Posted on 05/15/2013 1:13:19 PM PDT by Morgana
The two owners of Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro took over the restaurant’s Facebook page last night to fight unruly commenters, and man, was it embarrassing.
If you recognize the name of the restaurant, it was recently featured on an episode of Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares. The owners were dumped by Ramsey after being too difficult to work with.
(Excerpt) Read more at buzzfeed.com ...
Perhaps it should be "What were we drinking?"
For later.
You know..when it comes to batshit crazy, loss of reality, over-the-top meltdowns I thought Charlie Sheens epic hgead long charge into insanity could not be topped... I was wrong.
Ding ding ding. We have a new “WINNING” winner!
My family may go there to “eat” this weekend. lol (just the cakes she doesn’t make there)
They weren’t answering their phone last night when one of my family tried to call to make reservations. (for dessert only)
Admitting to taking employees' tips should get them investigated by the labor folks. I'd suspect that doing so is quite illegal.
I suppose there are at least two kinds of posters on this thread, but generally two. One, people who have owned or served as executive chef in restaurants, and everyone else.
Trust me - in the restaurant business over 90% of your fired employees will talk smack about you, and they’re easy to find.
There are plenty of egotistical dicks in kitchens, and owning restaurants.
Yes, it is bad to call something “fresh” when it’s not, and I never did it.
But you know what? IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME.
And people get fired ALL THE TIME for all sorts of reasons.
...And though the focus is on the ravioli it could have been any of a THOUSAND things that “aren’t quite right” or “aren’t quite honest” in almost EVERY kitchen.
If you don’t know this, you don’t know this.
Their big mistake was inviting this guy into their kitchen and signing whatever release they signed.
His job is to make fools of people and he’s good at it.
Plus his “it’s not normal” speech at the end is a bunch of crap. Everything he listed is COMPLETELY normal for lots of small restaurants.
Maybe Sheriff Arpaio would be interested. If stealing tips isn't a crime, it should be.
Even worse than the restaurant stealing the worker’s tips is the workers have to pay taxes on an “assumed” amount of tips. So their workers not only didn’t get their tips to begin with, they will have to file taxes as if they did. Yikes!
I luv Gordon Ramsay! This couple was just awful!
They didn't need Ramsey to look like fools. They were doing quite well on their own. The woman doesn't know anything about food, that is clear. She considers herself to be a great culinarian but, to Ramsey's point, she's simply a deluded individual that thinks her absurd combinations are creative, and that her mental illness makes her a foodie..
The control freak running the front of the house is just as twisted. Insisting on placing all of the orders himself is just bizarre, but confiscating the tips is just plain crazy.
You don't need to know anything about restaurants or food to realize that this place is truly hell's kitchen. The only reason this place stays open is because the gangster keeps pouring his savings into it. The publicity they are getting will drive some increased traffic for a time. It's unfortunate that it won't make a difference.
Ping for later
Okay. Just a few points. Generally you’re right but:
You don’t have to know about food to run a successful restaurant. If that crazy burger truffle crap sells, it sells. She knows it.
Consider yourself a great foodie but can’t F’n make a decent marinara from scratch? Welcome to the restaurant business, you’re in the 99th percentile.
“Control freak?” “Independent restaurant owner?” Hello?
About the tip thing - was there any confirmation that that’s what actually happens there? There is tip SHARING but never confiscation. EVER.
EVER.
I maintain the producers just took that bit and stretched it - I hope they wind up with a lawsuit.
And you know what? You DO need to know something about restaurants to know how this sort of stuff isn’t actually that crazy. I’ve worked in a lot of them.
Frankly the stress a camera crew and this douchebag causes for the house warrants just about anything.
Which gets to my original point -
the posters on this thread who don’t know what’s REALLY happening here on the Gordon Ramsey Show are just not restaurant people.
i watched this episode. the denial was incredible. they were swearing full-bore at the customers. they sounded exactly like their posts they later denied posting.
The wife didn’t need much help to look like a fool. She absolutely could not take even the mildest suggestion that anything, anything at all, could possibly be improved upon. Her husband was her enabler, allowing her to live in her fantasy world of having this wonderful bakery and bistro, where everybody just loved the food and she was always right.
I suspect that’s why he bought it for her, to provide that fantasy world for her, he certainly protected her from the reality of it enough, and the staff who needed their jobs did as well, hiding returned plates from her.
I’m really beginning to wonder just why these two wanted to be on this show, neither of them really wanted to change anything. Maybe they were so delusional that they thought they were going to get wonderful free PR and exposure when the guy couldn’t find a thing that could be done any better than they were doing it already.
