- 4 months ago
First broadcast 24th May 2005.
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TVTranscript
00:00a great little Italian restaurant in a wealthy town charming staff top food happy customers
00:09well that's the dream but this is La Lanterna and it's going down the pan fast
00:19chef Rapata Alex Scott is so worried about his business that he hasn't slept for four months
00:27his best mate Gavin runs front of house but he hasn't got a clue you as a major D are fucking
00:37useless the food's expensive the restaurant's empty most nights and Alex is losing more than a grand a
00:45week if I can't turn this business around then the lights will go out at Lanterna for good it's
00:52fucking wake-up time just 20 miles north of London Letchworth is Britain's first garden
01:09city slap bang in the middle of town is Lanterna it's run by British born and bred Alexander Scott
01:20from an early age Alex dreamt of being a chef then childhood holidays in Italy turned him into a
01:29self-confessed Italian file so much so he's taken to calling himself Alessandro I think I'm a pretty
01:39decent chef and I know it's a lot worse and I do take a lot of pride in what I do I'd like to get
01:44to say we've got a really good reputation where people travel from 40 50 miles 60 miles to come
01:48here for a mill and we have got a really really good name like Gordon or Jamie or one of these other
01:54fellas helping him realize his Italian dream is Polish sidekick Aldona Novak but she's got more
02:02attitude than aptitude try to do everything I can to try and build a business up everything I can
02:14possibly think of and it's just not worth employing friends an ex-air hostess girlfriend Emily has proved
02:20to be a dangerous mix of business and pleasure okay I've remortgaged my house again to inject some
02:28money into the business and took out another personal loan and sort of beefed up my credit
02:33cards but how long can we last with debts of more than a hundred and eighty thousand pounds Alex is on
02:43the verge of losing everything he's got it's quite nice right side that's why I'm here to find out
02:48what's gone wrong chef chef how are you very well thank you good and this is it it is and God it's it's
03:01small pokey yeah very pokey Al Scott executive chef I like those yeah how many to the team in the kitchen
03:09yeah two so that's why the executive what's with the flags Italian English Italian English and that's
03:15the style of food it is Italian Italian and you're from Italy England oh England just always worked in
03:22the Italian kitchen so I just sort of learned to learn the language learn the style of cooking so
03:26I lost the Italian ingredients yeah where the courgettes from from our butcher from London this
03:31morning but courgettes from a butcher yes and then where the peppers from Tesco's Tesco's they're cheaper
03:38they're cheaper so courgettes of the butcher peppers from Tesco's lemons from Sardinia cash and carry so
03:46so far I've seen fuck all Italian it's Saturday the only busy night at Lanterna a chance for me to
03:53take a close look at Alex's authentic Italian kitchen packet bechamel sauce that reminds me of
04:04my days as a hotel commie back in the early 80s a successful Italian kitchen has to understand the
04:11secret of great Italian food simple fresh Italian ingredients what does the dollar do service operate
04:23the microwave in Alex's kitchen all the vegetables are pre-cooked and blasted in the microwave all of
04:29everywhere like Christmas tree decorations we need to do our sticker on the top shelf we've got a fairy
04:34what goes on about food what makes you excited about food and what did you do in Poland we working
04:44as a chef in the tax office the tax office so why cooking I don't know I don't actually cook
04:58great start a Polish assistant who won't cook and an English chef who seemingly can't but the menu
05:09promises modern Italian cuisine and at 30 quid ahead it's got to be good to keep the customers coming
05:14back nice like matchmakers the packet grassini matches the decor straight out of a 1980s fake
05:26Italian trattoria to see what Alex is made of I've asked him to serve me up some Italian classics first up
05:36fresh minister any soup this should be a star hit on any Italian menu very very greasy yeah dirty all
05:48stuck around the outside I'll pass it on is that it was passing on the store next salsicia Lugano fresh
05:57Italian sausages baked in white wine and served on garlic bread oh dear dear oh dear and it looks like
06:05two people penises doused in parsley I almost like Phil I've gone back to sort of 1982 where every
06:13other restaurant in the high street was an Italian ripoff we're now in the 21st century and it's still
06:20serving crap like this fucking disgusting even worse the amaretto cake is bought in and unfortunately
