- Ulster County, New York.
Nestled between the foothills of the Catskill Mountains
and the Hudson River lies Saugerties,
a vibrant town, home to Love Bites,
a small local restaurant run by childhood sweethearts
Tess and Chris.
- We met when we were 12.
- I saw her, and I was just astonished
by how beautiful she was.
- We had, like, a little date jumping on my trampoline.
And we rekindled things about ten years later
when we met at the restaurant that Chris was managing at.
- When I saw her again, it was love at first sight.
- We went on a date right away.
And then we went into a relationship,
and we bought the restaurant right after.
All right, new ticket.
Chicken and waffles, coconut carrot.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
Chris was, like, super romantic in the beginning.
And we went to a lot of dinners,
and we went on a lot of, like, trips and, like, cool things.
And he was, like, super kind and loving.
Let's go out to eat. - What?
- Six months into owning the restaurant, we got engaged.
Thank you for coming in.
We haven't planned the wedding,
and I don't see us planning the wedding
in the near future because of Love Bites.
- 45-minute wait on every table now.
This is insane.
- I deal with front of the house.
We tried to find, like, a full-time chef.
It just didn't end up working out.
As of right now, Chris is the chef,
and he has been for probably the last year.
But Chris is ruled by anxiety.
- I'm shaking like a leaf, and I do not--
this is not what I want to do. - Can I please come help you?
- I am so overstressed that I'm not even trying.
On the days I have to come in here and cook,
I'm dry heaving in the morning.
[retching]
- What's wrong?
- Just dry heaving.
- This business has destroyed him
and destroyed our relationship.
- Why is this food sitting here?
We don't want to give it to the table?
Was that a decision on you?
- You have hand-cut fries, chicken and waffles,
and a crab cake Benedict, no salad.
You're coming back for the crab Benedict,
crab aioli, and we're going to two.
- All right, we got food up, up here.
What's going on?
- I can't make all the desserts,
all the drinks, run all the food.
It's impossible for one person!
- Idiot.
- My staff is appalled by how he speaks to me.
- The [bleep] is the matter with you?
- I don't know how many times people have to come up to me
and ask me why I stay with him
when they hear him scream at me.
- All I'm saying is, if we lose a ticket
we're in big trouble, okay?
- I'm trying to keep track, Chris.
- [bleep] you.
[tense music]
- I've been working here a couple of months now.
I've seen a lot of tension.
Chris running the back, Tess running the front.
I see a lot of issues there.
- Yeah, that's definitely overcooked, yeah.
I have a lot of people complaining
about overcooked burgers.
- Morons.
- Chris seems overwhelmed a lot of the time.
It's communication, and it's also just like,
he needs to back off of his staff
and, well, his loved ones.
- Hi, part-time Mom.
Next week I'm taking you on full-time,
because I can't do this anymore, Mom.
- Okay.
As Chris' mom,
I actually worry about him.
- I had to take on everything myself,
so just another day.
- He's stressed because he's a perfectionist,
and he doesn't like to fail.
- Can I hop on the line?
- Tess, leave me alone.
♪ ♪
- What can I help you with? - Wow, nothing.
You can't help me with anything.
- I can help you,
but you won't accept my help.
- This is [bleep] stupid.
[bleep], man.
- You shouldn't talk to anyone you hate that way,
let alone someone you love.
- Are we learning how to use a computer?
I don't know if somebody skipped college or what,
but a [bleep] moron.
- This restaurant has turned my son
into a person I no longer know,
not the child I raised,
not the gentleman he was.
- I don't need any more idiocracy in here
than we already have.
- On our days off, first thing in the morning,
and he's on his phone,
looking at something about the restaurant
or talking about the restaurant.
There's no divide between work and romance
or work and home,
and it's tiring.
- [kisses] - [sighs]
- Without them having a personal life,
I don't see their relationship making it.
And it would be so hard for all of us,
because we all love each other.
I don't want them to split up.
- I worry about losing Tess.
If we went our separate ways, I would--
I don't know what I would potentially even do.
- Yeah, I'll take it off your check, no problem.
We are approximately $200,000 in debt, or more.
We have all of our debt collectors
constantly on our back.
- Paychecks aren't here yet, but tomorrow.
- Our house is leveraged.
We lose Love Bites, we lose our house.
Chris and I both look at the Love Bites logos
on the front windows, and those are literally prison bars.
We need Gordon's help because we are lost here.
- I can't do it for much longer at all, honestly.
- Love Bites has destroyed Chris and Tess.
[dramatic music]
- This place is a death trap.
I can't help you if you can't help yourself.
Rot has set in.
Smell it!
Shut it down.
♪ ♪
I'm in Saugerties, New York, to visit Love Bites.
It's a struggling restaurant
that's run by a very young couple called Tess and Chris.
