Why is the restaurant business so fucked?

[YUPPIE]

Just really want to ask if someone knows more about it. I thought Kitchen Nightmares was all made up before but, upon further reading, it's fucking not and the food industry is full of assholes, delusional people, and most of all people that can't take any criticism.

Of course it's been said every year hundreds of restaurants go out of business but what I wonder is how they get off the ground to begin with? Is there no quality control?

[Deleted]

If there is one person I think has less touch with the sun than I in this forum then it comes to Tsugunai :P
And no - never had any problems with any restaurant. At least not with those close to my home @germany.

[rhorle]

Of course it's been said every year hundreds of restaurants go out of business but what I wonder is how they get off the ground to begin with? Is there no quality control?

Who would control the quality? People who own their own business are like anyone else in the world so will have jerks and other "bad" types. Why would you think otherwise?

[Daedius]

My sister worked in an Indian restaurant once... and they had food stored in the staff toilet, with containers stacked in the urinal...

Lovely.

[Deleted]

Because most people don't have a clue about how difficult it is to run a restaurant and how much hard work it is. Being able to cook is only a small part of it.

[melodramocracy]

Kitchen Nightmares isn't going to really represent the average restaurant. If it did, it wouldn't be nearly dramatic enough. Having said that, the restaurant field is expensive to get into, and has a high business failure rate, due in no small part to business over saturation.

[oxymoronic]

Because most people don't have a clue about how difficult it is to run a restaurant and how much hard work it is. Being able to cook is only a small part of it.

its not difficult at all. problem is people are lazy and take corners. im not going to lie, i have done the same in my lifetime. your average food worker is inefficient lazy and stupid. if they weren't they wouldnt be working in a restaurant making a low wage.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Reality TV is fake that's why.

[Deleted]

Kitchen Nightmares isn't going to really represent the average restaurant. If it did, it wouldn't be nearly dramatic enough. Having said that, the restaurant field is expensive to get into, and has a high business failure rate, due in no small part to business over saturation.

It actually does represent lower class restaurants though. If their was money enough to check every restaurant I'm confident 75% ish would be closed in an instant. Again, talking about lower class restaurants.

[talwynn]

The American version of Kitchen Nightmares is really fucking stupid. It amps up the drama 1000%. A restaurant has drama, don't get me wrong. But if you want a much better look at how a kitchen operates and can be failing, check out the very early episodes of Kitchen Nightmares from 2004-2007 when he does it in England. He is very different in those shows. All accounts I have heard, and this really isn't surprising, but Ramsay is supposed to be really cool and down to earth. If you are willing to work hard and show him you have talent, he will go out of his way to help you succeed. But the reality TV version of him is so dominant, no one sees the real side anymore, which I personally think is much more fascinating.

But like others have said, restaurants are exceptionally difficult to run. You can get an owner who wants a bar for his buddies to hang out in, but then doesn't realize his 30 buddies have other lives and you can't sustain a bar with just 30 people coming in.

Another big thing is some random idiot has a good chili recipe or can setup a killer tailgate and bam, here comes a restaurant. Because they don't truly know how to cook and prep, they are stuck ordering frozen shit from Sysco or some other crappy frozen food distributor that all tastes the same.

In this day an age, after years of corporate shit holes that don't do anything to upset the boat, but follow whatever trend is going on, people are getting tired of the same old crap. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between Friday's, Chile's, Applebees, or Cheesecake Factory, except one is obnoxiously over priced and has cheesecake.

If you ever have desires to own a restaurant, get a GM and a Chef who know their shit and let them do their job. Suggest things, but don't get in their way. They know whats going on more than you do. Restaurants are only working with about a 5-10% profit margin. So it's very difficult to get by. And if you have a leak or an employee gets burnt or any number of other catastrophes happen, then your profits go out the door. Why do you think the first subsection on ebay was for used restaurant equipment?

The restaurants that have staying power and are willing to push boundaries are those started by people who have spent years working in restaurants and know what they are doing. These people are crazy, they want to punish themselves by working long hours on their feet and are willing to be berated by either a chef, a customer, or some shit stain server. Their hands are scalded, they chain smoke like a chimney, and get pissed when you come in 5 min to close and want a dish that takes 35 min to make. They pray every Sunday that a group of children doesn't come in and throw shit everywhere. They get shit tips, and shit hours. When they finally do get to close up and go home, they don't go home, they hit a bar with the other restaurant workers and get fucked up. But they wake up, mildly sober, and pull a double the next day, with a Red Bull or 5 hour energy in their belly. Why do they do all this? Like I said, they are crazy. How do I know all this? Because I am crazy too.

