duck, my lamb.
11:17Can we look at the sausages?
11:18They sound nice.
11:19Toulouse.
11:20Are they actually from Toulouse?
11:21Yes, they are.
11:22Amazing.
11:23This is basically fish trimming, scallop corals for fish soup, rice pudding, Madeleine mix.
11:28Fine.
11:29Nick's fridges are packed for the best ingredients, but no one's coming to eat it all.
11:34Is he mad?
11:35You have the most extraordinary ingredients, you hear that?
11:38And if you don't sell it, you eat it?
11:40Yeah, things like meat and fish.
11:42So really, it's a big advantage the rest of them being fucking empty, because you live
11:45like a king.
11:46Amazing, no?
11:47The style of food here, Tim, must be fucking extraordinary.
11:50It is.
11:51Huh?
11:52Yeah.
11:53Well, you look well on it.
11:55Fuck me.
11:56If Nick's in trouble, he could be buying cheaper produce on his doorstep.
11:59So why isn't he?
12:01With things like the shrimps in the freezer, are you on an estuary, you know, 20 miles?
12:06We struggle to get them fresh.
12:07We always used to be able to get them fresh.
12:09No.
12:10Seriously.
12:11I have been doing my homework.
12:12Yeah, yeah.
12:13I've been here.
12:14I know how many boats are still out here.
12:15The Fisher fleet.
12:16The Fisher fleet's up here.
12:17I can tell you what they caught on Saturday.
12:18I can tell you what's in the market tomorrow morning.
12:19Trust me.
12:20Okay.
12:21Oh, fuck me.
12:22I get the feeling Nick's having me on.
12:23He's in cooking, man.
12:24Everything has to look immaculate with the best of cheeses and the best of sausage and
12:27the best of rack of lamb.
12:29He's in Kings Lynn, yeah?
12:31Not sat in the fucking harbour of Monaco.
12:34And every customer hasn't got five grand to blow on a fucking bottle of wine.
12:38Before I tackle the business, I need to see what Tim and Nick are capable of and so I want
12:43to watch them in action during a busy service.
12:46But things have sunk so low at Rococo, the only way we've been able to fill the place tonight
12:51by rounding up Nick's friends and some local business people.
12:54And when you opened in 91, was the food the same then?
12:57No.
12:58The duck egg with wild mushroom.
12:59I thought that was part of the history in terms of being on the menu for a decade.
13:02It wasn't from the very beginning, but it was just a dish that sort of came along probably not long after, 94, something like that.
13:10So 12 years then, not 10 years.
13:12Yeah.
13:13Nick's menu belongs in a museum, not a restaurant.
13:16But I suppose with 12 years of practice, service should be a doddle.
13:22Baby veg is such a throwback to the 90s, but Nick's obviously very attached to them.
13:27OK.
13:28That's finished.
13:29Yep.
13:30Well.
13:35Is this slow as it needs?
13:36Is this normal pace of service?
13:37Yeah.
13:38Nick's so busy primping and preening, he seems to have forgotten the whole point of being a chef.
13:44Beating your customers.
13:45All right.
13:46Sorry about the delay, guys.
13:47That's all right.
13:48That's not normal for that to sit there so long like that, is it?
13:50No.
13:51It's fucked up.
13:52I forgot the black pudding and I dropped the Pond Curie into the sauce for the halibut.
13:56Fucking hard work.
13:57Everything just seems so difficult so long.
13:59We're in there.
14:00The kitchen's soulless.
14:01There's no atmosphere.
14:02There's no...
14:03No oomph.
14:04For someone who's earned his stripes, Nick's making a hash out of tonight's service.
14:09Shit.
14:10All right.
14:11I just lost my fucking red wine reduction.
14:14I'm beginning to think this is a man who's lost the plot.
14:17The salad's died in the heat.
14:20Bit like its fucking creator.
14:24So how was that for you?
14:28Absolutely horrendous.
14:29Is that the normal way to work?
14:31It's certainly the way that I've worked, yeah.
14:33I'm worried because there's so much fucking around that goes on that is so unnecessary.
14:39You're screwing yourselves.
14:41Painful.
14:42It's like open heart surgery without an anesthetic.
14:44It's fucking piling crap on top of crap and using crap on crap.
14:49Everything is fucking so fucking over tweaked in a way that you've just gone past any form of normality with food.
14:57You think that the more I add and put in, it's just going to get better.
15:01It's not.
15:02It's less.
15:03Less is more.
15:10He's slagged everything off about my food.
15:11I'm disappointed because I think he could have at least said something along the lines of
15:15I can clearly see you can cook meat.
15:17I can clearly see you can cook fish.
15:19He could have said something positive to keep our morale up.
15:22I do feel.
15:27Choked.