Now, they've been engaged for the last six years,
and right there is a red flag for me.
Never once did I ever contemplate working
with my wife in any of the restaurants,
and the pressure it puts on the family is ridiculous.
This industry is incredibly hard at the best of times,
and if you're in the business with a loved one,
the stress can become all-consuming.
The problem isn't just the restaurant.
Clearly, it's the relationship.
So fingers crossed, if I can fix one,
it may fix the other.
This place is gorgeous around here.
♪ ♪
- Why the [bleep] is there a vegan pancake on this thing?
A vegan pancake?
It's not even on our menu.
- Sometimes people will try to be
on their best behavior when I arrive.
Hey, guys.
So before I go in,
I'm going behind the scenes to see for myself
what Chris is really like.
Right, check on the MCR, master control room.
Hey, guys. Good morning.
Hi, bud. You good?
Hey, bud.
You good? - Yeah.
- Good. So there they are.
- Yeah. - Bloody hell.
- I need my crab Benedict for the bar.
- Too bad.
You want everything to put in at once,
you can go [bleep] yourself when it comes
to getting your food.
You put in every [bleep] ticket at once.
- I didn't--i-it's-- - Yeah, whatever.
Sure, you didn't. - Don't blame me, Chris.
- Oh, yeah. - [crying] I do not have
any control of it.
- Of course you don't. Who would have control
over their [bleep] domain and where they work?
No control over the front of the house.
Okay. Anyway.
- Okay. Time to get in.
- Yeah. - I'll see you in there.
Thank you.
I've got a sense of how Chris' behavior
is affecting the kitchen.
Now I need to go and see how it plays out
on the restaurant floor.
[tense music]
Hello. Good morning.
♪ ♪
- Turn around. Turn around.
See who walked in. - Hey.
You must be Tess. Hello, my darling.
- Hey. - How are you?
Are you okay? - Yeah.
- Let me--let me grab a seat,
and then I will-- - Yeah, check out the menu.
I really want to know what you think about it.
- Absolutely. Thank you.
- Yeah, you're welcome.
- Hello. How are we?
- What does "no chicken pea" mean?
Table three, "House salad, no chick--"
- No chickpea. - Oh, wow.
Wow, that couldn't have meant chicken,
right, or anything else?
- God, the noise in that kitchen is insane.
What is going on?
- [bleep] ridiculous, man.
- I'm gonna start off with a coffee, please.
- Just a plain coffee? - Plain coffee, please.
- Cream and sugar? - Yes, please.
Thank you.
Okay, "To share:
"sweet and spicy cauliflower wings,
"flatbread, hand-cut fries, steak frites,
"breakfast burger, the French dip,
cauliflower banh mi, West African peanut soup."
This menu's all over the place.
Thanks, my darling.
And, uh, I'm ready to order when you're ready.
Let's start with spicy breakfast salad.
Let's do the crab cake Benedict.
How about the French dip as well--
sliced, uh, braised brisket, Swiss, sesame bagel.
- I have that all the time.
- Oh, do you? Good girl.
- No more Benedicts.
- Oh! - Oh, my [bleep] God.
- What's going on there?
- He's behind, and he's not having a good time.
- You just broke dishes into my [bleep] station.
- All right, I'll get it. - It's okay.
- Yeah, that's the worst thing
you could ever [bleep] do in a kitchen.
- And he can't handle the heat?
- Sometimes he can.
Sometimes he gets testy, and they kind of clash.
- Who's "they"? - Him and Tess.
- Okay, Tess, right.
I'll keep ahold of the menu.
Thank you. - Thank you.
- What can I do? - Nothing.
Get away from me.
- Chris, I need you to-- - Take this down.
French dip, over easy, brisket. Get it out.
And we have no more hollandaise.
- The chef screaming, smashing plates.
That's not a good image for a neighborhood restaurant
in such a prestigious town
like Saugerties, let me tell you.
- Chris, this is Gordon's food.
I have a crab cake Benedict on here.
I need you to find... - Shut up.
- Hollandaise for it.
- Shut up.
- I need you to have one focus right now,
Chris, and that is table B6.
This is Gordon's order.
- Gordon first. You got it.
Okay.
- [retches]
- Christopher, can I get you something for your stomach?
I have stuff.
You want something? - [retches]
Shut up. - All right.
[bell dings] - All right.
- Is he okay? - Uh, yeah.
He's burning a little bit,
but he always sounds like that.
- And this is Mum in the restaurant as well?
- That's my mom, yeah.
And Chris' mom is also in the restaurant.
She's dishwashing. So I've really called in
everyone I could to help.
Health-wise, I shouldn't be doing even what I'm doing, so.
- Why health-wise?
- I have really bad--uh, really bad health conditions.
