“But if it tastes like s—, don’t nobody want to eat that.” – Todesha
Michon’s is located in College Park, Georgia, which is described as being “only 20 minutes from Atlanta.” It’s also “home to the world’s busiest airport,” which Michon’s is located very close to.
Michon’s is a smokehouse that was opened in 2002 by the Wilson family. Al Wilson was in sales but then became interested in the restaurant business. Usually it’s a terrible sign – especially on a show called Kitchen Nightmares – for someone with no previous experience to suddenly own and operate an eatery.
However, things went very well with Al in charge, with money coming in and everything working “really smoothly,” according to Makini, a server. Terrance, a line cook, agrees that “things went good for a long time.”
Things took a turn, however, when an illness caused Al to experience a collapsed lung and subsequent surgery.
“A lot of things have gone downhill in the kitchen since Al has been out,” Al’s wife, Gayle, says.
Todesha, a server, notes that “our food is nasty” these days, and arguably worse, the kitchen staff will refuse to “take orders back” and even get into arguments with customers over food quality.
“But if it tastes like s—, don’t nobody want to eat that,” Todesha says in what is an entirely correct statement.
Lysanne, a server, points out another huge red flag if you’re a keen observer of Kitchen Nightmares: “The majority of the stuff is already prepped.”
With that we hear the telltale beeps from a microwave in the kitchen.
“The customers walk out of this place unsatisfied,” she adds.
Meanwhile, we learn that Al would very much like his daughter, Natalie, to be an effective leader at Michon’s, but “she’s just not doing the job.”
Terrance sees Natalie as pretty lazy, noting that the only time he’ll see her in the kitchen is when she’s hungry.
Natalie sees herself as “relaxed,” saying that, “It’s way too much energy to be frustrated.”
Gayle sees “the end of the road” coming without immediate help, with the business now $200,000 in debt and rising.
When Al meets Gordon Ramsay, the Michon’s owner tells him that he’d love to retire but needs to feel assured that Natalie is equipped and ready to run the place herself first.
In a nod to Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back, Al reveals that he has taken to monitoring operations at Michon’s via 18 security cameras that he installed in the restaurant. Ramsay acts mildly shocked in learning this, which is rather rich considering that he himself is the host of Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back.
Ramsay next heads to Michon’s and tells Gayle and Natalie that the décor is “stunning,” which is the precise opposite of his typical initial impression of the restaurant interiors he encounters on Kitchen Nightmares.
When Natalie describes her role as “HR and taking care of paperwork and things like that” and that she tends to “hide in the back,” Ramsay digs into her, asking when the last time that she took pressure off her father.
Natalie tells the camera that this pisses her off and that she feels disrespected. So we’ve got a conflict brewing here, people.
And here’s Gayle’s angle: she tells the camera that she’s glad that Ramsay is able to tell Natalie that she would not dare say herself.
Todeshea takes Ramsay’s order, and the British chef selects an array of dishes, including brisket, cornbread, smoked ribs, black eyed peas, collard greens, and salad. When Ramsay orders potato salad, Todesha lets him know that it’s not available because the kitchen “doesn’t like to peel potatoes.”
Overall, Ramsay is “disappointed” by his meal, particularly because everything is so dry and chewy. “It’s like being in the Sahara Desert,” he quips.
Todesha tells him this is because everything is “bootleg.” Gayle soon has to admit to Ramsay that the smoked wings are from “yesterday.”
Meanwhile, the black-eyed peas are “hideous,” while the tomatoes in the salad are rotten.
Overall: “I’m in Georgia? I feel like I’m in prison.”
After his meal, Ramsay visits the kitchen and soon uncovers the following:
- There’s no head chef
- The smoked meats are cooked three or four days earlier than they’re being served
- They get heated up in the microwave before being serve
As always, there’s a reason why the food ends up being the way that it is.
The only thing among the many dishes that Ramsay tried that wasn’t nuked? The salad.
At dinner service that night, Ramsay observes that the kitchen doesn’t cook a thing, they simply reheat everything. In investigating further, he finds that there are “state of the art” smokers that cost $17,000 each that have delicious smoked meats that were just prepared, while meanwhile days old food is being reheated in “$200 microwaves” for diners.
“How does that make sense?” Ramsay asks/cries.
Which means it’s time for a gimmick: Ramsay dumps barrel and barrel of smoked wings on counters in the kitchen to show the staff and owners how crazy their current operations are.
“I’ve never seen a more fragmented, disorganized setup,” Ramsay tells everyone.
“The biggest problem? The system,” he adds.
Natalie proves that she’s still deluded when she tells the camera, “I didn’t realize Chef Ramsay would be so critical,” and “He doesn’t realize the way we do things here.”
To be somewhat fair, Ramsay seems to take particular offense that Natalie is so coddled, even if he’s right. This comes to a head in a one-on-one conversation with the two, with Gordon going on about how she’s been “served on a silver platter” and such.
At a staff meeting that doesn’t include owners – who monitor the goings on through the security monitors – things get teary eyed and heated at turns, with the major theme being a desperate need for more leadership.
When Ramsay checks in with the family, Natalie insists that she’s ready and able to “step up.” Al and Gayle seem like genuinely sweet people and hug their daughter in hearing this declaration.
The first of order of business: Ramsay advises Natalie that it’s time to officially promote someone in the kitchen to head chef. Soon after, she anoints Terrance to the role, who says that he is very excited about the opportunity.
The next morning, the menu overhaul is unveiled, which seems to essentially a slight update on the current one with the added critical piece of “serve it fresh and not reheated via the nuker.” Ramsay also brings Chef Adam, “an expert in barbecue,” to help consult.
Interestingly, there’s no overnight renovation in this episode, presumably because Ramsay thinks the interior looks fine for once, a true rarity.
At relaunch night, the crowd includes a group representing a popular local barbeque festival. Things start off well enough, but soon a snag happens in the kitchen, causing cooked food to pile up in the pass. New Head Chef Terrance, with help from Natalie, eventually gets dishes moving out to customers efficiently once again.
“I think I did pretty good tonight,” Natalie tells the camera.
One of the diners tells Gayle, “That was one of the best ribs that I ever put in my mouth.” Maybe a little bit over descriptive from our guy, but a nice compliment nonetheless.
That night, Ramsay praises the entire staff and calls out Natalie specifically for doing a “terrific job.”
🍽 Want more? Check out Pop Thruster’s Kitchen Nightmares episode reviews (there’s a lot).
Some stats and info about Kitchen Nightmares, “Michon’s”
TV SHOW – Kitchen Nightmares
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – FOX
GENRE – Reality TV, Docuseries, Food Shows
EPISODE DESCRIPTION – Chef Ramsay gives a lending hand to Michon’s, a Peach State smokehouse sorely in need of a makeover.
CAST – Gordon Ramsay