15:38Last night I could see just how much of a rut Nick has got himself into.
15:42Sticking with the same old food has stifled his cooking and ruined his business.
15:49I need a way to get him thinking about the future and not the past.
15:54I've spotted a collection of old food guides he's been holding on to.
15:57I'd like him to let them go.
16:00Who wants to come in and read a good food guide?
16:04It's trophies, isn't it?
16:05Because you're in there, aren't you?
16:07Yeah.
16:08That's the kind of stuff you have upstairs.
16:09Yeah.
16:10Yeah, for, you know, your little meditation time, do you know?
16:14You know, when you've had a real shit night and you're slightly concerned
16:17and you want to sort of, you know, increase the size of your cock.
16:22You lay on the bed and cover yourself in all your good food guides.
16:24When you get a write-up in a guide, they've judged you for what?
16:29For that year.
16:30The previous year?
16:31Yes.
16:32Yeah.
16:33By then, you've moved on.
16:34Yes.
16:35So you're reminiscing.
16:36Right now, they're going in the fucking bin.
16:38Colin, I'll lock the bag open and you can get them in.
16:41Yeah.
16:42I don't give a fuck how much you pay for them, you know?
16:46Fifteen years of history, fifteen years of everything else.
16:48Of course it's sad.
16:50It's difficult sometimes to accept change as necessary.
16:53It really is.
16:58Nick's road to recovery is just starting.
17:00He needs to embrace change, but after a decade working with the same dishes,
17:04I wonder if he can actually cook anything new.
17:09Things have got slightly static in terms of creativity.
17:13Yes.
17:16Come here, my little fucking rottweiler.
17:17Sorry, Chef.
17:18You mentioned to me the other day about ready steady twat, yeah?
17:21No, no, no, don't look at me like that.
17:23Come back to me with some form of inspiration.
17:25There's ingredients.
17:26Let's look.
17:28I've bought some basic local ingredients and I'm giving Nick and Tim just 20 minutes
17:32to come up with some dishes that we can make money on.
17:35Onion, leeks, potatoes, and look at this baby here.
17:40Fresh.
17:41Beautiful.
17:42You've both got a bag each.
17:44Don't copy him and you don't copy him.
17:47Fine.
17:48Ready?
17:49Yeah.
17:50How long?
17:51Steady.
17:52Cook.
17:53How long?
17:54Fucking hell, you know how long.
17:55This could be the first time in years Nick's faced a full-sized vegetable.
17:58Now you're fucking sweating, aren't you?
17:59You've seen it on telly.
18:00You sat there in front of the fucking sofa.
18:02Now you're fucking doing it.
18:04Okay, Nick, please tell me you're not looking for a cutter.
18:07Where's my cutters?
18:08Where's my cutters?
18:09Wee.
18:10Nick, don't burn your mackerel.
18:11Don't get huffing with me.
18:12I know y'all know what I'm talking about.
18:13Come on, Nick.
18:14I see you.
18:15Ten seconds to go.
18:16Three, two, one, serve.
18:18Well done, Timmy.
18:19Good.
18:20Good.
18:21Nick, what is it?
18:22Just simply grilled mackerel.
18:23A little bit of thyme.
18:24Some lemon juice.
18:25Good.
18:26I've got some mackerel on a bed of sautéed potatoes with garlic and butter.
18:30Would you serve that dish in your restaurant?
18:31I think so.
18:32Good.
18:33Would you serve this dish in your restaurant?
18:34I think so.
18:35Good.
18:36Would you serve this dish in this restaurant?
18:37No, I wouldn't.
18:38Why not?
18:39Because I think it's crap.
18:40It needs a lot of work doing to it.
18:41You think it's crap?
18:42Yeah.
18:43And it needs a lot of work doing to it.
18:44You think it's crap?
18:45Yeah.
18:46And it needs a lot of work doing to it.
18:47Yeah.
18:48Macro-infinited?
18:49Yes, I did.
18:50So I could cook it quicker and gutted it.
18:51You are so paranoid.
18:52It's unbelievable.
18:53Presentation's there for 30 seconds.
18:54It's the flavour that holds the memory.
18:55It's the flavour that holds the memory.
18:56Yeah.
18:57Right, Nick.
18:58Give it a taste.
18:59Macro-infinited?
19:00Macro-infinited?
19:01You are so paranoid, it's unbelievable.
19:03Presentation's there for 30 seconds.
19:04It's the flavour that holds the memory.
19:06It's the flavour that holds the memory.
19:08Right, Nick.
19:09Give it a taste.
19:10Macro-infinite?
19:11Macro-infinite?
19:12It's slightly bitter inside because the guts are still in there, unfortunately.
19:16Right.
19:17I'm with her.
19:18Top of the macro-infinite.
19:19I like that.
19:20Nick's buckled under pressure.