The woman is going to have a psychological episode of some sort over this, and her husband will sue, imho.
i can’t stand gordon on hells kitchen.
i like him on kitchen nightmares because it’s not an artificial contest environment, he actually helps people.
C'mon, no one in their right mind would put blue cheese, cooked bacon bits, sauteed mushrooms, and truffle oil on a burger, and then place it on a menu designed for mass appeal. She may claim that it sells, but I saw a lot of food going in the garbage.
Consider yourself a great foodie but can’t F’n make a decent marinara from scratch? Welcome to the restaurant business, you’re in the 99th percentile.
Yup, lots of really, really bad restaurants out there that do big volume. I still haven't had a good meal in Little Italy. There is no accounting for taste. But C'mon again, I looked at that ravioli dish and can honestly say I would never pay to eat that. Who puts frozen corn on ravioli as part of the sauce?
“Control freak?” “Independent restaurant owner?” Hello?
Matter of degree. This guy is nuts, and it's because, like his wife, he's completely insecure. He's insecure because he doesn't know what in the hell he's doing, and shouldn't be in a position that requires he interact with people.
About the tip thing - was there any confirmation that that’s what actually happens there? There is tip SHARING but never confiscation. EVER.EVER.
No, the owner made it clear that he confiscates all of the tips in lieu of an hourly wage. Great way to motivate the staff to take care of the guests, eh? He probably doesn't know that the IRS is calculating additional income for his servers based on 8% of their sales.
I maintain the producers just took that bit and stretched it - I hope they wind up with a lawsuit.
I think this was one episode that the producers were able to sit back and watch the train wreck without any instigation on their part. But you are correct, these shows are fabricated all the time to deliver the most amount of drama. Although I have to admit that Restaurant Impossible, with that guy who has to show off his biceps in same short sleeved shirt even if it's below freezing, is a very well done, realistic, and genuine show.
And you know what? You DO need to know something about restaurants to know how this sort of stuff isn’t actually that crazy.
I worked in a lot of restaurants, too. Many of them were run by psychopaths....but this particular episode revealed the true nature of these people. They are nuts, and the crap they pulled was crazy. I kept watching Ramsay watching the knives. That Amy chick should be sedated.
the posters on this thread who don’t know what’s REALLY happening here on the Gordon Ramsey Show are just not restaurant people.
Again, this is one particular episode in which you don't have to have a restaurant background to know what's really going on. Crap food + psychotic ownership = great television/train wreck.
I'd gladly pick this place up for $.10 on the dollar and leave the corporate rat race. They didn't spare any expense putting that store together. The next owner will probably be able to make a nice living from it.
Here is the Yelp review that started their first outbreak of craziness:
Joel L.
Phoenix, AZ
1 star 8/1/2010
In retrospect, I should have known better than to step foot into Amy’s Baking Company (a.k.a. ABC Bistro).
-8 pm on a Saturday night, three tables are occupied
-a sign on the door indicates they’re looking for an experienced line cook, a dishwasher, waitresses, you name it
-Pita Jungle, just a stone’s throw away, is packed to the gills
These are all bad signs. They go ignored, however, because I’d eaten one thing all day, and I had drove here to try their pizza. Never, ever again.
The waitress brings me out a water and a menu to my table for one on the patio, which I had all to myself. Browsing the apps, I was pleasantly surprised to see several things priced $3, which seemed like a bargain, given the high price of everything else. $3 tapanade sounded like a good deal, but I was informed that it didn’t come with anything - it was $3 extra for bread. Since I was solo, I decided to skip it and instead pay $14 for their 12” margherita pizza.
About three minutes later, the waitress drops off my pizza. “Your pizza”, she says, leaves a plate and off she goes. I sat for a moment, confused as to how things happened so quickly. I try to grab a slice of the pizza, but it was so blazing hot that I wasn’t even going to attempt to handle it. I waited for a few minutes to let it cool off, only to discover that not only had it cooled enough to handle, but was actually well-cooled and most likely reheated. After a closer inspection of the pie in front of me, it was evident that it had been reheated, as there were smaller tomatoes that had spent their time in the oven, and larger tomatoes that had barely been kissed by the heat of the oven.
I took a bite, and was immediately underwhelmed. The crust had very little character, was slightly sweet but had that store-bought quality to it. The pesto tasted okay, but the tomatoes were completely tasteless and overall, it just fell flat. It’s margherita - the ingredients need to shine to make such a simple pizza. These ingredients were sub-par. After two small pieces, I decided I was wasting my calories and just gave up on it.
