Tear Jerker / Kitchen Nightmares

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

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In General

• The feeling you get when you check Google or Yelp and see that a restaurant folded despite Ramsay's intervention. Especially when it's an episode in which everyone listens to Ramsay, embraces his changes, and it's pretty clear that Ramsay helped the business out.
  • It's more sad that it's not really Ramsay's fault and he's being made into the target for the blame for the restaurants falling out, despite only trying to help. It's not owners that blame him, mind you, it's other people (some owners do too, however).
  • To wit, while some restaurants closed due to poor management (some reverting the changes Ramsay did), others closed due to reasons outside their control. A good portion of the earlier episodes (especially in the British series) became victims of the Great Recession and Credit Crunch of 2007-2008. Others became so popular, the owner of the property raised rent prices and they couldn't afford to keep up with it, and some, despite having continued success, had debt problems too severe that they couldn't catch up.

Specific Episodes

• In Burger Kitchen, Daniel's epic breakdown when the stress of his dysfunctional family relationship finally overwhelms him.
  • Ramsay even notes that none of this is Daniel's fault, since he's the only one even taking the restaurant seriously, which Daniel has to since his parents sunk $250k of his money into it and are still planning to use his remaining $160K inheritance like it's nothing.
  • What's more: early in the episode, Daniel's father gives Ramsay his autobiography, detailing his damaged relationship with his father. Ramsay reads excerpts from the autobiography after a huge family blowout, detailing how Daniel's father had become like the man he had written such a scathing book about. That is enough to shock him back into reality.
  • Sadly, The Burger Kitchen ultimately closed down in 2012 after only moderately better reviews following the episode's airing. As of 2017, the former restaurant sits vacant and up for sale. Alan Saffron passed away in 2020.
• In Zeke's, watching the footage of Zeke entertaining his customers while the narrator explains that Zeke died during Hurricane Katrina^note sort of; Zeke died more than a month after the storm in Houston, before he could return home, apparently due to injuries he sustained during Katrina. Since the episode aired, the restaurant has been sold to new ownership, reopening as Porters & Luke. Perhaps most disconcerting is the utter disrespect shown towards Zeke's legacy by the Only in It for the Money attitude showcased by the couple who bought the restaurant out of his estate.
• Pretty much the entire 'Mama Maria's/Sal's Pizzeria' episode. Everything from John having to call an ambulance for a sickened customer to his emotional breakdown after dinner service to wanting to throw away the Specials sign he's kept up since his parents died. Even Ramsay looks and sounds like he's about to cry during that moment.
  John: I don't want to take it down, I don't post the Specials, it's just something of memory to me.
  Gordon: But that's the really important issue, and you mustn't take this personally. You're still treating this business as if Mum and Dad are here. We have to let go!
  John: (beat) ...throw it out. It's holding me onto the past. Throw it out.
  Gordon: (visibly shocked) No! I'm not asking you to throw that out! Take it home! I don't want you to get upset, but you've got to understand. You've got to let go of the past!
  • Even John's staff were tearing up and pleading with him to take it home instead of throwing it out.
  • Keep in mind, in comparison to Sebastian (who was completely insane with his 'concept'), Joe (who was just too egotistical and mean-spirited), or even Amy and Samy, John wants to change the issues with his restaurant, but because he's stuck in the past and wrought with the pain of losing his parents, he can't move on. Just the fact that the Specials sign was still in the store since his parents died makes it more depressing, especially when Gordon realizes why John is so adamant to change the restaurant.
• The infamous "Amy's Baking Company" episode:
  • You can't help but feel sorry for Katy when she's fired by Amy for doing her job. On the bright side, she's said to be doing pretty well now as indicated by her AMA in Reddit.
