Gordon Ramsay's Least Favorite Episode Of Kitchen Nightmares Is A Classic

Gordon Ramsay's "Kitchen Nightmares" was a foolproof recipe for TV gold: Ramsay, who owns many successful restaurants, would visit struggling spots and attempt to turn them around before it was too late. Along the way, viewers were introduced to eccentric owners who provided many memorable moments. But across the show's decade-long run, one episode stood above the rest for all the wrong reasons. In fact, it became so notorious that Ramsay has since described it as his least favorite experience on the series. We're talking, of course, about Amy's Baking Company, featured in Season 6, Episode 16.

In expected Ramsay fashion, "Kitchen Nightmares" often featured explosive, profanity-laden confrontations. But after the shouting died down and renovations were complete, most episodes ended on a hopeful note. The same, however, couldn't be said for Amy's Baking Company. From the moment Ramsay walked through the door, the red flags were simply impossible to ignore. Viewers learned that several menu items sold as "homemade" were actually pre-made products presented as the kitchen's own creations. Meanwhile, customers who voiced complaints often found themselves in heated confrontations with owner Amy and her husband, Samy.

While customers are often the ones criticized for the kinds of rude restaurant behaviors that can make life difficult for staff, perhaps the most shocking revelation was how poorly Amy and Samy treated their own employees. During the episode, Ramsay was outraged to discover that Samy kept 100% of customer tips for himself. Appalled by the owners' complete refusal to accept criticism, alongside their treatment of staff and customers, Ramsay decided Amy's Baking Company was beyond saving. In a first for "Kitchen Nightmares," he voluntarily walked away from the business.

After the episode aired in 2013, Amy's Baking Company became the target of one of the internet's most notorious backlash campaigns. The restaurant's review pages (one of the best ways to find out if a restaurant is bad) were flooded with thousands of negative comments. Rather than ignore the criticism, Amy and Samy took to social media and fired back at commenters with a barrage of angry, profanity-filled responses, only adding fuel to the campaign of hate directed at them.

Not long after the original episode aired, the production crew sent a reporter to confront the owners in a follow-up interview. During this time, Amy's Baking Company had become something of a cultural landmark, and fans of "Kitchen Nightmares" would visit the restaurant hoping to see one of the owners' infamous meltdowns for themselves. The pair shared their anger at the show's portrayal of them: "After watching 'Kitchen Nightmares,' I see all the crazy, but I don't see any of the good," Amy remarked (via Facebook). The pair further affirmed their innocence in follow-up interviews on "Dr. Phil," claiming that unhappy customers on the show were paid actors.

It seems there were very few changes to Amy's Baking Company after the episode aired. Once the novelty wore off, business dwindled, and the restaurant officially closed its doors in 2015, which, according to Amy, had nothing to do with the show's titanic backlash, but was instead due to ongoing issues with the building's landlord.