So I sat outside, not eating, and sat. And sat. Where the hell was the waitress? I glanced inside a few times, hoping to catch her eye, but she must have been occupied elsewhere.
The owner comes out. “How’d you like your pizza?” Instead of immediately responding, I asked how it had come out so quickly. In short, he told me another table had ordered it, decided they didn’t want it, and it sat in the kitchen for two minutes, who in turn decided to send it out to me since I didn’t order anything else.
Me: “Well, it didn’t really taste fresh”.
Him: “No, no, our pizzas are the best. Ask our customers. You’re the first person since we’ve opened to ever not like our pizzas”.
He got very defensive about the pizza, but I hadn’t really launched a harsh criticism on the pizza, just said I didn’t really enjoy it. So I sat some more, with an empty drink, and realized they wanted me gone. The owner wouldn’t make eye contact with me. The server never came back out asking if I wanted something else. And they still hadn’t refilled my drink.
So I sat on a patio, alone, and decided to have a smoke. The waitress comes out...
Her: “Sir, there’s a no smoking sign over there, I was told to tell you to not to smoke here.”
Me: “Is this the last f*** you in this experience?”
Her: “Yes, I think so”.
She walks away. I walk inside, pay the bill, and leave. No apologies, no discounts on the bill, nothing. $18 for weak iced tea and shitty pizza.
This is arrogance in its worst form. I can forgive bad food, but I cannot forgive misplaced arrogance and the blatant dismissal of a customer, whether you agree with them or not.
Perhaps the sign on the door should also say, “Wanted: New owner”.
I cannot, for the life of me, recommend this restaurant to anyone.
Scottsdale, AZ
8/2/2010
Dear Joel,L. It is blatantly obvious to me why you were ALONE on a Saturday night!
Read any of the reviews that have been written about us and you will see that EVERYONE loves us!! The only people that don’t is our “Competition”. We knew you had been sent by another restaurant before you even ordered your $14.00 Pizza.
The Pizza was fresh and amazing. The reason the tomatoes had different texture was because I use three different heirloom tomatoes and some of them are sundried. So of course they are going to have a different texture from the fresh ones!!!
But perhaps you are only accustomed to tasting the ones that come “fresh from the can!”
Moving on to the “Store bought Dough” Comment. PLEASE!! My dough is made fresh every day from 100% organic ingredients. Perhaps your palate is not sophisticated enough to tell the difference.
As for you having the Patio all to yourself unless you have been living on another PLANET it is summertime in ARIZONA MORON!!! Only TRAMPS and LOSERS want to sit outside in 110 temperatures!!!!
We are hiring because we are so busy that we need to hire more people. You just so happened to come right after a huge rush. And the people did not change their mind for the Margarita Pizza they ordered. They were still enjoying their amazing Caesar salad and I thought perhaps you would appreciate not having to wait so long for your pizza. Which was just coming out of the OVEN.
I am the CHEF and the owner, and I am the one that made your Pizza.
As for the no smoking comment everyone knows that it is against the LAW to smoke within 20 feet of a public place. But perhaps you think you are above the LAW. Have a little respect not everyone wants to subject themselves to being around second hand smoke.
And as for the overpriced menu items if you think that $12.00 is too much for an ENTRÉE sized ORGANIC Salad or $14.00 is too much for an AMAZING Pizza then perhaps you should go to the PITA JUNGLE that is just a stone’s throw away. And if you get lucky maybe you can even dig up someone up to take with you so you can share a $5.00 Falafel.
Do US a favor and keep your ugly face and you ugly opinions to yourself and go back to the restaurant that you really work at!!
I would LOVE for anyone who reads this review to come to ABC and try our Pizza. If you don’t like it then I guarantee you don’t have to pay for it.
“Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro”
I do appreciate and respect your opinions.
These people are seriously stressed... But wouldn’t YOU be?
I mean - I’m not even a Christian and - how would YOUR team perform under the spotlight on everything and with some total aggresion monster approaching you and your customers...
But you AT THE REGISTER to grill you about what you might have said to a waitress a few hours ago?
No - I stand by these cats even though they are nutty. EVERYONE in the restaurant business is nutty. Hello? Independent restaurant owner up against the corporate giants? BALLS, EGO, PRIDE, and yes maybe a little bit of hubris.
Millions of smart-asses who never ran a shop want to tell them whats best. Lots of former employees want to vent. A douche-a-lino wants to make an example out of them.
If you’ve never fired a waiter for being an habitually late sassy druggie YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS.
“Terrible small business owners take a hard lesson from Hollywood elite.”
Bottom line I’d spend a few hundred bucks there in a heartbeat and order their best wine to boot.
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