- [Chef] What is this?
- [Cook] A bunch of gook, as you can see.
- Do you see this dripping, though?
What is this?
- This kitchen is disgusting.
The fryer is caked with grease,
the grill is caked with grease,
I even have grease dripping from the pipes!
This kitchen can't operate this way.
(rock music)
- I wonder if anybody's here?
Wait, there's a pirate.
- Wait, do you wanna just go back there?
- I think we should just go back there.
- We should try it. - Let's go back there.
- We were waiting for quite a while, so we sat down.
- Maybe we should, like, check in with someone?
(chair scrapes)
(male customer laughs)
This is kinda whacked.
Sir, can we get some menus?
Does anybody work here?
- Oh, just gonna seat yourselves
wherever the (beep) you like, are you now?
- Well, we were waiting and-
- Waiting and waiting.
- Yeah.
- Well, there's only one of me, and so many of you.
- It was odd.
- What's the fresh catch?
- Fresh catch? Uh, let me check.
Digiorno, fresh catch today, mahi?
- Yeah. - [Waiter] Yeah, mahi.
Yeah, it's mahi.
- Fresh mahi's fresh? - [Waiter] Yes. Mahi's fresh.
(intense music)
- The fresh catch was like frozen, I don't know,
pond bass or something like that.
It was nasty.
- Oh my God, that's dis-, that was so gross.
It was this disgusting chunk of white, smelly,
I couldn't even take a bite.
- This sucks.
- Is this your (indistinct)?
- It is.
- We're honestly struggling a little bit.
- Is this fresh?
- [Male Customer] That's gotta be frozen fish. Is it frozen?
- If it's the mahi entree, it is, yeah.
Well, it wasn't put on the grill frozen.
- This really was a terrible, terrible dining experience.
The worst I've ever had. Was horrid.
We just gotta get out of here.
- You just need to get out of here?
He should be bringing you back the bill,
and I did take some stuff off your bill,
and I apologize that things weren't up to par.
We're working on it.
- How bad was the food?
- [Man] The food was disgusting.
There was a mahi, it was supposed to be fresh,
they were frozen products.
- No truth in menu?
She's delusional.
She doesn't accept the reality of her own mistakes.
As soon as she accepts that reality,
I can start taking her to success.
So my question is this:
when do you get good at running this place?
'Cause you're not good at it now, you know that?
You're food stinks, right?
I mean, I sent my recon people in,
the couple in the pirate suits.
- Really? - Yes.
You comped their entire food, didn't you?
- Yes.
- The fresh fish was frozen, it was a lie,
but you sit before me, saying this is your dream.
- That's true.
- I'm realizing I might not be able to fix this bar.
If Tracy doesn't change the way she thinks,
she will fail.
I need you to come clean with me, Tray.
- Okay. - Are you ashamed?
- No.
- [Jon] You're not ashamed? - No.
- Well, if you are not ashamed
of what you served tonight to people,
then I'm gonna tell you, you should close this place now.
If you're not ashamed by the fact that you have menu lies,
that you're serving food that is undercooked,
what makes you ashamed?
- I have an establishment that I belie-
- You're not ashamed of what you're doing?
- No. - Then I can't help you,
'cause you're never gonna have pride in it.
- What the (beep), bull-(beep)!
What the (beep) that guy talk like that, yeah?
- Are you ashamed of the food that was served tonight?
- No.
- The food is good, ass-(beep)!
- Your food is the worst I've ever seen. It stinks!
- I don't think so.
- Really? - Yeah.
- Well, you should stop cooking tomorrow
and not cook anymore.
Your food stinks!
- Nobody claim about that!
- Let me explain something to you,
she had to buy them your dinner tonight,
'cause you blew it!
- Because the customer is a (beep)-ing ass-(beep)!
- No, because you blew it!
And how dare you put her-
- I clean my (beep)-ing hands, too!
- I got my work cut out for me.
You're a fool, man.
You're a fool!
I cannot succeed.
I can't fix this bar until these people accept
that they're failing.
- I took one sip, and I got a headache.
It was like, all over the place.
A sugary disaster.
- That's the epitome of why they're failing,
right there, I bet.
And I bet the food's no better.
(grill sizzles)
- So one thing he definitely did,
he just pulled them out of the fryer,
no paper towel, no nothing to absorb that extra grease.
Things come out of the fryer,
you season them immediately and you get them on a drain pan.
They weren't being drained, they weren't being seasoned,
the runners were not there to run the food.
The product should be at the customer a long time ago.
(intense music)
- Hey, baby.
- [Jon] I think that's because the runner just got here.
- [Bartender] Mia, you showed up!
- [Man] Mia?