  • The very fact that Ramsay actually gives up on the restaurant, and it's not because he chose to do so; it's because of Amy and her impenetrable mental block that prevents her from listening that he didn't have a choice but to raise the white flag and leave.^note He didn't even give up on Sebastian, Joe or Michel. Ramsay flat-out told Sebastian that he "never, ever, ever, ever met someone [he] believe[d] in as little". Likewise, Michel and Joe pushed Ramsay over the edge to the point where he just came within a hair's breadth of abandoning the two jerkasses to their fates. His monologue after he left is also heartbreaking:
    Gordon: Well, it's finally happened. After almost a hundred Kitchen Nightmares, I met two owners who I could not help. And it wasn't because I didn't want to, it's because they were incapable of listening. And in a short amount of time, they've managed to piss off the community, and go through a hundred employees in one year. Samy and Amy continue to blame everyone else, yet their biggest problem is themselves. And I know whatever changes I would've made, they were never going to stick to them. And that's why I've decided to do something I've never done before. It's such a shame. (gets in his car and starts up the engine)
  • In a way, Amy and Samy's Pyrrhic Victory; they will live their dream of running a successful restaurant, there's no doubt... but only because everyone sees them as walking punchlines and wants to eat at their restaurant just to watch them make idiots out of themselves. They're so delusional that they don't even know it. And in the end, as pitiable as they are, they only have themselves to blame.
    • Want to feel more pity for them? Their restaurant closed down in September of 2015.^note Albeit due to conflicts with the landlord of the restaurant's building, if what Amy said about the closing is to be believed. And they're still oblivious over what they've done.
• The Old Neighborhood was perhaps one of the worst restaurants Gordon visited, being beyond filthy, and run by a husband & wife team that seemed unable to grasp why their business was failing so badly. When he inspects the kitchen and finds years of dirt coupled with some of the worst food storage he'd ever seen, Gordon's typical fury kicks in and he demands the kitchen be shut down. The couple actually break down into tears, because they've finally realized WHY their business is in miserable shape, and that they are in real danger of not only losing the restaurant, but everything else they have, because they neglected their business through years of absent-minded practices. Just watching them in tears is painful.
  • However, as painful a moment as this was, it was the wake-up call they needed. They and their staff cleaned the kitchen thoroughly well enough to satisfy Gordon, and between the renovation and the couple finally realizing they had to throw away every last bit of hoarded junk they'd packed the building with, the reopening was a massive success and it's one of the restaurants from the show that is still in business. If anything, it proves that Gordon's harsh attitude may be what some of these owners need to actually start running their businesses properly.
  • Sadly, even with Gordon's help and intervention, the Old Neighborhood have sold away their business and closed up shop on May 1st, 2016 and is to be replaced with a steakhouse by a man from Greeley, as seen here. It seems others have given their sympathies about Old Neighborhood shutting its doors, too.
• The situation at Levanti's Italian Restaurant was so bad that Tina, the sister who sold her flower shop to come work there and help her brother, sent a video message to Ramsay tearfully leading for his help. The message is just heart-wrenching to watch. Later, after the disastrous first day, Tina hides in the bathroom to cry.
• The situation at Mike and Nellie's, the father and son business who once enjoyed huge success until the father Nellie passed away. His passing clearly affected Mike and the family profoundly, and Mike was very much a broken man by the time Gordon arrived as he had lost any sense of standards in the kitchen.
• The backstory of PJ's Steakhouse: The owner's brother, the former owner of the building the restaurant is in, died and it made him an empty shell. They bought the place and it went into debt. While it closed in 2009, it is rather sad to hear that these two lost everything over what was meant to be a monument to a beloved brother.
• A positive example: After finishing the revamp for Luigi's, Gordon leaves the staff with a video message from Luigi and Tony's father Dominic giving words of encouragement to his two sons. Luigi is left in tears by the end of the video.
• Billy, the owner of The Handlebar, passed away from cancer in November of 2015.
• Only a year earlier than Billy, Rosemary "Rose" Leone, owner and manager of Leone's, passed away at the relatively young age of 64 after her health problems finally caught up to her.
• At the UK's Dovecote Bistro, owner Mick's stubborn/selfish behavior (and total lack of cooking skills) was ruining the place, and he often blamed his own wife and adopted daughter rather than admit his own faults. Michelle at her breaking point was so upset, she told her mother she was afraid of losing her parents, because she'd already been through one family not wanting her.
