Bask 46 - Kitchen Nightmares Update - Open or Closed?

In this Kitchen Nightmares episode, Gordon Ramsay visits Bask 46 in Woodland Park, New Jersey.

Bask 46 is owned by Steve and Sandi.

The family run gastropub restaurant has only been open for 6 months.

They have been together for 25 years with three children.

They own other bars and Steve managed the bars for over 20 years.

After owning other successful bars they decided to invest in the biggest restaurant they have ever owned.

Steve takes it personally when diners don’t like the food.

They have maxed out their credit cards and Steve has invested over $1 million in the restaurant.

Steve thinks the biggest problem is chef Bobby.

He is a family friend but he has hired a team of cooks.

Bobby describes himself as the culinary gangster.

He is untrained as describes himself as coming from the school of hard knocks.

He has a bell in the kitchen that gives bartender Brianna nightmares.

Bobby doesn’t criticism well, especially for those who don’t know what they are talking about.

He doesn’t think that he is the problem at the restaurant.

Steve’s son can see that his father is struggling, especially with the bigger payroll at the restaurant.

Steve gets stressed and goes to his “office” in attic.

He ended up in hospital in a diabetic coma due to the stresses of the restaurant.

Gordon arrives at the restaurant and is impressed with the size of the restaurant.

He isn’t impressed that they don’t have menus and the QR code for the menu doesn’t work.

Gordon can hear shouting in the kitchen as he looks at the online menu.

He orders the loaded mac and cheese, wings, cheese steak egg roll and tacos.

Gordon can see customers taking away huge amounts of food in takeaway boxes.

All of the food comes garnished with a stalk of chive.

The mac and cheese is terrible with raw onions and a store bought sauce.

The wings are a disaster, they are overcooked and different sizes.

The egg roll is weird and is covered in cheese sauce.

The tacos are greasy and overloaded, the portion is huge and overwhelming.

Chef Bobby is offended as the food is returned and sends out passive aggressive dishes and a business card to Gordon.

Gordon meets with the owners and gives them feedback on the lack of a menu and the food.

They are losing $15,000 a month with Bobby and 4 cooks.

Gordon is astounded that they are paying Bobby $100,000 a year.

The owners are there 7 days a week but aren’t paying themselves a salary.

Gordon wants to meet the kitchen staff and gives his feedback on the food.

He isn’t happy about the portion sizes and the takeaway boxes.

Bobby describes the cheese sauce as partially home made, it is bought in and he adds cheeze wizz.

Bobby doesn’t know any of the costings or inventory information and they are blaming each other.

Steve and Bobby argue about the responsibility for the issues.

Gordon wants to see a dinner service.

The diners are directed to the website and aren’t impressed by the lack of menus.

Food is returned to the kitchen, the nachos are soggy, the taco is raw and the potato is raw.

Steve is overseeing the kitchen but he argues with Bobby as food is returned by the plate full.

Bobby throws a plate of food on the floor, frustrated by the amount of food returned.

Gordon meets with Steve in the upstairs office, up a ladder in the roof space.

They discuss Bobbys salary as it is 50% higher than other chefs in the area and he isn’t delivering.

Steve admits that he has no more money and the problem is Bobby.

Gordon gives Steve the two choices – get Bobby on side or fire him.

Gordon has a look in the fridge and freezer and finds it to be disorganized.

There is so much prepared food and produce in the fridge.

He finds a bag of slimy chicken and Bobby admits he only cleans the floor of the walk in.

There are thousands of dollars of inventory, being left to rot.

Gordon tells them to shut down the service and ask the customers to leave.

After they leave he meets with the staff and tells them to leave if they aren’t prepared to step up.

He tells Steve that he can’t disappear upstairs and Bobby has to lead the kitchen with higher standards.

Gordon asks everyone who is staying to put up their hand and everyone does.

He meets with Bobby outside and tells him he needs to step up and apologize to Steve.

Gordon tells him that if it was his restaurant then he would be fired.

Bobby breaks down and promises to fight for the restaurant.

He meets with Steve and apologizes and promises to do whatever it takes.

The next day, the team is renovating the restaurant and Gordon meets the owners at home.

They are sad and frustrated at what Gordon discovered the previous day.

Both owners don’t spend as much time with the children due to the restaurant.

Steve calls it a wake up call and he needs to know more about what is happening.

Gordon returns to the restaurant and the renovations are complete, both inside and out.

The owners are smiling as they see the new changes including the new patio.

Gordon shows them the new, smaller menu with better portion sizes and made with fresh ingredients.

They have printed menus and the dishes are small portions, designed for sharing.

They are fully booked for the relaunch, including some VIPs.

They sample the new food and are impressed with all of the dishes.

Steve tells Sandi to take the night off to spend with the children and he will run the restaurant.

On relaunch, the restaurant is full with special guests including the mayor and the national womens soccer team.

The food starts leaving the kitchen and the diners are impressed.

As the orders build up in the kitchen they slow down and struggle to get the food out.

Bobby has shut down and a raw chicken wing has left the kitchen.

Gordon gives him a pep talk and he takes control of the kitchen.

The food starts leaving the kitchen and the customers love the food.

Gordon talks with Bobby and tells him he has to prove he is worth his salary.

He speaks with Steve and tells him that he should give Bobby a 30 day trial.

What Happened Next at Bask 46?

Two months later, Sandi has taken some time off to spend time with the children.

Bobby never showed up to the restaurant again and retired from the restaurant industry.

There are new systems and the place is thriving.

Bask 46 is open.

Reviews are very positive.

The new food is a big hit with a few customers complaining about some dishes.

Bask 46 was aired on 02 October 2023, the episode was filmed in June 2023 and is Kitchen Nightmares season 8 episode 2.

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This post was last updated in October 2023.