- [Mia] Yes, Daddy? - [Man] What is your problem?
- [Mia] I had so much stuff to do.
- [Man] It's all good. Clock in, you go to work.
- There's a laws for everything, right there.
- Of course.
(rock music)
Look at her, she's just standing there,
playing with her hair.
- The food just sits there.
(rock music)
It looks rubbery.
(tense music)
- Oh my gosh, there's hair in my food!
- There's a hair! Look at this, Josh!
- Ah!
After picking through it,
I find a long, blonde hair just sitting in my food,
and that's the absolute worst.
This is not my hair.
At that point, you're done. It's over.
You've lost your appetite,
you don't wanna eat it anymore.
So gross.
- I can't believe what I just saw;
a greasy, disgusting kitchen,
terrible drinks, and a hair in food.
I've seen enough.
It's time to fix this bar.
- [Narrator] Chef Capon accompanies Jon
to see what Frank and Chef Barry have cooking.
- What have we got?
Obviously, everything should be dated.
We also should make sure everything's Saran wrapped.
When you don't wrap things up,
they actually take on the taste of the refrigerator.
- [Chef Barry] Sometimes, when we're busy, it's in and out,
so, you know how it is.
- What is this?
- [Chef Barry] You've seen this, you know what it is.
- I don't have that in my fryer.
- Yeah? Maybe you're not running a busy restaurant.
- No disrespect to the Bamboo Tiki Bar,
I'm running a busy restaurant.
- See this right here?
This is french fries-
- That's ass. That's ass.
That's ass, that's garbage, that's ass.
There's grease dripping out of the hood,
there's things not wrapped up,
things aren't dated,
there's garbage everywhere, and Barry just keeps telling me
how often he cleans the kitchen,
but I'm looking at him like,
"who're you trying to kid here, guy?"
- [Chef Barry] That's sludge from the gas.
- [Jon] This will catch on fire, guys.
- This clean, big man.
This is something what, over the days-
- That's not clean.
- [Chef Barry] But what I'm saying is that-
- Stop saying it's clean. Stop saying it's clean.
- Barry, listen to me!
I don't wanna hear excuses. It's not clean.
This is not clean!
- But I'm telling you, this clean!
- You're telling that's clean? - I'm telling you that clean!
- I'm telling you you're blind!
You have grease, look,
dripped down into your saute pan!
It's not clean!
- Tonight it's clean, when we finish work up in here!
- Frank's excuses and lack of caring
have rubbed off on the staff.
Since he doesn't care if the place is clean,
why should they clean it?
Clean it now!
- Okay!
- Clean it now!
- Okay, you're good. It's getting clean.
- Can we go ahead and just order nachos?
- Sure.
- Chicken's good. - Chicken and cheese?
Three minutes? Seven? One?
- [Cook] Uh, three.
- [Keith] All right, be back.
- That's cross contamination.
She's touching raw chicken and then cooked food
without washing her hands in the middle.
It's all cross contaminated.
- How's that three minutes time?
Pretty decent?
- Yeah, I just gotta, I gotta put the cheese on it.
- Oh yeah, you gotta get, load that up.
- She's getting him sick right now!
When I see a kitchen that filthy,
and a cook touching raw chicken and then cooked product?
I know people are gonna get sick, and I get angry.
That causes salmonella poisoning,
and I am not gonna let them serve anyone else.
- Here you go, nachos, chicken and cheese.
- Thank you. - There you go.
- I'm going in now to fix it.
I hate starting a rescue so angrily,
but when I see raw chicken mixed with cooked product
and know people are gonna get sick?
I can't contain myself!
I had to go in, right then and there, and stop it.
You Joel? - I am.
- I'm Jon Taffer.
Where's Keith?
- [Joel] I think he's right behind the bar,
or maybe in the kitchen.
- Let's go stand back here for a minute.
Keith, I'm Jon Taffer. - Hi, Jon, how are ya?
- Let's go in there for a minute.
I have never been so angry before.
They nearly got my daughter sick tonight!
You, hello!
My name is Jon, what's yours?
- Tammy.
- Tammy, I watched you pick up raw chicken,
all night in your hand, and then touch cooked food.
Do you know how bad that is?
- [Tammy] What the hell do I do?
- How dare you pick up raw chicken
and then pick up cheese with your hand,
pick up crab with your hand, pick up spices with your hand.
Shame on you!
I have never seen anything like this before!
How many times have you picked up raw chicken?
Have you ever washed your hands?
- Yes.
- I'm (beep)-ing beside myself!
Is this funny to you?
What's the deal? - Didn't see it.
- [Jon] You didn't see it?
She's touching raw chicken,
and she's not even washing her hands!
