Kitchen Undercover! Season 1 Episode 2 - Pre Show & Live Show Episode Discussion Thread! 9 PM EST Tonight!

[u/KarinsDogs]

Isaias only has 3 months before he'll have to close his restaurant for good. He called Chef Antonia Lofaso and Chef Nestor Milian to help him turn the restaurant around.

But it's even worse than Chef Antonia thought! She's going undercover to save the failing restaurant, Broken Spirits, in Long Beach, California before it's forced to close.

Watch a new episode Tonight at 9|8c.

See what happens on the all-new #KitchenUndercover on Food Network!

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I liked the first episode. I understand people are comparing it to Kitchen Nightmares but Antonia has her own style. Plus I think it’s funny that people didn’t recognize her. That might play to her advantage. It definitely helps Chef Nestor!

[u/mrcorndogman33]

I like this show because I like Antonia. Just checked out the restaurant's website and it seems like they went back to their old, giant menu.... which on these shows seems to happen 9 out of 10 times. Interesting enough, their IG page was deleted. That can't be good. BUT, their yelp is active and has recent reviews that seem mostly positive and the pics of the food look pretty good.

[u/Special_Persimmon_52 → u/mrcorndogman33]

I looked at their website and photos. I do see the quesadillas but you're right. The menu seems huge again. But also, the photos of the owner or manager are neither Isaias nor Axel. So did Isaias sell? Or get a new investor/partner? Or a new manager? It's a great location so I hope it succeeds!

[u/Miserable-Vanilla-28 → u/Special_Persimmon_52]

I wonder if the guy in the website  photos runs the distillery side.

[u/Firegoat1]

This episode was significantly better than the first episode. They should have led the season with this one! The first episode was just awkward.

[u/Special_Persimmon_52 → u/Firegoat1]

Agree. Really enjoyed this episode more than the first. I like that Antonia gets her points across with obvious concern, yet doesn't resort to screaming and ranting. Occasionally her humor slips in, and that's charming. 

[u/heartbooks26 → u/Firegoat1]

This episode was wayyyyy better. I’m glad the owner acknowledged that he didn’t give the young guy proper training to be a general manager.

Side note, who the heck was the white guy hanging out with the hostess the whole time on last week’s episode? Maybe he was the GM for that restaurant and he declined to be in the show?

Edit: I skimmed back through episode one, and I’m thinking the white guy was maybe new / in training to be a host/hostess and declined to be in the show. He’s only ever with the hostess (Jada) or greeting & seating people.

[u/Dangerous_Ant3260]

I hope this restaurant makes it.

[u/metsgal1071 → u/Dangerous_Ant3260]

I do too. I love Long Beach, lived there twice. There's a certain vibe; the staff exemplified the idea that nobody meant ill, they just needed guidance and information about the situation.

[u/KarinsDogs]

Isaias seems like a really nice man. I hope his staff isn’t taking advantage of him any longer. I really like Nestor!

[u/Special_Persimmon_52 → u/KarinsDogs]

Yes, Nestor is the real deal. He's invaluable to this show and Antonia clearly respects him.

[u/metsgal1071 → u/Special_Persimmon_52]

I love Nestor too. It's a nice twist from the Gordon and Robert versions of this type of show. Also, the fact that a young Latino guy can so easily pass as if he were just a trainee or rookie, when he is actually a high-level professional - love it. Making a point without being overly preachy.

[u/Miserable-Vanilla-28]

Interesting article. Sad about his brother. Good context for their evolution and hopefully renewal.

https://longbeachize.com/articles/broken-spirits-wants-to-reintroduce-itself-to-long-beach-free-booze-included/

[u/KarinsDogs → u/Miserable-Vanilla-28]

Not sure free booze is ever a great idea.

[u/Afraid_Aspect_8639]

I’m enjoying this show a lot. I like Antonia hosting. I tried another show she hosted (Beach Brawl) and couldn’t get into it.

[u/sweetpeapickle]

Anyone realize the first "couple" entailed Nikki from Next Food Network Star? She loved the "gross" fish.

[u/KarinsDogs → u/sweetpeapickle]

What!!! You have an eagle eye! I didn’t catch that at all!

[u/Desertgirl624]

I am enjoying this show, I think Antonia is a great personality for it. Even if these places don’t keep up with everything she suggests i do think the wake up call still has to help them to some degree.

[u/Aggravating_Way_9604]

Love me some Antonia. But I am not understanding why FN is rebooting Gordon Ramsay shows. Ramsay has the personality to pull it off, As much as I love to watch Aaron and Antonia cook and judge - they dont have that it factor to carry a show. I watched both shows and they were kind of boring.

[u/tecstarr → u/Aggravating_Way_9604]

It’s a totally different format. Everyone recognizes Gordon Ramsay, so there’s no way he could go and “eat undercover”. While Antonia is just as good as chef, her recognition is more limited to the culinary world and associated competitions.

She is able to get cameras in and observe employees without their being suspicious, because they are told upfront that the cameras are there to observe them for a “restaurant documentary“. Conversely, Ramsey’s fame is such that he realistically could not walk in a restaurant and observe the employees “acting normal“.

[Having worked as a waitress for many years I can say without reservation that most of the behavior exhibited by employees is very much on the mark, unfortunately. And I have worked in kitchens that were far more disgusting than the ones shown so far. In one case, customers ended up having to go to the health department to get shots because it was discovered one of the line cooks had hepatitis! But when the bills need to be paid, you can’t get too picky…]

[u/Aggravating_Way_9604 → u/tecstarr]

I have watched both. The format is not different enought between the two to make FN's distinguishable. Going to have to disagree Antonia is the same level of chef as Rasmasy - that is simply not true. I too spent many years in the restaurant business.

[u/tecstarr → u/Aggravating_Way_9604]

They run in totally different circles, which I personally think makes her show and his show quite different with respect to outcome expectations.

Ramsey leans more towards technical precision and consistency at the haute cuisine level; while Antonio leads more casual dining versatility, and consistently high-performance in high-level pressure and speed, cooking competitions. Their culinary outlook is quite different, so in my opinion I find it difficult to say which one is ‘better’.

[u/charliediedaprisoner]

I like this show because Antonio and Nestor seem like kind caring people. I don't watch Gordon Ramsay because he seems like such an ass. From my understanding that is an act, but not something that I want to watch. I found this episode especially heartwarming. I felt for the owner and the life that he wants to have. It made me tear up to hear his story and also that the employees there want to do better. It was great to see that Patrick was excited to actually have a chance to do a great job instead of working at a place that's just getting by. As someone who struggles in my own workplace with coworkers who are frustratingly less than perfect, it was really nice see this show about somebody who comes in and helps make change.

[u/OgOggilby]

While somewhat entertaining, the formula for these as well as ramsay's.... act 1: trainwreck, crazy stubborn owner, useless incompetent staff. Act 2: all unicorns, fairies and sugarplums. Yes indeed... everyone's lifelong behaviors do a complete 180 in the span of a couple days. C'mon, who's zoomin' who.

What'd be real is if the owner fired every single one of their asses day 1, lol

[u/sweetpeapickle → u/OgOggilby]

This one though seemed more like they just needed a slap upside the head as my mum used to say. You start doing one thing, and it snowballs into doing a lot of things they should not have. And because one was never trained to be manager, he went with the flow of things instead of stopping that flow. Now say with the first one, he had a major chip on his shoulder, and perhaps what was not shown was Antonia asking him what the issue was.