The Fenwick Arms - Kitchen Nightmares Update - Open or Closed?

In this Kitchen Nightmares episode, Gordon Ramsay visits The Fenwick Arms in Claughton, Lancashire.

The Fenwick Arms is a pub owned by Brian and his partner Elaine.

They have owned the pub for 3 years.

Brian has over 20 years experience of cooking in and running pubs alongside Elaine.

They are currently losing £1500 a week.

Gordon arrives and the pub is in the middle of a busy road and can be easily missed.

There is an overgrown bush in front that covers the menu.

Gordon tries to move it to see the menu.

Gordon meets the owners and the space in pub is tight and he thinks the decor is cluttered.

They tell Gordon they work every day and around 100-120 hours a week, taking only Christmas day off.

Brian is 62 and only took 7 days off when he had a triple heart bypass.

Gordon is confused as it is a pub but the atmosphere is not fun or homely.

There is a separate dining room with a huge dining table that is set up for a silver service dinner.

The menu is like that of a fine dining restaurant with upscale dishes, sauce lists and wine lists.

Gordon ordered the simplest thing on the menu, a prawn cocktail but it comes served in a martini glass.

He also orders a rack of lamb but it is also pretentious, difficult to eat and is like chewing on a golf ball.

Gordon reminds them that pub food is supposed to be rustic and homely and not like a fine dining restaurant.

The next day, they say they are devastated by his feedback.

They are £250,000 in debt and 3 months away from being homeless.

Gordon wants to see a dinner service.

He learns that Brian sets a timer for every dish he prepares as he is forgetful.

He runs around the kitchen doing everything.

The experienced Chef Nathan simply garnishes the food as he isn't allowed to cook anything.

Nathan shows him his weird concoction of sauces, including one made with Appletiser.

Gordon tells them their kitchen is complicated.

It’s too much work for a 62 year old who has had 5 heart attacks.

The kitchen is cluttered with equipment including a second hand espresso machine.

Brian hoards plates of different shapes and sizes.

He keeps them wrapped in cling film and stored in every nook of the kitchen.

Gordon hires a skip and tasks Brian with deciding on what has to go.

He finds reasons to hold on to almost everything.

He wants to hold onto three microwaves, despite only needing one.

Gordon intervenes and persuades Brian to part with some items that are broken or not needed.

As a result the stock pot, a hot plate and more is thrown away.

The items are crushed in front of Brian as he is convinced he would sneak the items back in.

For the evening service, Gordon moves Brian to front of house.

He wants to show him that the staff can run the kitchen in his absence.

The kitchen staff can shine and show Brian that they are capable of running the kitchen without him.

Brian at the front of house is awkward with customers and hovers around them during the service.

Elaine is pouring wine for guests and the dining tables are empty.

The bar is full of people waiting for food.

Gordon is frustrated by the formal nature of the service.

Gordon sits with Brain after the dinner service.

He wants to steer him in the right direction of serving rustic, uncomplicated pub food.

The next day, he asks the owners to rewrite the menu.

He works with the kitchen staff on making classic British pub dishes.

Gordon gives the owners the night off, their first in 18 years, to relax and come in for dinner.

The staff will be running the pub alone again that night.

He tells them to ditch their uniforms.

The owners arrive for dinner but they are dressed too formal in suits.

Gordon sends them back home to change into more casual outfits.

They return dressed more casually and Gordon lets them in.

The couple are impressed with both the new food and the service.

The night was a success.

The staff reveal that Brian came back into the kitchen to put his plates back.

He also told the staff that things won’t be changing.

Gordon speaks with the owners.

They fear losing control and stepping away from their roles is losing their business.

It is a Bank Holiday Sunday but the pub is empty and they should be full and serving roast dinners.

Gordon takes their thick, tar-like gravy from the kitchen to cover up a pothole in the car park.

He then takes the kitchen staff through making a real gravy and Yorkshire puddings.

Gordon comes up with the idea of being known for the best gravy in the area.

He gives them t-shirts and a bullhorn to wear into town to launch a campaign for real gravy.

They all show up with Yorkshire puddings and their new gravy as samples for the locals.

They love the spectacle and the samples.

They are all invited for the relaunch.

Before the relaunch Gordon gets them to take down the banner in front of the pub.

They jet clean the outdoors and start selling off Brian’s crockery on eBay.

Gordon tasks Elaine with keeping Brian out of the kitchen.

The campaign worked and they have up to 88 bookings for the relaunch.

Gordon takes the kitchen staff through last-minute recipes for the new menu.

For relaunch, the menu has been simplified and Karen is put in charge in the kitchen.

The customers are enjoying the food but the service needs attention.

The first customers are still on the tables and they need to clear them for a second sitting.

The bar is full of customers waiting to be seated.

The first set of customers have not received their bills.

Gordon tells them not to be afraid of telling customers who are done with their meals to move to the bar.

They move the customers through and Brian steps up turning the tables for the second sitting.

The customers all love the new food especially the gravy and are complementary of their food.

Brain finally realises that the kitchen can function on their own and he is proud of them.

They made £2447 in just one service and £2000 more than the last Sunday lunch.

What Happened Next at The Fenwick Arms?

A month later, Gordon returns on a Sunday lunch and the carpark is full.

Brian is temporarily back in the kitchen.

He returned just 7 days after Gordon left and his plates are also back.

Sales of the Sunday lunches are up 30%.

They are making 250 litres of gravy a week.

The website is getting 30,000 hits a month!

Gordon revisits in a revisited episode.

Only one of the original kitchen staff are still working there.

Brian is still in the kitchen, controlling the menu.

Morale amongst staff was low, in fact most of the staff were looking to leave.

Brian had also bought some new plates and these were creeping back into the kitchen.

A rival pub "The Highway Man" had recently opened down the road.

This had noticeably affected their business.

In 2009, Brian and Elaine left the pub.

They moved to The Ship Inn in Aldborough.

They claimed that the new menu at the Fenwick drove away trade.

The Fenwick was bought by new owners and had a major revamp both inside and out.

In 2011, the pub closed and was put up for sale again.

The Fenwick Arms reopened in June 2013 as a pub and seafood restaurant.

Trip Advisor reviews are excellent.

The Fenwick Arms aired on November 14 2006, the episode was filmed in August 2006 and is Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares UK season 4 episode 2.

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