Original subtitles

Did you know originally I'm gonna be called Scott not Gordon Scott Ramsey

doesn't kind of got a lot better than fucking Gordon Well, obviously seven

older than you but there was a very big There was a very big which anyway,

you're all good. November seven o 'clock close There's an awful song at school

at Shepard High by Jilted John called Gordon is a moron in bit early

Wow

I've got to just play the Jilted John Gordon Zamora because the book is about

hold. But here on the radio now, I just switched the fucking thing off.

Here we go, Jilted John Gordon Zamora. I didn't realise you had such a big thing

about your name.

Buddy?

Every time I go to the disco, I'd hear this.

Buddy?

I've been going out with a girl Her name is Julie But last night she said to me

When we were one Listen,

here we go.

Building up to the chorus.

I mean, fuck it up.

I love the fact this song has affected you so much. Never knew that, did you?

I'm going to play it to Oscar later.

No, don't, don't. I'll tell you what, I haven't got any music to play over the

opening title.

Here we go.

Don't break more.

I would tell her.

that I cried all the way to the chair shop. When I came out, there was Gordon

standing at the bar shop.

Sorry? Gordon is a moron!

Good.

Good.

Oh, I felt two things then.

Can I have a quick selfie?

One,

two, and three.

There we are. Thank you. Take care. Have a good day.

Selfies everywhere.

My pace is 8 ,000 miles an hour. It looks chaotic,

frantic, and mad, but it's controlled chaos.

Seriously?

It's packed.

And the pressure this year is massive.

And there's no time to stop.

22 Bishop's Gate is going to be the most ambitious project I've ever, ever

opened in my entire life.

It was supposed to be not one restaurant, but five.

But now, Brexit's delayed, so we're down one, and I'll be honest,

Brexit was our safety net, and that thing was, you know, into the millions

turnover.

So... You know, it has hit the fan, and the pressure's on.

Financially, now those four unique businesses have to open on time.

Yeah, beneath the wrinkles and the smile, I'm quietly shitting oneself.

We've got two weeks till we break up for Christmas, and then we're back on the

2nd of January.

The restaurant opens on the 3rd of February, so that's when they'll have

seats. So, yeah, it's busy.

So my kitchen's going in now, and it's quite big and heavy, so we've got to be

mindful how we get that in and not cause any damage to any of the finishes up

there as well.

Oh, for fuck's sakes!

I've got that crazy bit of gate.

Try going on there, and that's full -on 1 ,000 miles an hour.

But I can't always be there, because...

What it's like running the global business.

It's not just the restaurant keeping me busy.

From a TV program to a TV ad to a podcast to a social media post.

Do you want me to film? How are you going to make a cocktail with one phone

one hand and a cocktail in the other? How's that possible?

I hate it when they think that you are more interested as a TV chef than a real

chef.

Bulk at that, because, yeah, I fucking worked hard in the kitchen, and I worked

hard on TV.

I didn't sacrifice the restaurant for the TV, and I haven't used the TV to

what's going on in the restaurant.

The restaurants are real, but for me, they go hand in glove, and one feeds off

the other. Stop it now!

This place is like the plane.

Kitchen Nightmares, we've done over 10 seasons in excess of 100 episodes and

travelled, I think, nearly every state in America.

I'm very proud of that show.

Let's go.

It was the sort of first real insight to the danger of playing at running

a restaurant.

And I call it straight.

As I die. I wasn't fucking around.

Run the fucking food. Now. Run.

Something you haven't done in 19 fucking years.

When they say you've left the industry, you've got too famous to be a chef. I'm

like, fuck off. That's ridiculous.

I'll still go behind that line and I'll still prove that I can do it.

Fuck's sake. Come on, man. We're a little bit behind, but I need you

yeah? Yeah, two minutes. Just dropped.

My life is so...

different now.

If you said to me, you know, 20 years ago, hey, guess what? You have an

multiple businesses, and then you're going to crack America.

I don't think I'd beg to sort of

comprehend what that kind of spotlight would have looked like.

But I'd still be disappointed if they thought that I'd sort of sold my soul

because of the popularity they've got no fucking idea what's the most important

thing to me and that's my reputation as a chef we watch gordon ramsay all the

time and i just i just love him the pieces i just love our little town and

so glad he's here what is that do you ride with that on the back yeah yeah i

programmed all this right

Can I FaceTime the boys to say goodnight?

