One of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares most memorable episodes was the feature of the Dovecote Bistro, later renamed Martin’s Bistro, and its closure.
Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, which premiered in 2004, was the British version of the American show, Kitchen Nightmares. Years later, in 2014, Ramsay made the decision to end both shows.
The show came to an end with six seasons under its belt, meaning that there are plenty of episodes to binge watch today. As such, one of the most memorable episodes was one which profiled the family owned Dovecote Bistro.
The restaurant, which has since closed, thematically highlighted the downside of dishonesty in family-run businesses.
How many Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares restaurants are now closed?
It is reported that over 60 percent of the restaurants featured on Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares have closed in the years since the first episode of the Channel 4-hosted reality show aired.
This bad success rate is what resulted in most of the criticism that the show received in the six seasons it aired for and subsequently as Ramsay decided to end the show.
The lack of successful turnarounds that Ramsay and his team were able to make is suggested as part of the reason that he initially ended the show and part of the reason he recognised his regret at ending the show on a whim.
Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares: Dovecote Bistro closure and episode themes
The Dovecote Bistro episode was part of the sixth season of the reality show. Marking the second episode of the season, it featured Mick and Mo, who ran their bistro which was located in Okehampton, England.
By the time Ramsay paid the restaurant a visit, it was already £80 000 in debt. Moreover, Mick had secret credit debt that he had kept from his wife.
Aesthetically, Dovecote Bistro had a great exterior; it was when Ramsay walked into the restaurant that the problems began.
From the psychedelic wallpaper that was distracting to finding out that the restaurant did not serve freshly cooked food as the sign outside suggested – Ramsay knew he was in for it, especially when he discovered that the problem was with Mick.
Mick was not only hiding his secret credit card debt from his wife, but he was also dishonest about the actual finances of the restaurant with his wife who had sold their dream home in order to save the restaurant.
Moreover, Mick had a terrible temper, which was exacerbated when he was under pressure as was evident in the way he stormed out of the kitchen during dinner service when he was exasperated by the large demand.
Ramsay believed that dealing with Mick and his control over every aspect of the restaurant was what would turn the business around.
How did Gordon Ramsay intervene with the Dovecote Bistro?
When it was time for Gordon Ramsay to intervene, the first change he made was removing Mick from the kitchen and letting Michelle run it.
To help Michelle, Ramsay also afforded her the opportunity to work at the professional kitchen to gain experience. He convinced Mick to let Mo be in charge of the restaurant’s finances.
Lastly, he did not change the menu, but made sure that the restaurant created its menu using fresh produce. The biggest change was the name, which changed from Dovecote Bistro to Martin’s Bistro to highlight that the restaurant was family-owned.
Is Dovecote Bistro still open?
Martin’s Bistro is not open anymore. The family-owned business is reported to have closed in October 2015, six years after the episode aired in January 2009.
In the months that followed after Gordon Ramsay’s intervention, the business started getting favourable reviews. But not long after that, the restaurant reverted to its old ways with Mick at the helm.
As a result, the standard dropped again, and the restaurant shifted towards focusing more on its cafe than the bistro.
In light of this, Martin’s Bistro was sold in 2015, at which point Michelle had already stopped working in the kitchen and was reported to be a nail technician.
Dovecote Bistro: Episode themes
One of the biggest themes that the Dovecote Bistro episode of Kitchen Nightmares highlighted was how a family-run business built on dishonesty will, more often than not, fail.
On the surface, the dishonesty was highlighted by Mick’s secrecy about his credit debt and the actual financial state of the restaurant.
But on a deeper level, the Martins could not communicate, despite Mo and Michelle being aware that having Mick at the helm was detrimental to the business and to their family.
To maintain the peace, they rather remained silent about their true feelings about the situation.