I've been sick my entire life.
At 16, I was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome,
as well as chronic pseudo-intestinal obstruction.
In the process of having the restaurant,
I've had, like, 25 surgeries.
- But you're barely 30. - Yeah.
And they had to remove my entire colon
and half of my small intestine.
So in total, I've lost 18 feet of my intestines,
and that's why I have a bag which collects all of my waste.
This is something I'll deal with for the rest of my life,
and it's been--it's been a really hard struggle.
You're really needed here.
- I'm glad I'm here, darling, okay?
- Thank you. - Thank you.
- Can we just make sure that the crab Benedict are, like,
really good for Gordon? - Tess, shut up!
Leave me alone and I could do what I do.
- [hyperventilates]
- Bloody hell.
- Saugerties, New York.
At Love Bites, it's not just this restaurant
that's close to collapse.
[dish shatters]
Owners Chris and Tess's relationship
is also at breaking point.
- I need my bar tickets.
- Yep, you'll get it when I send it,
just like you send in your tickets when you want to.
- Time to find out if the food is lacking in love too.
- This is our spicy breakfast salad.
- Thank you.
[indistinct chatter]
[playful music]
That is really bad.
First off, there's just not even seasoning.
Those eggs are terrible.
Terrible.
- I need a bun for the--
I need a bun for Gordon. - Yes, yes, yes, hoagie roll.
Here. - Fresh?
I need a fresh one.
- Let me grab another bag.
- Three-day-old bun for Gordon.
- How is everything?
- It's just not really seasoned.
It's just bland.
You think $16 for that, it's a--
it's a high price for some very bad scrambled eggs.
This place is full, right? It's got to show
a little bit of care, right?
- 100%.
You have to cook with love.
- Well, love bites if you don't cook with love, right?
- All right, Chris,
Gordon said that there's absolutely no seasoning
in the spicy breakfast eggs.
- Great.
I don't know what else to say.
These dishes have been sitting up here.
What do you think's gonna happen?
This dish has been up here for five minutes, sitting.
- All right, I'm going now. - It's gonna be [bleep].
- I'm going now. - I mean, I could make
the best [bleep] food ever, and by the time
we bring it out to him it's gonna be terrible.
- Do you want me to take this to Gordon, or--
- What the [bleep] is the matter with you?
This is a table. - Okay.
[tense music]
- Ow.
- This is a popular one, right?
- Yes, this is the most popular dish,
and the crab Benedict, which you have coming right out.
- Thank you.
French dip, an absolute staple.
♪ ♪
You know, it actually tastes okay.
But this guy's just throwing food out.
He's just going through the motions
and literally banging food out of here.
What a shame.
- All right, do I have to remake
the eggs on this one now?
Because we left it here, because we couldn't get it out,
because we [bleep] brought it to the wrong table?
[bell rings]
- Yep, I got it.
All right, Gordon, and the crab cake eggs Benedict.
- Thank you. It's such a shame with this,
because it's actually quite nice, the French dip,
but it's just, there's so much bread and tiny brisket.
This thing should be packed with brisket,
dip and eat, but-- - I agree.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
- Does not make sense.
- All right, guys, Gordon said that
the French dip is actually very good.
- Nice. - But there's too much bread
and not enough meat.
- Okay. - Understood.
He usually doesn't like anything.
- Crab Benedict, $21.
Everything's just so greasy.
So are they frying these again?
- Yes.
- Yeah, and why does he deep-fry them?
- I don't know.
- Ugh. Listen, I've had worse,
but $21?
Yeah, I'm embarrassed for him.
- I'm so sorry.
- This restaurant is called Love Bites, but I've tasted
nothing that's made with love, let me tell you.
[tense music]
After the conflicts and stress I've witnessed
in the restaurant today,
it's time for me and Tess to have a talk.
♪ ♪
Oh, boy.
First of all, all the screaming.
Who's he shouting at?
- Mostly me. [chuckles]
And when we get home, he doesn't use the word sorry,
or he doesn't know how to apologize,
so instead he just pretends it doesn't happen.
- Why did you buy this business?
What did you want from this?
- I didn't want this business, Gordon.
Um, this was Chris' decision.
- Right.
- Um, but when he bought the business,
it was just too much for him to take on alone.
So then I had to quit my job and come here.
- And have you set a date for the marriage?
I mean, engaged for six years. - No.
I don't know if I really want to marry Chris
after everything, like, how he treats me and stuff
when he's under pressure.
- This is not healthy. - No.
I'm so over it, Gordon. And the only reason I'm here
is because I'm trying to save this restaurant.
- I appreciate that.
And I'm sorry you're going through this.
But I'm here to help.
I've seen enough.
Sadly, this is not an unusual situation for me.
The stress on restaurateurs' mental health
is a massive problem in the industry.