06:32it's not quite defrosted slightly frozen in the center oh dear dear this is about as authentic as a
06:39fucking Chinese takeaway right Alessandro you talk passionately about you know Italian ingredients
06:49authenticity I saw nothing Italian and nothing done with care I'm concerned about where you're going how
06:57long this place has got to last and unfortunately delivered fuck all that was babe way way below
07:03part do you think this is funny no because I didn't find it funny that was upsetting because that was
07:14fucking dire Alex may think that I'm his worst nightmare but this really is my idea of kitchen hell
07:23he's in such meltdown he's even let the most basic standards of hygiene slip you think you'd have
07:32cleaned up I mean it's not as if he didn't know I was coming there's no excuse for filth as bad as this
07:39when was last time the place was really properly clean it's clean every Friday afternoon yeah
07:45bullshit when we last time all the fridges were pulled out pulled out um that was done about two
07:51weeks ago what about all the bread rolls down behind the fridge now you can see them from here look
07:55she froze out right up into the al donna throws bread up into the basket to dry out dry out for bread
08:03crumbs and she misses so it all goes down the back of the fridge dirty lady what about this pile of shit
08:10here what about them with the kitchen in this state Alex risks further damage to lantana's already
08:15fragile reputation oh fucking hell it's never been used what about these trays there when were they done
08:22last it could even be closed down if we do that the oven doesn't stops working when we change that
08:28fucking hell are you ever gonna tell me the truth it does don't worry about the oven breaking yeah
08:33that's replaceable giving a customer fucking food poisoning is not yeah yeah look at that in there
08:41that is gross that is fucking disgusting everywhere you turn in this kitchen there's another surprise
08:47look muscles on the floor stuff everywhere produce just left going moldy again and then
08:58there's a pot noodle on there who the fuck is eating pot noodles there's 60 customs out there I
09:05am so fucking glad they can't see where their foods coming from how it's cooked and what the fuck is going
09:11on behind the scenes because it's a mess and it's a fucking embarrassment fucking disgusting oh my god
09:19that is taking the fucking piss fucking hell
09:23it's my second day at lantana where I'm trying to drag it back from the depths of despair Alex has told
09:36me he's tried everything he can to save the business the new head chef Alexander promises
09:41exceptional food and an enjoyable evening for every occasion lantana when only the very best will do
09:47fuck me only the very best will do the kitchen's a fucking dirty filthy mess exquisite classic Italian
09:56food god what a fucking spook radio ad it's gonna take a lot more than that to get this place back on
10:05track what was last time the fridges were done last week that was that's a finish room from
10:12saturday night so that's just a special order Jesus I'm shocked by the levels of hygiene here
10:18I wouldn't even serve that to a fucking pig you know that Alex isn't even following the basic rules
10:23it's got to be making no matter what you're doing from a bacon sandwich to a fucking totally near
10:28fucking ghost cheese you have to stay immaculate oven should be cleaned after every service the floor
10:34should be spotless and leftover food should be thrown away or stored in clearly labeled containers
10:40more oh fucking hell whose fingers have been in there I need to throw this stuff away because I'm
10:45nervous yeah yeah yeah yeah with standards this look Alex is authentic Italian kitchen look at that
10:54in there could be closed down who's that EHO environmental health no damn pest control fuck me do we need you come in yeah he knows what he's got to do he's just trying to check the rat category one saving grace they've never had rats or mice in this kitchen EHO right yeah but there is one pest I'd like to control and that's Alex he's been scurrying around in his own mess
11:24can you see where we are now I've had a very embarrassing dinner I've come back into the kitchen the place is in a mess you've taken your eye off the ball the passions gone and we've really got to get this thing back up let's get all that clean without any bullshit
11:39with a clean kitchen I can focus on the main problem Alex is cooking
11:50quite frankly it's clearly a really fraudulent imitation of 1970s Italian crap because when you walk into a kitchen and spot a bottle
12:03of lazy lemon it means lazy bastard nothing more for me I don't know where to fucking start with the food
12:12here because what I want to do is try and stall that kind of freshness and give it a sense of an Italian
12:17style influence yeah but Italian food wasn't built up on fucking frozen food run underwater yeah because