Oscar's on the loo.

Maybe let's not FaceTime him in the loo.

It is very hard when someone is away a lot and has a job as demanding as

You know, 30 -odd years, and it's never got any easier.

Hello?

Hey! Oh, my God, look at Speedy crawling now.

I know, oh, my God.

There have been times when it has been hard, and I think that's what we learned

then, wasn't it? It's just appropriate to sort of stay in each other's lives

make an effort to connect.

I'll meet Gordon on location and he'll be on set and I'll, you know, go to the

hotel to sort of have a shower, get changed and go and meet him.

Your hotel room is so meticulous.

You've left everything on your side of the bed and the other side's ready for

me. It makes me sad that he's been on his own, but then...

Happy that we can just sort of have that couple of days.

I miss you too.

I ask.

Oh, Jesus.

I love you, though.

But also, Gordon has changed.

He's become disciplined at having time off.

And I think that's why sometimes he's just like, OK, that month in the summer,

I'm not working.

He's not going to be on set. He's not going to physically be anywhere but

Cornwall.

I keep thinking that's a helicopter, but it's not. It's a bird.

Cornwall is very much our happy place.

It's like you go there, and after a day or two of just simply enjoying being

outside, being together, you kind of get a sense of calm, and that's really

special.

So excited. I actually can't quite believe it.

Gordon's been away for six weeks, but it's been far too long. We can't wait.

Oh,

over your head.

It'll be chaotic.

Oscar will be given sweets by the bucket load. And yeah, I'll just fade into the

background.

Oscar, I think he's going to want every moment of his time.

Fair enough.

Oh, is that an aeroplane? I think I can hear it.

They're waving.

This way.

Look at that. Isn't that amazing, Oscar? Daddy!

Daddy!

You know what you say to the helicopter, Oscar? Thank you for bringing my daddy

home safely.

Daddy! Go, baby, go!

Quick, go!

Go, go, go!

Hello, Daddy!

Oh, mate!

Hello! Oh,

Bert, you good?

Yes. You've grown again.

You've grown!

Oh, Dad, so good to see you.

Long time, Gord.

Shall we? I'm a versa for pee, I'm so sorry.

Oh, my God.

Daddy,

you can pee in there.

Sorry? You can do a wee here.

I can do a wee there. No.

Come on, quick.

I'll sit next to you, please, yeah?

Daddy. Oh, mate.

Tea. Tea.

Tea. I don't know what you're talking about.

Take off my glasses. They're my new glasses. You're going to stretch them.

Whenever Gordon gets back from being away, all sort of normal day -to -day

routines go out the window.

It drives me absolutely crazy.

Oscar Bear.

Dad. What?

It's not even 10 o 'clock.

For someone who is so sort of conscious about everything, you do love to give

Oscar an overload of sweets. A fruit pastel, for God's sake.

It's a little bit of sugar to wake him up. Yeah, because he's so tired.

Oscar, what do your friends call Daddy?

It's one fruit pastel.

I think I disrupt everyone's routine because Tyler's super disciplined,

sometimes a little bit too disciplined.

Too disciplined?

I think you need to leave everyone to do things their way.

Do you think he's overheating with that jumper on?

He is fine.

You're on it this morning.

No. It's hard to let him back in, which sounds weird, but... Gordon has sort of

said to me, it's kind of hard to get back into the groove and we'll end up

of having an argument and then everything is fine.

Here you go, bud. Have a kiss, please.

Dad! It's one fruit pastel.

I think it is like some kind of disorder.

Sweetie man disorder.

I miss her big time when I'm away and I try to blend in quickly and it's

hard.

It takes me about 24 hours just to sort of relax.

So this place is just like a little getaway, a little hideout.

Teeth of Christ.

There's the great white, the man himself.

Marco.

He's always looking on.

Staring down.

Working for Marco Pierre White was probably one of the best things that

happened to me because it transformed me.

A year in, Marco had gone up to Yorkshire for an event and said, you're

own for a couple of days.

I'm like, fuck, what? I'm 22 and I'm running Harvey's.

And so I made all the sauces, burned out the pig's trotter stuff, made the

raviolis.