♪ ♪
- Have a really good day. Thank you for coming.
- Lunch rush over and diners departed,
it's time for me to confront Chris
about what I've seen and heard.
Hey, you must be Chris.
Yeah. - Nice to meet you.
- Likewise.
I've been to thousands of restaurants in my life,
but I've never been to a restaurant
as toxic as this.
And I've come here to help you and Tess,
but I want to know, what the [bleep] is going on?
Do you even want to be in that kitchen?
- Not really.
Genuinely, I--
you know, I thought I had a passion for cooking,
but just being in the kitchen all the time
has just kind of really beat me down,
and I don't really know where to turn anymore.
- Have you thought about letting go of Tess?
- [sighs]
Not really,
because I just feel like this has got my mind so clouded
that I just need to get out of the kitchen for a second
so I could not be constantly
at each other throats at the restaurant
so I can just give us a second to step back
and realize that if we're gonna be--
rekindle things, because we've just kind of lost it
in the last couple of years with this place.
- She's at her lowest.
You understand the medical history.
You understand the complications.
And you still-- you still lay into her.
- [barely audible] Yeah.
- This is your fiancée.
And Mum's washing up.
And your future mother-in-law
is in the dining room bussing tables.
[bleep], Chris.
The fact that the only staff are the closest women
in your life tells me a very bleak picture.
And I've got to start with you,
because you're controlling this [bleep] thing.
Your moods, your behavior, your arrogance,
your chippy-ness, your [bleep] insecurities,
it's all held in this clutch
with these females that are absolutely stuck to you.
If these women weren't your family,
you'd be [bleep].
No server, no busser, would put up with that [bleep].
The first thing that has to change here is you, young man.
You need to man up and start showing some respect.
♪ ♪
- [groans]
[crying]
- It's a new day in Saugerties, New York.
And after witnessing some very worrying behavior
yesterday at Love Bites...
- Do you want me to take this to Gordon, or--
- What the [bleep] is the matter with you?
This is a table. - Okay.
- I delivered co-owner Chris
some hard home truths.
The first thing that has to change here is you, young man.
[birds chirping]
I'm meeting Chris' mum, Donna, out back...
- It's nice to meet you. - Yeah, likewise.
To talk to her about her son's toxic behavior.
Where's the anger coming from? - He feels resentment
because he feels like he's doing it all.
- So he's overwhelmed.
- Absolutely overwhelmed.
That's what upsets me so much.
It still breaks me like he's three.
- That's making it worse.
He's drawing all these powerful women close to him...
- Mm-hmm. - That are allowing him
to behave like that, so therefore, unbeknown to you,
you're actually aiding that abusive behavior.
- I actually agree with that.
He's broken.
[somber music]
And I'm so tired of seeing him so sad,
and there's nothing I can do to help him.
- This business is so consuming,
but bringing a personal relationship
into that restaurant is ten times harder.
They need time apart to value what they had.
- I agree 100%.
- And if they can't value what they had,
they shouldn't be back together.
It's gonna be a tough couple of days.
- This is exactly what Chris needs.
He needs to hear it from Gordon.
It's time that the healing began.
[tense music]
- You're gonna sit right here. I'll get you menus.
- It's clear that Chris' behavior is the crux
of the complications at Love Bites...
- Okay. - Which all seem to stem
from his issues running the kitchen.
♪ ♪
So I'm going back in to take a closer look
at Chris in action.
- So I need a setup for a schnitzel.
I'm very nervous. I feel like
there's a lot of stress because it's just--
it's Gordon Ramsay standing over you,
you know, watching you cook.
- So this vegan toast, right, your vegan French bread?
- Yes, yes. - So that's now on top
of the griddle, which has been cooking [bleep] eggs.
[tense music]
What else you put on there?
- Bacon.
- Bacon? - Yes, bacon.
I try to keep the bacon on one side.
- But look at me. - Yeah, yeah.
- They should be separate. - Okay.
- There's no vegan or vegetarian
in any of this [bleep] area that would love to see
some [bleep] bacon juice on there, right?
[exhales deeply]
[bleep].
- Get that burger on. Cauliflower, two apps.
Oh, wow, three burgers all day.
- Who has the coconut carrot French toast?
All right. And then she has the burger.
♪ ♪
- He's got bacon on there now.
I mean, what a [bleep] numpty.
Chris. - Yes.
- Just give me 30 seconds, please.
- Yeah. - Look at me.
- Yes. - Look at me. Look at me.
Look at me in the [bleep] eyes. - Yes.
- Yeah, I just saw the bacon go on the griddle again.
- No, no. I--
- I saw the bacon go on the griddle
five seconds after I told you.
I'm not here to butt heads with you,
but I am gonna get [bleep] off in a minute.
