Kitchen Nightmares heads to “Love Bites” in NY where love is on the line

Episode 6 of Kitchen Nightmares sees Gordon Ramsay heading to Love Bites in Saugerties, NY, where love has turned brittle and broken.

Not only is the restaurant itself struggling, but so is the couple who runs the place. It’s a love story gone terribly wrong and the anger and pain is palpable from the very beginning. If ever there was a Kitchen Nightmares episode that made it clear that sometimes romantic partners should not be in business together in any way.

For the first time this season, we get to see Chef Ramsay watching what happens in Love Bites on camera before ever walking in the door of the restaurant. And what we see is rather heartbreaking, as we get to see the chef/owner (Chris) being completely unfiltered and cruel to the woman (Tess) he supposedly loves.

Can Kitchen Nightmares save Love Bites from failure?

In his preview of the restaurant, Gordon Ramsay quickly finds out just how bad things are at Love Bites after a tasting that sees him calling the first dish “terrible” and “bland” and the third dish “greasy.” According to Chef Ramsay, the restaurant might be called Love Bites, but there doesn’t seem to be any love on the plates.

While speaking to Tess, Gordon Ramsay learns that Tess didn’t even want to be a part of the restaurant. In fact, she quit her job in order to help Chris keep the restaurant going. And she isn’t even sure she wants to marry Chris anymore because of how he treats her when he is stressed and under pressure.

Honestly, the relationship between Tess and Chris might be the hardest part of this Kitchen Nightmares episode because if Chef Ramsay can’t fix that first, there may not be any reason to help the restaurant.

After witnessing a dinner service, Gordon Ramsay pulls everyone together for a chat. And he makes it clear that Chris is trapped in a “vortex of negativity.” He also tells Tess’s mom to take her home because she needs to be taken care of for a while and she needs that separation from both the restaurant and her fiancé.

This Kitchen Nightmares is clearly less about fixing this restaurant, and instead it is about helping the actual people. And that includes helping Chris with his mental health and anger.

However, that doesn’t mean that the restaurant is ignored. In fact, Love Bites gets a makeover that takes it from cafe to romantic dining. And of course, the menu also gets a refresh that makes it more simple and yet perfect for the setting that has been created.

Even with the smaller menu, Chris struggles in the kitchen. He gets overwhelmed easily and starts rushing. While he is ultimately able to pull it together, it was definitely difficult to watch him in the kitchen.

This was an emotional Kitchen Nightmares in a lot of ways. But according to the two month update, it turns out that they truly listened to Gordon Ramsay and they decided that they wanted to focus more on each other and their relationship and they chose to sell Love Bites.