And then I was so excited for Marco to come back and I had all the sauces out

and I watched him taste them all with such excitement.

And he turned around and he said, they're fucking shit.

What the fuck are you doing?

And I knew he was lying. I saw the feedback and it was like, send Marco my

tell Marco that's me. And Marco wasn't even in the fucking kitchen. So that was

my passport then.

That's when I knew I've got this.

Yeah. There's Kitchen Nightmares and then this one from the Michelin, handing

out all the awards, all those stars.

Is it always the aim to get those stars?

I think the stars are just a confirmation, just how fucking good you

And, you know, every chef would be lying if they didn't want that recognition.

You know, as a footballer, you want the Champions League or Premier League.

As a chef, you want that star.

And as I got my first star, Marco was celebrating his third star, so it was

of... The beginning for me and the climax for him.

Because then that set the tone. Fuck it, okay, let's get two.

Let's get three.

So these things are fucking powerful. And they're also devastating.

Because when you lose them, you know, it's a bitch.

Because then you feel like the biggest fucking idiot in the industry. And so

you're embarrassed.

And I've lost that.

And whether it's inconsistency.

moving on, shutting the restaurant down.

Yeah, so it's a double -edged sword, but it's at the sharp end. It's

exactly where you want to fucking be.

So we're going to a restaurant called Ramsey HQ, a couple of little tastings

ahead of Bishop's Gate.

I know it's early, but if we're going to call it Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High,

then it's something we need to deliver. We need to deliver.

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay is fine dining, right?

So it's unique food, it's perfection beyond belief.

James Goodyear is going to be heading up.

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High.

And he's not from the stable, so we're going a little bit off -piste.

I've created a safety net for James.

You know, he sat with Kim and Matt, you know, the number one and number two of

the flagship.

He's had a chance to really start getting that understanding of Reverend

Ramsay.

There we are. We all get chilled, driving past, and we sacrifice fucking

everything to get the keys to this thing.

The restaurant, Gordon Ramsay, started with nothing.

Our only security was a flat we bought.

And then I convinced Tana to sell that.

I remember the time when you said we need to have a chat. Meg was newborn.

We sat in our living room and you said to me, I think we're going to need to

sell our home. So it was scary.

The bank wouldn't invest.

You know, dreamer. Thanks, but no thanks.

But I think in order, because of the hunger to move forward, to achieve, we

never not going to do it. We just had to get our heads around it.

I still get more nervous walking through the front door than I do through the

back door.

Morning, guys.

Because I want to be with the delivery.

I can... Honestly, walk in that dining room and close my eyes and still walk in

between the tables and know each and every space, each and every chair.

Hey, bud, you good? How are you? Kim, how old is this one?

20. He looks fucking 12.

Honestly, I swear to God, we're all off the road, very own Harry Potter.

20. Amazing.

I couldn't afford a filet mignon on our first venue. I had to use oxtail, but I

still won two missions to start with oxtail.

And then when we got our second mission star, I thought, shit, we can afford to

buy a Philly Mignon.

Two stars, it's like, you know, wow, we're getting serious now. The top 1%.

then everyone's saying, how do you get three stars? Well, you've got to be

individual, and you have to stand out.

And when you get that third star, everyone says it's a sigh of relief, but

not a sigh of relief.

It's fucking magical.

James, how long do you need?

Ten minutes, yeah? Yeah.

Your parents, what did they think?

Mum would pop in and see the stuff and say hello to the team in the kitchen,

way too intimidated to sit down and eat.

Dad would never have felt comfortable in that scenario.

We went for breakfast together, and there was this full English breakfast

fried bread, and I said to the guy in the casket, can I just have some toast,

please? Dad said, see?

You've gone all fucking past. You've forgotten your upbringing.

If I tried to show him what I've learned or what I've done, it was just over

his head. And suddenly, a year later, you know, he died of a heart attack. So,

yeah. No, never once sat down at a table and I never had the chance to turn

around and say, that's my dad.

Poor Shane.

Yeah. Yeah, that's life.

Hey, James, come over.

Sit down, sit down.

I've got great things planned for James.

I think the capabilities are sort of beyond one star, two star, three star. I

think he can get that high.

But the menu at Trinity Bishop's Gate needs to be fucking immaculate.

And I'm a tough chef to work for.