19:21Tim's held his own, but they both failed the most important test of all.
19:25The leeks and the potato, I want you to serve.
19:28The potato, I wanted a soup as my starter.
19:31And then the fucking mackerel, I wanted filleted on a fucking warm potato salad.
19:36Nothing more.
19:37Boom, boom.
19:38Starter main.
19:39Yeah?
19:40£2.38, I've got to make money because I've got to fucking open my business tomorrow.
19:43Okay?
19:44So you both chose to do one dish.
19:46The winner is none of you.
19:49Clear down.
19:51Fuck, man.
19:55I'm so frustrated because I can't get anything out of fucking Nick.
20:00And I've got to make some big changes in this place.
20:02Otherwise, he's fucked.
20:04It takes a little while for things to sink in with me.
20:10I'm not, really as a rule, I'm not an impulsive person.
20:14I don't act, you know, without thinking things through.
20:19And I fully suspect that Gordon's going to get even more frustrated with me as the week goes on.
20:25But I'll probably get more frustrated with him.
20:30It's not just Nick I can't work out.
20:32If Rococo doesn't have any customers, how has Nick managed to keep the business and the family afloat for the past 18 months?
20:39I'm going to talk to his wife, Susannah.
20:41We don't go anywhere.
20:42We don't ever go out any more since having the children and there's nowhere to go and we haven't got any money.
20:48So I think he needs a sort of real kick or a boost or a real something to get him inspired again.
20:58And when it's not busy and when it's crap like that, he just, you know, he's miserable, which I suppose you would be.
21:04Anyone would be.
21:05Yeah.
21:06How long can you continue staying open along these lines?
21:10Not long.
21:11The thing that happens is every kind of six months, Nick has a meltdown and goes, everything's fucking shit.
21:17Everything's what we're going to do, what we're going to do, what we're going to do.
21:19We need some money.
21:20We need some money.
21:21If it hadn't been literally for like a month ago, a couple of friends stroke customers wanting to invest a little bit of money into it.
21:29I can't remember how much it was now.
21:31It would have gone, I think.
21:34If I had to close the door tonight.
21:36Yeah.
21:37I mean, fucking bam.
21:38Yeah.
21:39Shut down.
21:40Yeah.
21:41How much do I owe tomorrow morning?
21:42A hundred.
21:43A hundred grand?
21:44Yeah.
21:45You haven't got that?
21:46No.
21:47Has Nick got it?
21:48No.
21:49No.
21:50It's worse than I thought.
21:51Even though he's in £100,000 worth of debt, Nick's still shelling out on all the expensive produce he used when he was doing well.
21:58I need to get him to stop.
22:00He told me he couldn't buy shrimps on his doorstep.
22:03Well, I don't think he tried hard enough.
22:05And one thing I got fucked off last week with is when you said you can't buy fresh fucking shrimps.
22:14These guys go out every day.
22:16Hello, gentlemen.
22:17What?
22:18That looks like a good catch, that.
22:19He told me that he can't get fresh shrimps.
22:22Are they fresh from this morning?
22:24Yeah.
22:25And is that a normal catch in the morning?
22:28That's just average.
22:29Average.
22:30And you give me shit because I get upset because yours are in the fucking freezer.
22:33Hello?
22:34Yeah.
22:35No, no.
22:36I mean, can I have a little taste?
22:37Yeah, sure.
22:38I don't want to stick to your frozen ones.
22:39Get your fucking arse on that boat.
22:40Let's go.
22:41Unbelievable.
22:42You'll turn around and say, no, let me get my frozen ones.
22:46Yes?
22:47Woo.
22:48They are beautiful.
22:50Amazing.
22:51No shrimps, my fucking arse.
22:53Beautiful.
22:54See?
22:55Yeah.
22:56Frozen fucking shrimps.
22:57I went to the fishmongers, I told you.
22:58I went to the fishmongers.
22:59Another excuse.
23:01No more fucking excuses.
23:04Nick's excuses won't get him out of the financial shit, and I still don't think he's faced the
23:10fact that his spending habits have to change, and soon.
23:14Tonight, I'm allowing Nick to cook his menu for the final time.
23:18I'm going to do some tough talking to try and shake him out of his cocoon.
23:22The sauce is like varnish, aren't they?
23:24Why are they so heavy in the middle of summer?
23:26That's the only way I know how to sauce.
23:27Oh, fucking hell.
23:28The only way I know how to sauce.
23:30I wouldn't charge 20 grids for that in Chelsea.
23:33Nicholas.
23:34Enoki mushrooms.
23:35They look like fucking tadpoles on Viagra.
23:40Huh?
23:41Is it on there because it's Oriental, the word enoki?
23:44Yes.
23:45Poor bastards.
