“What’s a tater?” – Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay heads to the deep south in his ongoing quest to save nightmarish kitchen and restaurant hellscapes, this time landing in Greenville, Mississippi, which we’re told is home of the blues and also known for its delicious catfish offerings.
Ramsay presents both Greenville and Sherman’s Restaurant as having hit hard times and in need of help. Sherman’s is owned by the Nimrod family – Allison and Peter – so of course Ramsay has to drive it home in noting that Sherman’s is “literally owned by a pair of Nimrod’s.”
To be fair, the Nimrod’s lean into whole Nimrod* thing, as we see when Allison tells us that she initially believed that Sherman’s Restaurant just needed “a little touch of Nimrod.”
* Speaking of Nimrod: see Green Day’s classic Nimrod, #195 of the best 1,000 albums ever.
Our first huge red flag that the Nimrod’s are way over their heads is when Allison tells us that she had “underestimated” the amount of work that it would take to make a success out of what had been a bustling enterprise at the time, in 2012, when she and her husband purchased the place.
The staff collectively blames the food for Sherman’s downturn in business. Victoria, a server, notes that Allison actively monitors reviews of the restaurant on social media but fails to take action based on what people are saying online.
Experience shouldn’t be a problem as we learn that Head Chef Steve, 62, has worked at Sherman’s Restaurant for 35 years.
Financially, the Nimrod’s are at risk of losing everything – including their home – if Sherman’s go under.
As Ramsay gets dressed up in yet another ridiculously “undercover” outfit, this time as an “American farmer,” we’re reminded that secret cameras have been placed in Sherman’s leading up to the “24-hour countdown” portion of the episode.
As Ramsay sits down with a table of real farmers… or maybe they’re just Mississippi locals, Ramsay quizzically asks the table, “What’s a tater?”
Ramsay, still undercover, gives his instant review of the food served to the table – greasy gumbo and fishy flounder
“Catch of the day? Hepatitis B,” Gordon quips.
Even the catfish, purportedly a local specialty, is deemed “terrible.”
Soon, Ramsay loses the disguise and introduces himself to Chef Steve, Allison, and staff.
“We’ve got Gordon Ramsay in our kitchen!” a server excitedly whispers.
Ramsay then announces to the entire restaurant dining room that the food he was served was “atrocious.” This leads to Ramsay inviting the entire crowd back into the kitchen to show off the dirty conditions in the kitchen. And then this leads to the typical show segment where Ramsay introduces everyone to the odd “Hell on Wheels” tractor trailer meets mobile kitchen meets outdoor movie theater.
A huge screen then plays lowlights of the secret camera footage, which includes “cross contamination” of food, dirty conditions, staffers eating off diner’s plates, and cockroaches scurrying about.
In short: it’s not good.
With that, Ramsay starts the 24-hour countdown clock, demanding the staff to be “fully committed.” He also invites the crowd to come back to Sherman’s the following night to assess the changes that will be made.
“I wanna get this boat turned around,” Allison says, which is a more positive attitude than some owners who work with Ramsay at this stage. However, Chef Steve seems deluded and doesn’t see the need to change a thing.
We also learn that Sherman’s heavily relies on microwaving food, a big no no for the British chef.
As a massive interior renovation gets underway, Ramsay digs in further into the grungy grime that’s caked into every crevice of the kitchen. There’s no exaggerating how awful some of this looks on television: there’s slime that looks like it could be showcased in an Aliens movie, while grease completely enshrouding an electrical socket screams fire hazard.
And that’s not even getting to the rotting and rancid food that’s laying around the food storage area.
On the slightly brighter side, we get a classic Gordon Ramsay, “That’s raw!” at one point.
“You’re a walking liability,” Ramsay hurls at Chef Steve.
Ramsay next pulls Allison aside and assures her that Steve is “lazy” and sets “a disgusting example.” Allison says that everyone respects Steve in the community and he’s associated tightly with the Sherman’s brand.
Ramsay also notes that Steve is making $90,000 – presumably a very healthy salary in this part of Mississippi – while meaning Sherman’s is $350,000 in debt.
The Hell on Wheels mobile kitchen then snaps into action, with Ramsay providing Chef Steve and crew with a cooking lesson, including French Onion Soup, filet of beef, twice baked potato, crusted catfish, and braised short ribs.
As always, I wish this segment was significantly longer as it’s interesting to see the details of how Ramsay looks at crafting successful restaurant menus and kitchen operations.
As the kitchen staff practices cooking up the new menu, Ramsay quickly assesses that Steve’s staff outshines him in many ways, including sous chef Nicole.
After another round of Ramsay pressing Allison and Peter on how dire the situation is with leaving Chef Steve in place, they are finally convinced that a major change needs to take place.
“Steve, we’ve been really embarrassed today,” Peter tells him. They then let him go.
“I’m under the bus, big time,” Steve says, while refusing to acknowledge that he was a part of the problem.
In short, order Nicole is installed as “point person,” which is hard to know if this is a promotion or one of those classic fake promotions that’s more responsibility without a real change in title or, more importantly, a raise.
The next morning, the tired staff giddily samples the new menu and everyone seems to love it. Meanwhile, the drama around Nicole as “point person” is solved quickly when Ramsay announces her as the new Head Chef of Sherman’s Restaurant to the entire team.
“She has shown so much commitment, honesty, and passion,” Ramsay says.
It’s touching when Nicole tells the camera that she started as a dishwasher at Sherman’s Restaurant 25 years earlier and is now the Head Chef. This is a moment when a sometimes contrived and silly reality TV show elevates to become a compelling means to showcase a real human moment.
Ramsay then shows off the completed renovation, which includes a spotless kitchen with new “state of the art” equipment installed, and a bright, fresh makeover of the dining room.
Sherman’s is packed for relaunch night after the 24-hour countdown clock hits zero, and the staff initially struggles to adapt to large crowd and expediting dishes out to tables efficiently. After Ramsay advises Allison to take charge as a leader instead of doing tasks herself that she could delegate, service smooths out. Julian Brunt, a local food critic, even praises the newly installed changes to the menu.
Allison gets emotional when she tells the camera how thankful she is for Ramsay’s help, and is newly determined to make Sherman’s Restaurant a success.
Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back, “Sherman’s Restaurant”: is it still open?
Even after enduring a kitchen fire and reopening at a new location in 2021, Sherman’s Restaurant is still open as of this writing!
Via Yelp, Sherman’s has 4.2 out of 5 stars on 100 reviews, which is rather good.
And via Wikipedia, it appears that former Head Chef Steve is now working as a butcher.
Some stats and info about Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back, “Sherman’s Restaurant”
TV SHOW – Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 1, Episode 4
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – FOX
EPISODE DESCRIPTION – Gordon Ramsay visits Sherman’s Restaurant in Greenville, Miss., where he and the team find that the 30-year-old restaurant needs a new head chef.
GENRE – Office Culture, Trashtastic TV, Reality TV, Food Shows
CAST – Gordon Ramsay