12:25quite frankly all I've seen do so far is reheat things I know the food rubbish but I need to see how he gets it on
12:32the plate I've never seen a chef work at this point in that speed and yet achieve so little
12:51that little fucker's got all the energy in the world but it's just channeled in the wrong direction
13:01because he's actually jumping around doing fuck all he looks fucking busy but he's actually cooking shit
13:06badly fucking poccodil
13:08how's my red bull with a diet of five red bulls a day Alex is so wired he bashes out the food as
13:19though his life depends on it most of his food comes in frozen or from a packet I don't know why
13:26he's lazy instead of getting ready for his customers he'd rather play golf all day then rock up an hour
13:34before service with his best night Gavin swires
13:37there's a woman coming saying she's got a table of seven people four to seven how many look now Gavin
13:44I'm gonna need to double count again Gavin is the restaurant manager the face of Lanterna does he know
13:50what he's doing out there we'll have a walk up the road because we think we may have got the wrong place but it
13:59looks like the dining room is operated with about as much finesse as the kitchen you say you want to run
14:05it as the Italian restaurant well maybe 30 years ago I can understand why this exists but not now
14:11and quite frankly it's not the only further is it nowhere near it not with those yeah that
14:20that's total bullshit because there's nothing Italian there nothing anywhere Alex tells me this
14:34well-respected chef is still in the area maybe he can shed some light on the source of Alex's inspiration
14:41are you Mario the famous chef yeah you taught Alex everything he knew is that right yeah and did you
14:54introduce him to bechamel and demi-glace and masala yeah so it was you what I'm the responsible one
15:02it's something go wrong fucking hell Mary where do you want me to start it turns out Alex spent his
15:08formative years with Italian born Mario known locally as Hertford's King of the Trattorias and
15:14obviously went very well because now you're a taxi driver no it's up in the stage where I was for that
15:20for the kitchen really if it doesn't work out for Alex I suppose I can come and bring him to the rank
15:26yeah because he's food fucking rank yeah yeah see he's a lousy driver as well he's a lousy driver as
15:33well shit now I'll let you get back to your rank thank you they're very soft those hands they're like
15:37the baby's bottles get back in the kitchen yeah it seems the extent of Alex's knowledge of authentic
15:46Italian cuisine stretches no further than Luton Alex needs to bite the bullet and relaunch the
15:52restaurant with a fresh identity of his own but a new image cost money and Alex is at the end of
15:58his tether financially how do you pay yourself I haven't paid myself a wage for four months bloody hell
16:04I mean is your business really on the line of going bust oh absolutely is very much on the line
16:09because I'll lose everything the house everything is all it's all tied up in a business so if it all
16:14goes wrong I walk away with absolutely nothing Alex's past seems full of bad financial decisions after
16:22just two weeks of running Lanterna success went to his head and instead of getting his cooker fixed he
16:27spent forty six thousand pound on a new car with no spare cash Alex can't afford to turn the business
16:39around can you fucking slow down a bit please I'm feeling sick fucking hell why on earth did you buy it
16:47truthfully I love cars I'm what I'm trying to say do you think you've got your priorities right look
16:55down at the number plate do you have a small dig that you don't need a car for transport to get
17:02to work no you live above the restaurant new commitments yeah big responsibility absolutely
17:08fucking big responsibility then you go and splash out of fucking car yeah so we've got to recuperate
17:15money back to get back into the business to keep the business open I'm saying so we've got to sell
17:19it I mean if you had the choice of keeping the car and closing the business because that's what's
17:27going to happen shortly lose the car keep the business at last he's got his priorities right
17:35and with the car up for sale on the internet I've got him a good deal on a new cooker
17:39I need to get 38 for it to clear the finance shit maybe I can ring around and see if we get rid of
17:50that number plate please do now let's think of a fucking grade a class a chef hi Anthony I need
18:01some help please everyone knows I have a lot of respect for TV chef anti-roll Thompson not your cup
18:10of tea I didn't think it would be you know that and we know you're not in need of a penis extension
18:15exactly that you're not interested John Cristovelli I'll give him a call hey JC please I'm no I'm