I'm supposed to help you, but I can't [bleep] help you
if you don't start listening.
Get the [bleep] bacon off the griddle.
Okay? - Yes. Thank you.
So embarrassing.
[retches] [bell rings]
Oh, wow, we're so behind.
All right, that's it. 30 minutes' wait.
We're getting slammed again.
♪ ♪
- This is a tight line. - It's tight, yeah.
- It's such a small line.
I mean, there's 40-odd items on the menu.
Why is the menu so big?
- I don't know.
- Hello, how are you?
- The steak?
- Okay. Have it right out for you.
I have two steaks up on the bar.
- We don't have any more steak.
- What do you mean? - Well, we were out of steak
a while ago, so you knew that. - How are we out of steaks...
- I told them that. - When we had three steaks?
- No, I didn't. - Yes, you did.
- [bleep] hellhole.
- How you holding up?
- I'm okay.
- You don't look good to me.
You look really red in the face.
- Go sit down and drink some water.
- Yeah, I think you need to sit down as well.
- Drink some water, for sure.
- It's really hard for me to have Chris' mom
and my mom there, because they really baby Chris
and make excuses for him,
and it just gets to me.
- Tess.
- We all go through hard things.
- Yep. - And it's a stressful service.
The first thing anyone has to say, is Chris okay?
That is so [bleep] tiring for me,
and it's not fair to me.
- It's not. It's not.
- Makes me feel [bleep], and it just makes me feel like
no one cares about me, you know?
And it's [bleep].
- As service continues,
things seem to be going from bad to worse.
- French dip, two of them. We got to get these out.
Both are for eight, with the French dips,
the one that we [bleep] up the order.
- There is cabbage that comes with that,
and I don't know why that's missing.
I'm missing cabbage on my last schnitzel.
- I don't have any cabbage.
I made that apparent. I don't know what
you didn't hear about it, but I told everyone.
- No one heard you say there was
no steak or cabbage today. - Okay.
- I'm not gonna argue with you right now.
- They're doing a [bleep] job, to be honest.
That's the truth.
I don't even know if anybody knows
what they're doing out there, or they're just all [bleep]
running into each other, bumping their heads together.
Just total idiocracy.
- [sighs] [bleep].
Concerned about what this toxic environment
is doing to Tess, I want to talk to her mum outside
to hear what she has to say.
There's only one person suffering more
than anybody here. - My daughter.
- Your daughter. - I know.
It hurts her.
I know he cares greatly about her.
- Yeah. - But when he's
in his profession, it doesn't seem that way.
- No restaurant is worth what it's doing to your daughter.
- Mm-mm. - No chance.
- No. - Deep down inside,
is he worried that she's gonna leave him?
- He should be.
It would devastate him.
- Is this too late for therapy?
- I would love if they had therapy,
because Chris has a very good side in him.
He didn't seem wrong at first.
Chris seemed perfect in many ways.
I blame everything on the restaurant.
They're exhausted on their days off.
Chris is obsessed with always talking about the restaurant,
and it's become a problem.
I think her and Chris really love each other,
but I really think that it's
a very damaged relationship now.
- Before we start thinking of the restaurant,
we need to fix them. - Mm, we do.
- And by fixing them, we need to give them a--
a breathing space.
They need to say, time out,
both for themselves and for the business.
- I would think that would help.
- I'm in Saugerties, New York,
where, at Love Bites, I've been observing
just how toxic things have become
for engaged owners Chris and Tess.
- So you're telling me you--
that you cannot fulfill my steaks?
I want to know. - Get this out to table ten.
Do that. How about that? - Shut up.
- It's been here for [bleep] five minutes in the window.
I'll be remaking it in a minute.
[dramatic music]
I am at the end of it.
♪ ♪
- [bleep]. I mean, honestly,
nearing the end of dinner service now,
it's actually got worse.
Chris is just wallowing
in his own [bleep].
And that guy's mind, it needs to change quickly.
Otherwise, we're [bleep].
With a turbulent dinner service over...
- Bye, guys. Thank you so much.
- Chris, let's, uh--
let's have a catch-up.
Time for me to serve up some cold, hard facts.
♪ ♪
I don't know where to start.
You, young man,
you're caught in this vortex of absolute negativity.
You can't be happy.
- I'm definitely not happy cooking in the kitchen
and having all the stress, and having the divide
between the front and the back of the house,
and the screaming and the yelling.
- One thing that's clear tonight
is that you two need a break,
a break from the restaurant
and a break from each other.
Mum, you need to do the honorable thing now
and take your daughter home.
- Okay.
- It's not healthy.
It's not good for you, and it's not good for Tess.
Okay?
- [crying] But what about the restaurant?
- I'll sort the restaurant out.
Get some rest. Come here.