So, Kim, lead the way, please.

So what we have here is our cold Chester oyster custard. And then on the side,

we have oyster tempura.

And in the gel, is there any chopped up oyster in there?

No. No.

It's delicious.

The only thing I'd suggest is before you put the custard in, get some pickle on

the bottom.

And does it need to be that big? They're big fucking oyster shells, aren't they?

It's just a lot to eat, isn't it?

No?

I think it's light enough, personally.

I think they're very creamy, very light, not too rich either.

That's very nice.

Very nice indeed.

I'm inspired by nature and produce, working with fantastic ingredients and

working with the seasons.

That's what connects me to food, and I try and represent that whenever I cook.

I'm passionate about being the best at whatever I do, and being at the top is

what I enjoy and it's where I want to be.

Everyone in the world is looking at Gordon Ramsay's new restaurant in the

But I think I'm just focusing on delivering the best of my ability, and

confident that that's good enough.

I think if you have self -doubt, then you shouldn't really be in a position

this.

Go down that door there, please.

It's a building site.

Try not to kill or get killed.

To your average diner, the footprint of Bishop's Gate is enormous.

But per millimetre per square foot is one of the most expensive real estate in

London. You don't use that much.

Academy, Lucky Cat and RJR High go to share these facilities.

But this is all three of us. Four of us.

This is tiny.

This is fucking tiny.

Chefs want more space than ever before.

Waiters want the biggest stations on the planet. And so there's a scramble.

There's a fight for every inch, every millimetre of that floor.

We just need to find more space.

Will you get racks built?

Yeah, definitely. We'll definitely do racks.

But you've still got to think of BSK when that opens as well.

It all comes down to the cost.

So you need to be super efficient and you need to work together and you need

share areas.

You've got to share it between three businesses.

Look, everything will work.

It's a lot, but it'll be fine.

There's never a truer word. All good food comes out of a small kitchen

it produces greatness because you have absolute utter control.

It's great to be in this space. It seems so nice and intimate.

The guests are going to be sat here, and, you know, we're just going to be

cooking just here.

It's very, very close. I feel like some of the guests are going to get up, come

on and talk to us, being as involved as they can as well. I'm sure they'll sort

of walk around the space. I think they'll start feeling like that sort of

party atmosphere.

But I'm really looking forward to getting in here. It'll be, yeah, quite

something as well, especially when it's dark, the lighting.

Obviously, we just can't sort of feel that at the moment, but, yeah.

Super exciting.

Halfway in. How is culinary school?

It's been really good, thank you.

What's the exam on Friday?

You probably wouldn't pass that nowadays. You're not in the kitchen

No, I would. I would.

Do you want to try my flashcards? See if you know the... The letter.

I think...

Dad and I are probably the most similar people in our family. He's competitive,

I'm competitive.

We're both quite stubborn.

But only really to each other, I think.

You know, I don't let Dad get away with anything.

That's butter lettuce?

Nope. What? Green oak leaf.

Are you sure?

Yep. What's that?

Rocket. That's not rocket salad. It is. That is not rocket salad. It's their

home -grown rocket.

That's big leaves.

Christ. Wood sorrel.

That's not wood sorrel. The pictures are terrible, Till.

Cooking definitely is something that brought us together.

You know, I was away at university, and if I was ever trying to make something

and I was stuck, the first person I'd call is him.

But since I've gone to culinary school, I'm coming back and I'm showing him,

actually, Dad, I'm going to do it a different way.

And he's a bit like, um, I didn't teach you that. And I'm like, no, you didn't,

somebody else did.

And I think he's a bit like, well, but my way's right. And I'm like...

Yes, but this way is also right, Dad.

Right, watch.

First of all, a little slice at the bottom, a little slice on top.

Keep the orange on the board, and you go round.

You never hold it like that. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever.

No, that's so dangerous. She's paying for that. When she came to my kitchen, I

wouldn't charge her.

I would just put her in the kitchen 12 weeks and produce an amazing chef.

You're such a knob.

You also don't do that right. Look, you're missing all this.

No, that's called piff.

It's not called piff. Piff off.

Right, look.

See? And segment. Meanwhile, you're still... Look, this is crazy!

As much as I don't love him interfering when I'm in the kitchen, I secretly love

it, because at the end of the day, he does know best.

