Season 1 – Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service

Audience Reviews

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Corey K Sep 8 Why do people get so mad about this? I enjoy it for what it is. I like the switch up from kitchen nightmares. Gordon is the man. People need to not take this so seriously and appreciate him helping these people. I think it’s a great show to binge and definitely love connecting to people’s struggles and not to give up. Sometimes people just need a kick in the booty. Love Gordon. See more Jeffrey C @Hollywoodlost Aug 29 The premise that Gordon can uncover filth and dangerous unsafe food prep conditions in a restaurant. Then proceed and film people eating under those conditions. Sorry this show is garbage. See more Tyler P Jul 10 It’s lazy. Almost offensive. It grinds the Kitchen Nightmares formula down to a nub, leaving only what the producers think is just enough shiny stuff to keep us “stupid viewers”—who will watch anything Gordon Ramsay-related—interested. The show’s formula begins each episode with massive cheese. Following the “secret service” theme, Ramsay is decked out in all black, driving a black vehicle to the restaurant in question in the dead of night. Once there, we’re supposed to believe an “insider” has left a key—usually in a VERY secret spot like… above the door—so he can enter without the owner’s permission (I guess?). This drives the main narrative of the show: Ramsay is so well-known that he can’t let anyone know he’s part of the program. We’re told the staff and kitchen aren’t authentic when they know Gordon Ramsay is involved. To avoid this inauthenticity, Ramsay goes full secret service to inspect the kitchen before anyone has a chance to clean it. Believe it or not, this is the highlight of the show. The kitchens do seem authentically dirty and nightmarish. It’s on par with what you’d see in the UK and US versions of Kitchen Nightmares. But that’s where the similarities end. If you’re a fan of Kitchen Nightmares (UK or US), then you know the best part was always the food tasting. We could listen to Ramsay’s critiques all day long, right? Well, forget it—because Ramsay is apparently too good to touch any of that nasty crap now. He recruits a couple of chefs or winners from his other reality cooking shows to taste the food for him. Nothing against them—their reactions seem authentic, and it’s mildly entertaining—but they’re not Ramsay. We want Ramsay. It’s not the same, and we absolutely feel it. It feels hollow. The entire show feels this way. This is truly where the entertainment aspect ends. After this point, it completely ignores everything kitchen or food related and focuses solely on the psychological transformation of the owner and staff. Any long-time Kitchen Nightmares fan knows what I’m talking about—and it was always the worst part of the show. The crying. The sad music to make us feel bad for them. They explain how everything went so wrong, how they lost their passion. We see pictures of their family who’ve been cooking for generations, then we cut to them on the beach, screaming at the top of their lungs. Don’t get me wrong—when this stuff is woven in naturally (watch the UK Kitchen Nightmares for relevance), it works. But here, it’s forced, heavily scripted, and makes up the majority of the episode. The food takes a complete backseat. And they blatantly ignore huge issues, like: “Hey, did you guys ever take care of that rat problem in the basement?” The show glosses over things like that with one-sentence assurances like, “And the owner implemented a strict new cleaning regimen, so don’t worry anymore.” No. We want to see the fix. I’m sure the locals do too. After this, we get the restaurant remodel and more waterworks from the staff. There’s very little one-on-one interaction between Ramsay and the team. Back in the early UK days, we’d see Ramsay on his hands and knees cleaning the kitchen with them, teaching recipes, talking about professionalism and the importance of standards. All of the stuff that made the early shows feel so natural—and good—is gone. They clearly don’t have time to fit it all in anymore. Nor do they care. This is a blatant money grab for both Ramsay and FOX. It appears as though the crew is in and out in less than 48 hours. That tells us the team took measurements well in advance, and the owners already knew they were in for a makeover (they’re told it’s for a show called Restaurant Refresh). They’re given brand-new equipment, tables, chairs, etc.—the typical makeover you’d see at the end of his other shows. But here, it drags on and on. You keep waiting for them to get back to the actual cooking—but it never happens. Instead, the focus shifts to a tired mid-2000s type of gimmick: Who’s the insider? They’re desperate for us to play along, to buy into the mystery and keep guessing throughout the entire episode, but it has the opposite effect. It’s frustrating. Boring. Instead of highlighting something meaningful, they lean on braindead, worn-out tropes that feel like filler—because, let’s be honest, Ramsay isn’t really involved. He shows up just enough to deliver a few lines, then he's gone. There’s no care. No passion! (In my Ramsay voice.) So they have to bloat it with this trash. And after enduring all of this, you have to sit through the scripted high note every episode ends on. It makes you want to puke. It’s bad. Would not recommend—even for die-hard Kitchen Nightmares/Ramsay fans. See more Brendan J @BrendanJones Jun 16 I have watched almost every single Ramsey show for 20+ years. This one takes the worst qualities from many of the shows (over-production, lack of mentorship, rushed/condensed timelines), and combines them into one. The format is a clear rip-off of Bar Rescue, which was an old concept after a few seasons for the same aforementioned reasons. Really missed the mark with this one, and I don't see a second season on the horizon. See more Col P Jun 11 I've always loved the way he connects with people in these "one" on "one" shows. Never cared for his cooking competitions but that goes without saying for all cooking competitions. Most people think if you can paint over a problem it fixes it but it really doesn't. He forces them to look at the issues. Either you take the medicine, change your ways or you die. It's that simple. His approach is much like mine in that I kinda sugarcoat but this is the reality. I can appreciate that. See more Bryce K @Codebreaker2016 Jun 2 Gordon Ramsay’s best show yet The emotion and secret's are top notch See more Read all reviews

Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service — Season 1

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