Let’s look at the differences between the U.K. and U.S. versions of Kitchen Nightmares
Gordon Ramsey found fame in America by bellowing at slack-jawed line cooks on Hell’s Kitchen, then bellowing at slack-jawed restaurant managers on Kitchen Nightmares. Now, Ramsay saves much of his ire for home cooks on Twitter, with his current TV gig finding him declaring everything “ABsolutely delish-ish” on the adorable Masterchef Junior. It’s the softest we’ve seen the foul-mouthed English cook Stateside, though fans overseas are infinitely more familiar with this version of the celebrity chef.
Kitchen Nightmares originally aired in the U.K. as Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares on the BBC, where it won a BAFTA Award. There, Ramsay rarely raised his voice as he helped restauranteurs rethink infrastructure and menu construction. Ramsay narrated the show himself, and sound cues were kept to a minimum. That may come as a surprise to fans of the U.S. version, where Ramsay couldn’t sample a dish without screaming about all the diarrhea he was going to have later.
To help draw this distinction, YouTuber Oxcilic edited a scene from Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares to mirror that of its American counterpart.
They nail everything, from the aggressive soundtrack to the manipulative editing to Ramsay eventually telling the woman to “fuck off home.” And then there’s the addition of Kitchen Nightmares’ ominous narrator, who posits, “Things might be looking up. Or are they?” They never are.
One thing both series have in common? Gratuitous shots of shirtless Gordon putting on his chef jacket. It doesn’t matter where you live, you’ve gotta serve that 18-35 demographic.