• At the Hot Potato Cafe, Danielle tears up when Gordon reveals that he has brought in a chef specifically to mentor her and provide her with the help and support she's needed.
• Another example from Charlie's is when the owner Tatiana is convinced to fire Casimiro. She thought they'd been friends for ten years, although it's obvious to everyone else that she's just a paycheck provider to him. She is clearly distraught over having to tell a friend to leave but knows she has no choice due to his incompetence and unwillingness to address his mistakes. After the two part ways, Casimiro laughs as he leaves and refuses to accept a hug from her, and Tatiana retreats to the restroom to cry.
• The closing of Giuseppi's is especially heartbreaking, as the family was already riddled with debt and risking foreclosure when their restaurant relaunched, only for it to fall victim to the hardships of the recession. When Gordon eventually returns to speak to the owners, he's absolutely devastated to find that their restaurant is on its last legs.
• The family feud at the heart of the Greek at the Harbor's struggle hits at the heart on all kinds of levels. The restaurant was a prosperous family-owned business that had fallen into hard times due to the deteriorating working relationship between the father and son who were fighting to keep the business alive. The father refused to hand over any work to his son who struggled to understand why he wasn't trusted to do anything to support the kitchen. Gordon eventually discovered from his mother that his father, Makis, was bitter over the fact that his son had announced at his college graduation party held at the restaurant that he intended to make something of himself, followed up by the promise that he would not work at the restaurant. It was a heartbreaking example of Poor Communication Kills, as Aris only said that because he had seen his father overworking himself to the point of burnout and understandably didn't want that life for himself. Makis, who was also understandably hurt by what Aris said, wound up bottling in his feelings and held his bitterness and resentment over Aris's head, even after his son changed his mind and wanted to work at the restaurant.
  • Becomes a Heartwarming Moment when not only do the two mend their relationship, but that the restaurant remains open for business today.
• The closing of Fiesta Sunrise is this when you realize the family there had already closed another restaurant beforehand, presumably due to the same careless business practices that had left the second in such a shambles by the time Gordon arrived. Worse still, the restaurant despite Gordon's efforts was also the site of a stabbing incident after the fact, which likely did not help its reputation before it closed its doors before the episode for the restaurant had even aired. As of 2017, the restaurant has been occupied by a hardware rental store.
  • The fact that the owner's stepdaughter had poured her entire credit into the restaurant, an investment that endangered her marriage to her (Understandably) frustrated husband, makes its inevitable failure that much harder to bear.
• The closing of Cafe 36, as the husband and wife owners of that restaurant had invested so much into the business only to see it tanked by a combination of the economy and lacking quality. Gordon's determination to help them back on their feet after dealing with their head chef's crippling obstruction is what makes its failure that much more bitter.
• In Mill Street Bistro, one of the servers confides that Joe once berated her in front of the customers and that a table left in disgust. They left her a note telling her to keep her chin up and that she did great work but Joe told her not to let it go to her head because there's always mistakes being made.
• The closing of Cafe Tavolini most definitely counts, with its husband and wife owners never picking up the slack even after Gordon had sent them a damning warning over what would follow if they allowed the restaurant to go under. Sure enough, their incompetence soon after led to the restaurant's closure, and the couple eventually divorced, having lost everything for having failed to act on Gordon's warnings. As of 2017, the former property has been reoccupied by a lobster restaurant.
• Zayna's Flaming Grill features an aunt-and-niece co-ownership. Brenda, the niece, is a certifiable Woobie who turned to her aunt since she understands that she can't run a restaurant herself and it's been her aunt's dream to do this. However, Fay is highly unsympathetic, but gradually becomes a Jerkass Woobie when you realize that Fay's trying desperately to hold onto her dream since she is afraid that losing Zayna's Flaming Grill means losing everything.
• The owner of Jack's Waterfront having to fire his own father. Granted, the old man was a leech who spent most of his shifts getting drunk and creeping on women young enough to be his grandchildren, but that still can't have been easy. This also happens at the very end of the episode, and the viewer is never told if their relationship survived.