Don't you know that's wrong?
- [Keith] That was it?
- [Jon] You do know it's wrong?
- Yeah.
- [Jon] So, you don't give a (beep)?
- I do give a (beep).
- [Jon] No, you don't care,
'cause you're not doing anything about it!
- Okay, all right.
- Somebody who is irresponsible like you-
- Yeah, (beep) me.
- And doesn't give a (beep),
that's right, like you!
You're like a (beep)-ing criminal!
- Call me all the names you want!
- Why, 'cause you know you're a (beep), right?
- Okay, so, I'm an ass-(beep).
- Those people are gonna know you're an ass-(beep)
when I walk out of here, too.
You're gonna get sued from this!
Take that food, throw it away.
Throw it all away!
Shut it down, nobody eats!
Clean this (beep)-ing damn kitchen,
I'm getting the (beep) out of here.
(door bangs)
- Coulda gone better.
- Don't eat anything here.
Don't eat the frickin' fruit, and I'm not kidding.
You will get sick.
I could rescue any bar,
but there might be some people that I can't rescue.
Keith is getting people sick, and he doesn't care.
I am not gonna let him put Sam's health in jeopardy,
or anyone else's, for that matter.
- I tried to wash my hands,
so, it's not like I was purposely forgetting
to wash my hands.
- Thank you.
It's ice cold.
- Do you not like the cheese sticks?
- They're a little greasy and cold on the inside.
- Have you ever been to Maggiano's?
It's the best cheese stick I ever had.
- So he's telling us about how great another restaurant is.
- Hey, Scott?
Do you know where Billy went?
- [Scott] I don't know.
- So, Billy's the chef.
- I believe that's our chef, sitting out there, smoking.
- [Man In Backseat] What's he got in his hand?
- Is that a spatula in his hand?
- I think it is, yes.
- Hold on, that's not a spatula.
That's a cat litter scoop!
- Oh, what's he doing with the ashtray?
- He's cleaning out the ashtray
before he goes in to cook the food.
This is unbelie-, oh,
so he's got customers that are sitting outside with him,
watching him do this,
out the back door, people are sitting at the bar,
oh my God.
- In 30 plus years,
I have never seen a cook with a kitty litter scoop.
That's a first, for me.
Well guys, I saw enough.
- The first impression that I had actually hit my nose.
I can smell the fact that they hadn't cleaned.
So, when I come in here, and I can do this?
This is actually mold
that starts to build on the outside of here.
So, what is this?
- It's just flour Cajun, for our pickles.
- Okay, so do you guys think maybe
that would be mushrooms from November 29th?
- Would you wanna eat out of that?
- No.
- This is bacteria.
This is a five minute project at the end of a shift.
Inside of the reach-ins, there's a fan.
When that fan blows around,
it blows all of those spores all over the inside
of the reach-ins.
Dirty, disgusting.
This is your laziness.
(spatula scraping)
That's grease.
Look at this!
This is off of your back walls, man.
This is why your kitchen smells.
- Scott, I wanna ask you a question.
Do you think he's a good employee?
- He's got passion.
- Passion for what?
- Putting out a good product.
- [Jon] Really? - Yes.
- On that grill?
Is that passion?
Do you have pride?
- Yes, sir. - Bull-(beep).
This kitchen was disgusting.
The fryer was filthy,
there was thick grease all over the walls,
Billy's not a great employee, he's a lazy slob.
You make a conscious choice to say,
"(beep) it, I'm not gonna clean that,
I'm gonna leave, instead."
- I don't care how good you are, I'd fire him right now.
- I got the right guy here. I promise.
- I'm not sure of that.
Billy, when I come back here, I wanna see this place clean.
I suggest you clean this place all night,
and if you don't change your choices,
you're not gonna work here anymore.
- I don't wanna lose my job.
It's time for me to take responsibility,
or just get the hell out of the way.
- [Jon] It's your mess, clean it.
- All right, he's in.
- There he is.
- Something fried sounds good,
so, what if I try the sample platter?
- Okay, I'll put it right in.
- No, he's not. In the microwave.
- In the microwave.
No!
- One of the number one problems
of taking fried food and putting it in the microwave,
is you take the crispiness away.
Why even fry it if you're just gonna put it in the microwave
to melt the cheese?
- There it is. Okay.
(tense music)
- That doesn't look very crisp, Chef, does it?
- No. It's rubbery.
- You doing okay?
- [Customer] Uh, yeah, it's cool.
It's just a little greasier than I thought it would be.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
Do you want me to have him remake it?
- No, no, no.
I ordered the sampler platter.
The cheese was hot, but weirdly... hard?
It was a platter of grease.
- That looks like Rudy.