18:26trying to I'm trying to sell it I'm listening to you I'm gonna kick your fucking ass you're gonna kick my
18:33ass hold on a minute I'm gonna ask you what's wrong with the private play then
18:37with the car and the number plate up for sale we can move forward it's time to get Alex to do
18:48something he clearly hasn't done for a very long time I want him to start cooking this is a way of
18:57taking all your frustration out yeah in your graffiti Alex needs all the help he can get and I want to see
19:04if any of his kitchen staff have hidden talents for each of you to make a pizza whoever has the best
19:11tasting pizza we'll put it on the menu tonight as a special I've discovered that Joe the kitchen
19:17porter has trained as a cook explain yours to me nice four seasons with artichokes green peppers black
19:32olives and plumber half with a little bit of basil you flash bastard okay Joe here we go seriously do
19:40you want to come into our restaurant to try some pizza we just made thank you here we go right Joe
19:43just explain to the lady what we've done have you got two seconds we've just made these amazing pizzas
19:48and one of this lady's coming to taste them would you come in and just taste them with us you look
19:51like a man a little bit undernourished bring on the pizza Alexandra and I bet you're a vegetarian
19:56what I didn't realize was that Aldona put Parma ham on the base of her mozzarella and tomato pizza
20:10color and which one do you actually prefer the last one I tried the last one I'd go for that one the
20:21mozzarella one unfortunately that's got lots of mozzarella and tomato but underneath that it's
20:28Parma ham oh no that was me no no I didn't know that this is the lady who made them come forward
20:34Aldona come here there you go see well done don't make pizza in your life you converted to vegetarian
20:42yeah okay would you like some more no thank you oh come on there's nothing wrong with you now you
20:48haven't come out a big rash good luck with the Vegemite fresh food on the menu marks a new start for
21:00Lanterna there's gonna be a huge step for Alex people are eating that it's so strong it's not
21:12I'm banning all traces of plastic sources from the premises now Alex will have to cook from fresh in an
21:23attempt to slow Alex down in the kitchen I'm cutting his menu by half why have you got three chicken dishes
21:29on just variations choice yeah well I've seen all three of them and I think they're all shit you know
21:35that because it'll plug with the same fucking sauce two of them can go and I'm not doing that or saying
21:40that to put you in the shit but you are in a position to regenerate rejuvenate those customers
21:45and put a little bit of freshness a lot of excitement to your customers you know that yeah
21:49with a limited menu and some new dishes tonight is Alex's big chance to prove to me that he's
21:55capable of cooking from fresh it's something I'd expect one of my most junior chefs to pull off
22:03without a hitch check on one from cocktail to parmigiana one soup first temple sitting so
22:09normally Alex goes like this Jesus Christ that everyone gets really dizzy slow down yeah I want
22:21to really make sure that you stay nice and calm yeah yeah let's show some composure name but the
22:26kitchen's only half the story for the evening to run smoothly the dining room's got to be well
22:32managed by the maitre d specials but the maitre d is Alex's best mate it's Gavin's first job as a
22:41restaurant manager and I don't think he's got a clue okay it doesn't help that Gavin supported front of
22:53house by Emily Alex's girlfriend her only experience of serving food comes from seven
23:05years as an air hostess that's why I probe everything you are the maitre d aren't you running the place you've got to get some
23:13authority around you know that you've got to get some presence look at those
23:16over there that's how big your bollocks should be that big now find them and fucking use them
23:23Alex isn't doing too badly but it's not long before Gavin's way out of his depth he should be taking all of them
23:36what is he doing out there Gavin's managed to get 60 people booked in for tonight but he's allowed 40 of
23:47them to arrive at the same time any manager worth his weight should know he's got to stagger the bookings
24:00to keep a steady flow of orders coming into the kitchen
24:03you okay now yeah yeah
24:07you don't look it
24:10scrape off a little bit
24:13yeah
24:15okay pull it out
24:18what is it tell me what it is
24:21here we go again
24:23oh my god
24:25and my hair returns
24:26there's still no one
24:27under pressure all Alex's bad habits come flooding back
24:30oh my god
24:31he's all out of fucking order
24:34first time in his entire career he's actually had to cook properly and it's pretty obvious he can't do it
24:39absolutely
24:41go away
24:43completely in the shit and lost it big time
24:46which one next?