TL;DR you won't understand till you work in a restaurant.

[therealstegblob]

POST

Thank you for this post, it says everything I would've said pretty much to the point. Especially Gordon Ramsay, whose American shows are badly over-edited, quasi-scripted turds where Ramsay is intentionally being an aggressive dickpoop for the cameras. He's the most obnoxious celebrity chef bar none, so far as I'm concerned.

[Queen of Hamsters]

Because it's run by humans and reflects the world at large...?

[Sevyvia]

Just really want to ask if someone knows more about it. I thought Kitchen Nightmares was all made up before but, upon further reading, it's fucking not and the food industry is full of assholes, delusional people, and most of all people that can't take any criticism.

I know, it's horrible how people are. ALL people are like that, not just the ones in the restaurant business.

[Ahhdurr]

The restaurants that have staying power and are willing to push boundaries are those started by people who have spent years working in restaurants and know what they are doing. These people are crazy, they want to punish themselves by working long hours on their feet and are willing to be berated by either a chef, a customer, or some shit stain server. Their hands are scalded, they chain smoke like a chimney, and get pissed when you come in 5 min to close and want a dish that takes 35 min to make. They pray every Sunday that a group of children doesn't come in and throw shit everywhere. They get shit tips, and shit hours. When they finally do get to close up and go home, they don't go home, they hit a bar with the other restaurant workers and get fucked up. But they wake up, mildly sober, and pull a double the next day, with a Red Bull or 5 hour energy in their belly. Why do they do all this? Like I said, they are crazy. How do I know all this? Because I am crazy too.

TL;DR you won't understand till you work in a restaurant.

Holy fuck it's like you wrote my biography.

[Queen of Hamsters]

The American version of Kitchen Nightmares is really fucking stupid. It amps up the drama 1000%. A restaurant has drama, don't get me wrong. But if you want a much better look at how a kitchen operates and can be failing, check out the very early episodes of Kitchen Nightmares from 2004-2007 when he does it in England. .

Also this ^

The US shows are... well, 'Murican. Loads of dramatic music, fast editing, overacting etc etc.

[Jakisuaki]

Just really want to ask if someone knows more about it. I thought Kitchen Nightmares was all made up before but, upon further reading, it's fucking not and the food industry is full of assholes, delusional people, and most of all people that can't take any criticism.

Of course it's been said every year hundreds of restaurants go out of business but what I wonder is how they get off the ground to begin with? Is there no quality control?

The restaurant business is ruthless and extremely stressful. The people that survive it are tough as nails. Others break down or become delusional.

[Deleted]

All accounts I have heard, and this really isn't surprising, but Ramsay is supposed to be really cool and down to earth. If you are willing to work hard and show him you have talent, he will go out of his way to help you succeed. But the reality TV version of him is so dominant, no one sees the real side anymore, which I personally think is much more fascinating.

He definitely is. Ive seen times where he'll go out of his way to help some of the younger chefs in those places that want to learn even going as far as to give them "apprenticeships" so to speak at his restaurants where they can learn on the job. He's very straight with people and very fair, i think, in the UK shows. The US ones are just over-dramatised for the American audience.

Also as someone who's worked as a chef before, i love his style of cooking, and how he tries to get these restaurants in the UK shows at least to utilise it. Using good, local ingredients and not over complicating them, letting them speak for themselves. It's very enjoyable way to cook, and an even more enjoyable way to eat.

While he might seem abrasive and ruthless, and he is to an extent; It's the way you need to be to survive in the business. You need to be tough as shit cos if you're not you'll never survive in it.

[nanook12]

The restaurant industry is the worst to start a business because it is one of the most competitive. You have to be extremely exception to keep customers in the restaurant industry because there are simply too many choices out there. Customers can easily go the right next to yours if the dislike the smallest thing without any consequences.

[Fencers]

"Fucked?" That makes no sense and is just your perception. Which is also based on your own value judgment. The question is meaningless and nonsense. You should have never framed it in this manner.

However, if you are asking why the food service and restaurant industries has a popular caricatures as seen on film and television- stress. I worked as professional chef for years in many restaurants and hotels.

A professional kitchen is a high stress environment that requires a lot of hard work and often a lot of hours. On top of which workers often have to deal with customers and provide accommodating service.

It's just a very stressful job.

[Flarelaine]

This thread has died. I am closing it lest it gets necroed again.