Well, not all the time, but sometimes.

I'm not listening.

You're not my teacher, Dad.

I had to go to the expert.

Do you know...

You need to burn off some energy. You're a bit like a dog. Why don't you go and

take yourself for a walk?

Can we go surfing?

Yeah. I'll show you the waves.

It's the perfect weather for surfing.

Let's go.

What's happening?

Right, so I'll show you the waves.

Exercise, for me, is crucial, you know, whether it's, you know, going surfing

with Oscar.

Let's go, my man!

I literally lose myself on the bike for hours.

Can we race now?

Quick! Let's go!

Go, go, go!

We started getting marathon places for the kids for their 18th birthday while

other parents were buying cars and iPads because I wanted them to understand the

importance of staying fit.

It kind of keeps you intact.

I do get to eat what the fuck I want because I train.

I don't have to watch my diet. I don't have to watch my cholesterol.

I'm not overweight.

I'm in shape. I'm in fucking good shape and I'm strong. So you need to be to

take on what I've got on. And so I think the busier I am, the fitter I've

become.

I emphasize a lot now to all the chefs, find that time when the industry doesn't

look after your body. From high cholesterol to high pressure to long

need a relief.

Let's go, bud.

OK.

And I think chefs generally don't have the best level of fitness. The fucking

industry can absolutely take you down if you don't look after yourself.

I've got to out of shape.

One, because it just all got too fucking much. And so I got warned.

I mean, I was 35, I was 34.

You know, start taking care of yourself.

And then my father died of a heart attack, literally, you know, six months

later, at 53.

So that scared the shit out of me, I think, really, more than anything, in a

that you've got to look after yourself.

Would you mind just doing that at the back, please? I will, mate.

Breathe in. Breathe in. Oh,

my God, it's so nice to be back down here.

I miss you, mate.

Well, I tried to get a cycle in, but they said you were away on holiday

Every day's a holiday, but you live in Cornwall, mate. You know that.

I think Gordon has lots of acquaintances, but not many normal

that's really hard to come by for him. People that don't see Gordon as any

different to who he was back when they met.

Are you wearing shoes there, Paul? No. No, I'm going barefoot. No gloves.

Gordon's friendship with Paul is amazing.

We've both known him since he was probably about 18, when he worked for

Oh, my God.

I've got just enough wee inside me.

Do you want me to do something? Not yet.

Please save all my weebs until we're in the water.

I've always been really grateful that they have this.

whole connection with fitness and that he has something that he can just leave

his friends behind clear his head with a friend that's real time out yeah right

race you race you back in for sure come on

i love this kids when can

austin come in here

Can we get him in? Yeah. No, but I'd like him to spend a couple of hours in

next summer. Is that OK? He loves it in here. Amazing. They look delicious.

Thanks, bud. Thanks, John.

Look at this view, honestly.

I mean, this does not get old here, does it? It does not. Beautiful.

It really, really doesn't. I love it down here. Yeah. I think I may retire

here after Bishop's Gate.

Absolute bullshit.

You can't. I can't retire? You can't retire.

Don't that scares me? I don't think you've got a round of golf in you.

Oh, no, no. Fuck that. I'm not playing golf, no. Do you play golf? No. Oh, no.

No. Do you mind if I have a little bite? Oh, my God.

Yeah, it's delicious.

Mmm. My God. It's beautiful.

How are you doing?

Mmm.

Fucking hell. So, restaurant called MZ High. I definitely want to go for two

stars from the get. Yeah.

James, up and coming, young.

Yeah. On it. He's been at Royal Hustle Road for the last six months. Yeah, I

think the pressure's on, but creative on it and young. I think that's what I'm

excited about. It's a young, hungry team. A bit like we were back in the

beginning at Royal Hustle Road.

I remember all of us, we were all... Yeah, all wanted it to win, all wanted

be wrapped up in the success of it. That day will live with me forever when you

came in and told us.

Three stars? Three stars, yeah.

It feels like three months ago.

How old were you then when you got there?

I'd just turned 21.

That's crazy. Yeah. That's crazy. You remember that? I can't wait to show you

around at Bishopsgate.

Why don't we host your 40th birthday?

Have you passed 40 yet?

I'm... Have you passed 40? You still look fucking 25.

