Morgans - Kitchen Nightmares Update - Open or Closed?

In this Kitchen Nightmares episode, Gordon Ramsay visits Morgan’s in Liverpool, England.

Morgan’s is owned by Sandy who runs the restaurant with her daughters, Helen and Laura.

In the kitchen is Head Chef Phil and Assistant Chef Emma.

With no customers and £100,000 of debt, the trio might lose everything in 6 months.

The restaurant was formerly an antiques shop, also owned by Sandy.

Gordon arrives and meets Sandy, Helen and Laura.

They reveal that all three of them are the managers of the restaurant.

He observes the menu which is filled with bizarre and unconventional flavour combinations.

Gordon orders two starters and two main course but the pan fried prawns are solid.

The sausage dish is big enough for a dinosaur and is dismal and he goes straight to dessert.

Dessert is a sticky toffee pudding, Emma’s creation that Phil hates.

Gordon really likes it as it is light and not too sticky.

Gordon enters the kitchen to talk about the food.

The head chef, Phil, reveals that he got the apricot in mashed potato recipe from the Good Food Magazine.

Gordon and Phil have an argument as Phil claims Gordon was speaking to him disrespectfully.

Gordon thinks he is being constructive and Phil just has a bad attitude.

Gordon tells them that the toffee pudding was delicious.

Phil walks out in frustration of being outshined by Emma, the assistant chef.

The next day, Gordon visits Sandy’s home as he is unsatisfied with the way the restaurant is run.

He discovers that her financial records are a mess and she has no clear record of the restaurant’s income.

Gordon meets with Phil at the kitchen and discovers that Phil has no formal training.

Sandy makes his job tougher as he isn’t paid for preparation time.

Its two hours before the Saturday service, Morgan’s only busy night of the week.

With no preparation done, the kitchen is in chaos.

Sandy goes to supermarket Tesco to buy the food for the evening, an hour before the service is due to start.

Gordon talks to Sandy at the supermarket.

With proper planning, she could get fresh products at a cheaper prices.

Gordon observes the dinner service.

He watches Phil’s cooking and sees Phil’s carelessness as he sends burnt food to the customers.

Phil falls apart as he struggles to concentrate.

Sandy is interfering everywhere and achieving nothing, hindering the rest of the staff.

She admits she is supposed to be waiting tables and not be in the kitchen washing dishes.

Sandy was so busy washing dishes that she forgets her customers order for gravy.

They have been waiting for 15 minutes and complain to Helen.

Sandy is under the illusion that customer is happy to wait.

He complains that the waiting has caused his food to go cold while the other diners had already finished their meals.

Gordon tries to see who would take responsibility for the night’s catastrophe and Sandy is in denial.

She believes that every customer enjoyed their meals since she received no complaints.

Helen believes it was diabolical.

Gordon can see a clear case of sibling rivalry.

He takes the sisters and Sandy to a playground to discuss their roles.

Gordon assigns Sandy as the host, Laura as the assistant manager.

She reacts badly, walking off when Helen is made the General Manager.

Gordon asks the public what they want from an ideal restaurant.

They claim they wanted simple quick food, good service with reasonable prices.

Gordon takes Sandy and Phil to meet a local butcher at an organic market close by.

They buy locally sourced beef for a Sunday Lunch, at a better price than the supermarket.

They arrive at the restaurant.

Gordon teaches Phil a simple dish made with the locally sourced ingredients for Sunday lunch.

It’s Sunday afternoon, Helen’s day off and Laura, who is supposed to be in charge is nowhere to be seen.

Gordon tries to find Sandy, who is supposed to be at the restaurant as the host but she doesn’t answer her door.

Laura eventually turns up unapologetic.

She still can’t find her reservation list and table plan for the day’s service.

She blames Gordon for the missing book and rudely ignores him.

Gordon, out of desperation for real management calls Helen to come in on her day off as Laura refuses to talk to him.

While waiting for Helen’s arrival, Gordon takes the charge as the leader to keep things running smoothly.

He also waits tables as guests begin to come in and are ignored.

Phil loses his concentration and burns food in the kitchen again.

Emma, the sous chef, steps up and it is clear that Phil can’t function without her help.

Gordon comes up with a plan to revive the dying business.

He plans to focus on local ladies who lunch by inviting some local celebrities, footballers’ wives and actresses.

He comes up with a menu to appeal to them.

Gordon tells Sandy to hold an antiques auction between courses as that seems to be what she is good at.

For relaunch evening, Gordon teaches Phil some new dishes.

He is concerned about his concentration and tells him to slow down and not get distracted.

A mistake is made by Laura on an order that has been taken but gone missing.

She has been sent back to correct her mistake.

The antique auction between courses is popular with the guests.

It gives the kitchen some breathing space to prepare the courses, they have made £500 in 15 minutes.

Phil did his best and concentrated on the dishes and Emma also worked well to support Phil.

The guests like the dishes, the presentation and the auction idea.

Overall, the relaunch was a success.

What Happened Next at Morgans?

Gordon returns to the restaurant a month later and the biggest change is in the kitchen.

Phil has left, a positive step and is gaining experience as a Sous Chef.

Emma has been promoted to Head Chef.

She has a new dish on the menu, which impresses Gordon as it is delicious.

Helen has stepped in and computerised the books, a big change from Sandy's chaotic approach.

The restaurant is now making a profit, compared to a month ago where it was making a loss.

In February 2007, Sandy put Morgans up for sale for £99,000.

Morgans closed as the business was sold in November 2007.

It became Oddfellows Restaurant in December 2007.

This later closed in 2010/11.

After Oddfellows closed, Caveau, a french restaurant opened in it's place with excellent Trip Advisor reviews.

Laura is seeking work as a model/actress and has had a part as an Extra in Hollyoaks as a beautician.

She came 4th in the Miss Merseyside beauty pageant.

Sandy went back to selling antiques and Laura now also works in her antique shop.

Sandy sadly passed away in May 2023.

Head Chef Phil went on to work at Blue Bar.

He was jailed for theft for stealing cheques from his new employer.

Morgans aired on December 05 2006, the episode was filmed in early 2006 and is Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares UK season 4 episode 4.

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