24:48nothing together and he's just clammed up and and I got a good mind to get that number play
24:56off that fucking car and stick it up his ass sideways Alex and Gavin are like two
25:04little boys playing at running a restaurant I've never worked like this I hate saying it but so
25:12close to Cowboys yeah quit now yeah put the restaurant for sale I'm more than halfway through
25:23my week at Lanterna but last night's attempt at putting freshly cooked food on the menu proves
25:27a total disaster Alex has a long way to go if he's going to become a half-decent Italian chef
25:36and his mate Gavin gives an equally pathetic performance it's just so frustrating when you
25:43show them time and time again the perfect opportunity for a great local Italian eatery
25:49in the middle of a very wealthy town and you can make such a great business out of it but
25:54I don't know if they've got it you jumped up little fucking prick who the fuck do you think you are
26:00because you as a major D are fucking useless I've done it to upset you so you come back to me I'm
26:08going to have to teach Gavin how to get tough if he's going to have any authority tell me exactly
26:13what you think right now let's go through your head and get off your chest with his staff and his
26:18customers get it out look there's no one here for fuck's sake we're in the middle of a field you've
26:25got to have authority and customers have got to walk in there looking for you yeah and you got to
26:31get a reputation yet at the moment I just see this sort of little lost boy moping around and there's
26:38things that going on in that dining room that you should be aware of yet you're totally clueless so I'm
26:43really nervous that you're not supporting Alex properly so what I want you to do is start getting
26:48angry right why did you send that stop that sounds like a fucking dickhead in a choir why the golden
26:55rule in any dining room you have to be in control of your staff what the fuck do you think you're doing
27:01you fucking idiot like that and not let your staff control you why was that food oh stop that's not
27:07good enough he sounded like a right fucking limp dick what the fuck are you doing taking the food to
27:12table six not table seven you fucking idiot can you not read the order in the kitchen excellent
27:21Gavin needs to gain the respect of his team so they know who's the boss then he can start running the
27:27restaurant with a bit of flair now you've really found your bollocks okay give it all this time okay
27:32what are you doing you stupid idiot where's your fucking brain tonight is it up your ass
27:37during last night's service Alex looked a right mess one that's been according to have a wind you
27:48before simply notices I think you're a dirty fucker show anything else oh fucking hell I want you looking
27:58immaculate smart enough I'm just lifting that whole sort of image any chance to get a quick
28:04cleaner yeah yeah don't go too close it goes it by with a fresh clean Alex I want a fresh clean look for
28:12the menu Alex has confessed that he doesn't eat fresh fruit vegetables or fish if we're ever gonna make
28:21this restaurant work I've got to get him to develop a better sense of taste for decent food get the
28:27fucking blindfolds on I'm putting swordfish on the new menu and I want Alex to choose the pasta that
28:33will be served with it and you look younger with that gone today you know that a lot younger right
28:37first one quite interesting one this one we're starting with a strong blue cheese thank you there you go
28:44nice fine news Gavin I've I have a hint of light like light pestery light pestery nutty I think
28:55you're fucking nutty you know that this is an intriguing one the second one you can actually
28:59smell what's on there you know that next up fresh herbs and olive oil definitely freshly chopped herbs
29:04in there not fresh chopped herbs that's interesting not dry that's not bad finally something I found
29:11lurking in Alex's larder okay this one so spicy so very nice actually yeah very tomato is it uh-huh
29:23more salty than the other two but it's still very nice out of all three pastas which one would you
29:31serve with the swordfish I'd say the last one the last one yeah I'll get the last one
29:36Alex's taste buds have been sullied by plastic sources for too long the last one was a fucking
29:47pot noodle is it a curry pot noodle pot noodle I've got to awaken his senses and give him a standard to aim
29:57towards since I first met him Alex has blamed everything but himself for his lack of success
30:03fresh produce so I'm taking him to a neighborhood restaurant that's sustained a great reputation
30:10for 14 years based on simple Italian cooking and this just been here since the opening for Jessica