Well, yeah. How can you be this busy and still look angelic?

Cold water swimming. Cold water swimming.

Oil of Yule.

Don't change.

Don't change.

Is this square?

I've got a metre 62 there.

I've got 1 ,200.

It's my finishing line, boys.

I might be nearly 60, but my eyesight's still worse.

OK, boys, thank you very much.

Now, Bernie, it's the Christmas period coming up, boys. We finish on the

Christmas gifts will be much appreciated.

Yeah, we're winding down for Christmas, so people are getting tired. Yeah, it's

a long build, but things are coming to a head now.

I think we need to go darker, because it does look a bit dusty.

Sorry. It's great, but it is a bit wrong.

Choosing a designer is one of the most difficult choices, because when you're

into this, you can't halt a project and say, oh, God, the design.

I've worked with Russell multiple times, and he's a genius.

Even though he's scruffy, shirt -tailed, hanging out.

Bang it all down there.

He gets it. And I've been a real pain in the arse for Russell because

I'm meticulous.

It's going to look amazing.

This does look amazing.

Better do. Anything less and we'll be stuffed.

Gordon was my first or second ever client 22 years ago, I think.

And actually, Bishopsgate, it's certainly one of the most complex builds

ever done.

Designers have egos, and it's managing those egos because they want to

manipulate your idea for what they think is the best direction. And you have to

take the medicine that they want to give you to how they see this thing built

out.

We are in Gordon Ramsay High.

It's very, very kind of premium and exclusive.

So we had a quick discussion about what to put on these columns.

And originally, we had shown padded leather squares.

But that was going to increase the columns so much that we'd actually lose

covers, two feet.

on the big table that's going between the two.

And then you just have to think, well, how much is that seat worth to Gordon?

It's probably £300 a head per evening, so that's 600 times 7, £2

,000, £8 ,000 a month, about £100 ,000 of possible turnover lost just by having

a leather detail.

So we need to make the cover of this much, much thinner.

I guess ultimately the frustration is that Gordon would walk on site and go,

not happy about that.

But we all know our jobs.

We're live now with the bookings. There is no way this thing can be delayed.

No, it's fine.

Don't worry. I don't think we're going to have a problem with that. No, but you

say every time, don't fucking worry.

Yeah, I do worry. Well, it's your job to worry, but I worry more just so that

you don't have to worry when you get there. Don't worry.

I tell you, don't worry. Look at it going. It's almost finished. Don't

Okay?

Yeah, big one today.

Really big.

So we're going to catch up in the uniforms and then we're going to take

with James.

So, fingers crossed.

It's a big day.

Very excited to cut for him.

Ready to hear his thoughts and his feedback.

Yes, nerves are there. There's a lot of expectation.

But if I don't have that pressure, I don't really enjoy what I'm doing. So it

gives me that drive.

Good morning.

Good morning. Thank you.

Oh, my Lord. Hello, guys.

Nice to see you. The colours are striking.

It's just the apron.

The hexagon takes you straight down to the aprons. Was that the intention?

Yes. Yeah.

My idea was to take the hexagon from your logo.

They're not actually hexagons on there, though, are they?

Well, half hexagons, yes.

Yeah.

It just feels like all these aprons are from the 80s.

In the apron, we've got pockets on the sides.

I'm never a big fan of pockets because they just start gathering shit in there.

Lean over.

Your tie's hanging out, so that's in the water at last.

If we've got a mess or a stain on there, they're going to look terrible.

You're so serious.

You've walked the space.

Sorry? Have you been up there? Not yet. Oh, shit.

Why have you not been up there and designed something for something you

been up there?

Because when you go up there, you understand what I'm trying to see.

It's fucking cool. And it's not... Difficult, you know.

Let's lighten this up a little bit.

Thank you.

Ah.

So Savion's in?

Yes, I'm in, yeah.

And you've been checking him apart, please? Yep.

James Goodyear is Mr Unknown, and there's always that fear.

What happens if he doesn't do well?

I checked this morning and said, yeah, we're at 2 ,000 reservations. I haven't

told James yet, but he's already fully booked for two months.

The pressure's on. People are paid deposit.

Got to get our shit together.

Start spinning ice cream sorbet as well. Yep.

The pressure's huge.

