Kitchen Nightmares

Kitchen Nightmares is a reality show that follows celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay as he helps struggling restaurant owners.Official Site: Kitchen Nightmares Show Info

While the UK version of Kitchen Nightmares focuses more on food preparation and how restaurants run, the American version pays more attention to the mismanagement and mishaps of the featured restaurants.Los Angeles Times: Mishaps, emotion are main courses (September 19, 2007)

The show usually starts with the restaurant's owner(s), who complain about their business's failures. Ramsay shows up, samples the food, critiques the decor, and then goes into the kitchen to figure what needs improvement.Hulu.com: Kitchen Nighmares

He also meets with the owner's family to further emphasize that if the restaurant fails, the family would lose everything. Ramsay, along with his "design team," renovates the restaurant, changes the menu, then re-opens the place to a rocky adjustment, but eventual success.Hulu.com: Kitchen Nighmares

On August 9, 2007, a judge dismissed a fraud case against the show in which the plaintiff, restaurant owner Martin Hyde, complained that the crew faked his business's makeover in the first season's second episode, which put him out of business.BuddyTV: Judge Throws Out 'Kitchen Nightmares' Lawsuit (August 20, 2007)