By JOHN TANASYCHUK
Chef Gordon Ramsay huddles with the staff of Le Bistro in Lighthouse Point during the filming of the Fox show 'Kitchen Nightmares'. (FOX)
Elin and Andy Trousdale barely remember filling out the application to appear on a restaurant-makeover TV show.
That was before Fox’s Kitchen Nightmares and its hot-tempered host Chef Gordon Ramsay became a staple in the genre known as makeover reality TV.
Fast forward to 9 p.m. tonight when the Trousdales and their Lighthouse Point restaurant, Le Bistro, finally get their day in the spotlight.
Almost two years after applying, “Kitchen Nightmares” came to South Florida last summer, when Ramsay visited not only Le Bistro, but also Anna Vincenzo’s Ristorante Italiano in Boca Raton and Fleming: A Taste of Denmark in Miami. The Anna Vincenzo’s episode is set to air on March 26, while Fox doesn’t know when the Fleming episode will air.
While the Trousdales say they’re happy they participated, they almost didn’t go through with it. Ramsay’s ruthless criticisms can be intimidating.
“Then we thought about it,” says Elin. “With the downturn in the economy we knew we couldn’t not afford to get any kind of publicity.”
Meeting Ramsay was especially appealing to Andy Trousdale since both men received their culinary training in Europe. But transforming their restaurant decor and menu to suit Ramsay’s whims was a high-pressure event.
Ramsay insisted they streamline prep time. He wanted them to stop baking their own bread, for instance.
But Andy Trousdale says he’s back to bread baking because it saves money. He uses what doesn’t make its way to bread baskets for crostini and bread pudding.
Ramsay also put a burger and a pasta bolognese on the menu. “We took those off,” Andy says. “People don’t come to our restaurant for that stuff. They didn’t sell.”
Incidentally, I attended the taping of the portion of the show where the new restaurant is revealed.
What I remember most about the evening is how exhausted Andy appeared. Elin seemed to have hung on to her cool, but Andy looked like he’d been in a hot kitchen for days. It didn’t help that the tiny restaurant was tripped out with bright TV lighting and that Andy’s every move was being recorded by men and women carrying cameras.
Since it was my first visit to Le Bistro, I had nothing to compare it to. I understood that Le Bistro was heavily influenced by classic French cuisine, but I found dishes from several ethnic traditions including Italian risotto and Spanish gazpacho. It struck me as a very good, very light South Florida summer menu.
Fox didn’t supply an advance copy of tonight’s episode, but I’m told I make an appearance. Looking back, I suspect my reaction to a citrus-flavored dessert might make the cut. Tune in to see what transpired.