You know, I feel it every day.

You put a lot of work into that, so there's apprehension.

He's allowed several...

tiny blitz but you know major fuck up at this level they will

100 % never ever pass hey bud hi gordon good to see you well yeah likewise

just uh yeah just roll it out sure yeah okay fire away james

so we're starting with a selection of canapes uh this will be served when the

guests sort of arrive we'll be doing them individually

Then we've got a parmesan sablé with a French onion cream on the inside, caviar

and chives.

An oyster ice cream here, serving it with fresh apple, dill and some sorrel

freshness. A bit different than we had two months ago, right?

These look better, size is visually already... Yeah, good.

Let's have those canapes two at a time. If Tala was here, she'd go for the

little sable first and I'd go for the oyster. So give me a little choice. Let

them meddle a little bit, you know, and enjoy it.

Yeah, really good.

Really good indeed, yeah.

I think of how does it eat?

Eating that level of, you know, finesse, perfection, should never be awkward,

whether it's the way it's cut, the size of the portion.

We're serving a tartar scallop dressed in fresh clementine, hazelnut oil,

calamansi and truffle, a little vibrancy, and then we top it with a

of a shellfish consomme.

Visually, that looks beautiful.

Now I'll just reddish the notes, the seasoning, the acidity, the texture.

Yeah, it needs a touch of seasoning on the scallops because it's super sweet.

You've got the acid, the sweet, and the one thing that's missing is a touch of

salt. But beautiful.

So next thing here, we've got the lobster.

Just saw it smoked over the pine.

In here, we've got a tartlet.

Inside, we've got the pumpkin and crab eggs. Over here, we've got a pine cream

to bring that sort of freshness to the dish and lobster oil to finish.

That's lovely.

Visually, it looks beautiful, James.

Yeah, it's beautiful. I love the tartlet.

Super fine.

Crunchy straight away.

That's only the big question for me. Does it need the caviar? But here, it's

lobster, right? Yeah.

James, his food is unique.

The only bit that he needs to evolve now is the character.

Characters are what makes restaurants. It's that special added ingredients that

you can't buy.

He's shy in nature. He is a reserved character.

And that character now needs to open up. He needs to spill the beans.

I want to hear from him. They want to hear from him. That needs to come out of

James now.

Because it's so intimate.

Don't make it church service in a way that is whispering.

I want more involvement when you're standing there. That's just a comfort

that you need to get into.

No, but really good.

The flavors are incredible.

I mean, really incredible.

And just the foray into the first course of scallops and lobster, it's a two

-star level.

Yeah, it's going to get through Christmas now and get you up there.

Good job. Thank you.

Very happy.

Yeah. It's great to see his point of view, his perspective.

It's given us a couple of ideas and now we'll take that away and improve it. Now

we know the standard we need to be at.

It's about how can we get it better from here on in.

I am not at the coalface and behind that stove like I was in my 20s and my 30s.

But I feel for my team because the onus on them is... Because the

expectations of gas walking in there already are up here.

Any business of this size depends on cash flow.

So, financially, no breadcrumbs is a big gap.

Jacket's on, do you mind?

It's breadcrumbs, right? It's breadcrumbs, yeah. Basically, it's a

for all the materials at the moment.

The academy is intimate and small. We can't use that to float the finances.

We've got a bit of a hiccup on the terrace.

A hiccup? A hiccup. Fucking hell. We knew when we started this project that

putting a roof on a building that was never designed to have a roof on it

was going to be ambitious.

The idea was a Japanese rooftop terrace with an open bar and this incredible,

almost zen garden with a roof that retracts.

But for them to get an exact measurement on prefabrication, they needed five

days of clear weather. We just didn't have that time. We didn't have that

ability to get up into the roof, get the measurements, get the dimensions.

So that meant a delay going into manufacture.

which meant a delay getting it in for opening on the 3rd of Feb. But how the

fuck do we schedule five days of clear weather in the middle of winter?

Jesus Christ.

It looks terrible.

Yeah, it's not going to be open for the 3rd of Feb.

Jesus Christ. Step back with the tariff. That's just great

bloody shit weather.

I'm a bit of a shock.

How bad does that look? That fucking roof.

Fuck me.

What a task.

What a task.

Jesus Christ.

What have we done? It's feeling more real.