30:17morning gentlemen how are you yeah good to see you and Alex has got a small how would you call it modern
30:26Italian yeah plastic Italian restaurant in Letchworth and for me the most important thing is just to look at
30:32the size of this kitchen this is smaller than yours yeah you don't need a big kitchen to prepare good food no
30:38you got one stove there so and what's the secret behind Italian cuisine what is it simplicity simplicity
30:44simplicity is freshness of ingredient and no pot noodles no no no no no no frozen food no frozen food
30:51bought in ravioli and something Italian kitchen can be proud to serve
31:21I want you to taste this yeah really nice fresh flavor pumpkin unlike ours which is clean clean
31:34anything stuck to the roof of your mouth no no no mustard mustard mustard really nice sage butter are you
31:41capable of doing something like this absolutely but do you really want to do it I really want to
31:45am I wasting my fucking time not not so you'll see a big difference it's been a big wake-up call the
31:51last couple days and it's gonna get me into focus it's starting to focus and get things to how it
31:56should be and get things working again but I'm quite nervous because I think you'll let it fall through
32:03your fingers it will work it's not an option but if it doesn't work and you don't wake up what will you
32:07do but don't think you will and I'm telling you that in order for you to prove me wrong and before
32:21we go I mean you're a great chef aren't you nice car what about the number plate can I sell you the
32:28number plate a one chef um how much is it going for the car no fucking number plate 1800 1800 so would you
32:36have a private number plate no no even though you're an a1 chef yeah you still wouldn't have
32:42a plate no so what the fuck are you doing with it on your car Alex has had his car number plate up
32:50for sale for the last week and we're praying for some good news unfortunately your item did not sell
32:59I was rather hoping we could get rid of it today you know I didn't have a conclusive sale yeah it's not
33:05the result Alex was hoping for but with Lan Turner in desperate need of a revamp I want to show him
33:11it's possible to change the look of the restaurant without spending lots of money the interior was
33:17designed by Alex's girlfriend Emily and then we've got rustic brick but her ideas seem to be based on
33:24dodgy hotels she stayed in as a charter fly air hostess for the price of a couple of tins of paint we
33:32can rip and turner of his 1980s trattoria look Charles I don't think you should touch it we'll
33:38go with Emmys who's Russian is it is it yours and Alex is Alex's restaurant is Emily's last choice
33:46was ghastly so I think she should have less of an involvement next time round you don't trust me
33:52it's not because I don't trust you I think it needs to be a substantial improvement Emily on this pale
33:58walls Alex is your restaurant get your goodies out and make a decision it's Lan Turner's first birthday
34:09tomorrow night and a perfect opportunity to relaunch the restaurant but in order to make it work Alex has
34:16to be completely committed to his kitchen it's really exciting making nice homemade soup yeah and
34:22when you think of Italian restaurants you always think of stuff being homemade I'm replacing the
34:26disgusting minestrone soup the rich Tuscan bean soup instead I have a great look at the menu yeah yeah I'll
34:33don't read the menu I've slimmed down the menu from a three-page epic to a simple handful of classic
34:39Italian dishes all freshly cooked by Alex and I've cut his prices to give value for money not a concept
34:50Alex has ever been familiar with and that sets you up with 15 to 20 portions of soup at four pound a portion
34:5880 pound return that you've got to put 12 to 15 minutes love into it fuck all yeah I want Alex to have every chance of making it a success
35:15just see how elegant that is nice and white Kevin what do you reckon much much white the paper tablecloths cost next to nothing and the
35:23the paintings come courtesy of a local art college Alex what do you think
35:32with a fully booked restaurant for the relaunch comes Alex's chance to forge a new reputation okay
35:39guys big night new menu yeah lots of exciting fresh ingredients new dining room so walk around with a
35:46little bit of grace and put a bit of passion into it as if you really want it yeah this is something
35:51is Lanturno's last bite of the cherry okay Tuscan bean soup very simple if Alex and his troops can
35:56remember what I've taught them and there's just a chance tonight might be a success on the top okay
36:02can we just highlight the bottom of the menu here very very quickly today's celebration the first
36:05of the Lanturno restaurant from now on Alexandra Scott will not be using microwaves or synthetic