• The situation at J Willy's is an especially tough sit-through, as its husband and wife owners have taken on over a million dollars in debt and throughout the entire episode it is clear how much the failure of the restaurant has taken its toll on them. The owner breaks down into tears as he laments that due to his horrific financial situation, he and his wife are not able to have and raise a child of their own; they've already sacrificed too much towards the survival of theirs as well as a second restaurant they own and by the time Gordon arrived, they had all but given up hope. Especially sobering is the fact that even with Gordon's help, the restaurant ultimately shuttered a few short years later and after changing hands, was eventually demolished in 2015.
• The family situation at Davide's is an especially painful spectacle. The restaurant, run by brothers Frank and Anthony saw business decline sharply after Anthony, battling an addiction to painkillers was caught embezzling from the family business in pursuit of drugs. Feeling betrayed, Frank simply could not bring himself to forgive Anthony even after Anthony had finally kicked the addiction, and Anthony and his mother watched as Frank drowned himself in his bitter sorrows in the safety of his kitchen. Constantly stressed and having lost his passion for what he did for a living, Frank's hair began greying when he was still in his forties, and Gordon himself noted that Frank was so completely burned out that helping him to find his way became just as important, if not more so, as saving the family business. Before Gordon's arrival Frank's wife could only watch as Frank continued to sulk over his failed relationship with his brother, and it was not until Gordon witnessed it firsthand that they were able to help Frank find it in himself to forgive his brother and to find his passion for cooking again.
• Mama Rita's relaunch turns out to be overwhelming for the well-meaning head chef Perla, after 6 years mostly cooking out of a microwave she completely melts under the pressure. Even though the owner sticks up for Perla and insists that she stays, Gordon doesn't have to do much convincing as it's clear that Perla just isn't equipped for the high-stress position. As Gordon takes Perla off the line (subbing in someone who wasn't even originally there to cook in the first place), the owner takes her outside and the two of them break down into tears, both feeling scared for the future and the implication of her imminent departure from the restaurant thick in the air.
• Sam's Mediterranean Kabob Room has an utterly dysfunctional family unit with children that constantly lash out at one another throughout the episode. What truly cements this episode’s status is why this is happening. The father, Sam, has trapped the children into working for the failing restaurant with no pay and to top it all off, the children are forced to work 12 hour shifts everyday of the week. Making matters worse is that Sam gives no craps about how much stress his "dream" is putting onto his children. Not only being a proud father himself and having a awful father himself, it's clear that once Gordon first sees the kids, he has nothing but sympathy for them.
• Just seeing how Q and Zappy took advantage of their hard working father to turn his business into a party house. Even after Ramsay emphasizes the sheer level of neglect in their walk in with produce that is seven years expired and a temperature of 73 degrees Fahrenheit, and Q laughs it off and promises not to change. You can tell Ramsay is on the verge of crying while chewing them out.
• The sheer state of affairs at "Love Bites". The couple who are a Childhood Friend Romance story, bought the restaurant and despite the owner trying his hardest, it's clear the stress has destroyed his mental health, is starting to destroy his physical health, and he takes it out on the woman he loves most. She has it no better dealing with his verbal abuse, the stress of a failing relationship and business, and the fact that her physical health has been failing since before she met him and is becoming worse due to the restaurant. Just for an added punch in the stomach, Gordon Ramsay when confront the owner does one of the most callous things a person can do when dealing with a male with mental health issues: tells him to man up and just leaves him by himself.
• Campania's in Fair Lawn, NJ. Initially the owner Joseph Cerniglia did well out of Gordon's visit but then his wife Melissa discovered he was having an affair with the pastry chef, filed for divorce and took custody of the children. Joseph sold the restaurant in September 2010, and then eight days later took his own life by jumping from the George Washington Bridge. This episode still to this day does not air on American television out of respect for Joseph and his family.
  • Even harsher, during the episode Joseph makes an offhand comment that unless the restaurant's fortunes change soon, it will go "floating down the Hudson (River)."

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