23:46Are you ready to stab me yet?
23:48No.
23:49Oh?
23:50What's the idea behind the two sauces?
23:53A resemblance of a pearl necklace I used to give on my girlfriend.
23:56What a lovely portion of pork.
24:00Why'd you put the black pudding on there?
24:02Because I'm over-crash at school.
24:03Is there anything registering?
24:04Yeah.
24:05In terms of all that time we're wasting, farting and fanning around, I think we can fit ten more
24:14people in and still get it done within the time frame.
24:17I feel like stripping you stark bollocks naked and putting a fucking sign on saying, customers,
24:22come and eat my food.
24:27I'm fucking serious.
24:30I just can't get anything out of him.
24:33It's so hard because he's like in a daze.
24:36When I poke him, I poke him for a reaction to wake him up to get him out of that fucking a comatized attitude.
24:42And so every time I want to dig him in the ribs, I want someone to come back to me with something of a pair of bollocks.
24:47It's like he's sort of put it at the back of his mind.
24:51It's not really that important because getting all my potential ingredients is far more important than being a hundred grand in debt.
24:56I can't spell it any clearer.
24:59We are fucked.
25:13This week I'm in Norfolk to help shake a chef out of his culinary coma.
25:17The sauce is like varnish, aren't they?
25:19Why are they so heavy in the middle of summer?
25:21It's the only way I know how sauce is.
25:22Oh, fucking hell.
25:24Last night I tried to get through to him with some tough love.
25:27Are you ready to stab me yet?
25:29No.
25:31This morning I'm hoping to start afresh.
25:48Nick's in there, so why isn't he letting me in?
25:54No.
25:59Pathetic.
26:00Absolutely pathetic.
26:02Kick me out.
26:04Who the fuck does he think he is?
26:06I've taken some shit in my time, but this is the first time a chef has ever locked me out of a restaurant.
26:11I'll sit here and wait till fucking lunchtime. I'll go in as a paying customer.
26:20Fucking arsehole.
26:21What's the matter?
26:22Fed up.
26:23Fed up.
26:24Can we talk?
26:25Yeah.
26:26Yeah?
26:27I bawled my fucking eyes out last night, Gordon.
26:28We're the same age. You've got two kids upstairs depending on this fucking succeeding.
26:40You know, so, yes, you're pissed off. Yeah, you hate my guts, but let's just have a go at fucking working and turning it around.
26:45I don't want you cooking like that because I think you can do better with half the frills.
26:51You can't give up.
26:53Was there nothing at all about last night that you saw as even remotely good?
26:56No.
26:57No.
26:58No.
26:59No.
27:00No.
27:01No.
27:02No.
27:03No.
27:04No.
27:05No.
27:06No.
27:07No.
27:08No.
27:09No.
27:10No.
27:11No.
27:12No.
27:13No.
27:14No.
27:15No.
27:16No.
27:17No.
27:18No.
27:19No.
27:20No.
27:21No.
27:22No.
27:23No.
27:24No.
27:25No.
27:26No.
27:27No.
27:28No.
27:29No.
27:30No.
27:31No.
27:32No.
27:33No.
27:34No.
27:35No.
27:36No.
27:37No.
27:38No.
27:39No.
27:40No.
27:41No.
27:42No.
27:43No.
27:44No.
27:45No.
27:46No.
27:47No.
27:48No.
27:49No.
27:50and hit him with my big idea.
27:51It's time to start from scratch.
27:55You're going to have to seriously consider changing the name.
27:59I need an unpretentious feel that's like, fuck me, get in there.
28:05Nick, any names?
28:07Not yet.
28:08Must be something in there.
28:09You just roll them out to me.
28:10Just shout at me for once.
28:13Number 11?
28:14No, because there was no...
28:15Too formal.
28:17The church is called St. Margaret's.
28:19I don't know.
28:21Maggie's.
28:23No, no, it's got nothing to do with you.
28:25No, no.
28:26It's a new identity.
28:28I say Maggie's, you know, in terms of not casualness,
28:31but just unpretentious.
28:33Something that everyone can relate to.
28:35Nick, you're nervous of Maggie's?
28:36I'm not nervous, I'm just not that keen at all.
28:39Yeah, I'm just trying to throw options in the pot.
28:42We need a fresh start.
28:44The name is not critical.
28:47The change is crucial.
28:49I don't like the name Maggie's.
28:50I think, to me, it just says...
28:55Maggie's caravan, stop and get a bacon roll.
29:00Here we go.
29:01While Nick can stewn his own juices over the loss of six letters of the alphabet,
29:05but he's not going to stop me tearing up his menu.
29:07Anything you're worried about?
29:12All that delayed silence.
29:13Fuck me, I can kill you.
29:15Finally a smile.
29:17I just hope he's happy with the new food.