36:10sources and I so fucking mean that you know that yeah okay ready yep let's go good luck just really
36:18hoping out then I can't make any mistakes just really want to get it right just so I'm going to say
36:23yep you did good we're okay okay he's good Alex has got all the right ingredients here to make a
36:28bloody good business but can he pull it off fuck knows one sausage one soup main course is one
36:36Apollo what two swordfish yes that's better we fill the dining room with some of let's world local
36:46dignitaries but as a guest start piling in one soup one cracks in Alex's cooking begin to show
36:55yes Laura how's everybody out there yeah what they say about the food
37:22I mean we've been in here now an hour and a half by the slow we're not a lot very happy
37:31buddies at the moment and we reorder and have breakfast instead Alex seems to be falling at the
37:45first hurdle I know I know you lost but what do you just come really really really quiet you know
38:00that I don't know there's only one man who can get us out of this mess and help salvage Lanturno's
38:08reputation can we get a place you take parmesan right Kevin kitchen is in the ship yeah that's
38:14pretty obvious yeah it's a big night tonight and the night we should be in the ship hello
38:17yeah how many linguine have you sold not many I don't think many as well we haven't sold one yet
38:22yeah so in order to help the kitchen start pushing the fucking linguine a little bit yeah so we can
38:27take a bit of weight off Alex's shoulders yeah and push the soup as well stuff that we can really
38:30start flying the starters out please yeah let's go I want Gavin to show some bottle if he can
38:37motivate his team and start selling the ready prepared specials that will take the pressure
38:41off Alex and get the kitchen back on track well done let me say that easy so so on the squash in
38:49here now he just sold another four portions hey well done please yeah welcome back what did we
38:54discuss in the field the other day about having what yeah cool you yeah profiterole balls that's
38:59exactly that then we found them excellent well done yeah you just made the restaurant yeah another 15 quid
39:05by Gavin pushing the specials is giving Alex some space to calm down and start cooking like a
39:12proper chef one blue all I love blue get this one right special night like tonight yeah after the
39:20last two and a half hours of fucking mayhem yeah with the right sort of encouragement you might just
39:26pull it off I bet you fucking do I'm apologizing now because Alex will overcook the blue steak again
39:35okay sorry that's it it's hardly dinner at the Cipriani but it's not bad and the customers are liking it too
39:50nice very nice I never thought I'd say it but thanks to Gavin's newfound confidence the Letchworth
40:02boys have come good just more salt Rome wasn't built in a day but at least I've bought Alex kicking and
40:10screaming into the 21st century tonight it was something a bit different something a bit different
40:23about the sauce that you know it was excellent happy first birthday yeah may your second be even better
40:31um Emily happy with the dining room yes that is a pathetic answer that means no I fucking hate it
40:38um I've asked Alex to make sure that you don't get a paintbrush in your hand again yes if it's a
40:45role man I'll take you down that field again you know that right say it to me once more what the
40:51whole lot the whole fucking lot the whole fucking lot the whole fucking lot I'm positive in front of
40:56your colleagues where's your fucking brain tonight is up your fucking ass why the fuck did you take
41:02table six his order to table seven you stupid wanker I really want them to succeed but it'll take a lot
41:14of commitment and hard work to make this place a real success cheers guys cheers cheers oh you smooth
41:26bastards six weeks later and I can't wait to see how things are going at Lanturner how are you you well
41:37when she screamed that I thought what's going on you had a dream about me last night I killed you
41:45you're not wrong there you know that yeah when I first visited I found chef proprietor Alex Scott
41:50living in a dream world I don't know how long he believed he was a talented Italian chef but his
41:58kitchen was filthy I wouldn't even serve that the food was dire and overpriced something disgusting and
42:08to make matters worse his restaurant manager Gavin was a wimp you as a major D are fucking useless no
42:16wonder Alex was drowning in debt and about to lose his home and his business I've never worked like this
42:22you know so close to cowboys yeah after a week of hard slog Lanturner was reinvented and given the
42:29potential to become a great neighborhood restaurant look at that swordfish beautiful now I'm back to see