- It's kind of crazy that I have
someone looking out for me.
I always have people always looking out for Chris.
- You need a break, some time out.
Okay? - Mm-hmm.
And I know Gordon's not gonna let us burn,
and I know he's not going to let the restaurant die.
I'm really thinking that Gordon can help Chris,
but I really want to see him stop yelling at staff,
stop making excuses,
and I want him to own up for his mistakes.
And I want to hear apologies.
I want to hear, I'm sorry for yelling at you.
I'm sorry.
[somber music]
- Young man, you're 31 years of age.
You've got your whole [bleep] life in front of you.
♪ ♪
And you're about to [bleep] it up.
- [sniffling]
- I know this was your dream.
- [whimpers]
- Chris, I want to help you.
You're not on an island.
- [sighs] I need your help.
- It's hard, this business.
- Yeah. - And it is
absolutely turning you into a guy
that you do not want to be.
- I just want to be better, and I just...
I want to be happy.
- You need help.
First thing tomorrow morning,
you and I are gonna see someone and open up.
- [sighs, sniffles]
- And you have to change your behavior
and not use the closest women in your life around you
to attack because you're not happy.
You're young enough to sort this out, okay?
But I just want you to be honest...
- Thank you. - And open.
And remember, we want you to succeed.
Okay? - Yes.
- Come here.
See you in the morning, okay?
I'm here to help, okay?
Just stop damaging yourself.
It's not worth it, okay?
- I don't really know where my life stands right now.
I have a restaurant that's in pieces,
that serves, you know, mediocre food.
Thank you. - Thank you.
- I need a new chapter, else I don't know
if this book's gonna even continue.
♪ ♪
- Saugerties, New York.
Over the next couple of days,
my team are renovating Love Bites,
giving Tess and Chris some much needed time away
from the restaurant.
[dramatic music]
I've seen many chefs struggle with work stress like Chris,
so I know how vital it is to get help.
Morning, doctor.
- Hello. - How are you?
I've arranged for Chris to talk to a professional,
to get support for the anger and anxiety issues
that business is causing.
First of all, this industry is high-octane,
and it is hard.
And this young man has a lot on his shoulders.
And the dream that him and his fiancée started with
has turned somewhat ugly.
Um, I think Chris needs to off-load
and spend valuable time on himself.
- Thank you. - And be honest.
- Thank you. - Thank you, doctor.
- Hello. - Hello.
How are you? - Good. Welcome, welcome.
You know, I was told a little bit.
But I'm curious, you know, just to hear from you
kind of, like, what's going on.
- [exhales, clears throat]
I think I just hold a lot inside of me.
I think the restaurant has just put me
in a weird position where I feel
almost held hostage to work.
Like, when I get in that kitchen,
I'm just a different person.
When I leave work, I feel like I just
turn to the people that I was just angry or vicious to
and say, hey, you know, how-- good day.
And they're just like, did you not hear
how you spoke to me or the things you said to me
or how you treated me in front of everybody?
- The moment that you want to yell and scream,
uh, there's like, a little moment of, like,
wait a second, this person has nothing
to do with why I'm feeling so...
- Yeah. - Scared.
But the question is, how do you get what you need
in a way that people can receive?
And look, the foundation of that is,
how do we take care of ourselves?
- After talking it through with the therapist,
I just need to realize that I really need
to have a different approach on the way I handle things.
I thought it was everyone around me,
and now it's just kind of realizing that it's me,
and it's who I become when I'm on the kitchen line.
And I feel like this is a great stepping stone
to get my mental health back on track.
[bright music]
- Back at Love Bites, the renovation is complete.
This restaurant was always Chris' dream.
So while Tess takes some time to herself,
he's arrived with his mum, Donna,
to get a glimpse of the new and improved Love Bites.
- Oh, wow.
- Come in.
- This looks amazing. - Wow.
It's beautiful.
- Welcome to your new restaurant.
- Oh, my God.
- Oh, my goodness.
- I've injected love into the dining room,
making it less brunch café
and more romantic restaurant.
This area is known for its stained glass.
- It is. - And now we have a partition
that feels so much more welcoming.
Hand-blown chandeliers, chairs.
- I love the chairs.
- New, beautiful bar stools
that are comfortable, that you can sit.
- They look like people would want to sit there for a while.
- Place can become an intimate local eatery.
- Thank you. Thank you.
- Come here, Mum. - Seriously.
- Thank you so much.
♪ ♪
Oh, wow. - Mum, Chris, take a seat.
Let's talk about the menu while we're here.
What we have is a simple menu, elegant menu.
And the ambition of this menu is,
A, to get it functioning without you,
and B, to allow you to breathe.
Really important.
Everybody within these four walls are here for you.
You need to know that.
- I feel like you've pretty much
saved my son's life.