29:20I've swapped his expensive ingredients for cheaper local alternatives,
29:23so we can lower the prices.
29:25And these simple dishes can be prepared quickly.
29:27That is just a nice, summery, chilled, chunky, rustic, yeah, dispatch show.
29:35And there's a duck salad, pan-fied mackerel and a bed of warm potatoes.
29:39One nice fillet.
29:41On.
29:42And a simple cheese souffle.
29:44Here's your oven, please, Nick, a hot oven.
29:46Two-twenty.
29:49Perfect.
29:49So you love the name Maggie's?
29:51I adore it, chef.
29:52No, I hate it.
29:53You hate it.
29:54Why do you hate it?
29:55It just makes me think of somewhere that you pick up a bacon butty at the side of the road.
29:58Really?
29:59Yeah.
30:00What's the alternatives?
30:03Nicholas.
30:04I'm beginning to lose patience with Nick.
30:06No answer.
30:07Time's running out.
30:08I don't know how long you think you've got, but I can't tell you any longer.
30:11Here, misunderstand, we're scared of fucking change.
30:14No one wants to change anything because it's safe.
30:16Safe means we're in the ship.
30:18I'm not scared of changing.
30:18No, I'm just trying to inject a bit of energy, but right now, like I said, no one's with me on this one.
30:24No one's clean for changes, no one's dynamic for changes, and everyone's so dead stuck in a rut,
30:28and this place is going to fucking close unless you do something about it.
30:35When I'm pissed off more than anything, I don't feel anyone fucking pulling on the rope.
30:39Quite frankly, it's not good enough to sort itself out.
30:42That's why we're in the ship.
30:43So I don't feel that surge of support, that really sort of, you know, bang, this is all I've got in life.
30:48It's not theirs.
30:49So if they haven't got it, what fucking chance have I got?
30:52I can't work out why Nick won't let go of the past.
30:58I need help from people who know him best.
31:01First stop, Susanna.
31:02I can't work out whether it's just his pride, or whether it's, you know, saying goodbye to Rococo.
31:10You're in King's Lynn.
31:11Yeah.
31:11You're not in Knightsbridge.
31:13He thinks Maggie sounds cheap, and he doesn't want his food to be cheap.
31:17We're not turning it into cheap.
31:18I know.
31:18If he's not happy with that, why doesn't he come back with it?
31:21I know.
31:21I don't care if he calls it Franky's, Maggie's, Uncle May's.
31:25I don't give a toss about that.
31:27No.
31:28Rococo's myth is feeding his ego.
31:31Nothing more.
31:31Yeah.
31:32But I swear to God, I look at that man in the eyes every morning, and there's not a hundred grand of debt in each fucking eyeball.
31:38Yeah.
31:39That is wrong.
31:40Yeah.
31:42If Nick goes down, he's taking everyone with him.
31:45Wife, kids, and his staff.
31:47It's an amazing place, an amazing setting.
31:50Quaint fucking town hall.
31:52You know, an amazing square.
31:53This place should be fucking rammed.
31:55People should be queuing up to stand in the queue to come and eat in here.
31:58Yeah, that's right.
31:58Yeah, they've got everything here.
32:00That's the way it is.
32:00Yeah.
32:00We've got to sort it out.
32:01I see someone that is hurting.
32:03Yeah.
32:03For what reason?
32:04Glory days, Michelin star?
32:06Possibly.
32:07Possibly, yeah.
32:08There's got to be a reason somewhere.
32:09I'd have said that.
32:13Four years ago, Nick was top of the bill in Norfolk, and his stage was the Crown Hotel in Wales.
32:18But when he and his backers parted company, Nick had to leave the restaurant.
32:22I don't think he's ever got over it.
32:25This is where it hurts.
32:27Have you been back in there?
32:30Not for a long time.
32:31No.
32:31Not for a long time.
32:33I brought you here to face your failures.
32:37I had a situation once when I had two Michelin stars in a restaurant called Aubergine, and I'd worked my fucking ass off for these guys for five years.
32:46And because I didn't want to go down the direction that they were going down, I cut the fucking cord, and I got out of it.
32:55And it's been the most important fucking day of my entire fucking cooking career.
33:00You have to turn a new leaf.
33:01You have to turn a new leaf.
33:02I've never been back in that door.
33:05And I've always wanted to go in there and just eat.
33:07But instead, I used to just walk past.
33:11Yes.
33:11And there's like two or three bin bags outside the front door.
33:16And do you know what?
33:17It makes me feel so happy because when I was there, I used to put out 18 to 20 bin bags.
33:22And that told me they're nowhere near as busy.
33:26It's busy.
33:26It was that moment where you think, the most important day in my entire life, turning the fucking leaf.
33:33And for the short time I've known you, I don't think you've ever turned the leaf.