42:35if my time at Lanturner had any lasting effect excuse me you don't walk in a half of the way you shout
42:42down to me I thought at least you'd fucking make a bit of presents oh yeah yeah no louder oh yeah you
42:49can't follow that's crap come on fuck fuck have you been the last fucking two months we've fucking
42:55hanging around waiting for you you lazy fucking bastard how am I thank you good to see you well
43:01that's better excellent where's Aldona's Christmas tree and vegetables it was fact they've all gone
43:07now doing all to order everything's done to order thank God those revolting overcooked vegetables
43:12are off the menu overall the whole staff enthusiasm is lifted and you look cleaner shall we know
43:18not bad I feel I feel stuck in the car wash for three years I feel you know refreshed reinvented I'm
43:26happy about what I'm doing you can't believe what I'm seeing it gets stripped down show me surprise me
43:34Alex that's not bad so what's that in there that's my mix my Alan's heart so it's just fuck me
43:42fuck me serious I'm speechless Alex is actually cooking I've got my pasta dough in here we have
43:52ravioli filled with mushrooms and walnut Jesus Christ fucking hell you all right yeah he surprised me
44:01I'm you know you know a little bit sort of surprised a shock thank you I didn't think you're capable of
44:09doing it the amount of time I spend in the kitchen now is like I say about four hours more to what I
44:13was doing and the more work and effort and the more care you put into food the more it hurts when it
44:19goes wrong oh absolutely so you know it's an interesting relationship when it looks like you've now
44:25started to sort of really wake up and understand that bond with food each time I make like the
44:30ravio I'm improving every time I see tasting the food is it's better and using the fresh ingredients
44:37while we've talked the talk yep now when we eat the fucking food yeah yeah I hope his extra commitment in
44:45the kitchen is reflected in the standard of his food you can close your eyes and actually count flavors
44:52steps walnuts the pasta trigger it I'm pleased to see he stuck to a small very simple Italian menu
45:03and everything's freshly cooked this the kind of food it should be seven real party rustic wholesome
45:15Italian food rich with tomatoes nice texture and the meatball and a perfectly cooked linguine lovely
45:23fuck me his next work ready for Alex Scott Alex has come a long way since his plastic sources just
45:34six weeks ago last time you're struggling to sort of live survive depending on credit cards yeah in the
45:41ship yeah we've we cleared I mean Christmas we basically cleared off all our debts all our business
45:45and personal debts yeah started refresh started a new year of a clear bank balance paid off all the
45:51back days and you know we're staying around two feet now and we're having a good January compared
45:55to everyone else in here even though he's still got the car Alex has managed to clear 20,000 pounds
46:01worth of debt and can finally afford to pay himself a wage but there's still one thing standing in the
46:14way of Alex's success and that's Alex I sincerely hope he doesn't try to run before he can walk
46:22come back in years time as the yes Alex you are an a-1 chef that's what good a legal
46:29I'll pass on please between them they've learned how to crack the egg batter to fuck literally he was
46:46hoping like nice big piece of a deal there's no texture but apart from that very nice but they
46:53haven't yet made the omelette you've been cooking now for six weeks yeah because that's all I'm gonna
47:01say that you're cooking properly for six weeks and it takes years you know oh yeah please don't forget
47:08that oh no there's a big wake-up call going to Reva just really sort of work me out to what can be
47:12done on small premises yeah using fresh ingredients what you're saying is that you're no longer a
47:18fucking cowboy absolutely so when you think that things are going perfectly right and you don't
47:24really need to improve think back to the days of powdered stock but you always learn about the
47:29shits of yourself because there's gonna be no one here in five minutes to do that before you do it
47:34yourself now absolutely yeah really appreciate it thank you just one last thing before I go
47:41Gary I'm nice Gordon how are you mate listen I need a favor I'm a little bit in the shit to be
47:49honest now Gary Rose is truly an A1 chef I can give it to you for 2,998 pounds hold on a minute you've
48:02got a number playing with you haven't got the same have you I've got 22 gr 22 gr there you go
48:09okay okay I can make 500 quid listen 500 quid and I'll go back to 500 quid and hopefully we sold
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