So there's a good owner,
sitting in the corner of the bar,
oblivious to what's going on.
- Speaking to a friend, but not any of the other guests.
- [Jon] Chef, go to it, buddy, let me see what you think.
- [Chef] What is this?
- A bunch of gook, as you can see.
- Do you see this dripping, though?
What is this?
- This kitchen is disgusting.
The fryer is caked with grease,
the grill is caked with grease,
I even have grease dripping from the pipes!
This kitchen can't operate this way.
- This ain't cool.
- It's an old building.
- Cleaning an old building has nothing to do with it, bro.
- You don't want anybody walking in your kitchen,
saying everything is just filthy.
But, I try to knock it out as best as I can.
- Rudy, how's this working for ya?
- It's not working, but,
I know my cooks, and they work their (beep)-ing asses off-
- No, he doesn't.
If he worked his ass off, this would be clean!
- They don't just come back here and stand!
- Well, they obviously aren't working,
because they're not cooking enough food
to stay busy all day, are they, Barry?
- Hold it, I've seen 20 (beep)-ing orders up at one time,
and these (beep)-ing two guys back here
bust their (beep)-ing ass-
- You're gonna back your guys
as they walk you right off the freakin' cliff, buddy.
I'm telling you, he's a lousy (beep)-ing kitchen manager,
and that's indisputable.
- You can go so far as, you know, get in somebody face,
talk (beep), but you haven't been here on a regular basis,
see what's going on behind closed doors, as well.
- I don't buy that they're lazy, I just,
it's not being done right, obviously.
- Well, you know what? You're naive.
It's clear to me that Rudy spends a lot more time
with his band than he does here,
'cause his views of his kitchen staff are way off.
- You wanna order any food?
- I wanna order wings with sauce on the side.
- [Bartender] You got it, babe.
(band playing rock music)
- Who are this band?
They're not even filling the room, Michael.
So, the only bands you get at a venue like this
are bands that don't yet have a following.
- Right. - And this is what you get.
(band continues playing)
Look at these girls.
- Look at this guy!
- They're dancing more, not serving the customers.
- [Michael] Yeah, they're not watching the actual guests,
they're watching the band.
- Yep.
So, Keith has been waiting 20 minutes for his chicken wings.
- I was trying to give a visible sign
for somebody to come down and say,
"sir, is there anything wrong,"
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
and I got nothing.
(staff cheering)
- Nobody's gonna be dancing when I'm in there.
(tense music)
- This is incredible.
- She's just really slow and disorganized.
- You know, it's funny, we were talking earlier
about it being an old strip club at some point,
why is the window a big pair of lips?
- I'm guessing it comes from those days.
(Michael sighs in disgust)
All right, here come the chicken wings, Michael.
- Let's see.
- Oh, look how rubbery that wing is.
He can't bring himself to eat it. Look at this.
- (beep)-ing disgusting.
And looking at the chicken, it was discolored,
so I knew they had some problems
with the proper temperature going into the fryer.
- I think I've seen enough, buddy.
I'm gonna go and run inside and do my thing.
So let's start with refrigeration.
That's our walkthrough over there?
- [Chef] You see all that?
- [Jon] Filth.
- This, we have...
Just empty containers,
looks like old chicken blood.
- [Jon] Now when was that emptied?
- Probably a couple days ago,
because I'd had chicken in there,
but I took the chicken out.
- Listen to me.
- It was defrosting.
- How many days has that been sitting in there?
- That's probably been in there a couple of days.
- You could smell it.
The way that I feel,
knowing that I ate something and looking in here now,
it makes me sick to me damn stomach.
- [Jon] Let's move on down to the fryers.
- The grease is old.
You see that?
Contaminated grease, because of the specks in there.
- The minute he bit into that food, he tasted it.
Does this work?
- [Van] Yeah, it works.
- [Jon] That's not cold enough.
So, that chicken is sitting in here
at a dangerous temperature.
Let's look at this, Chef.
Look at the way this chicken looks.
- [Chef] I know. It should be in a shallow container.
- Whenever food is more than four inches high
in a container, it doesn't get cold.
I wanna see what's going on in here.
Wow, 72 degrees.
You know where this is going?
What does this say?
It says that you've been trained in food sanitation.
You know better than this!
So do you care, or not?
- I care.
- But you do it anyway!
Well, that's gonna end, now,
'cause you're cleaning this kitchen tonight!
(plaque clatters)
'Cause that's what it means to me, now!
Let's go to the bar.
- I feel embarrassed,
but there was a lot of stuff here when I got here,
and I tried to make it as best I can,
but I still know I have a lot of work to do.
(rock music)
- Hi, this is Jon Taffer.
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