33:37No.
33:37That was then.
33:39Yeah, this is now.
33:41Why didn't the fucking penny drop earlier?
33:43I don't know.
33:44Stubbornness, maybe?
33:45I don't know.
33:46I've been massaging my own ego with the food without seeing the fact that why are the other restaurants busy?
33:52Because they're not trying to be pretentious.
33:55You have got to start afresh.
33:59Fucking move on.
34:02It's taken me the best part of a week.
34:04But I think Nick may have finally got the message.
34:12It's my last day in Norfolk.
34:14Tonight, we relaunch the restaurant and there's good news.
34:18I've made a decision, Gordon.
34:20I'm going to run with Maggie's.
34:21Maggie's doesn't mean it's a fucking greasy spoon.
34:24No.
34:24In six months' time, the name is irrelevant.
34:27But it's the news.
34:28That's where I got to, to be perfectly honest.
34:31Why get all precious about it?
34:33Skip.
34:33Skip.
34:34Thank you, gentlemen.
34:35Now I need another miracle.
34:38We've got to get the people of Kingsland to give Nick's new restaurant a go.
34:42I just hope they can forgive his sins.
34:44I just want to tell you about our new restaurant.
34:46Okay.
34:46It's a replacement of Rococo's.
34:48Is that so my workplace?
34:49Yeah.
34:49Well, it used to be Rococo's.
34:50No, you haven't, you liar.
34:52No.
34:52No, you haven't.
34:53It's only just been called Maggie's today.
34:54We've changed the name.
34:55We've changed the interior.
34:57It's affordable.
34:57The food's great.
34:59Now I've got through to Nick, there's no stopping him.
35:01He's agreed to dump the intimidating 90s decor and replace it with a simple and fresh interior.
35:06Oh, it's open tomorrow, so it's my birthday tomorrow.
35:10Yes, it is.
35:11What time would you like to come?
35:11Um, tomorrow about eight o'clock.
35:14You've got a reservation there?
35:15Yeah.
35:16Well done.
35:17God, when you get going, we can't stop you.
35:18You know that.
35:19Huh?
35:21We've only got a few hours left to clear out the final traces of Rococo before we throw
35:25open the doors at Maggie's, but something's already made it back in from the bin.
35:30Where are you sitting here?
35:32No.
35:32They're not going back.
35:33I'm just going to take them upstairs.
35:34You're taking them upstairs?
35:36You're going to lay on the sofa again and cover your fucking widget with them?
35:39No, no, no.
35:40What are you doing with the guides?
35:41Well, it's history, isn't it?
35:43Just when I thought I was fucking getting somewhere.
35:46Have you got any paraffin?
35:49I never look at them, ever.
35:51Is your photo in any of them, Nick?
35:52No, there's never been photos.
35:55You don't need them.
35:57Fuck me.
36:02Fucking hell.
36:03What else have you sneaked back in?
36:06Nothing.
36:06Nothing.
36:09Finally, all the old-fashioned remnants of Rococo have been stripped out, and in its place
36:14is Maggie's.
36:15Relaxed, informal, and most important, welcoming.
36:19I've created a fixed-price menu made up of modern rustic dishes.
36:23The big pull for the locals will be the cost.
36:25At £21, it's half the price of Rococo.
36:30Big night tonight.
36:3244 booked?
36:34Yes, 42, 44, yeah.
36:35Yeah.
36:35Can we take any more, Lawrence?
36:36Yeah.
36:37If we can do them?
36:38Yeah.
36:38Yeah, definitely.
36:39If Maggie's does 54 covers tonight, I'm running around that square and the cemetery to start
36:43bollock naked.
36:45Menu.
36:45Everybody happy with the menu?
36:46Yeah.
36:46Three starters, three main courses, and three desserts, yeah?
36:49We've gone through all the fucking, you know, rollercoaster.
36:52Highly strung, highly emotional, upsetting, bullying.
36:56It's all gone.
36:56Tonight is the night.
36:58Really make it work.
37:00Good luck.
37:01Thank you all for your very hard work this week, and let's make Maggie's work.
37:05If we get through this one tonight and he pulls it off, you know, I'll be a lot happier.
37:09Of course I'll be a lot happier.
37:10My worry is in the kitchen.
37:12Not with Tim, but with Nick.
37:13If he gets in the shit early on, let's hope he's got the charisma, the personality, the
37:20drive, the determination to get out of it.
37:23This is not just a man starting off afresh.
37:25This is a man that is desperately in the shit, up to his eyeballs, with a hundred grand of
37:28debt, and fuck me, every plate he cooks, he has to really seriously mean it.
37:34Good evening.
37:36Great table in the window.
37:42Okay, one crispy duck salad on order.
37:43Yes, yes.
