The Seascape Inn in Islip, New York used to be a vibrant, happening restaurant. At least it was 40 years ago when it opened. Recently, it was on the verge of shutting down because the mother and son ownership of Irene and Peter could not keep it running the way Peter’s father had run it before passing away two years prior. Enter Gordon Ramsey, who takes situations like this and does his best to turn them around.

Ramsey arrived and noticed right away that the place had a stench to it. The waitress let him know that it was sewage. Ewwwwww!!! It was also apparent that head chef Doug was arrogant and not happy that Ramsey was there to “save” things. Also, sous chef Charles didn’t care either, and seemed to think everything was a big joke. What’s worse, Ramsey ordered some lunch to sample the food, and was bitterly disappointed. The crab cakes were not fresh, the lobster ravioli had a “strange taste,” and the salmon was dry. That, and everything was sprayed with dried parsley. Doug was not happy that Ramsey was criticizing him, but it was clear where the problem with this restaurant was.

At the dinner service that evening, it was even more clear that there was a problem in the kitchen. Orders were going out, but the food was cold, not properly prepared or just not up to Ramsey’s or the customers’ standards. The next day Ramsey went into the kitchen and found out that it was a complete mess. Irene had told him at the start that the Board of Health gave them a 95% score and Peter said they cleaned every Tuesday. Well, he lied. The kitchen was filthy and food was getting moldy, including the pesto sauce served with Ramsey’s lunch the day before. So he did what he has done on previous episodes of this show–he shut down the kitchen for a night.

Ramsey decided the menu needed an overhaul too, and decided to put a focus on freshness and flavor.
This didn’t sit well with Doug at all, who said there was no need to change how he had been doing things for so many years. He didn’t even want to taste Ramsey’s cooking, insulting the great chef in a big way. The end result–Ramsey told Peter and Irene that Doug and Charles needed to be fired, on the spot. But Peter, ever lacking a backbone, couldn’t even do this right. He said “You guys are off tomorrow” and Doug responded “So we’re done for good?” and Peter said “Yes.” So they walked out, pissing and moaning as they left. Ramsey found a replacement head chef, Scott, and trained him on the new menu he had prepared. In addition, Ramsey had his design team remodel the inside of the restaurant, restoring it to its vibrancy of the sixties. Waitress Marilyn, who had been there since 1967, said it felt “alive” again.

Then there was the dinner service, and it was crowded and not quite what the staff here was used to. But everyone loved the food, and after Ramsey sat down with Peter and told him he needed to step up and run the restaurant like a real manager should, with hustle, Peter did just that. And finally, The Seascape was bustling and returned to its glory days. Even better, Irene was proud of her son for finally stepping up and “becoming a man.”

But apparently Peter wasn’t ready to make this a lifelong ambition, because at the end of the show it was announced that five months after the re-launch of The Seascape, Peter received “an offer he couldn’t refuse,” and sold the restaurant.

I’m sensing a pattern here. Every week there seems to be one bad manager or chef at the restaurant Ramsey tries to turn around, and that person either needs to get fired or whipped into shape in order for the restaurant to survive. It goes to show that it’s people who make restaurants or any business tick. It also makes me wonder how many places I’ve eaten at or will eat at with disgusting kitchens!

See you all next week…