Cafe 36 Kitchen Nightmares Update - Still Open in 2023?

episode summary

cafe 36 was a restaurant in la grange, illinois (chicago) that appeared in kitchen nightmares season 2.

Although the Cafe 36 Kitchen Nightmares episode aired in January 2009, Gordon Ramsay’s actual visit occurred in early 2008.

Reading: Cafe 36

it was kitchen nightmares season 2 episode 12.

TV phenomenon chef Gordon Ramsay is renowned for his outspokenness, forceful expression of opinion, and downright unabashed criticism.

He is, on the other hand, a highly respected expert in the culinary industry, who can make or break a chef or a restaurant.

He starred in the Fox TV series “Kitchen Nightmares” from 2009 to 2014, until he decided to end the show himself.

The owners of Cafe 36 in La Grange, Illinois (a Chicago suburb), were lucky (or unlucky) to have the services of Chef Ramsay “Kitchen Nightmares” at their restaurant.

in this 2009 episode, terry and carol gilmer were wracked with fear at the prospect of losing everything due to dwindling clientele and poor kitchen service.

His sous-chef, Barney Smith, desperately called for help and enlisted the expert services of Chef Ramsay.

It took the Gilmers three months to finally accept this proposal and commit to the episode of the nightmares in the kitchen of Cafe 36 and the visit from Gordon Ramsay.

the waiter at cafe 36 was nice, polite and honest the day gordon ramsay visited the establishment.

the celebrity chef decided to try the duck salad, despite its odd mix of ingredients, the wild mushroom risotto, and the daily special crepe, a sautéed Atlantic salmon, made with crepes that were “nothing special” .

the head chef, pinto das, took the order with confidence, saying that chef ramsay’s presence did not make him nervous at all.

while impatiently awaiting his order, chef ramsay commented on the presence of dust and the unappealingness of the mismatched dishes.

He didn’t seem too impressed when he questioned the lack of customers.

mr. ramsay’s lunch finally arrived by cart after an astonishing 40 minute wait.

Viewers could easily spot the worry and apprehension on the Gilmers’ faces, as Carol Gilmer admitted she got nervous when Chef Ramsay started eating.

However, he maintained that he was confident in the excellent quality of the food served at Café 36.

chef ramsay seemed less than impressed with the bland and overly salty risotto.

the sous-chef, barney, was amused and relieved that an expert finally confirmed what he had been trying to tell pinto for a long time.

the next course of duck salad was excessively sweet, with an odd combination of candied nuts and fruit.

chef ramsay was further horrified when, upon receiving his third course, he learned that the soft crepe, buried under the salmon sauce, had been store-bought.

Overall, Gordon seems to think the chef pinto is Cafe 36’s main problem.

To put things right, he needs to see Pinto see the light of day, and also to repair the relationship between Pinto and Barney so that the two can work well together.

during relaunch night, the kitchen seems to be going downhill after a good start.

pinto has become stubborn again and does not follow the principles of gordon ramsay.

barney is doing a much better job, but he’s still overstretched, especially since he and the pinto chef aren’t going in the same direction.

finally, terry gilmer, the owner, steps into the fray and gets the two dueling chefs working together again.

food is starting to come out of the kitchen at a faster rate, and the episode of nightmares in the kitchen at cafe 36 seems to be ending on a strong note.

Although the food took a while to come out, customers generally seemed happy with it when it arrived, which is a good sign.

after relaunch night is over, gordon ramsay has an honest talk with terry and carol gilmer.

as part of that, they give him a nice bottle of wine.

instead of taking the wine with him, gordon asks them to store it in the restaurant so gordon can drink it when he visits again.

Overall, the episode seems to end on a high note and things are looking bright for the restaurant.

so, was the episode nightmares in the kitchen of cafe 36 a success? keep reading our update to find out what happened next and if this la grange, il restaurant is still open in 2023 and beyond.