37:44Two gazracho.
37:45Good.
37:46Chicken natural lamb.
37:49Nice.
37:50Absolutely stunning.
37:51Good.
37:53Two souffle, and they're very hot, Lawrence.
37:54Please be careful, yes?
37:57Excellent.
37:58The starter's gone within seven minutes.
38:00Fantastic.
38:02Maggie's is filling up with the locals.
38:04There'll be more people in tonight than Nick would usually have in all week.
38:08How long for your duck to?
38:09Where do you when you are?
38:10Okay, duck down.
38:12Yeah?
38:12Good.
38:13Nice.
38:17That's fine.
38:18Don't play with it.
38:18Don't play with it.
38:20Despite the fact that we got rid of Nick's fancy ingredients, he's still fiddling.
38:24He can't afford to switch off tonight.
38:25What are those little burnt bits of the potato there?
38:28What are they?
38:28Come on.
38:29Come on, come on, come on, come on, Nick.
38:32Get Tim to put the peas and feds around there.
38:33Tim, yes, you get the peas and raw beans.
38:35Don't keep on squashing it down so much.
38:36You've been looking.
38:37You're over here.
38:38Calm down.
38:39Calm down.
38:40Slow down, guys.
38:41And work as a team like you're sort of almost in love with each other.
38:43There you go.
38:44The new menu's doing the trick.
38:47The pace is picked up in the kitchen, but it's getting busy and now Nick has taken his
38:50eye off the orders.
38:51All right, guys.
38:52Table two is already gone.
38:54What do you mean?
38:55Where's that ticket, please, Tim?
38:56What is going on?
38:58That's all I want.
39:00What is going on?
39:01I don't know what's going on.
39:02This never happens.
39:04Nick, stop, my man.
39:06Yeah?
39:07We're doing the same course again, twice over.
39:08It's all right.
39:09The next order's a chicken and a mackerel.
39:12Come on.
39:13Come on, guys.
39:14Not tonight.
39:15Of all not, not tonight, yeah?
39:16I didn't know you had a lemon there.
39:17I thought it was a chicken and a mackerel.
39:20Chicken and a mackerel.
39:21Take that one with you.
39:27Nick's just screwed himself.
39:29They've just started to cook one table's order twice over.
39:32Brilliant.
39:33It doesn't need to be as panicky as it is.
39:36Fuck me.
39:37This is home cooking.
39:38Big deep breath and just compose yourself and be comfortable doing three or four things
39:41at the same time and bring it together.
39:44The restaurant is now at his busiest.
39:46So if Nick doesn't take control now, we're in trouble.
39:49Oh, bollocks are sinking.
39:50We need two duck now.
39:51Move it.
39:52Come on, service please.
39:53We've got three souples out.
39:54Yeah.
39:55Tonight, doing it?
39:56Fantastic.
39:57Two souples, three duck, yeah?
39:58Two souples, three duck, yeah?
39:59Yes, chef.
40:01We've got seven chicken, two lamb, yeah?
40:02Yes, chef.
40:03And you've got your sides on the go, yes?
40:04Pardon?
40:05You've got your side orders on the go, chef.
40:06Yes, sauté.
40:07Finally, for the first time this week, I'm beginning to see Nick might just have what
40:17it takes to run his restrooms.
40:1920 seconds, 30 seconds.
40:20Plating the chicken, Tim.
40:21Are you ready for that souple?
40:22Nearly, chef.
40:23Finished with the ducks here, Tim.
40:24We're through the worst.
40:25All the mains have been served, and I think Nick's even enjoyed himself.
40:26Just there, you know that, Nick.
40:27Just.
40:28So, Nick's had a good night, but are we back in favour with the locals?
40:33I think the prices are right for you to take.
40:34You know that?
40:35Yeah, exactly.
40:36I'm sorry.
40:37I'm sorry.
40:38It's a good snack.
40:39I'm sorry.
40:40I'm sorry.
40:41I'm sorry.
40:42I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
40:43I'm sorry.
40:44I'm sorry.
40:45I'm sorry.
40:46I'm sorry.
40:47I'm sorry.
40:48I'm sorry.
40:49I'm sorry.
40:50I'm sorry.
40:51I'm sorry.
40:52I'm sorry.
40:53I'm sorry.
