The Total Fakery of a Kitchen Nightmares Taping

Miami Herald TV writer Glenn Garvin anonymously dined at a taping of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and saw first hand just how fake the drama on the show really is. The episode — which airs tonight— was shot at Fleming, a Scandinavian eatery in the Miami area. Gavin's report is pretty damning, from him getting threatened to have his notebook taken away, to the diners being recruited "ringers" and not regulars.

The producers even encouraged diners to "complain, volubly and bitterly." And complain they did! "Watching them was like a scene from a culinary Lord of the Flies as their nostrils flared at the scent of videotaped blood."

And the final result? One of the commenters chimes in:

Before this "makeover," Fleming was a gem -- well-executed under-represented Northern European favorites and a panoply of excellent deserts in a no-pretense, comfortable atmosphere... After this TV-fueled redux, Fleming has simply joined the herd. Now, it features pomegranate martinis on its "specialty drinks" menu, and coffee-rubbed steak.

The restaurant owner, however, was disappointed with the amount of time he got to spend with Ramsay: "It's actually no time, off-camera. What you'll see on the show is what we got." The Fleming episode of Kitchen Nightmares airs tonight on Fox at 9pm.

· Reality Bites: Fake Scenes Sour Restaurant Makeover [Miami Herald via Coldmud]
· All Kitchen Nightmares Coverage on Eater [-ENA-]

[Photo: TVJab]