♪ ♪
- Hey, he's worth it.
- He is. - You know that ten times over.
Let's start off with the bao buns.
Look at that beautiful caramelized pork
with those pickled vegetables and that beautiful bao bun.
We got the Welsh rarebits on that beautiful toast.
So easy to execute.
The staple, huevos rancheros.
It's a breakfast all day. It's my go-to staple.
Steak and eggs-- it's a proper New York strip,
beautifully seasoned, finished with a fresh chimichurri.
French onion burger-- a beautiful fries,
and then of course, a little beef jus mayonnaise,
keeping with your French dip
but just giving a little twist on it.
- Yeah. - Now, dig in.
Have a little taste. Get close to what
you're gonna be pushing tonight,
and I'll be back shortly, okay?
Enjoy. - Thank you.
The beets are amazing.
- That is so good.
That's my kind of meal.
- The bao buns are phenomenal.
- As well as toning down the menu
to help reduce Chris' stress levels in the kitchen...
- So I'm Emily.
I'm gonna be helping out tonight.
- I've also brought in a top-class
front-of-house manager to help train the staff
so Tess isn't so tied to the restaurant.
- Everyone's ready for tonight? [overlapping agreements]
- Do we feel confident with this menu
more than the last menu we had?
- Definitely. - Absolutely.
- All right. And I also just want to tell
everyone that I've been trying to work on myself,
and I really want to get better.
So I'm gonna try to, uh, keep my calm in the kitchen,
and let's just all work together as a team.
- Yep. - Thank you.
- Thank you, Chris. We appreciate it.
- Sounds good. - That's wonderful.
[dramatic music]
- I'm back for dinner service.
Time to pump some passion back into Love Bites.
Hello. How are you? - Good. How are you?
- How beautiful is this place?
Hey, how are you feeling?
- I'm feeling great. - You good?
- Yes. - Chris, what you need
to remind yourself is, you're not an island,
Okay? You guys can
share the load, okay?
♪ ♪
- How are you? - Good. How you doing?
Table of three.
- Service is in full swing,
and we're off to a great start.
Chris is staying calm,
and customers are enjoying the new menu.
- Burger came out perfect.
Mayonnaise on the burger is what makes it.
- Table one, can I fire on that?
Uh, steak and eggs, medium, French onion burger, medium.
- Please.
- I, uh--two minutes.
I have no eggs over here.
- But it's not long
until Chris is back to his old ways.
Look at me.
Just breathe. - Just chill out.
All right. - Breathe.
- [exhales]
- Table six. - You going right now?
- What table is coming up next?
- The table that just-- uh, table six or se--
- Yeah. No, no, look at me.
We just sent six. - Oh.
- You just sent the burger.
We just sent six.
- Yeah.
No, no, but no, I'm here to help you.
It's gone. The burger is gone.
- Yeah, I understand. - But you're not listening.
- Okay. - We've just sent
six's entrees.
No one's even finished appetizers.
Nobody's complaining about the wait.
And all we're doing is just traveling 1,000 miles an hour,
and we're forgetting composure under pressure.
- Chris doesn't want to listen
to any of the people around him
that are actually telling him what's going on.
- We're rushing again, and we're throwing food out.
- This is insane.
I don't want to do this [bleep].
- Take a breath again, okay?
Take a breath. I need you to listen, okay?
We got back to that ugly [bleep] fight again,
where we're just throwing [bleep] food out.
Tell me, what do you need, Didi?
Hey, Chris.
- Yes? - That hit me.
Come here. That just hit me.
That's absolute [bleep].
- I'm sorry.
- Just so unnecessary.
Whew. [bleep].
♪ ♪
- I'm just really getting slammed with tickets,
and my anxiety is kicking in.
My dry heaving, when I get, like, super anxiety-ridden,
I just start doing that naturally.
[retches]
- Oh, no. No, no, no.
Not right now.
- [retches]
- I'm at Love Bites in Saugerties, New York,
where customers are enjoying both the newly renovated
restaurant and simplified menu.
- That's awesome.
- But I'm worried that Chris is letting things
get too much for him again...
- I don't know where my crispy sage is all of a sudden.
I need crispy sage. I don't know where it is.
- Which is leading to mistakes.
- How is everything so far?
- My burger is a little too rare.
- So sorry about that.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
- What's wrong?
- Look at me. - Yes, sir.
- Food's come back to your restaurant.
- Okay. What's the problem with it?
- They want it a little bit more well done.
- Okay. - And hey,
I'm only gonna get upset if you're not listening,
because you're just making hard work of this again
for no reason.
[dramatic music]
- [sighs]
Excuse me. I need to get in here.
We're so behind with this.
- No, we're fine, dude.
We're not at all behind.
We're fine.