40:54right for you to come and have a meal on a regular basis rather than just a special
41:01occasion which it used to be definitely come again definitely definitely nick's got the stamp of
41:07approval making a fresh start has worked so if nick wants to bask in the glory again he'd better
41:13stick to the new regime how do you feel good good truthfully yes truthfully yeah we've just taken
41:22about two and a half grand got off to a shaky start can you do it again tomorrow that's the big
41:27question yes you can yeah good i'm glad to hear it i can't do any more and it's over to you now yeah
41:33this is just the beginning and it's going to go forward and it's going to evolve and it's going
41:37to get better and better and better um and it's just that it will never be it'll never be what it
41:44was because clearly there weren't enough people coming for what it was so it needs to be different
41:49and watch this space tonight's service was a tough one tough but we got there can they cope
41:54on the back of that performance tonight it's going to be very tough for them to cope very very tough
41:58indeed because they're going to have to wake up in terms of that's normal i'm nervous about this one
42:03more than any other restaurant i've ever worked in because i don't feel that surge of excitement to get
42:09it right
42:17miss anderson was scared of change no one last time i was in kings lynn i spent the week trying to
42:22convince nick anderson that his glory days were long gone go on argue with me come back to me
42:29by the end of the week we'd not just change the food we'd launched a brand new restaurant maggie's
42:34skip skip thank you seven weeks later i'm back in kings lynn to make an unexpected visit
42:44nice whole roasted lemon soul local with cockle butter hello how are you
42:51wow the first change is obvious nick's got customers nice buzz very nice buzz
43:00good evening good evening how are you very well good to see you yeah good evening chef how are you
43:06very well thank you timmy how are you smashing good man
43:10me oh dear hey you have got your shit together uh seriously uh turn over um
43:16we're up we're averaging four and a half to five grand a week top week's been eight
43:21top week's been eight yeah that's great one big question have you got a spare table of one anywhere
43:26yep thanks for that i'm not going all this way i'm not eating
43:31the first thing that struck me when i walked in here you know was the buzz the place is full 47
43:34couples on a wednesday night kingsling is empty yeah this must be the busiest place within mars
43:40the exact thing about the menu is everything's sourced locally which is nice um if it tastes as good
43:47as it reads then it's down to him you can't fuck this one i'll go for the um full soul the local
43:54salt please with the cockle butter and just maybe before i start can i try uh onion bargey i'm trying
44:00to figure out what the fuck they're doing here where did that one come from timmy i think suggested it
44:05timmy the cat timmy the cat so far so good but i'm reserving judgment until after i've eaten
44:15not the kind of thing you expect to find on the menu here however it's fucking delicious
44:20so who am i to complain there is nothing pretentious about what's been put on the plate here
44:25and the minute the food arrives you don't think about some pretentious chef in the corner trying to
44:31massage his ego it's good honest simple food that's all it has to be it's not rocket science
44:38thank you lovely and that's local you haven't even asked me how my dinner is yet
44:44wouldn't even dream of it not till you finish i'll let you start bringing it to car
44:49jesus fish cockle butter parsley sauteed local sets and so did potatoes
44:56rustic simple and so unpretentious is extraordinary and
45:06miles in front to what i experienced the last time around here
45:12that was nice nick very nice simple honest and uh great flavors for you what's changed in terms of
45:18i've got it i've got it back in here have you though yeah really is it is it in there yeah
45:23this is the first time i can quite honestly say and i mean really honestly you're cooking for
45:27your customers not your ego it's only gonna be a matter of time before you're financially
45:31fucking stable that yeah they're already seriously that man's paid right up to date all the supplies
45:36are back within 30 days and all the wine supplies are paid up up scratch yeah uh timmy the bar
45:41was delicious by the way good can i have the recipe please no you tiny little fucker i'm
45:46fucking i i've given you my recipes you've had a personality transplant haven't you
45:52where'd you get this from a lot more chefs i'd like to give it to tell me where the shop is
45:55and i'll send the fuckers to it all jokes apart don't fucking change no and don't put your
46:00fucking ego in front of your i'll show you the menu tomorrow don't put your fucking ego in front
46:04of your customers i won't your success is the buzz in that dying room the minute that buzz is gone
46:08you're fucked keep it there definitely yes yeah well done thank you i really mean that thank you
46:14stubborn fucker but well done yeah i'm amazed what a fucking turnaround extraordinary good
46:22honest simple food local produce great service no bits of bullshit with olive oil and all
46:28pretentious crap everywhere no flea bitten sofa sat there no canapes just a really good evening
46:34nice buzz and i really hope he makes it he's got a recipe for success here and
46:39um he'd be stupid to change it pretty good have you seen your fair share of restaurant shambles
46:48vote online for the gastro gripes that get right up your nose at channel 4.com slash ramsey
46:53next tonight smoking guns and femme fatales not an ian fleming novel the true assassination
46:58attempts on fidel castro's life maggie's done
47:10you tell these two to do my role and you can stick that one i'm sorry there you go typical what
47:15the were you thinking about putting apricots inside mashed potatoes foxy you've got every
47:21right to be slightly off about it because i would be if i cook that
47:25shit it's like a fucking kindergarten here you know that don't tell me to shut up god okay
47:29i won't respect you like that all right
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