“Somebody should tell him the chicken’s definitely dead.” – Gordon Ramsay
The Capri Italian restaurant is located in Eagle Rock, California, not far from the city of Pasadena that I lived in for many years. While I’ve never heard of Capri – possibly a good thing as is the case with all things Kitchen Nightmares – this fact alone perked up my interest in this episode.
Carpri is owned by twin brothers Jim Thiel and Jeff Thiel – heavyset middle-aged dudes who look remarkably alike – who are immediately dubbed “double trouble” by the “hilarious” Narrator Guy.
The background is that the twins used to eat at Capri and loved it and “one day decided to buy it.” This sounds really odd and made up, but who knows?
That being said, when we learn that Mia the server terms Jim and Jeff “two overgrown boys” and “immature,” and we see them bouncing around and being generally goofy (and burping loudly) in the kitchen, things start to sink in a little big more.
Another problem: they can’t cook, according to the rest of the staff. Oh, and lazy. Very lazy.
Enter Gordon Ramsay, who immediately utters “hideous” upon entering Cari’s pretty shabby looking front doors.
The next thing that happens is that Jim and Jeff play a trick on our guy Chef Ramsay by pretending to be the “same person” with both meeting him one at a time, And then, boom, they’re actually two dudes who are identical twin brothers. Hilarious, right?
Ramsay immediately uncovers that Capri is only open for dinner, and just five nights a week at that. This does not please our hard-working guy.
Ramsay then sifts through the dirty, disintegrating menu to order himself up some lunch (which is why the joint is deserted at that time of day).
Jim (or is it Jeff?) tells the camera that Capri “isn’t a chichi place” and isn’t sure what Gordon Ramsay could have been expecting.
Ramsay orders a meatball sandwich and pizza from Colleen the server and is appalled to learn that the meatballs come from “a company we order from.” While that’s happening, Ramsay has fun pulling up tape from the carpet and peeling vinyl from the seats. Also the place is straight up filthy.
Jim tells the camera that for cleaning is “a four-letter word.”
Ramsay’s first take on Capri’s cuisine: “nasty.” And then, as Gordon hears an incessant banging noise from the kitchen: “Somebody should tell him the chicken’s definitely dead.”
And that’s the before The Colossal pizza comes out: which looks as “dreadful” as Ramsay deems it.
Ramsay then examines the underside of his table and is rightfully appalled that there’s multiple wads of gum stuck to it. He then embarks on a Gumball Rally in which he finds gum all underneath all of them.
That prompts a staff meeting with the general theme of where is the pride?
“Find a pulse and get real,” Ramsay says, challenging Jim and Jeff.
After Ramsay storms out, Jeff gets all teary eyed and bummed out, but it’s kind of hard to take him seriously – mostly because neither twin seems to take their own business very seriously at all.
With another dinner service looming, the Capri staff tries to actually clean up the joint for once. However, when Ramsay shows up, he digs in (literally) on how filthy the kitchen is. And indeed, everything grungy and disgusting.
During dinner service, diner comments include, “That’s disgusting,” and “I’m nauseous from that.” It’s totally possible that the Kitchen Nightmares editors prompted them to say that, but the food looks so visibly gross that it’s possible that it’s all legit.
After a brief scene where Jeff breaks down and Ramsay gives him the tough love get back in the game routine, the staff of Capri gets back at it. But as soon as they’re back it, Ramsay has to hold up food being cooked that he deems as follows: “it’s a lethal mistake.”
There’s normally a point in a Kitchen Nightmares when Chef Ramsay calls out the owners of the restaurant to the point where they seem pretty pathetic, but events at Carpi really go to a new level when Ramsay asks the twins witheringly, “What were you two even DOING this afternoon?”
Meanwhile, Jim is forced to announce to the diners of Capri that they will no longer be serving the rancid chicken they have on hand, and a bunch of people start to walk. At that point, the formerly jokey and easy-going boys go thermonuclear, cursing at Ramsay and each other. Ramsay rightfully calls them out for being like toddlers having a meltdown.
Even Darian the server delights in his bosses being called out for how terrible they are at running their business.
After service, Ramsay again calls out the boys for being lazy and commands them to stay at Capri to spend the night cleaning up the joint.
If it’s possible, things get even sadder from there, as we see the twin brothers cleaning and crying at the same time while blubbering about “I can’t do this” and “I’m a failure.” It’s honestly kind of depressing.
So you know what that means: time for a gimmick! Gordon comes in early the next day, before the boys show up, and has lunch service rolling with the rest of the staff (Darian and Colleen). And in fact, Ramsay serves the twins himself when they enter Capri. When Ramsay proves how making money during lunch service could cover their rent alone, the twins get to blubbering (again) about the potential opportunity they have if they can transcend their inherent laziness.
So you know what that means, Part II: time for a gimmick (again)! Ramsay now takes the twins through a goofy sequence in which they suit up in boxing gear and train with him (sort of) so that he can get the twins to break through their mental barriers and “embrace change” and “work together” or some such.
Then things get less goofy as Ramsay takes the boys through a training session in which he teaches them how to make homemade meatballs so that Capri can serve product that actually can make an impact.
The renovation of Capri that the Kitchen Nightmares crew does overnight is significant, and the place looks like an actual restaurant that the boys can be proud of running for relaunch night. “It’s a second chance on life,” Jim says. And.. yes, he’s crying again.
The new menu includes a chop salad, baked meat lasagna, the homemade meatballs, and other high-end items that I’m not sure that the boys will be able to pull off long term, but who knows?
On relaunch night, Ramsay admonishes the boys in the kitchen with such exhortations such as, “It must be more than s— on a plate!” And: “you can’t even grate cheese.” And… other stuff like, “You’re pissing it up!”
With diners waiting over an hour for food, the team doubles down under Chef Ramsay’s leadership, and diners end up loving the new meatballs and the experience overall.
Ramsay’s final advice for the boys: “lazy is a four-letter word.” And also: “good luck.”
🍽 Want more? Check out Pop Thruster’s Kitchen Nightmares episode reviews (there’s a lot).
Kitchen Nightmares, “Capri”: is it still open?
While Capri seemingly had some success for a period of years, it eventually closed in 2019 due to “health issues and declining sales.” Bummer.
Some stats and info about Kitchen Nightmares, “Capri”
TV SHOW – Kitchen Nightmares
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 4, Episode 12
AIRED ON – May 6th, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – FOX
GENRE – Docuseries, Office Culture, Trashtastic TV, Food Shows
CAST – Gordon Ramsay