That's what we're trying to tell you.
We're--we're--this is good.
♪ ♪
- You okay? - Yeah, I'm okay.
I just got a little-- yeah, they're--
we got three minutes on this table.
- I don't-- - Three minutes to fire.
- But they're still eating.
The only person out of control
in this building right now is you.
Time out. This way.
With Chris seeming overwhelmed again...
Out of the way, please, guys.
I need to get him out of the kitchen fast.
We got off to a flying start.
Customers are loving the food,
and there's not even a gap in between
the appetizer, the entrees.
And you're just rushing.
And by rushing,
you're tripping over yourself, okay?
I am here to help, but you've got to stop
putting yourself under this kind of pressure.
And I want you to relax.
I want you to take a big, deep breath.
You're not on your own, and I think that's the worry.
You think this is all on your shoulders.
It's not. We're off-loading the burden.
Take a minute, okay?
Come in when you're ready.
After having some time away from the restaurant and Chris,
I've invited Tess and her mum along for dinner...
- Hi. - Hi.
- How are you?
- Good. How are you?
- To check out the new look...
- It's absolutely gorgeous.
It's so beautiful.
- And streamlined menu.
- I'm very excited about the menu.
[bright music]
- All right. No rush.
Three French onion burgers, kale salad, corn risotto.
- Got it.
- Well-done burger, going out.
- I don't hear anybody yelling.
- No.
That's a good thing.
- You're doing good, bro.
You're doing good. - Thank you.
I appreciate it. - We're really, like--
- You're doing great.
- Uh, where's table nine?
Uh, these are friends of mine. - Yes.
- Steak, medium, and a burger, medium rare, yes?
Push up that table, okay?
Thank you.
♪ ♪
- The steak is amazing.
- Oh, wow, look. That's beautiful, man.
And that's quick.
Well-done burger, going out.
- Yeah, well-done burger.
- Hi, Gordon. - You look great.
How are you? - How are you?
- Very well, thank you. How are you?
- Good. - Did you get some rest?
- I did.
I feel amazing.
- As customers start to leave
after a successful launch night,
there's a few last words I need to say to Chris.
When I think of this neighborhood,
and I think of you, your age,
have fun.
We're not chasing Michelin stars.
You know, we're not trying to be the best chef upstate.
Just have some fun.
Okay? - Yes.
- Yeah? And stop worrying.
And my friends have come in tonight.
They're table nine, yeah? Go say hello to them.
- Thank you. - Yeah.
You may recognize one of them.
♪ ♪
- Normally when I see her, she's sad after I yell
at her the whole day, and it just seemed like
when I looked at her, she was just, like, glowing.
And I think it's definitely gonna be a new chapter.
It's just nice to see that she can have a day off.
That's worth it to me.
♪ ♪
I'm really excited to see the change in Chris
and the change in Love Bites.
I really hope we can work on our relationship.
Of course the restaurant's always gonna be so important,
but maybe not making it the most important thing
in our entire lives.
- Told you you'd recognize my friends in nine.
- [laughs]
- Scooch around. Scooch around.
Right. My time is done.
Good luck.
You need time to breathe.
If you two are aligned,
then you can follow the path in your careers aligned.
If you two aren't aligned, everything else falls apart.
And you two are the most important,
and no restaurant is worth destroying both of you.
- Thank you, Gordon. - Come on, Chef.
Chef to chef, you've got this.
- Thank you. - And get that [bleep] haircut.
Makes you look younger. - I'm gonna.
- Remember, if he starts, you call.
- I'll call. - Okay?
- [laughs] Thanks for what you did.
- Take care.
[exhales deeply]
[cheerful music]
Wow. What an emotional week,
when I arrived to a young couple in a crisis
and a dysfunctional restaurant
that was really ripping them apart.
I can only hope that by Tess stepping back
and Chris really confronting his own inner struggles,
their passion for each other and their restaurant,
fingers crossed, will return to Love Bites.
Man. Travesty.
Two youngsters that cannot find time for each other.
- Thank you for your help.
- Chris and Tess took my words to heart.
- We can't sacrifice
our relationship for the restaurant.
We need to heal together.
- They've made the hard decision
to sell the restaurant,
and for now are focusing
on repairing their relationship.
Next time on "Kitchen Nightmares"...
- Here's some water, guys.
I'm so sorry about the heat.
- I cook, I clean.
I don't have a dishwasher.
- I almost choked, it's so dry.
- I know that his fire is out because he's tired.
- That is gross.
- It takes its toll.
- And you've just thrown up in the bathroom?
- It was bloody. - Uh, it was still just bloody.
- Oh, my God.
What is this?
[coughs]
This is dangerous.
Ask those customers, politely,
to get the [bleep] out of here now.
Now! Now, now, now!
[dramatic music]